A LOOK at events, from amateur theatre to rambles through our beautiful countryside. Karaoke, Obervatory Hotel, Old Bank Lane, Blackburn, 7.30pm. Tai Chi, Shadsworth Centre, Shadsworth Road, Blackburn, 10am-11am. Women's Group, 10.30am-12.30pm; Sure Start
TANSY is an aromatic plant with solid yellow flowers and grows around our riverbanks. It was once grown in gardens because of its medical uses. The shape of the flower resembles a human navel and was used to prevent miscarriages in women or to cure stomach
NOW that the controversy has died down following August 12, which marks the start of the grouse season, it is time to deal with a few facts. Many ornithologists, like me, were not pleased when the name was changed from red grouse to willow grouse. The
COUNCILLORS are doing an excellent job of killing off trade and businesses in Blackburn and turning it into a ghost town. Why? Because you can't park anywhere now without having to pay a fee. No free parking -- even for 10 minutes -- anywhere. Councillors
A NEW road safety blitz is to be launched on Lancashire's roads -- using traffic signal cameras to catch speeders and red light jumpers. Lancashire's Road Safety Partnership is planning to trial small speed cameras inside traffic lights, which will be
TOWNELEY Hall is just one of the buildings opening its doors to the public for free as part of English Heritage's national open day event. Every year more than 2,500 properties across the country take part and this year more than 800,000 people are expected
A MAN who fell victim to a rare condition dubbed the 'ragdoll illness' has organised a fifth annual fishing competition to raise cash for the organisation fighting the bug. Steven Greenaway, 45, of Emily Street, Burnley, arranged the event to help raise
ANTI-hooligan officers are to visit Nottingham to warn off thugs before the first visit of Nottingham Forest to Burnley since the tragic death of Nathan Shaw last year. Teams of officers will travel to the Midlands town to tell known troublemakers not
ROADS in an East Lancashire commuter village could be made safer following a visit from Lancashire County Council highways chiefs. Villagers at Hapton, near Burnley, have been calling for traffic calming measures to be introduced in three particular trouble
THE punishment fitted the crime for Bury's first team aces this week writes Chris Hall Still smarting from losing their grip at Southend, Shakers were put through their paces by Olympic wrestlers during an extra training session. The entire squad were
PLANS to build a new health centre in Nelson have been backed by Pendle Council. The proposals to convert an existing canal-side warehouse, in Carr Road, which has been disused for almost 20 years, and build a new four storey building were supported by
A DERELICT property that has blighted a community for 15 years could become the first to be rescued under a new council scheme. Pendle Council is looking to give empty and rundown properties a new lease of life by buying them under a compulsory purchase
A FAMILY-RUN wine shop was hailed as the best independent wine merchant in the country for the second time. The Which? Wine guide gave D Byrne and Co of King Street, Clitheroe, its best independent merchant award 1993.
BUSINESSES will be given a helping hand to make sure they are booming, thanks to local commerce experts. East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce will hold an open day tomorrow at its headquarters at Red Rose Court in Clayton-le-Moors. The event will be the
TWO orphaned lambs are jumping for joy after finding unlikely surrogate parents to look after them -- two sheepdogs! Larry and April the lambs, aged eight and four months, have become devoted to border collies Shandy and Gyp. Volunteers at the Only Foals
HYNDBURN looks set to become a no-go zone for travellers as the council considers blocking off its playing fields and open spaces. Although the overall cost and number of sites have yet to be finalised, Coun Doug Hayes said Hyndburn Council was considering
AN exhibition of art and oral history celebrating willow work is to be held at an award-winning Clitheroe gallery. Drawings, paintings and recorded voices will capture the lives of Somerset willow farmers at the Platform Gallery. The exhibition will outline
A COUNCIL has confirmed its merger proposals if changes to local government are backed by voters next year. Ribble Valley wants to go it alone as a unitary authority or merger with Hyndburn should the North West Regional Assembly get the go-ahead in a
A PATIENTS' champion turned daredevil has raised more than £1,000 for sick children. Diane Weaver, the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) officer for Blackburn and Darwen, did a freefall skydive from two miles up to raise money for Manchester Children's
A £600,000 scheme to collect garden waste from over 12,000 households in Ribble Valley began this week. Ribble Valley Council has bought four tailor-made vehicles with Government cash to collect the green waste from gardened properties. The split-bodied
MANY'S the time, when I am lugging my wheelie bin, weighing a ton, to the kerb, that I ponder on how the frail or elderly cope with the task, particularly if they have steps to negotiate in the process. But I wonder, too, how many householders in East
POLICE are hunting a man who assaulted a woman as she walked on Robin Bank Road, Darwen. The attacker, who was in a car, pulled up alongside the victim and offered her a lift but when she refused he got out and assaulted her, grabbing her arm. The incident
THE 40th anniversary of a Darwen Church's Ladies Group will be marked by members this month. St Anne's Church, Turton, is preparing for the big day, on Wednesday, September 17, by rallying its members together for a party. Marjorie Lomax, a group member
COMPUTER skills and card-marking sessions are just two of the free events being held at the Earcroft Community Base in Darwen. Confidence in crafts, a free course for women, starts on Monday and includes candle and card making. Courses are every Monday
