Teddy Bears Picnic, Recreation Ground, Belthorn Village, 1.30pm. Creative Writing, The Women's Centre, 25 Wellington Street (St John's), Blackburn, 10am-noon. REIKI, Feilden Room, Blackburn Library, 11am-1pm. "Alfie" Party -- four to seven year-olds,
Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy AUGUST is the month when the young birds and mammals are beginning to find their wings and feet. Swallows are now feeding their second brood of youngsters and there is evidence to prove that the first brood of swallows then
ISN'T it time Blackburn Council finished off repairs to their main car park and also swept it on a Monday morning before they start their stupid plans for closing Church Street? If they look round they will find plenty to do. The grate top near the Salvation
REGARDING your 20/20 Vision article (LET, July 27) on Blackburn Council's targets for improving on the environment, I am pleased that our area is leading the way in the composting of household waste. Hundreds of bags of the stuff can be seen rotting away
AS the Japanese whaling fleet prepares to leave port, we call upon the Japanese government to end "scientific" whaling. Not content with killing its self-allocated catch of 540 minke whales a year, Japan is now intending to extend the slaughter to two
BURNLEY Council is being urged to take out a High Court injunction to stop Burnley and Padiham Housing raising rents by up to 200 per cent. Independent Group leader Harry Brooks, claims Burnley's biggest landlord is in breach of a legally-binding commitment
ROVERS tonight continue their pre-season build up against Leeds United at Ewood. Midfield duo David Dunn and Craig Hignett look set to miss out -- clearing the way for Lee Carsley to make his first appearance of the summer.
ROVERS' hopes of signing Middlesbrough striker Brian Deane could become clearer in the next couple of days. Boro boss Bryan Robson has completed the signings of Coventry's Noel Whelan and Lens front-man Joseph-Desire Job. And they could well be joined
THE world's greatest love story, Romeo and Juliet, was brought to life in the unlikely setting of Barrowford Park. Travelling theatre company Illyria performed an open air production of Shakespeare's famous tale last night in front of an appreciative
FIRE victim Sean Matthew Woodvine would have celebrated his 28th birthday the day after he died in a house fire in Hunslet Street, Burnley. He was found dead in bed in an upstairs room at the house in Hunslet Street following the fire just before 5am
THE new director general of Age Concern, England, Gordon Lishman, will return to his roots this week when he meets the Pakistani Welfare Association in Nelson. Mr Lishman will be the keynote speaker at a dinner on Friday to mark his many years of service
YOUNGSTERS at a Pendle nursery school can look forward to a bright future thanks to the hard work of volunteers. Young people on a Prince's Trust course have created colourful friezes on the walls a1nd floor of the play area at Haverholt Day Nursery,
INVESTIGATIONS were under way into the cause of a huge blaze which gutted a paper warehouse in Blackburn. At the height of the blaze at Dirk Transport, in Iron Street, 13 appliances tackled the fire which caused damage estimated at hundreds of thousands
OUT-OF-TOWN booze bandits were being blamed for a weekly flood of teeny-bopper drunks in Blackburn town centre. Popular Friday night discos at the Northern Lights Club in Cicely Lane regularly attracted more than 1,000 youngsters under the age of 18.
