Archive

  • Calling all lovers of countryside

    TWO more days of voluntary action sponsored by the Environment Agency are planned at Cleeve Prior. The Action Earth days will take place tomorrow and Monday, May 31. Next Tuesday, Cleeve Prior Heritage Trust's volunteer team will be at Quarry Lane, moving

  • Delight at surgery projects

    MID-WORCESTERSHIRE MP Peter Luff has expressed his delight at the news that surgery developments in Droitwich and Ombersley will go ahead after all. He was responding to the surprise confirmation by the Strategic Health Authority that these and other

  • Earth Story scientist at city college

    ONE of the world's leading scientists will mark the opening of a natural history week at University College Worcester. Professor Aubrey Manning, president of the Abberley and Malvern Hills Geopark and producer of the Earth Story TV series, will speak

  • Advice to pensioners on crime prevention

    PENSIONERS are being offered crime prevention advice from Age Concern in Worcester, as part of its Safe and Secure Week. From today until Friday, the charity will be holding a range of demonstrations and talks from firemen, crime reduction officers and

  • We want to see club build a stadium and superstore

    POLITICIANS are backing plans by Worcester City to build a new football stadium and "enabling development" in Warndon. City councillors felt a Government inspector was so clear-cut in his criticism of the proposals to build the ground together with a

  • Massive triumph

    Missa Solemnis - Beethoven. Chicago Symphony Chorus and Orchestra. Conductor Daniel Barenboim. Warner Elatus 256461172-2 Ludwig von Beethoven was born into a musical family in Bonn. At the age of eight he made his first public performance, and by the

  • STAB DEATH

    A TEENAGER has died from stab wound injuries sustained at a church housing association complex in Worcester. The 19-year-old, who has not been named, was found with stab wounds in Willow Court, off Stanley Road, in the city's Wyld's Lane area. Police

  • Rise hits first-time buyers

    FIRST-time buyers struggling to climb on Worcestershire's property ladder face even more disappointment with prices continuing to rise, according to a new report. Speculation that house prices might start to slow down has been blown out of the water by

  • Resignations rumpus council advertises for fresh candidates

    NOTICES have gone up in Fernhill Heath, near Worcester, appealing for candidates to take the places of three councillors who last week stepped down from North Claines Parish Council. John Jeffery, Celia Bradnock and Sam Price all resigned in protest at

  • Can you help us get back on rails park plea

    THE voluntary group set up to look after the interests of Worcester's Gheluvelt Park hope city residents can help them find the original styling of the park's boundary railings. The Friends of Gheluvelt Park, along with the city council, are considering

  • Road delays in eight locations

    MOTORISTS in Worcester will have to contend with eight separate areas at which roadworks could cause delays this week. There will be a lane closure today to allow work to be carried out in Sansome Walk. Temporary traffic lights will also be in place at

  • It's not Aloud... in the Faithful City, anyway

    GIRLS Aloud and McFly are just two of the hot pop acts to grace the stage of Wyvern FM's summer pop event, which this year has moved away from Worcestershire. The two groups will perform at the event on Sunday, July 4 at Himley Hall, near Dudley. More

  • Musical dates at safari park

    AN outdoor musical extravaganza at West Midland Safari and Leisure Park has been extended to two nights due to popular demand. On Friday, July 9, a variety of local bands will play live including Cantaloop and up and coming American group Ozzomatli, entertaining

  • Watchdog to take up patients' views

    CLEANLINESS, patient complaints and services provided at Worcestershire's hospitals are to be investigated by a new watchdog group acting on behalf of county residents. The Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) forum for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals

  • Images on show of Elgar's lifestyle

    AN exhibition of hand-printed photographs is being held as part of the events commemorating the 70th anniversary of Sir Edward Elgar's death. The images in An Alternative Elgar Route, which will be displayed at the Elgar Birthplace Museum, in Lower Broadheath

  • Aussie ace set to boost County

    WORCESTERSHIRE are 'pretty confident' Andy Bichel will come off the casualty list in time to play in their Frizzell County Championship Division One match against Warwickshire which opens at Edgbaston tomorrow. The Australian pace star has been sidelined

