LEIGH Centurions' fans have been publicly praised for their support during Boxing Day's Hilton Park thriller against Widnes Vikings. A crowd of 4468 - Leigh's highest for almost six years - braved driving rain to cheer their team to a 24-16 opening day
THE plight of a Farnworth woman facing Christmas alone after her husband was rushed to hospital in Halifax has touched the hearts of local people. The heart-rending story, reported in the BEN on Christmas Eve, caused a flood of well-wishers to offer to
STAFF at a Bolton primary school have taken the usual 'could do better' messages to heart and made good progress since their last inspection. School watchdogs found that Brandwood CP has improved since their last visit in May 1996 and the commitment to
A DECADE after inheriting a stagnant leisure industry, Peter Stybelski believes Bolton is now a "happening place." In total, £40 million a year now floods into Bolton through tourism and more than 17,000 people are employed in the town's leisure and retail
WANDERERS were today warned to be wary of the hidden dangers posed by crisis club West Brom. The Black Country club has major problems on and off the field with no cash to improve a side which is in freefall after eight games without a victory. But Reebok
MUSIC teachers in Bolton are celebrating an encore after winning a major cash boost for the second year running. Once again Bolton is one of the biggest winners in the latest round of Government grants to maintain and expand music services in the town
AN alarming rise in the number of vulnerable youngsters needing care has pushed Salford City social services to "potential crisis". As a result care chiefs are having to tackle a predicted £4.7 million overspend in their total £78 million budget. An emergency
FURIOUS huntsmen and anti-blood sport demonstrators exchanged angry words at the start of the annual Holcombe Hunt. More than 40 hunters on horseback clashed with up to 30 protesters, who were waving banners, placards and shouting insults. Mounted police
WANDERERS new boy Paul Ritchie experienced an unusual first day to his Wanderers career. The left sided defender, who is on a three-month loan from Hearts, met his teammates for the first time when they assembled for the Boxing Day trip to Port Vale.
ROMANIAN youngster Madalina Zapodeanu's dream 'to see the Queen and Big Ben' was granted today - thanks to the kind-hearted boss of an international airline. The eight-year-old who has been staying in Bolton for the past two years with Kath and David
WATER watchdogs are hoping for a green new year in the hope that Bolton people will resist dumping their unwanted Christmas items in the town's rivers. A bid to spruce up the town's waterways is underway as campaigners try to reduce the amount of rubbish
We have cause to remember at Christmas, The birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We remember the prize and the glory, Of the birth that was honoured that night. Though born in a meek and low stable, But surrounded by love near and far. It's a well remembered
There was a census, through that land, When the Virgin Mary, carried her son. From Nazareth they came, I understand, To register, as David's royal person. Only a bare stable, could Joseph find. To house them both, through the night. Here was born a son
FED up residents from St Helens Road have taken their fight for parking bays to the top. They have presented a petition containing more than 100 signatures to their MP Brian Iddon in the hope that political pressure will change the minds of transport
By Doreen Crowther, Showbusiness Correspondent THE star of a top, smash-hit musical is from Bolton. Paul Robinson plays movie star Don Lockwood (the Gene Kelly role in the film) in the West Yorkshire Playhouse's revival of Singin' in the Rain. Tall, dark
HEALTH bosses are issuing a stern warning to revellers expected to bring in the Millennium with a bang. Fireworks are now on sale well ahead of festivities in shops across Bolton and are expected to be the highlight of many New Year's Eve parties. But
AS the world prepares for a new Millennium there are still hundreds of thousands of displaced people who have had to flee their native homelands. Reporter DAVID CROOKES spoke to a family of Kosovan refugees who are making a new life in Bolton. THE middle-aged
BOLTON people are being urged to make a special New Year resolution - to help lonely local pensioners. Contact The Elderly is a national organisation with a well-established local branch. It offers monthly outings and tea at the home of a different host
AN angry parent has blasted education chiefs for declaring a busy lane as a safe walking route to school for children. Tom Heath is angry because councillors made their decision after taking a mini-bus along the lane mid morning. He says they should be
TILLS jingled as thousands of bargain hunters swarmed on Bolton town centre yesterday to make the most of the last sale of the century. And with many stores offering up to 50pc off, there were some real bargains to be found. Next, which opened its doors
Runs until February 5 DON'T miss this. A star is born as Paul Robinson makes his mark as film star Don Lockwood in a superb revival of this popular musical. For those who don't know the film of the same name, Singin' in the Rain recalls the changeover
