Archive

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Bishop: Think of God when you vote

CHURCHGOERS should think about which candidates best serves Christian values when they vote in the General Election, says the Bishop of Hereford. Anthony Priddis has written to parishioners highlighting four key issues he thinks they should consider before

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Schools shake-up is 'a catastrophe'

FORTY-five schools will close and 30 re-open in their place as Wyre Forest adopts two-tier education from 2007, an independent schools panel confirmed. Worcestershire County Council announced its intention to overhaul the district's school system in July

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Come and talk about education

PARENTS from Worcestershire will be able to discuss their children's education with experts at an event thought to be a national first. Senior officers from Worcestershire County Council, teachers and governors will chat and offer advice and information

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19/4/05 - Striker poised for City return

CHRISTIAN Moore is excited at the prospect of making his long-awaited return to Worcester City. The 32-year-old striker could be a surprise inclusion in Saturday's squad to face champions-elect Droylsden at St George's Lane -- providing he gets the all-clear

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Sri Lankan star hungry for wickets

CHAMINDA Vaas flew into New Road warning Worcestershire's rivals -- 'I'm hungry for wickets'. The 31-year-old only touched down in England today following Sri Lanka's tour of New Zealand. However, the former World Cup winner is already geared up to spearhead

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Watkiss looking for grand finale

STUART Watkiss wants a high-tempo finale to Kidderminster Harriers' season in a last throw of the dice against relegation. The Harriers manager was delighted with their rousing weekend comeback against leaders Yeovil Town that conjured the equaliser among

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County slip up at home

WORCESTERSHIRE endured a bad day at the office as they lost three of their four pool matches at home against Northamptonshire. The men's 'A' team were narrowly beaten 23-21 in the Inter-County Region Five contest at Suzy Q, with Darren Brace named player-of-the-match

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She's got it all wrong

I CANNOT understand why you printed a letter from a Mrs Dearlove that was telling you that you had got a caption wrong on that old picture of the Infirmary published last week. Your caption was correct. Mrs Dearlove has got it all wrong (see picture on

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Politicians giving away freedoms

IN reply to D E Margrett, I must reiterate that many people of our generation fought the oppressor in two world wars in order to keep our freedom and sovereignty. Does he not realise after all this time that Germany tried twice to beat us into submission

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19/4/05 - Sri Lankan star hungry for wickets

CHAMINDA Vaas flew into New Road warning Worcestershire's rivals -- 'I'm hungry for wickets'. The 31-year-old only touched down in England today following Sri Lanka's tour of New Zealand. However, the former World Cup winner is already geared up to spearhead

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Blairs out in force for hospital visits

CHERIE Blair praised Worcester nurses' hard work tackling the spread of potentially deadly infections like MRSA. Her comments came during an election campaign visit to the city's Worcestershire Royal Hospital yesterday. Mrs Blair arrived in the city after

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Litter pick is bags of fun

AROUND 20 people, including some children, managed to collect 18 bags of rubbish from a Worcester nature reserve. The litter pick at Lyppard Grange, Warndon Villages, was part of the annual month-long Rubbish? Sort It! campaign, which is being organised

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St George slays the dragon - four times

ST GEORGE and his traditional adversary, the dragon, will be making a number of appearances outside Worcester's Guildhall this weekend. On Saturday, April 23, a play will be performed in the city as part of celebrations for England's patron saint's day

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Drop in property prices is slowing

HOUSE prices continued to fall in Worcester during March, though at a slower pace than in previous months, according to the latest housing market survey. Figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors show that in contrast to the previous month

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New members signal Scouts' revival

THE 16th Worcester Scout group, which was once in danger of losing its Beaver pack, has seen something of a revival. Tonight, at St Martin with St Peter's Parish Church, off London Road, the association is due to invest in three new Beavers, one Cub and

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EastEnder Patsy in tap dance play

THERE will be an invasion of top hats and coat tails in Malvern next month when foot-tapping comedy Stepping Out comes to the town's Festival Theatre. The play, which chronicles the ups and downs of a weekly Thursday night adult tap class, is being staged

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Collection for baby monitors

AN operatic society will raise money for a charity that helps parents who have lost children in cot deaths fight future miseries. The Worcester Operatic and Dramatic Society will be raising money for Care Of the Next Infant, a charity that buys breathing

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Nine fare dodgers shamed in posters

NINE fare dodgers from south Worcestershire have been "named and shamed" by a train company. Central Trains has put up posters around Birmingham stations featuring the names of more than 80 people caught without a ticket and who failed to pay a £10 penalty

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Such an exciting time for nursery

A NURSERY school in Worcester is enjoying a marvellous few months after a "wonderful" Ofsted report, successful relaunch and a new building on the way. Education inspectors visited Dines Green Family Care Group, now Tudor Way Children's Centre, in February

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19/4/05 - Tough time for Preece as retained list looms

ANDY Preece has made many tough decisions at St George's Lane -- but his most painful assignment looms just around the corner. Managers up and down the country brace themselves to tackle the same pre-summer dilemma when the last ball of the football season

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Where's the cash going?