  • Royals get back to winning ways

    WORCESTERSHIRE Royals returned to winning ways in the totesport League Division Two with a 39 runs win over Yorkshire Phoenix at Headingley yesterday. "It was nice to get back on track after what was an extremely poor performance against Durham last week

  • City unveil new signing

    WORCESTER City are set to announce their first signing of the summer at St George's Lane tonight. Manager John Barton, who has targeted five new faces to boost his squad, is due to complete the deal for the Nationwide Conference player later today. Barton

  • Warriors fans meeting

    WORCESTER Warriors will launch their supporters' club tomorrow night. The National One champions' fan base has been steadily growing over the past three years and now, after their title win, they will form an official club. John Phillips, who runs the

  • Hughes just one short of century

    ROB Hughes fell just one run short of a century on the first day of Herefordshire's Minor Counties Championship Western Division clash with Wiltshire at Colwall. Hughes hit 15 fours in his 219-ball innings and shared a third-wicket stand of 114 with Ismail

  • Profitable day for Neal at Oulton

    WORCESTERSHIRE'S Matt Neal maintained fourth place in the Green Flag British Touring Car Championship with a trio of good results at Oulton Park yesterday. The 37-year-old from Wychbold came home third in the first of the day's three races, having qualified

  • Shaping up for first race at age of 73

    AN INSPIRATIONAL woman who has dedicated more than half of her life to cancer charities following tragedy is shaping up for her first Race for Life, at the aged of 73. Barbara Ludwig has been a member of Cancer Research UK for 40 years after losing her

  • 24/5/04 - Aussie ace set to boost County

    WORCESTERSHIRE are 'pretty confident' Andy Bichel will come off the casualty list in time to play in their Frizzell County Championship Division One match against Warwickshire which opens at Edgbaston tomorrow. The Australian pace star has been sidelined

  • College has a key role in the rural economy

    WHILE many people recognise Pershore Group of Colleges for its excellent teaching, few will appreciate the huge impact the colleges have made on the local economy. The Vale of Evesham would not be the place it is today if it were not for Pershore College

  • 23/5/04 - Royals get back to winning ways

    WORCESTERSHIRE Royals returned to winning ways in the totesport League Division Two with a 39 runs win over Yorkshire Phoenix at Headingley yesterday. "It was nice to get back on track after what was an extremely poor performance against Durham last week

  • Foreign policy of a great statesman

    Palmerston - The People's Darling by James Chambers (John Murray, £25). THIS massive biography of one of Britain's greatest 19th Century statesmen brings home with a jolt how much our influence in Europe and the rest of the world has diminished. For most

  • In a glass of it own

    A WRITER says that if all those 13 councillors at the football stadium meeting who voted to abstain had instead cast their votes to oppose, the "no" votes would have had a majority of two. How silly. By the same token, if they had voted to back those

  • What's the matter... surely they were young once?

    WHAT is the matter with people today? They moan about everything. Now I see they are trying to stop the licence at the Marr's Bar, where so many young people go to listen to music and groups. So much good goes on there - people visit from all over the

  • Incensed by your headline

    I REMAIN incensed by your inaccurate, insensitive, sensationalist headline (Editorial, May 19). Your portrayal of Christopher Whitehead High School could not be more inaccurate. Since September, 2003, my arrival as Headteacher: Attendance figures have

  • Gundogs put through paces for youngsters

    n WORCESTERSHIRE Gundog Society is holding a special weekend of working tests to raise funds for Save the Children. The two-day event will be at Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire on June 5-6. The hunt, point and retrieve tests on the Saturday

  • It all went like clockwork

    GLORIOUS spring sunshine blessed the 56th Annual County Show of the Worcestershire Federation of Young Farmers Clubs, to the immense relief of this year's county chairman, Demelza Audis, and everyone involved in the preparation for the highlight of their

  • If Sonia can do it, so can we!

    Could it be a lucky omen for the Tory party's General Election hopes? When this picture was taken last year India's Congress Party stood little chance of seizing power in India. But last week Sonia Gandhi, seen here with Peter Luff, swept to a shock victory

  • Is Blair about to kill the Bill?