ACCRINGTON today returned to the centre of the footballing world's attention as the town played host to a signing with a difference. One of the area's best exports hooked up with a new club -- thanks to cookery queen Delia Smith. Delia, majority shareholder
THE number of visitors to the area has increased -- thanks to the rolling countryside and some East Lancashire loving. The Lancashire Tourism Partnership reported that many an amorous couple had taken up the "Love Trail" around Lancashire, which takes
A LITTLE piece of the Ribble Valley has been shipped over to Romania. Castle Cement in Clitheroe donated one pallet of ordinary Portland cement following an appeal by the Communication Workers' Union Humanitarian Aid. The organisation is responsible for
Burnley reserves drew 2-2 at Ramsbottom United last night thanks to a late equaliser from young trialist Nathan Wharton. Ramsbottom went ahead when David Yorke-Robinson provided a neat finish from a tight angle after 36 minutes. However, the Clarets were
FORMER Oldham Athletic midfielder Nathan Wharton is trying to win a contract at Turf Moor. Wharton last night grabbed a late equaliser for the Clarets' reserves in a pre-season game at Rambsottom United as he looks to impress Burnley boss Stan Ternent
A FORMER machine operator is taking to the road as a sales manager for the company. Nigel Owen started work at Duralay's underlay manufacturing plant in Haslingden as a machine operator in 1986. Now, after working as retail sales representative for the
ECONOMIC development firm Enterprise has agreed the terms of a merger with the utilities company ARM. Enterprise has recently been through a troubled period with a poor performance in the second half of the last financial year. Enterprise, formerly Lancashire
A CAMPAIGNING councillor has vowed to keep a 'close eye' of proposals to extend a telecommunications site opposite Sett End playing fields in Roman Road, Darwen. Liberal Democrat Kevin Connor, who represents Blackburn with Darwen Council's Marsh House
SUCCESSFUL comedian Chris Addison had to cancel his appearance at The Humour Section, in Darwen Library Theatre, at the last minute for an undisclosed personal reason. It may not have been a laughing matter but his replacement certainly was. If the idea
A NURSE who has become one of the first operators of a telephone medical service today spoke of her desire to help people in need. NHS Direct, the free, confidential advice hotline has begun taking its first calls from East Lancashire patients after the
A WAR of words has erupted between Darwen's two Connor councillors about a plan to build new homes on a green field site in their ward. Labour's Frank Connor, planning and highways chairman of Blackburn with Darwen Council, hit back at accusations of
THE landlord and landlady of one of East Lancashire's first Italian restaurants are saying arrivederci. John and Joyce Threlfall have sold the Pack Horse in Grane Road, Belthorn, to Christine Yates, who has been manager for more than 10 years. The couple
A LUCKY punter was celebrating today after scooping the £1million jackpot on the Premium Bonds. The winner -- who can only be identified as being from Lancashire -- is the sixth winner of the monthly tax-free prize from the county and won the jackpot
ONE man's art turned out to be another man's blanket following the Arts in the Park extravaganza, a court was told. Blackburn magistrates heard that Patrick Smith was arrested carrying a tapestry which he had stolen from the show in Corporation Park,
A MULTI-million-pound drive to breathe new life into Blackburn's town centre could fail unless plans are backed up by a string of policy changes, according to opposition councillors. Blackburn with Darwen Council has put together an ambitious blue print
Accrington Stanley 1, Rochdale 1 ACCRINGTON produced their most impressive display of the pre-season against Third Division Rochdale, who fielded a full first team. The Reds preparations for their UniBond Premier campaign seem to be going well while a
IT HAS been a bitter-sweet week for Padiham professional Ajay Sharma. The Pakistan paid man writhed in agony after injuring his back in his side's victory over Whalley on Saturday and will be ruled out for an important double header this weekend as Padiham
WOULD Chris Davies MEP (July 21) care to tell us how many of the countries queuing to join the EU are wealthy nations eager to put more into the pot than they expect to get out of it? KEITH ELLEL, Westwood Avenue, Rishton.
