The Boundary Commission has made its final recommendations on constituency borders in West, South and North Dorset – with some rather perplexing changes. The moves are aimed at equalising the number of voters in each constituency. But rather than moving borders based on geography, it seems the commission has made its decisions based on council […]
After 16 years at Autobitz, Martyn Whelan knows a thing or two about engines. And now this Dorchester born and bred mechanic has fine-tuned his creative skills to give cars, bikes and vans that perfect paint match for a body-shop finish after launching Paints ‘N’ Plates. Martyn can even make your car registration plates while […]
Researchers are calling for help from people in South and West Dorset to monitor what is believed to be Britain’s smallest population of coastal bottlenose dolphins. Sailors, fishers and anyone else who spends a lot of time at sea are being urged to feed information about dolphin sightings to the South Coast Bottlenose Consortium, a […]
A photographer who discovered an amazing view of Colmers Hill after taking some trees down at his new home has now been producing calendars of it for a decade. Doug Chalk, who has a distinctive stall at Bridport Market every Wednesday and Saturday, has just launched his 11th calendar, featuring seasonal images of the well-known […]
An underground bunker decommissioned 67 years ago has come back to life as a quirky holiday home. Sykes Cottages, which manages the Transmitter Bunker, say the unusual pad, set in a hillside at Ringstead looking over the sea, is already fully booked for the summer. Where once it would have been kitted out with radar […]
Bridport Primary School is a ‘happy and welcoming place’ and has been rated ‘good’ after a recent Ofsted inspection. The 330-strong school was praised for its inclusivity. Inspectors said staff have ‘high expectations for pupils, including those with special educational needs or disabilities’. The school was part of Minerva Learning Trust which has merged with […]
Planning chiefs will discuss proposed changes to the controversial Foundry Lea housing development in Bridport on June 15 following an unexplained delay. Dorset Council planning committee members were due to decide if three drainage ponds at the site could be relocated last month before the item was removed from the agenda at the last minute. […]
The Lyme Morris group has welcomed three women dancers for the first time in its history. Following a relaunch and several successful recruitment events, five new dancers have joined up. Lyme Morris Squire Peter Morton said: “We have had a very successful and fun time introducing new members especially the girls into the side. They […]
Cheesed-off residents say the Cerne Abbas Giant has been ‘castrated’ and made ‘non-binary’ on a dairy company’s labelling. But the Oxford Cheese Company say they were left between a Roquefort and a hard place after a shopper was shocked by the chopper on its Cerne Abbas Man vintage cheddar. The big cheeses at the firm […]
Throngs of people stepped back in time in Dorchester on Saturday to celebrate the birthday of Thomas Hardy. The Thomas Hardy Victorian Fair attracted thousands of literary lovers and history buffs, many wearing Victorian attire, for its third year celebrating the life and times of the novelist and poet, who was born in 1840 in […]