As I lay in bed unable to speak and with no feeling in my right arm, I feared it might be the end of my broadcasting career. I think the most frightening thing was to realise that I could not have a conversation as my whole job is about communications
I READ the Bolton Evening News on the internet as often as possible to keep me informed on events in and around my home town. The closing of Whiteheads came as no surprise, as, during my last visit, almost two years ago, I visited Trafford Park Mall and
I AM well aware that a well planned and balanced scheme is necessary to manage the traffic problems of the Bolton town centre. Any plan should include parking facilities, particularly for the disabled and elderly. Several letters on this matter have recently
I WRITE with deep concern regarding the many roads and pavements around Bolton, especially around the local schools. I cannot believe they are still covered with deep amounts of wet, slippery leaves which must have fallen a month or so ago. Each day I
DESPITE all the campaigns and TV horror images of dead and mutilated people, there are still some people who will get behind the wheel, even though they know full well they are over the drink driving limit. Each Christmas and New Year there is a rise
BOLTON'S run-down school buildings are set to benefit from a cash windfall of almost £1 million. But although the grant is the seventh largest to be handed out in the North-west, one headteacher claims it would take at least half of it just to repair
A COMPUTER consultant from Dublin is hoping a dedicated Bolton Wanderers fan will snap up a website named after the football club. Brendan O'Neill currently owns the registration of the internet domain www.boltonwanderers.com Self-employed internet expert
OCTAGON THEATRE, Bolton. The Owl And The Pussycat - Christmas panto runs from November 30 to January 13. Ring Bolton 520661. OPERA HOUSE, Manchester. Aid and Tosca. Runs to Saturday November 25. Tickets £8 to £39.50. Performanches 7.15pm. Tel 0161 242
A BOLTON company has been awarded a £3.2 million contract to refurbish the Tilbury to Gravesend cable tunnel. Amco Donelon -- a specialist tunnelling and civil engineering division of Amalgamated Construction Company of Barnsley -- will start work on
A WELL-KNOWN Bolton company is investing in a new £1.1 million warehouse. The 55,000 sq ft structure is taking shape at the Verna Group's site in Folds Road. It is an investment for the future at a business which has grown consistently since it was established
A MAN was killed on the track just yards from a railway station north of Bolton last night. The decapitated body of the man, believed to be aged 48, was discovered about 400 yards south of Bromley Cross railway station. British Transport Police were called
A WESTHOUGHTON man fighting for his life in hospital after suffering severe burns in a gas explosion is beginning to respond to treatment. Albert Heys, aged 54, of Allenby Grove, is still on the critical list at the Royal Preston Hospital more than a
REMOVAL vans rolled up this week to clear the fixtures and fittings from Leigh Royal British Legion club. The Windermere Road building, once one of the premier social clubs in the area and renowned for its Wednesday night social evenings, is being put
PATIENTS at the Royal Bolton Hospital are being assured that hygiene standards are up to scratch. It comes in the wake of a damning report claiming 5,000 patients-a year-are dying from hospital infections. Health officials say a team of infection controllers
JOHN BULLEN reports on local soccer's tale of woe caused by the weather and the contingency plans made by the Bolton Sunday League and the Bolton Boys Federation. IN the last seven weeks Bolton Sunday League were scheduled to play a total of 104 games
From the BEN files... 25 YEARS AGO A TOWN centre office block is to be renamed to mark the sealing of Bolton's twinning links with Le Mans and the German town of Paderborn. The office block, Victoria House in the Civic Centre, will be renamed Paderborn
ALBERT HALLS, Bolton. Ring 334400. GRANGE ARTS CENTRE, Rochdale Road, Oldham. Ring 0161 911 4072. LYRIC THEATRE, The Lowry, Salford. Ring 0161 876 2000. QUAYS THEATRE, The Lowry, Salford. Ring 0161 876 2000. STOREY GALLERY, Meeting House Lane, Lancaster