    THE return of the Hunting Bill had been pencilled in for the gap between the Easter recess at Westminster and the June 10 Local and European Elections. Reviving an issue so close to the hearts of Labour MPs and activists would offer a shot in the arm

  • Garden centre celebrates with apples and pears

    A GARDEN centre has celebrated 10 years since it blossomed into a successful operation by planting a crab apple tree. Worcester Garden Centre was completely redeveloped and expanded by brothers Frank and Mike Thompstone, who bought the business in May

  • Alcohol an call

    A STOURPORT-on-Severn town councillor is calling for an alcohol ban on the town's streets following spiralling anti-social behaviour and vandalism. Councillor Gary Talbot called for the ban to fight under-age drinking, vandalism and rowdy behaviour in

  • Rail strike

    RAILWAY workers plan to strike in a dispute over pay and pensions, which threatens chaos across Herefordshire and Worcestershire. The Rail Maritime and Transport union heavily backed a campaign of industrial action against Network Rail which wants to

  • Croatians go crazy over mad poet programme

    AN eccentric poet confined to a lunatic asylum was the subject of a radio drama documentary co-produced by a Worcester man which grabbed second place at an Eastern European festival. Peter Leslie Wild's BBC Radio 4 programme The Language of Flowers beat

  • United stars pay tribute to tragic player

    MANCHESTER United players paid a touching tribute to tragic Worcestershire team-mate Jimmy Davis, after their FA Cup final victory on Saturday. The rising football star from Redditch was killed in a car crash last August, and as United made their way

  • Vintage wings and wheels

    A VINTAGE Maserati racing car, a 1930s Austin 10 and a 1959 TR3A has rolled into Upton-upon-Severn as a taste of things to come. Classic, vintage and veteran vehicles of land and air will arrive at Fish Meadow in July for a Wings and Wheels event offering

  • Property problem must be tackled

    SPARE a thought, today, for the generation - now in their mid to late-20s - who seem to have borne the brunt of every political, social and educational revolution going since Mrs Thatcher came to power. This time, they're first-time buyers struggling

  • Tragedy that made us stop in our tracks

    LIFE hangs by a thread. Sliding doors. There but for the grace of... there is no shortage of cliches for the delicate balance of our lives. We all had to talk about the crash. In dribs and drabs, the machinery of that night's inquest gathered momentum

  • Arrivederci Ceci's

    THE vino has been flowing as Worcester's Italian community bade a fond farewell to a delicatessen which has been part of the city since the 1960s. Ceci's store was opened in Wyld's Lane by Francesco Ceci and his wife Teresa in 1967 and, over the past

  • Sinking feeling as road is dug up

    LOCAL people have warned of traffic chaos when highways engineers dig up a stretch of road to find out why it is sinking. Traffic lights have been installed on the B4197, at Ankerdine Hill, Knightwick, so investigations into the subsidence can be carried

  • Corpse mystery

    THE identity of a man whose badly decomposed body was found in Worcestershire woodland has not yet been revealed. A police spokeswoman confirmed officers were still in the process of contacting the man's next of kin. His name and details were expected

  • Tress stress for glamour girl Natalie

    A GLAMOUR model from Worcester is swapping her showbiz lifestyle for a broom in a "trading places" reality TV show. Living in a luxury flat and rubbing shoulders with celebrities on the party circuit is everyday life for Natalie Denning. But the former

  • Man is missing

    POLICE are appealing for information on the whereabouts of Anthony Bostock, who is believed to be in the south Worcestershire area. Officers are trying to trace the 49-year-old, who was last seen on Friday, May 21, at 7pm. Mr Bostock, who is described

  • Cinema flat plan rejected

    A PROPOSAL to build 23 new homes at the back of Worcester's Northwick Cinema has been described as "inappropriate" and recommended for refusal. Planning officers at the city council say the plan for the dilapidated cinema, which includes a change of use

  • Sun smiles on garden scheme

    SUMMER sunshine greeted flower-lovers visiting an acre of beautiful Worcestershire garden at the weekend. Woodmancote, in Wadborough, near Pershore, opened its gates to the public yesterday as part of the National Gardens Scheme. More than 40 visitors

  • Tufnell's visit

    PHIL Tufnell, the former England cricketer and now a TV celebrity, visits Evesham Cricket Club tomorrow as part of his charity walk around England to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Relief. His walk is taking in all the grounds where Test matches will

