Six septuagenarian Channel swimmers frustrated by a governing body’s refusal to ratify their world record-breaking swim have helped stage a coup – to boot out several members of the body’s committee at its AGM. The One Foot in the Wave II team, which has four members from Dorset, were all in their 70s when they […]
The news that The West Dorset Magazine had won the overall Bridport Business of the Year (as well as New Business of the Year) came as a bolt from the blue for its founders, Karen Bate and I. We were overwhelmed, particularly as it came as we marked a year in print, and on the […]
Cancer Research UK had a welcome cash boost thanks to the Wessex Morris Men, who danced their way in Dorchester to raise £226.75 for the charity. The Dance Out was just one of hundreds of events the Morris men attend each year, delighting audiences with their rebel spirit across the county. The team is a […]
The Director of Golf at Wessex Golf Centre has been talking of his delight this week at the club’s success in gaining affiliation to England Golf and obtaining its World Handicap System certificate, set to become the shortest rated course in Dorset. Luke Shaw, a PGA coach who has worked at the centre in Weymouth […]
After almost a decade of planning and fundraising, including 15 months of painstaking renovation works, Tolpuddle Old Chapel – where the famous martyr George Loveless was a lay preacher – will reopen next month. Tolpuddle Old Chapel Trust, chaired by Andrew McCarthy, has spearheaded the project to renovate the Grade II* listed chapel, which was […]
Bridport’s Lyndon ‘Riff’ Tilbury of Steptoes has had quite the journey – showing patience and agility still pays off in retail, despite massive changes in the high street over the past few decades. And the 72-year-old shoe seller shows no sign of slowing down. Though he’d quite like to go back to his real name. […]
A party is planned in August to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Bere Regis Floral Group. Flower arranging societies have a long history in Dorset thanks to Mary Pope, a member of the Eldridge Pope Brewery family. Impressed by the garden clubs of America where she spent time during the Second World War, she came […]
Damers Blinds has been making quality, made-to-measure blinds, awnings, canopies and materials in Weymouth since 1884. Potter along the Weymouth seafront and the traces of this small family business with a big history can be seen with many old traditional awnings still protecting the little independent shops from the elements. Years ago, Damers were also […]
Dorset County Golf Union President John Gordon was joined by England Golf CEO Jeremy Tomlinson, to welcome honoured guests and representatives to Came Down Golf Club to celebrate the union’s 100th anniversary. The golf union was formed at Came Down in February 1923, and guests from clubs across the county enjoyed a packed day to […]
The cost of living is having a devastating effect on some Portland businesses – with one announcing its closure and another appealing for help to keep going. Fancy’s Family Farm has long appealed for donations to keep open – there’s no entry fee, but there’s a large tin pig for donations and they make a […]