Archive
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Celebrity wedding was not the first in Lancashire
I REFER to the "Wedding of Year" for Leigh at St Joseph's. It's really something to have such an interesting showbusiness wedding containing a Phantom of the Opera star Charlotte Page, and the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company's leading tenor Joseph Shovelton
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Keep lorries in check
AFTER reading your report 'Residents fear loads of noise (BEN, Monday, July 5) at Safeway. This morning Tuesday, July 6, at 6.35am, there was a lorry coming over Safeway car park and the gate was open. I was out walking my dog. The point is, if Bolton
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What do we get for the money?
WHAT do the people of Blackrod get for their community charge from Bolton Metro? 1. Closure of one of the best schools in Bolton. 2. Closure of Blackrod Council Offices. 3. The worst main road in Bolton. 4. Blackrod Station. How long will it stay open
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Air force
reunions IN May 1995, John Arthur and others founded an Association for former and present members of The Royal Air Force Fire Service and Defence Fire Service, (formerly AFDFS and Army) personnel. Since its foundation, the Association has steadily grown
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Don't have a war over merger
I AM writing to express my hopes for the proposed merger of St John's Wingates and Fourgates Primary Schools. I would like to empathise with the parents of Fourgates children. Any threat to the survival of a school is devastating. No one likes change,
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Boss gives Star Wars treat to travel staff
A BOLTON boss gave his entire staff an out-of-this-world treat yesterday - when he booked a whole cinema so they could watch the Star Wars blockbuster. David Speakman, the managing director of Travel Counsellors, a pioneering Atherton-based travel company
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MPs support state-backed lawyers
LOCAL MPs have backed the creation of a state-financed criminal defence service. Bolton South-east MP Brian Iddon and Leigh's Lawrence Cunliffe want to see the state defenders working in competition with private sector lawyers. A recent suggestion by
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Church cash bid goes off pat!
A VICAR, a friar and a farmer proved that God moo-ves in a mysterious way after praying to the Almighty for a cow pat. Adlington villagers had turned up to a farm in Blackrod throughout Saturday to watch Sweetheart the cow's progress in producing a money
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At least we saw it!
I REFER to the views of your anti-royal correspondent, John Evans. Referring to the Edward-Sophie wedding, he mentions the "BBC coverage of it ad nauseum". As the televised coverage of it was seen in 23 countries and enjoyed by millions of people all
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Looking to improve health care
THE Health Authority is bidding for extra Government money to improve child and adolescent mental health services in Bolton and Wigan. At present, services are provided by the education authority, the hospitals in the two boroughs and community trusts
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Octagon back in business
DELIGHTED Octagon Theatre bosses have announced they are back in business with their own productions after a £150,000 funding package was hammered out with local firms. The Arts Council of England has given its approval to the deal which will see the
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Marked man happy to be in firing line
Stoke City 2 Wanderers 1 EIDUR Gudjohnsen is ready to pit his young wits against the best of Division One defences, undeterred by the memory of his Wembley misses. The confident young Icelander showed no signs of a hangover as he got straight back to
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Bank puts it in writing
MIDLAND Bank's 1,705 branches - including three in the Bolton area - now carry the HSBC name. HSBC is the marketing name for Midland, which, subject to regulatory approval, will change its legal name to HSBC Bank plc later this year. Branch manager Phil
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Team to meet Asian needs
HSBC, formerly Midland Bank, has established a South Asian banking team at its branch in Church Street, Blackburn. The team, which covers the Blackburn and Bolton areas, is one of 12 established in key branches around the country devoted exclusively to
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Here's to another great year!
STAFF at Bolton and Bury Chamber's Business Link got together for a third birthday party. The business support agency has helped more than 3,000 local enterprises since it started in July, 1996. A spokesperson said that during the past three years it
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The Blind Man
What do you see in front of you? I see so little, most tedious, not new. What about you? What do you see And how is life so different from me? I see the sun a burning flame, I feel its rays, I feel its shade. I smell the flowers deep in bloom, That the
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Tackling violence
THE idea of a wife battering her husband has long been the stuff of comedian's jokes. But violence in the home is never funny. Now, in the wake of a Government initiative called Living Without Fear, which involves a £6 million cash injection to agencies
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Welephant man still in big demand
BOB Graham from Bury jets all over the world as a leading fire expert. As Assistant County Fire Officer for Greater Manchester he had operational command of 41 stations and over 2,000 firefighters protecting 2.5 million people. He's also well known as
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Street actor stars in 'gay Jesus' play
BOLTON actor Stephen Billington, right, is set to stir up a storm of controversy in his new role. Stephen, who played Coronation Street bad guy Greg Kelly, is set to cause fresh storm in a play which portrays Jesus as gay. Stephen who once lived in New
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Why was this plan pushed?