EMERGENCY service bosses are back from a fact-finding trip Down Under to ensure the Commonwealth Games pass off safely. Fire and ambulance chiefs travelled to Sydney to pick up tips from Olympic organisers to ready the region for the influx of athletes
BRIAN Iddon failed to vote on a key issue for the first time in his political life. The Bolton South East MP abstained in a vote over Government proposals to charge overseas residents seeking visas for family visits to the UK up to £500 if they wish to
THE introduction of a European single currency would cost the Royal Bolton Hospital more than £64,000. Research by the town's NHS Trust shows that it would take one person nearly five-and-a-half years to implement the changes, should the people of the
A PROJECT to bring education opportunities to a Bolton community has been hailed as a huge success -- less than two months after opening its doors. When members of the council's Community Education Service (CES) first sent outreach workers to Tonge Moor
DEPRIVED areas of Bolton are being given a major Government boost. Sure Start Bolton is aimed at giving children a better start in life in by helping both them and their families in what are officially called "socially deprived" areas across the country
QUAYS THEATRE, The Lowry, Salford. Tickets £10. Ring 0161 876 2000. THE MET, Market Street, Bury. Ring 0161 761 2216. BLUE CAT CAFE, Shaw Rd, Heaton Moor, Stockport, 0161 432 2117. FROG AND BUCKET, Oldham St, Mcr, 0161 236 9805. QUAY BAR, Deansgate Quay
MEN ARENA, Manchester. Nov 25, Tom Jones, tickets £25.50 and £22, starts 8pm. Also, December 1, AC/DC. Also, Friday December 15 and Saturday December 16, Five, tickets £18.50; Also, Monday December 18, Chris De Burgh, tickets £25 and £22.50. Also, Tuesday
I WOULD like to express my sincere appreciation for the performance at the Millennium Kids Praise on November 9. To all the organisers, sponsors, teachers and children, I say a big 'Thank You' for all your efforts. I was pleased to see it was well supported
I WAS walking to St Peter's Church on Sunday evening at 6.15pm along Church Road. It was a shock to see in the road crash pictures in the BEN on Monday, how close I had come to being an accident victim. It makes you realise how short life can be and that
IT'S thanks to the inactivity of the Tory Party over the last 18 years, that the former Prisoners of War in Japanese hands have recently received their just deserves from a Labour Government after a few short years -- not from the Japanese. Brian Iddon
ALBERT Hornby asks me if, after reading his views, I still believe his assessment of MP Ruth Kelly's chances at the next election are "nonsense". In a word, Albert -- yes. Ruth Kelly is a bright young lady. She knows she has the ability to do very well
MAY I pass on the top ten tips from the majority of Bolton road users. It seems few drivers, but I must stress only a few, have not quite come to terms with road usage in the new millennium. 1. Try not to wear out your indicators, use them sparingly to
TRAVEL and tourism students from Bolton Sixth Form College got a taste of life inside the town's new high profile hotel. The group was invited to take a look behind the scenes at the DeVere Whites Hotel at the Reebok Stadium. The visit was a vital part
HOTELS and restaurants in the North West are swamped by rules and regulations requiring more than a thousand pages of guidance notes from eleven Government departments, it is claimed. According to chartered accountants, who advise small businesses in
CROWDS flocked to see Coronation Street star Vicky Entwistle light up Bury's Mill Gate Shopping Centre with festive cheer last night. Vicky, who plays long-suffering Janice Battersby, was joined by the Mayor and Mayoress of Bury, Cllr Bill Johnson and
A DRIVER escaped serious injury when he lost control of his lorry on a wet road and crashed through a stone wall into a community garden. The Mercedes lorry ground to a halt halfway into the garden on the corner of Darwen Road and Hough Lane, Bromley
TRAVEL and tourism students from Bolton Sixth Form College got a taste of life inside the town's new high profile hotel. The group was invited to take a look behind the scenes at the DeVere Whites Hotel at the Reebok Stadium. The visit was a vital part
YEE-haa! Bolton man Kevin Cooper is celebrating after a book shop stocked up on his stories . . . from the Wild West. The 47-year-old may live in Deane, but two of his tales on sale now at Sweeten's deal with the adventures of cowboys and indians in America