BOLTON South East MP Brian Iddon is urging smokers to make a millennium resolution to "snub-out" their cigarettes. The Labour MP has joined the Cancer Research Campaign and members of the Smoking Control Network to launch a campaign to make 2000 the year
A DEVASTATED pensioner has told how she wished her neighbours of 50 years a Merry Christmas and never saw them again. Hours later Peter and Marjorie Waring, aged 72 and 73, were killed in a horrific road crash as they travelled to Hertfordshire to spend
RECENTLY, accompanied by four of my grandchildren, I visited the Octagon Theatre to see their production of Hansel and Gretel. The costumes and stage effects were fantastic. The acting was superb and the audience, consisting mostly of children, was completely
IN your picture of the two little girls at the water pump, the girl with the bucket is me - Mary Varley, six years old. The girl with the pram is my sister, Ellen. We lived at Fogg's Cottage at Overhouses with my mother, father and brothers. My father
THE FULL body scanner at Booth Hall Children's Hospital, provided by the generosity of the people of the North West, will be 10 years old at the beginning of January 2000. During the last 10 years the scanner has helped to save the lives of over 14,000
I WOULD like to reply to my and others' detractors who label us without any knowledge - always the tactic of the ignorant and biased! They don't know the meaning of objectivity. Has it occurred to these people, who criticise us for asking for justice
AS was widely reported last week, Bolton Council received an excellent housing capital settlement from Central Government which will enable us to make significant headway into improving the quality of Bolton's housing stock. Buried in the detail of the
THE RUBBISH collection after Christmas always seems massive but, what looks to us like the debris at the end of a feast, is the ideal spot for a Christmas dinner to many a small mammal. Bin bags are easily torn and, once inside, a little hedgehog in search
A VICAR is preparing himself for a change of scenery - from Little Lever to Africa. The Rev Simon Brandes, vicar at St Matthew's in Little Lever, will spend three months in Namibia next spring, working with bishops and being in temporary charge of a cathedral
SCHOOLS and community leaders have chosen the man they want to spearhead the new education action zone in Bolton next year. Liverpool based Gerry McKean will start work as the EAZ supremo some time in January. Over the next three years he will take charge
LITTLE Hulton and Walkden could be joined together under a shake-up in the number of community committees operating throughout Salford. The committees have been running for four years and enable councillors, officers, traders and residents to get together
PEOPLE have been flocking to Bolton's travel agents in a last minute bid to get away for the Millennium. Trade is up by as much as 100 per cent on the same period last year as travel companies drop their prices for last-minute bookings. With a fortnight
25 YEARS AGO From the Evening News, December 28, 1974 PENSIONERS living in a Bolton 'colony' of old people's flats and bungalows claim they live in isolation. There is no social centre near Yewdale Gardens and Yewdale Avenue, and no post or telephone
I APPEAL to sports fans in general, rugby fans in particular and also ex-citizens of Hull. Our famous rugby league club, Hull Kingston Rovers, has fallen on hard times. The Hull K.R. Supporters Group has raised thousands of pounds by raffles, auctions
Bolton BOLTON is booming with hundreds of jobs created in the town's leisure and retail industry over the last 12 months. The jobs have been created by the opening of a string of fitness centres, restaurants, pubs, shops and warehouses. Figures reveal
Marine 1, Leigh RMI 1 IT is as you were at the top of the UniBond Premier Division after a 1-1 draw at Rossett Park yesterday. But League leaders Leigh will regard it as two points lost rather than one gained after they outplayed Marine in the first half
CHILDREN at a Bolton primary school will be ringing in the Millennium in style. Pupils Chorley New Road CP are marking the turn of the century with a new clock for their bell tower. The new landmark is the brainwave of former parent governor and ex-pupil
HORWICH completed the South East Lancs Cross Country League with the club's women dominating as a team and the men's U50 team also taking a series win. The senior ladies had the closest battle, beating Rochdale by 14 points on the series whereas the the
CHRISTMAS time is nearly here The season of goodwill and cheer We put up and decorate the Christmas tree So that it is a pleasure for all to see We use tinsel and baubles bright And then add the fairy lights We cook mince pies and Christmas pud Which
FAMILY ties with Chorley Old Road Methodists go back along way for Jill Standish and her family, but she never dreamed she would be running the place. For Jill has just started as manager of the Big Top Play Centre converted from the shell of the old
NOW that the first part of this year's special festive celebrations are over, thoughts will be turning to the New Year. It's certainly a time of new beginnings for many people, and the kind of resolutions we'd hope to keep well into the Year 2000. But
LEISURE, SPORT & KEEP FIT BOLTON Excel, Lower Bridgeman Street, tel: 334456: ladies only, 1.30pm-3pm; aerobics, 6pm-7pm; yoga, 7.30pm-9pm. DEANE Leisure Centre, Junction Road, Deane, tel: 656033: junior swimming lessons, 5.30pm-7.30pm; weights inductions