WHEN are we going to bring back the death penalty? There are so many murders these days, but killers are put in jail for a few years then set free. I would execute these people myself and would not think twice about it. So, come on, you people with the
A BIG thanks to Blackburn with Darwen Council for putting on an excellent festival last weekend. I congratulate all concerned for providing such a diverse and entertaining spectacle. Along with many of my friends and family, I enjoyed a summer weekend
ON behalf of a group of residents and staff, I would like to thank all concerned for the wonderful proms and fireworks evening in Corporation Park, Blackburn -- until 10.30pm! Old ladies, whose ages range around 90, loved the music and atmosphere and
AT last, a common sense viewpoint -- from Pauline Vaughan (Letters, July 24) -- on the local authority's proposals to close Church Street in Blackburn to through traffic and create additional limited-time car parking in Church Street and Darwen Street
LIKE thousands of other Blackburn residents, I attended many of the events that made up the Arts In The Park festival last weekend. It was a superb programme of attractions, ranging from local amateur groups to top class professionals -- there really
IF, as Chris Wrigley says (Letters, July 27), Jack Straw is pandering to the rabble regarding Myra Hindley's continuing incarceration, then count me as one of the rabble and proud of it. I agree that Hindley has spent too long in jail, but this is due
REGENERATION chiefs were today celebrating after they hit the jackpot with a cash injection of more than £55 million for projects in East Lancashire. Among the winners of the Government's Single Regeneration Budget windfall payout was the East Lancashire
DARREN Peacock's move to Portsmouth is in danger of collapsing unless the player agrees to a massive pay cut. The 32-year-old defender has asked for time to think over a move after holding talks with Pompey boss Tony Pulis on Monday. But the South Coast
CONTINUED objections to telecommunications masts being set up in Burnley would leave the town out of touch with the modern world, councillors were told. Conservative Peter Doyle said there had been opposition to communications masts going up near homes
A SENIOR policeman called in to investigate the death of Christopher Alder found no evidence of an assault by other officers, an inquest heard. Chief Supterintendent John Holt launched an inquiry just hours after 37-year-old Mr Alder died in police custody
BURNLEY Council is being urged to take out a High Court injunction to stop Burnley and Padiham Housing raising rents by up to 200 per cent. Independent Group leader Harry Brooks, claims Burnley's biggest landlord is in breach of a legally-binding commitment
HOUSEHOLDERS in Pendle are being warned to lock up tight, particularly at night, after a spate of walk-in thefts in Nelson and Barrowford in recent weeks. Acting detective sergeant Ruth Chew, of Nelson CID, said: "People tend to leave their doors either
A VAN driver was trapped in his cab for an hour after overturning on a notorious East Lancashire road. Grane Road, linking Blackburn with Haslingden, was closed for more than two hours, causing traffic chaos. Sub officer Frank McVan, of Rawtenstall Fire
SECURITY guards are to patrol cemeteries in Hyndburn after a spate of vandalism and what police describe as a "racist attack" on gravestones. Hyndburn Council has recruited a team of security guards to patrol three graveyards, including the main site
CLARETS skipper Steve Davis is hoping to move another step towards First Division battle-stations against Manchester City tonight. And at the same time, the central defender will guage how far Burnley have to progress to compete with the elite. Peaking
A TEENAGER is desperate for the return of her pet parrot, which flew the nest on Friday night. Antonia Church, 16, of Longsight Road, Clayton-le-Dale, is hoping that someone will have heard her chattering blue-fronted Amazon, called Wesley. Her mother
A 77-YEAR-OLD man suffered burns to 50 per cent of his body during an incident at a nursing home. East Lancashire Health Authority began an investigation yesterday at Whitcliffe nursing home, Blackburn, into the incident in which the man's pyjamas caught
MORE than 100 potential students attended a series of "taster days" in the childhood studies department at Blackburn College. Members of the college team organised sessions to help school leavers see the facilities, meet the teaching team and look at
TWO Lancashire brothers have been cleared of evading duty on large quantities of beer, wine, tobacco and cigarettes after a judge ruled that a jury could not be told of alleged admissions they made in interviews with customs officers. And two further
REGENERATION chiefs were today celebrating after they hit the jackpot with a cash injection of more than £55 million for projects in East Lancashire. Among the winners of the Government's Single Regeneration Budget windfall payout was the East Lancashire
ACCRINGTON professional Nathan Astle will be back at Thorneyholme Road next season. The New Zealand Test star has put pen to paper on a new one year contract. And officials of the Transco Lancashire League club were today celebrating a successful conclusion
NICK Dougherty is on course to follow in the footsteps of his mentor Nick Faldo after coasting into the third round of the English Amateur Championships. A young Faldo won this famous tournament 25 years ago at Royal Lytham and St Annes. And, now the
LANCASHIRE coach Bob Simpson today spelt out the importance of the showdown with Championship leaders Surrey at the Oval. "As soon as I saw the fixtures for the season I said our two games with Surrey would be the biggest of the year," said the veteran
