MAY I take this opportunity to thank Mr John Shepley, Deputy Director of Leisure Services, and Cllr Gerry Riley, Chairman of Leisure Services Committee, for their speedy action in renovating the Loyals War Memorial in Queens Park and the cleaning of the
MILLENNIUM celebrations in a Bolton village will look LARGER than anywhere else - after a telescope is installed. Villagers in Affetside are putting in the telescope as part of their plans to build a Millennium green. The telescope will point out across
TWO Bolton-based firefighters were injured when their off-road specialist tender skidded on ice and struck a garden wall. The accident, which happened in Lowercroft Road, Bury, occurred when they were responding to a road traffic accident in nearby High
I REFER to the photograph in the BEN on page 6, December 21, and the story headed: Bottle bin dumping ground I would like to say how annoyed I was to read that Cllr John Hanscomb has decided to stop recycling because the recycling bins are full. Surely
PAUL Ritchie is on standby as Sam Allardyce plans to get mean in the new millennium. The Wanderers' boss confirmed today that he is considering changing his defensive formation for the trip to Walsall next Monday and the Scotland international could figure
MY husband served with the Chindits in Burma. When the War was over, he brought home a poem entitled The Legend of Mad Carrew. I remember this verse, but am not sure, as it is 50 years ago since I read it: There's a little yellow idol, To the north of
RELATIVES of two Bury children, killed when the police car they were travelling in crashed, today spoke of their tragic loss. Neza Price, aged four, and his sister Claudette, aged two, died in the horrific Boxing Day smash in County Durham. Their brother
CAN you tell me what Cliff Richard has done that is wrong? To combine two lovely songs in such a lovely way - Auld Lang Syne is a lovely tune of friendship and love, and lots of churches sing The Lord's Prayer in some kind of way - sounds lovely. And
MAY I congratulate B Stuart (BEN, December 21) upon his/her very articulate comments regarding the present plans to form a non-elected nine-person cabinet. I, and I am sure many other people, will agree that too much power in one place - especially a
SICK workers face the sack for taking time away from their jobs under new rules by Bolton council, according to professional workers union, Unison. It claims council employees face being disciplined and could even lose their jobs just for being ill after
IN THE true spirit of Christmas many BEN readers contacted Marie Grady with offers of a lift to drive her across the Pennines to see her husband, Raymond, who is in a Halifax hospital. We are not surprised. The kindness and generosity of Bolton folk is
Why take Christ out of Christmas, And call it Xmas Day; Send Christmas cards with holly on, Or Santa in his sleigh? Just think of the reason for Christmas, When you wake on Christmas morn. For this is a very special day - It's the day when Jesus was born
PRESENTATIONS were made to two familiar faces who 'chalked up' their final appearances at Bolton schools recently. Teacher, Annie Marshall, from St Maxentius School, Harwood, and dinner lady, Joyce Fletcher, from Clarendon Primary School, Bolton, were
A YOUNG passenger died in an horrific crash in treacherous driving conditions. Student Craig Jessop, aged 20, was killed when the car he was travelling in was involved in a collision with a lorry. Mr Jessop of Bowen Street, Halliwell, had to be cut free
25 YEARS AGO THE shutdown of the Aston Martin car firm had been the only honourable course open to its directors, its managing director said today. He was addressing the 500 workers who are now without jobs from the firm's Newport Pagnell plant in the
WE'RE nothing if not versatile in Bolton. And the town's booming leisure and retail industry is proof of that. Many of the traditional industries which kept Bolton's workers in jobs are long gone or severely restricted. And while it has been sad this
LEISURE, SPORT AND KEEP FIT BOLTON Excel, Lower Bridgeman Street, tel: 334456: 50+ badminton, table tennis, squash and gym, 1pm-3pm; body conditioning, 2pm-3pm; step, 6pm-7pm; aerobics, 7pm-8pm. DEANE Leisure Centre, Junction Road, Deane, tel: 656033:
A VALUABLE bird stolen in a break-in at a Bolton shop could die unless it is handled properly. Staff at Petsmart in Manchester Road fear the African Gray parrot taken on Sunday night could be in the hands of someone who can't look after it. Thieves broke
ON October 7 this year, two young men, Gareth Edwards and Joseph Slupski, tragically lost their lives on the Grane Road. The loss of these two friends has left a gaping hole in our lives, which will never be fully healed. But with the passing of time
AFTER reading the BEN on December 8 regarding the 16 million pounds Bolton council have to spend on the Bolton area, it just made me think where they plan on spending it, or should I say (wasting it)? You see they only seem to spend all the money on the
READER Stuart Waddington says pensioners should stop moaning (BEN, November 12), and has got the impression he is picking up the tab for them. This is not so. The only tab he is picking up, and he's not alone in this, is for the influx of people who came
MRS HARDING says I assume that everyone on benefits is struggling. Well no, even I am not so naive. But I don't write letters about these people, because, well, they're doing all right, so to speak. However, now that Mrs Harding has brought this group
I WRITE in reply to the comments about the two gay men bringing up the children from the surrogate mother. This is not what God likes or wants. It's not the way life should be, and now women don't like what is happening more and more. There are also lesbians
The Government grant for music in Bolton is both welcome and well deserved. Bolton has been awarded £311,000 to protect existing services and £247,500 to fund the second year of ambitious plans. Anyone who has seen our young musicians perform at the many
THE only thing left for the Labour councillors to do in Bolton is paint the elephants on Newport Street white. This will accurately symbolise the town they have created for you. J Smith Lord Avenue Manchester Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000
THE TITLE of the poem which starts 'There's a one-eyed yellow idol to the north of Katmandu....' is 'The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God'. Every section ends with 'It was the green eye of the little yellow god". At one time it was popular recitation
A WANDERERS mad pub has pledged its allegiance to the Super Whites . . . on a permanent basis. The Queens Head in Horwich, well known for its football-mad drinkers, has been transformed into a Bolton Wanderers theme pub. Over the years the regulars at
WATCHDOGS have praised the "impressive" way staff at a Bolton primary school have managed to carry on with their lessons, even though they are working on a building site. Ofsted say management at Masefield Primary in Little Lever have managed to protect
A YEAR 2000 party will mark celebrations of a multi-million Lottery grant to Bolton Lads and Girls club. The BEN broke the news that £3.7 million had been awarded to the 110 year old club, to fund the majority of a proposed new club HQ. It means the youth
WHEN seaman Bill Brazier quit the Merchant Navy in 1970 the thrill of the waves never left him. So, in a bid to recapture his time on the world's oceans, the 65-year-old turned his sea faring hands to making replicas of the ships on which he loved to
A BOLTON man who first studied science at Thornleigh Salesian College in Sharples and is now the head of a multi-million pound breast cancer research lab has had a Royal appointment. Dr Alan Ashworth, 39, who grew up in Tonge Moor where his parents and
By Gordon Sharrock: Bolton Wanderers 1, WBA 1 FRANCK Passi has awarded Claus Jensen the Gallic seal of approval. "Platini - pure Platini!" the Frenchman enthused, drawing comparisons with his fellow countryman and personal hero - one of the game's all-time
I FELT that I must write and explain myself to David Woods who replied to a letter that I wrote some while ago. Firstly, no, I am NOT trying to say that goodness is attributed to God and evil to the Devil - it was a simple play on words. Secondly, I do
Tonight an angel came to me, And sat upon my bed. Her radiant smile cast over me, A spell of peacefulness. She spoke to me of life on earth, And cherished ones she'd left. The passing she had feared so much, That was filled with tenderness. I felt her
