I HAVE never in my whole life seen the Kingdom in such absolute unity. For one day, it did not matter what colour, religion or even class you came from, just that you also felt the grief of the loss of our Princess. What moved me the most was the way
HEALTH chiefs are ploughing an extra £126,000 into a problem-plagued service to halve the time East Lancashire patients wait for a wheelchair. The cash will also kick-start a three-year campaign to reduce waiting lists for hundreds of sick and disabled
Mark Templeton Surfs the Net FED-UP of fumbling for those fiddly 5p pieces when you go shopping? Well, you can forget cash, cheque books and even credit cards when you shop on the Internet because now you can have virtual money. A new scheme launched
TWO sisters who have not seen each other for more than 29 years have been reunited for an East Lancashire couple's 25th wedding anniversary party. Zdziswav and Marianne Sudnik, of The Evergreens, Holly Tree Village, Feniscowles, are repeating their marriage
A £1 million theme park plan was rejected - for being too good. Plans to launch the tourist attraction at Sabden, creating 120 jobs, were turned down over fears it would prove too popular. Councillors said the village could not cope with the crowds. Rainbow
A RIBBLE Valley hotel was named as one of the country's best by the Which? Hotel Guide. Harrop Fold in Bolton-by-Bowland was among only 37 hotels in England to win the prestigious county hotel of the year award. Four other Ribble Valley Hotels were also
JACK SIMMONS chairs his first committee meeting at Lancashire tonight with the issue of a breakaway cricket Super League creeping up the agenda. Lancashire and the other five counties with Test Match grounds are furious that plans for two divisions were
THERE may be uncertainty over who planted the massive bomb in South Armagh yesterday. But there can be no doubt as to its intent - that of blowing up the already-tenuous Ulster peace process. But, given that evident aim, politicians of all sides ought
PEOPLE power has plainly pushed health chiefs into action over the scandalous 40-week wait East Lancashire patients face to get a wheelchair. For now they are ploughing an extra £126,000 into the problem-plagued service in a bid to cut the wait to 15
CONTROVERSIAL plans to build a huge wind farm on moorland above Darwen look set to be unveiled later this year. Electricity company PowerGen has won a Government contract to build a wind farm on the West Pennine Moors at White Hill. The wind farm is likely
FIRMS are being offered the chance to get a flying start in the export market. Through the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce they can 'hire' an experienced export manager one day a week for 12 months at half the normal cost. The expert will set up an
Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy WE have all heard the nursery rhyme "Here we go gathering nuts in May." This is daft because you gather nuts in autumn. Actually the rhyme should read "Here we go gathering knots in May," as a knot is a bunch of flowers.
REGARDING the remarks of Mr G Smith (Letters, September 9) and Sam Spence and Mrs M Courtney (Letters, September 15) the Johnson Street-Devonport Road area of Blackburn has much in common with other notorious areas. Brookhouse has one of the highest unemployment
A PUBLIC meeting was being held today to give parents a chance to have a say on the future of their children's education. Parents and guardians of children in Blackburn and Darwen were invited to discuss schooling in the borough. Education bosses and
The John Blunt column GIVEN the deluge of horrific evidence of the failure of primary schools to teach children to read and write properly, the major drive to raise standards by forcing all school heads and their staff to retrain may be regarded as a
ROY Hodgson is prepared to take a few short-term risks tonight in a bid for long-term gain, as Blackburn Rovers take on Preston North End at Ewood in the Coca-Cola Cup. The Rovers boss is determined to keep things in perspective, despite the hype being
A PUBLIC meeting was being held today to give parents a chance to have a say on the future of their children's education. Parents and guardians of children in Blackburn and Darwen were invited to discuss schooling in the borough. Education bosses and
Coca-Cola Cup (2nd round 1st leg): Burnley 0 Stoke City 4 - Tony Dewhurst's big match verdict UNDER-PRESSURE Chris Waddle faces an immense task to re-build Burnley. But the Clarets player-manager is more unwavering in his belief than ever to tough it
WHAT is the difference between the TUC Conference at Brighton last week and the public meeting at 7pm tonight in Blackburn Library? At the TUC, Prime Minister Tony Blair told trade unionists to live in the real world and accept the flexible working environment
Blackburn Rovers v Preston North End - Peter White's big match preview THERE are few signs of fear in the Preston North End ranks as they prepare for tonight's Ewood derby. In fact Lee Cartwright thinks - "It should be fun!" That sums up the delight at
SOME time ago, I stopped outside a bookshop in Wales and saw in the window a small card saying: "There are 56 words in the Lord's Prayer, 297 in the Ten Commandments, 300 in the American Declaration of Independence and 29,911 in the EEC directive on the
IT MAY be an anomaly that those running the country - Premier Tony Blair and government ministers - are each paid less than the chief executive of a single London borough. But, in announcing he would forgo a 40 per cent, or £40,000-plus, pay rise next
THE organisers of Clitheroe's annual bonfire have pulled the plug on this year's event for reasons of "public safety." A bonfire and firework display has been hosted for the past 20 years on Clitheroe Castle field by Clitheroe and Ribblesdale Rotary clubs
DEFIANT Chris Waddle came out all guns blazing today after the gloomy Coca-Cola Cup bashing at the hands of First Division Stoke City. The Clarets were thrashed 4-0 in the first leg tie at Turf Moor and now face an almost impossible task to rescue their
IN reply to 'No-one at fault but Diana' (Letters, September 10), how can Mrs Gladys Robinson say Diana was at fault? She wasn't driving the car - she was trying to avoid the Press, yet again. Diana's private life was never private, she was hounded by
A SCHOOL looks to have won its fight to have have a steel fence built around its boundaries to keep out burglars, vandals and criminals. Blackburn Meadowhead Junior School looks set to join the growing list of East Lancashire schools forced into desperate
MOST firms in the region expect to take on more staff over the coming three months, according to a survey out today. And more than a third of North West companies planning to recruit intend to do so through the Government's new Welfare to Work scheme.