DARWEN MP Janet Anderson was today stepping up her campaign to have Blackburn Services at junction four of the M65 renamed. She and local councillor David Smith were meeting Andrew Long, managing director of Lincoln-based Swayfields Limited, the parent
A RESTAURANT in Blackburn is hosting three special banquet evenings to kickstart a woman's bid to walk along the Great Wall of China for charity. Tracy Reed, of Feniscowles, is co-hosting three fundraising Chinese banquets at Ming Fu's Cantonese Restaurant
A PRIMARY school teacher went on a month-long fact-finding trip to Pakistan in a bid to improve relations with his pupils' parents. Majid Ditta has returned from the education mission, completed in his own time during the summer holidays, and written
A COUNCIL trash programme will be delayed for up to two months after 15,000 recycling bins were destroyed in a massive blaze. The fire, which caused £500,000 worth of damage and was tackled by 100 Lancashire firefighters last Tuesday, destroyed timber
Sky's the limit as Stanley hope for TV date ACCRINGTON Stanley fans are at fever pitch waiting to hear if they are to host the Sky TV cameras for the first time in their history. Representatives from the satellite giant made a trip to the Interlink Express
THE number is up for mobile phone thieves in Radcliffe. Police have teamed up with the mobile phone industry to unveil a countywide "Immobilise Phone Crime' initiative to clamp down on handset thieves. Spearheaded by leading mobile phone retailers, Carphone
FROM football highlights to blonde highlights, Rachel Brown's conversation moves from one to the other with the dexterity of a freshly-groomed David Beckham. And like Real Madrid's midfield maestro, Rachel is an England international star with a keen
ONCE again, Darwen has come second with the sharing of the £7million available for run-down properties (LET, August 4). The money is going to 80 houses surrounding Queen's Park in Blackburn, where most properties in the area have already been improved
I READ many letters complaining of the poor motorist being easy targets and hounded by police with speed traps. Well let me put the other side of the coin. If the letter of the law was strictly observed, quite honestly, there could be no need to pay council
COUNCILLOR Dave Hollings (Letters, August 27) claims his children are not Christian and that it is the "job" of schools to teach morality. Do parents and guardians of children not have a responsibility in this regard? Schools must surely have a difficult
PAUL Howarth (Letters, August 26) made it abundantly clear that he was not best pleased with the collection of the recycled rubbish and household waste in his locality. Not being familiar with the area where he lives I cannot comment about his home becoming
HUNDREDS of new jobs could be created in Leigh, Golborne and Atherton after Wigan Council announced £3 million grant assistance for a series of property developments. Schemes earmarked for a share of the cash include Leigh Commerce Park --where Orford
AN EAST Lancashire man's bid to break the world balloon altitude record was thwarted today after it lost helium just before take off. Alan Noble, a former reporter with the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, from Burnley, is flight director for the British
GRAEME Souness's latest signing Dino Baggio will make his Rovers debut in tonight's reserve game with Leeds United at Morecambe's Christie Park. Assistant manager Tony Parkes today confirmed the Italian international will start against United. And Rovers
BURNLEY Civic Society is appealing for new members to join them to help promote the history and character of the town. The society said it wants new blood to help its achieve its objectives which include encouraging high standards of town planning in
SUPERBIKER Neil Hodgson is celebrating become a dad for the first time...after his wife was induced early so the birth wouldn't clash with his World Championship title bid. Neil's wife Kathryn gave birth to 7lb Holly Jean yesterday at a hospital close
BURNLEY'S MP has today welcomed the news that the Department of Health is to fund two salaried dentists to serve Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale after declaring the current situation is "terrible." The news follows a successful bid by the East Lancashire
BURNLEY MP Peter Pike today welcomed the news that the Department of Health is to fund two salaried dentists to serve Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale after declaring the current situation is "terrible". The news follows a successful bid by the East Lancashire
TWO activists from the British National Party have revealed they plan to write a book of their experiences. Stephen Smith and Simon Bennett, who have both acted as local organisers for the party in Burnley during the last five years, plan to create "a
AN EAST Lancashire man's bid to break the world balloon altitude record was thwarted today after it lost helium just before take off. Alan Noble, a former reporter with the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, from Burnley, is flight director for the British
A NEW programme of courses for adults is being launched at Briercliffe Youth and Community Centre. The courses, which include computer courses for beginners, holistic therapies, arts and crafts and basic first aid, have been put on by Lancashire County
BARNOLDSWICK will be full of hot air this weekend for the town's first ever balloon festival. Hundreds of visitors are expected to descend on Victory Park for the event on Saturday, from 2pm. Early risers will have their first chance to see the massed
POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a man was assaulted at the recent Colne Blues Festival. The 24-year-old victim from Nelson was walking down Albert Road at about 1am on Sunday, August 24, to meet a friend outside the Crown Pub when he was attacked
A BARROWFORD man is getting into peak condition to take up the biggest challenge of his life. Philippe Handford, of Ribblesdale Place, is travelling to Nepal to take part in the Everest expedition for Scope, the charity for people with cerebral palsy.