IT has now been some months since Winter Hey Lane was put back to normal and I for one am glad to see things back as things were. However, despite reading all the local council reports, press reports, meetings with councillors, officers and others who
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New bid to find murderer
A NEW bid has been launched to find the brutal killer of Bury pensioner Shirley Leach. A Sunday newspaper has offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the murderer. Mrs Leach, aged 66, was discovered strangled and
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Barbara says thanks
AN AMERICAN student who has just gained a PhD in Bolton has said thank you to hundreds of Boltonians who helped her with her studies. Barbara Deguzis has just returned to Conneticut in the USA after staying for five years in Bolton to complete her doctorate
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From the BEN files
25 YEARS AGO THE Home Secretary, Mr Roy Jenkins, this afternoon rejected in the Commons a request to introduce capital punishment for crimes of terrorism. A WOULD-BE rapist chose unwisely when he picked up a pretty 19-years-old hitchhiker near Bratislavia
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REVIEW: REM at the MEN Arena, Saturday
By Karen Stephen MOST people usually use the support act slot to down a drink or two at the bar. But when the support band is Teenage Fanclub, you take your seat pretty pronto and jostle for a drink later. The Scottish band who years ago could only manage
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High five set to go to the wire
THE Bolton Association produced the first of what is inevitably going to be a series of twists and turns on the way to settling the championship issue. Golborne and Elton started the day at the head of the table; both lost leaving the way open for Walshaw
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Mice and moggies
WHY is it that when the BEN run a story about a cat, you refer to the animal as a moggie! Do you now know that moggie is Lancashire dialect for a mouse? Moggies are mice and cats are moggie-catchers. So please, let's have it right, and please stop spreading
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Mast for mobiles 'thin edge of wedge'
A BROMLEY Cross councillor is backing residents who want plans scrapped for a mobile phone mast deemed too big and "dangerous to health". Cllr Alan Wilkinson says the number is now up for the 25-foot high phone pole, which residents claimed was "disguised
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Thunderflash destroys grave
MILITARY-style thunderflashes destroyed a gravestone in a Lowton church yard at the weekend. Other similar explosives are though to be the cause of a series of mystery explosions in other areas of Greater Manchester. The firework-like incendiaries appliances
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Child's play time ruined
WE live in a block of flats owned by the local council and today, as the weather was hot and sunny, we allowed our great-granddaughter, who we had visiting us, to play in the communal garden. Within half-an-hour she had to be brought in covered from head
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I want to stay - Cobian
JUAN Cobian has set his Latin heart on helping Wanderers make up for their Wembley nightmare with another determined promotion push next season. The Argentine defender is nursing a foot injury after a 35-minute trial at Stoke on Saturday. But he is confident
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There's been no gain from Europe
I FULLY endorse your two previously printed letters regarding our continued membership of the EEC. The average British citizen has not gained one iota in the last 20 odd years through our involvement. We would be more than foolish to gain a single currency
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Battlefields of Europe
THE WAR Research Society is run mainly by retired and serving police officers and ex-servicemen as a charitable hobby. It was founded many years ago and supports a number of causes including the Commonwealth War Graves, Normandy Widows and Veterans. We
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Survey eases £35m plan fears
DESIGNER shopping villages have not had a dramatic effect on other town centres, a BEN survey has revealed. As already reported, Bolton Council's planning officers are going to contact local authorities where similar developments have been set up before
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Disappointed in town's policing
I AM a pensioner, registered disabled, and I wish to express anger and contempt towards the individuals and forces within our society who have permitted street policing to deteriorate in the way it has for the past 30 years. Recently, I became a target
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Telephone trouble
A TELEPHONE company is ringing the changes to its plans to erect a 50 foot high mobile phone mast in Heaton . . . but is still engaged in battle with angry residents. BT Cellnet is spending more money than originally planned to redesign its proposal for
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Fight against domestic violence launched
Violent women turning tables MORE women are turning the domestic violence tables in Bolton . . . and beating up their husbands. The shock news has been given by a Bolton organisation after a Home Office announcement that £6million will be made available
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Superstore to create 40 jobs
FORTY full and part-time jobs will be created when the 94th Great Mills DIY Superstore opens on the Middlebrook Retail Park, Lostock at the end of October. The new store will be 33,000 square feet with a 15,000 square foot garden centre. The company,
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Generous folk boost appeal
LAST September, you kindly printed an article about the Land Purchase Fund which I set up in aid of the "Only Foals and Horses" Sanctuary in Oswaldtwistle. The aim was to raise one million 20 pences which would realise the £190,000 needed to buy the land
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The world has really gone mad
THE Brighton bomber, a man who tried to murder members of the democratically elected Government, is released as part of a democratic peace process. A man convicted on six counts of supplying hard drugs avoids prison because he is suffering from HIV. Now
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Top marks for school
THE result of the Ofsted report on Affetside Primary School will confirm the suspicions of many people that big is not necessarily beautiful in education. The village school with just 65 pupils has managed to improve its standards in the last three years
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Tonge make their move
TONGE turned up the heat on the Bolton League's top teams as they slipped ominously, and almost unnoticed, into second place behind leaders Egerton. The champions of the last three seasons would dearly love to take it for a fourth time but their early
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Glennie's groomed to be guiding star
GLENNIE is just a cute little puppy - or is she? She bounces along the road, tail wagging, and plays with her lead in the garden. But in another nine months, she'll be the "eyes" of a blind person. Janet Winstanley, from Longsight, Harwood, is her puppywalker
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Haunts of the ghosts of Bolton
SPOOKS, ghouls and things that go bump in the night, whether good or bad, can be seen and heard haunting the nooks and crannies of Bolton. Old halls, pubs, farms and theatres - all have tales of blood curdling spectres making their presence known. And
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Burns woman fights for life
A WOMAN was fighting for her life in hospital today after her nightdress caught fire in a freak accident at her Bury home. Miss Sarah Cunningham, aged 27, was turned into a human fireball as her clothing caught fire. Firefighters believe the badly burned
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MAY I bring to your attention an exciting charitable event of which I have recently become a Trustee
The Island Race represents the challenge of the Millennium. Taking place over 100 days between May and August 2000, it will involve a series of runners completing the four and a half thousand miles around the coast of Britain. I have no doubt that this
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What's on in and around Bolton
Tuesday Theatre, music & dance BOLTON Music Service activities at Bolton Music Centre, The Deane School, New York, Bolton include Bolton Youth Stage Band, 7.30pm-9.30pm; Bolton Beginners Brass Band, 5.45pm-7.15pm; Bolton Training Orchestra, 6.30pm