  • Bickerton well adrift but earns £13,000

    DROITWICH golfer John Bickerton shot a final round level par 72 to finish joint 39th behind winner Trevor Immelman in the Deutsche Bank Open. Bickerton was well-placed at three under after the opening two rounds but a 76 on Saturday scuppered his chances

  • Give me a farmhouse B & B over city hotel any time

    HOTELS, there are many, are there not, some good, some bad, some big, some small, but (and here's an early moan) I am getting a bit fed up with some of the big ''chain'' hotels. I don't stay in them that often but, having a natter with a mate last week

  • Keeping calm and carrying on

    London 1945 - Life in the Debris of War by Maureen Waller, (John Murray, £20) London in 1945 is associated in most people's minds with joyous crowds celebrating the official end of the war in Europe on May 8. What are often forgotten are the first three

  • Brum, brum

    The Rabbit Guide to Birmingham by Charles Smith and David Clarke (Polperro Heritage Press, £9.95) IF Brummies have a frustration, it's that too few people appreciate the city for what it is today. This new guide written by Birmingham businessmen Smith

  • A sweet treat for friends

    Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik, (Bantam,£6.99). A good friend is hard to find. Or so at least the saying goes. Therefore the achievement of the lead characters in Landvik's latest novel is all the more remarkable. They each manage to

  • The greatest clown of all

    GEORGE Cowley believes Michael Howard to be the "chief clown in parliament" (You Say, Wednesday, May 12). I am sure most people would agree with me that Tony Blair is a far bigger clown. Over the past year, the Prime Minister has suffered embarrassment

  • It's not the mainland

    THE Phillpott File, as per usual, was a joy to read (Evening News, Monday, May 17). However, with all due respect, I would like to correct him on some errors. He wrongly states that draconian laws from across the water must not be imposed on "mainland

  • Flushing cash down drain

    I WAS dismayed to read that Worcester is to receive £3.5m to create a ""model" (transport) system for other cities to follow." Is there no end to the number of ways loony Labour can invent to flush our hard-earned taxes down the drain of stupidity? Does

  • We will all be tarred with the same brush

    I THINK the majority of your readers will agree that the current situation in Iraq is a disaster. We still have fighting going on, the infrastructure is still in a shambles and both the US and the UK are accused by the International Red Cross of torturing

  • Farm gives Somerfield a runner for its money

    RUNNER beans grown by the River Severn in Worcestershire are soon to hit the nation's supermarket shelves. Top Barn Farm, at Holt Heath, has won a contract to supply early season beans to the Somerfield chain as part of its campaign to stock more home-produced

  • 24/5/04 - Warriors fans meeting

    WORCESTER Warriors will launch their supporters' club tomorrow night. The National One champions' fan base has been steadily growing over the past three years and now, after their title win, they will form an official club. John Phillips, who runs the

  • Say yea or neigh: Meet the man who can talk to horses

    WORLD famous horse whisperer Dan Franklin is holding a special clinic in Worcestershire as part of his latest world tour. Dan teaches equine communication skills through demonstrations, corporate seminars and a unique "special needs" programme across

  • More powder in Haw's arsenal

    BRIAN Haw, the Worcestershire peace protester living in Parliament Square, was quick to update his material after a powder bomb hit Tony Blair on the shoulder in Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday Within minutes, the ever-topical 55-year-old remarked

  • This year's bash was 'just a fantastic day'

    THEY huffed and puffed and grunted and groaned. They dressed poultry like master butchers and they drove huge tractors with consummate skill. Some were winners, some didn't even come close, but all had a good time and as dusk settled in they boogied the

  • 125 years of riding wisdom

    I EVENTUALLY found Dennis Lippit watching morning television in his little mobile home, which is tucked up against the outbuildings at Salford Court Farm, just outside Clifton upon Teme. The rain was whipping down and as I sloshed through the mud and

  • Plenty of wildlife near the city limits

    THIS is one of the loveliest walks you can do close to Worcester. In fact, as you walk along the riverbank from Grimley to Hallow, it's hard to believe that the city begins just a couple of miles away. The riverside woods and meadows are extensive, and

  • Provider reaches the parts that others can't

    THE sky's the limit for a Worcester company that has launched a new air-band broadband internet connection service. Air-band differs from the traditional high-speed broadband internet connection, which runs through underground phone cables, in that the