– ENTER NOW
In partnership with the Ferndown Potato Pants Festival, Live:Ferndown is preparing for another sellout final at the Barrington Theatre next April. With 16 confirmed entries, the semi finals of the singing/music competition will be held at the Forest Inn on 13 October, 17 November and 19 January. A maximum of 21 acts can take part, so get your entry in now. Previous winners are Harmony Twist, EmmaJane Toop, Amie Knight and Draconem. Check out the Facebook page or visit www.liveferndown.co.uk
Shoebox appeal launched The Help the Homeless Christmas shoebox appeal was launched on 2 September at Meridian Air Conditioning, 529 Ringwood Road, Ferndown – the collection point. You can drop off accessories such as socks, gloves and
hats, and confectionary as well as toiletries (no aerosols). “Full shoeboxes and full bags for life are welcome too,” says organiser Steve Lugg. Drop offs will be accepted during Meridian’s opening hours until 29 November.
Shoebox Appeal launch with Ferndown mayor Cllr Cathy Lugg, Suzanne Lovell from Meridian, Kath Osborne senior manager at the local homeless centre, Ben Pulford, secretary of Ferndown Chamber of Commerce and others
Celebrating the ash tree
The beautiful ash tree, which has proved so vital to human society down the ages, could soon disappear from the British Isles altogether due to ash dieback disease, and the Springhead Trust is running a six-day celebration of the tree before it’s too late. Large swathes of ash trees have already been decimated in the east of the country and before the south west suffers the same fate, Fontmell Magna-based Springhead Trust, the rural centre for creative and sustainable living, is running a six-day celebration of the ash in Dorset and Wiltshire, including on Cranborne Chase AONB. Running from 10-15 October, the event will include an ashthemed photographic and art exhibition, two-day conference, and musical events with the chance to don headphones and listen to the internal workings of a live ash tree. Additionally, there will be a field trip to view ash trees and the opportunity to take part in an innovative treerecording project using a single iPhone. For more information visit www.springheadtrust.org.uk
Bournemouth drug dealer jailed A man found in possession of more than 170 wraps of class A drugs when his car was stopped in Poole has been jailed for two years and two months. Marcus Daniel Straker, aged 37, was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on 31 August after pleading guilty to two offences of possession with intent to supply class A drugs. An officer witnessed a suspected drug deal in a Poole car park on 6 July involving a blue Citroen C3. When the officer approached, the car drove away at speed. Details of the vehicle were relayed to other officers and it was located in stationary traffic on Poole Road. An approaching officer saw the driver duck down toward his feet. It was suspected he was hiding something and he was asked to get out of the vehicle. A search of the car uncovered more than
Pudsey at the Barrington
Sniffing out the digital era
Dorset Police and Devon & Cornwall Police are once again at the cutting edge and leading the way in tackling crime. Hot off the heels of being the first police forces in the UK to set up a dedicated drone unit, the operations department has now announced that it has trained two digital storage detection police dogs. Tweed and Rob have been added to the ranks. Tweed a 19-month-old springer spaniel and Rob a 20-month-old black labrador are the first police dogs in the UK, and the only dogs outside of the USA, to be trained to detect digital storage devices. Chief Superintendent Jim Nye, commander for the Alliance Operations Department, said, “This is an historic step for the alliance and policing in the UK. These dogs will give the police a new way to fight the threat of terrorism, paedophiles and fraudsters. “Tweed and Rob have been used by police at crime scenes and executions of warrants, not just within Cornwall, Devon and Dorset, but across the whole UK. “The dogs have been used to sniff out data
devices such as mobile devices, USB sticks, SD cards, hard drives and computers. “Once again, we have shown that we are prepared to look at new technology and will always strive to get one step ahead to tackle criminality.” Rob and Tweed are part of a trial and the forces will assess the success of these dogs and their new skills at the end of 2017.
Tweed
£160 in cash, three mobile phones and a bag containing a number of wraps. Straker was arrested. A total of 173 wraps were found – 90 containing a brown powder that tested positive for heroin and 83 containing a white powder that tested positive for cocaine. On one of the phones a number of messages were found that suggested an involvement in the supply of drugs.
Quacking event
People flocked to Bournemouth’s Cumberland Hotel on 17 September to see 800 rubber ducks floating in its outdoor pool waiting to be netted for charity. By the time the last duck had been captured, £3,590 had been raised for Macmillan Caring Locally and the Bournemouth Hospital Charity. The Cumberland teamed up with the Marsham Court Hotel to stage the ‘quacky’ event and 1,000 visitors turned up. Rosie Wallace, manager of the Marsham Court said, “Our huge thanks go to everyone who came and the dozens of local businesses including hotels, restaurants, attractions, shops, catering firms and food businesses, which donated £35,000 of prizes. We could not have done it without them.” It cost £5 to net a duck and each one represented a prize worth at least £5.
Join Pudsey Bear at the Variety Performance on 24 November in the Barrington Theatre, Ferndown and help raise funds for BBC Children in Need. Organised by Warren Brown, the event will include a tribute to the late Sir Terry Wogan. Children will be able to have their photographs taken with Pudsey prior to the performance and during the interval. A packed programme includes Jenny Oag, Wimborne St Giles First School Choir, Catherine Gray, Paul Michael, Phoenix Junior, Lily Meads, Polz Apart and much more. Book tickets for this Children in Need event at the Barrington box office.
Visit www.mags4dorset.co.uk for more local news
Pudsey with Jules ©Catchbox 2016
Live:Ferndown
| 35