OPINION, whether heard on the High Street, radio phone-ins or in the office canteen, is divided on the collapse of MG Rover. Of its collapse, of course, there can be no doubt. But whether or not the Government should be stepping in with great wedges of

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Vaas called up to pep County

WORCESTERSHIRE will target Aussie ace Mike Hussey at Durham tomorrow. The County, who won their opening Frizzell County Championship Division Two clash at Derby last week, travel to the Riverside hoping to maintain their 100 per cent record. And, bolstered

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Striker poised for City return

CHRISTIAN Moore is excited at the prospect of making his long-awaited return to Worcester City. The 32-year-old striker could be a surprise inclusion in Saturday's squad to face champions-elect Droylsden at St George's Lane -- providing he gets the all-clear

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Turner targets a Woking win

HEREFORD United chief Graham Turner has called on his side to "finish the job" at Woking tonight and book their Nationwide Conference play-off place (7.45). The Bulls require just one point from their last two games to cement a top-five spot. But United

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Lock Tisdale to lead county's title quest

FORMER Worcester lock Nick Tisdale is set to captain Worcestershire and Herefordshire in their opening match of this season's RLF North Midlands Championship against Greater Birmingham at Droitwich tonight (7.30). Tisdale, now Stourbridge's second team

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Dolphins swim to play-offs

DROITWICH Dolphins exceeded all expectations by reaching the top-six play-off final in this year's Worcester Winter Swimming League. Despite finishing sixth in a league of 18, Dolphins can reflect on a number of good individual and relay swims in the

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Take up the baton and help transform teaching

AN opportunity to "transform" education in Worcestershire arrived at county schools yesterday in the guise of an ordinary-looking letter. Headteachers looking through the post will have seen the missive from the f40 fair funding group and, with any luck

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19/4/05 - Watkiss looking for grand finale

STUART Watkiss wants a high-tempo finale to Kidderminster Harriers' season in a last throw of the dice against relegation. The Harriers manager was delighted with their rousing weekend comeback against leaders Yeovil Town that conjured the equaliser among

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Poor grasp of language

AN election approaches and, as usual, the candidates bicker uselessly and berate their opponents. However, all parties fail because none proposes to teach all four of the national languages of Great Britain. Television phone-in programmes prove that technology

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So sorry Sarg... the Scala scallywag has scarpered

IT was just after 10pm on a Sunday when the Scala Cinema closed, and like most nights after the war, the place had been packed. Soon after the patrons had stood for the National Anthem and piled out in their droves, a large van arrived outside and the

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19/4/05 - Vaas called up to pep County

WORCESTERSHIRE will target Aussie ace Mike Hussey at Durham tomorrow. The County, who won their opening Frizzell County Championship Division Two clash at Derby last week, travel to the Riverside hoping to maintain their 100 per cent record. And, bolstered

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Here's your chance to race dragon boat

COMPANIES and organisations are being invited to get all fired up for this year's dragon boat racing challenge. The event takes place at the Severn Boat Festival, to be held in Worcester from July 29-31. Worcester racecourse, and the adjoining River Severn

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Lloyd given major role at insurers

A FERNHILL Heath businessman has been appointed regional manager by Combined Insurance, the second largest provider of individual accident insurance in the UK. Andrew Lloyd's role will be to expand the firm's accident sales operation in the Midlands.

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It's Jane's dream come true

A HOUSE builder came to the rescue of a woman who experienced every home-buyer's nightmare when her chain fell through. Laing Homes had built Jane Green's dream home on The Waterfront in Droitwich but the 50-year-old PA, from Birmingham, feared she would

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Spice up your life with trip to India for sake of Acorns

CHARITABLE folk are being urged to slip on their walking boots and take part in a 10-day trek in India to raise cash for a children's hospice. Acorns Children's Hospice - which opened a new centre for children with life-limiting illnesses in Worcester's

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Smart start for Chamber at new base

CRAFTSMANSHIP and talent came to the fore when a host of local companies transformed an out-of-use building into smart new offices. No less than seven Herefordshire and Worcestershire firms worked almost around the clock to transform the building, on

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MG ROVER VICTIMS' £50 DAILY LIFELINE

MORE than 100 businesses in the region are in crisis after the collapse of MG Rover, it has been revealed. Eligible firms will, for the next 30 days, be handed a £50-an-employee daily lifeline to help them through. The Chamber of Commerce Herefordshire

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We don't want a Lidl in our town

ANGRY traders have slated plans to build a supermarket in the heart of Malvern Link, saying it will destroy their businesses. The scheme for the former Eurohaus garage in Worcester Road, Malvern Link, is due to come before Malvern Hills District Council's

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It's dog eat dog at Croome show

DOG lovers are being invited to take their furry four-legged friends along to Croome Park, near Pershore, on Saturday when it will host a day of canine events. There will be competitions to find the scruffiest mutt, "waggiest" tail, "slobberiest" chops

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Halle-loo-jah! Church finally gets its toilet

THERE will be celebrations in Powick this weekend to mark the completion of £24,000 improvements at the village church. After several years of fund-raising and the help of several grants, St Peter's Church now has a new toilet and a kitchen. The project

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ELECTION 2005: MID-WORCESTERSHIRE

PETER LUFF, CONSERVATIVE AWEEK into the campaign and I think I've visited every corner of the constituency and met a wide cross-section of local people - but there is remarkable consistency of view on the doorsteps of Mid Worcestershire. People don't

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Garden pair on road to Chelsea

A WINNING landscape gardening team has reformed in a bid to build a gold-medal garden at this year's Chelsea Flower show. TV gardener and designer Chris Beardshaw - who has previously won gold at the show - asked Rupert Keys to build up his design, which

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Charlie Chaplin puppet returns

MALVERN Museum staff are delighted after being given an antique puppet which is part of the town's history - no strings attached. The two-and-a-half-foot high "tramp clown" marionette - said to bear a passing resemblance to Charlie Chaplin - was donated

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Don't look at crashes

MOTORISTS are being warned not to slow down and stare at road accidents because it can create further problems. The practice of "rubbernecking" also adds to congestion, says the County Air Ambulance. Paul Weir, the charity's fundraising manager, said

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Children unhurt in bus crash

A SCHOOL bus was involved in a crash on a busy Worcestershire road. Children were not hurt in the collision, which happened at about 8.25am yesterday between Bransford and Leigh Sinton on the A4103. A man and woman who were in a blue Volkswagen Polo estate