YEE-haa! Bolton man Kevin Cooper is celebrating after a book shop stocked up on his stories . . . from the Wild West. The 47-year-old may live in Deane, but two of his tales on sale now at Sweeten's deal with the adventures of cowboys and indians in America
A HAVE-A-GO hero actor from the Bolton-based series Cops has been honoured by real-life police chiefs. Jack Marsden, 37, went to the aid of a woman cyclist in Manchester city centre when she was set upon by two men who stole her bike. Mr Marsden, who
ANTHONY Barness offered Sam Allardyce a ray of hope on the fitness front today when he refused to rule himself out of Saturday's Roses battle at Sheffield United. The Wanderers' defender, nursing a knee injury after returning at left back in Saturday's
BURY could stand to collect a vital windfall if Paul Butler leaves Sunderland for Wanderers or their First Division rivals Wolves. The Shakers inserted a 15 per cent sell-on clause in the transfer contract when they sold Butler to Sunderland and that
THE ALBERT HALLS, Bolton. Ring 334400. BRIDGEWATER HALL, Manchester. Ring 0161 907 9000. MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS ARENA, Manchester. AC/DC on December 1. Ring 0161 930 8000. The Beautiful South, Sunday December 17. Tickets £20. Savage Garden, Saturday
NATIONAL EXHIBITION CENTRE, Birmingham. Autotech 2000. An exhibition of automotive technology including research, prototyping, plastics, software and paint. To Thursday November 23. Ring 01707 278200. Also, Festive Gift Fair. A variety of Christmas gifts
HILLTOPS SPORTS AND SOCIAL CLUB, Hill Lane, Blackrod. Budding musicians come and play your own arrangements and compositions, Wednesday evenings from 7.30pm. For more details ring Bolton 692702. THE WATERMILLOCK, Crompton Way, Bolton. Live music every
LEISURE, SPORT AND KEEP FIT B OLTON Excel, Lower Bridgeman Street, tel: 334456: 7.30am-10.30pm. DEANE Leisure Centre, Junction Road, Deane, tel: 334432: swimming lessons, 5.30pm-7.30pm; basketball drop-in coaching, 5.30pm-6.30pm. FARNWORTH Leisure Centre
ARC GALLERY STORE, Oldham Street, Manchester. Mon to Sat 10am to 6pm. Sun noon to 5pm. Adm free. Ring 0161 831 7454. ASTLEY CHEETHAM ART GALLERY , Trinity Street, Stalybridge. Open Mon to Fri (not Thurs) 1pm to 7.30pm, Sat 9am to 4pm. Tel 0161 338 2708
A TRIO of teenage girls who pick up litter as part of Bolton's environmental team are cleaning up at nights -- on the entertainment circuit. The teenagers from Westhoughton have created the group Sweet Dreams -- but are wide awake to the potential rewards
ROAD safety experts today waged war on Bolton's drink drivers, days after the BEN revealed the town's mounting crash death toll. Police, road safety officers and firefighters were at the launch of the latest government campaign against Greater Manchester's
A COMPUTER consultant from Dublin is hoping a dedicated Bolton Wanderers fan will snap up a website named after the football club. Brendan O'Neill currently owns the registration of the internet domain www.boltonwanderers.com Self-employed internet expert
A TAXI driver, pulled from his cab and robbed of his vehicle by thugs, is bravely refusing to quit his job. Jahangir Vali, who lives in Daubhill, became a taxi driver only three weeks ago. As revealed in the BEN last night, Mr Vali was dragged from his
ANEW luxury development is planned to restore a dilapidated Grade II listed building back to its former glory. Rundown Vale House on Market Street, Stoneclough, has stood as a magnate for vandals and arsonists since closing in 1987. Once the lavish home
MAY I please thank very much indeed, the kind-hearted person who looked after me and called the ambulance after my accident in Bank Street last Wednesday afternoon. A grateful Belmont pensioner
I WOULD like to welcome residents of Westhoughton to the lighting of the Christmas Tree at Ditchfield Gardens on Friday, December 1 at 7pm. Rev. Father P. Quinlan, together with Westhoughton High School Band and a choir of children from Westhoughton Primary
WHY do Bolton townsfolk celebrate Guy Fawkes Night with bangs, no, explosions, for a period of four weeks a year? The local wildlife must be coming towards extinction, and the domesticated animals, myself included, are fast becoming nervous wrecks. By