WELCOME to Duck's world, a drink, drugs and sex fuelled corner of modern day Dublin. The Library Theatre opens its new season with Duck, a hard nosed look at life through the eyes of two ladettes. The first Cat, who has been dubbed Duck by her small-time
A WOMAN who opened a drapery shop as a hobby retired after 30 years in the trade. Marion Rimmer set up business with a friend and it became the second longest established shop in Bridge Street, Darwen.
STAFF at the centre of a computer porn investigation have spoken of their relief after being cleared by police. The investigation was carried out after officers received an anonymous letter claiming there was pornographic material stored on a computer
CLARETS new boy Delroy Facey has revealed he survived a date with death last season. The Bolton striker is now fully recovered from a severe bout of pneumonia suffered shortly after his arrival at the Reebok last summer. And born-again Facey, 23, is ready
FORTY-year-old John Gray who had to be rescued by fire crews when he got stuck on the way down from climbing Darwen's famous 300ft India Mill chimney after a drunken bet was branded a stupid fool by a police chief. Quite right, he was. But he was also
CLARETS new boy Delroy Facey has revealed he survived a date with death last season. The Bolton striker is now fully recovered from a severe bout of pneumonia suffered shortly after his arrival at the Reebok last summer. And born-again Facey, 23, is ready
GRAEME Souness's latest signing Dino Baggio will make his Rovers debut in tonight's reserve game with Leeds United at Morecambe's Christie Park. Assistant manager Tony Parkes today confirmed the Italian international will start against United. And Rovers
A RECENTLY re-formed football team has taken the game by storm after reaching a final in its first competition. Darwen Catholic Club FC has been re-formed, thanks to the managerial skills of David Hayes, and has raised a few eyebrows in its first five
A PETITION protesting about a planned activity centre on Cranberry Moor, Darwen, is to be handed in to Blackburn with Darwen Council. More than 70 neighbours on either side of Moss Side Farm, have signed the petition calling for the council to refuse
THE first ever action plan has been drawn up by supporters of a Darwen park less than a week after the beauty spot suffered a serious spate of vandalism. Seventy residents and Whitehall Park supporters have met at the Central United Reformed Church, Bolton
ROSSENDALE Council is taking its recycling roadshow round the borough to encourage residents to be more environmentally friendly. The roadshow will be rolling into Haslingden on Thursday. It will be at Haslingden Community Link from 4pm to 7pm. Officers
ALMOST 100 pensioners from the class of 1947 are forgetting retirement and going back to school - more than half a century on. The group, ex pupils and one former teacher, of the old Haslingden Grammar School, Bury Road, are getting together for a reunion
BACUP businesses are urged to take advantage of free broadband connections to mark the long-awaited arrival of high speed internet access to the town. The Bacup exchange was upgraded last month, enabling business users to make much more effective use
THE heat of the classroom is nothing compared to the searing temperatures two PE teachers endured on a six-week marathon charity cycle. Jim and Sheelagh McKeon, who teach at All Saints' Language College, Rawtenstall, embarked on a gruelling challenge
Runcorn FC Halton 2 Radcliffe Borough 2 RADCLIFFE Borough grabbed a point from their visit to Runcorn despite going two down in the first three minutes. Ness and Daly were the early goalscorers, capitalising on some hesitant Borough defending from two
COSTA Rican families put pen to paper after being astounded with the perfect behaviour of visiting East Lancashire teenagers. The praise from across the globe comes following a trip by ten students on the Daniel Thwaites Scholarship. The party, including
A NEW road safety blitz is to be launched on Lancashire's roads -- using traffic signal cameras to catch speeders and red light jumpers. Lancashire's Road Safety Partnership is planning to trial small speed cameras inside traffic lights, which will be
ELEVEN-year-olds starting at secondary school are being given "police protection". Operation Sayhem was launched in Bury on Monday, Sept 1, and will run until September 12. The operation is aimed at reducing acts of violence and bullying against Year
