ON Tuesday July 20, I had time to spare and thought I would just count how many repeats were on TV. Why talk about increases in TV licences? I reckon it should be very much reduced as I counted 44 repeats in one day. It is time something was done about
A lighthearted look at life with Dave Silver "ANY idea what you're going to do when you leave school?" I was asked one fine spring morning in 1962. "Most definitely," I replied. "When I leave school I intend to catch the five-past four bus home." "Please
RECENTLY, you reported the announcement by the Government of a new public inquiry into the RJB Mining opencast mining application on the Cutacre site, under the heading: People power forces Government to think again over opencast pit. I was delighted
A SHOCKED patient says he was so disgusted by his stay on a psychiatric ward at the Royal Bolton Hospital that he is sending a dossier of complaints to Health Secretary Frank Dobson. Wayne Harding claims he was confronted by patients regularly undressing
BOLTON Metro councillors tell us there is no money and they have to make savings by closing schools and libraries, not repairing worn-out roads and pavements, putting off council house repairs to a later date, reducing Social Services, closing old people's
A PHANTOM "censor" has daubed out a rude word on posters advertising a new comedy spy film in Bolton. Today, giant posters at vantage points in the town had had the offending word in the title of "The Spy Who ******* Me" blotted out. Thick pink paint
IN my opinion, before your readers can make a fair judgement regarding the cost of councillors, we need to know the full facts. Are these councillors - 1. Already in a salaried job? 2. Do they work the average working week on council duties? 3. Are they
MARK Fish, whose future as a Bolton player is the subject of speculation and conjecture, remains out of the picture at the Reebok after missing the game at Cambridge on Saturday. The South African defender, who picked up a thigh strain in training last
BOLTON Council's Housing DLO - the organisation which carries out the local authority's building maintenance - has received the British Safety Council's Five Star safety award at a reception in Lincoln's Inn, London. Sir Neville Purvis, the British Safety
About one of your readers being led astray. They said they visited a Bolton store, But guess what they saw as they walked through the door? A creature of some sort, what can they mean, I hope they didn't shout or give a scream. But as we read further
THE plan by Bolton firm Web Dynamics Ltd to rebuild a Kosovan village sounds like an excellent idea. The firm, newly arrived in Blackrod, specialises in a revolutionary breathable construction fabric. This can be used to cover damaged rooftops and walls
A DRUNKEN schoolgirl was rescued by police after threatening to jump off a town centre building over the weekend. The 15-year-old was spotted teetering on a parapet at the top of the United Norwest, Co-op on Market Street, Atherton in the early hours
A MOTORCYCLIST was killed as he travelled home from a day trip to North Wales yesterday. Stephen Bellis, 50, of Wharfedale, Westhoughton, died after colliding with the central reservation on the eastbound carriageway of the A55 coast road, near Colywyn
DAISY Hill skipper Mark Buckley was content on a Saturday night for the first time since May after his Vimto Bolton Association side scraped home by nine runs over Spring View. The home side were dismissed for just 116 and another defeat looked on the
Leigh Centurions 32 Barrow Border Raiders 26 By Mike Hulme THE sighs of relief that echoed around Hilton Park at full time were almost deafening. Leigh just managed to edge out an enterprising Barrow side that caused the Centurions more problems than
LIKE many other people, I have been dismayed and very concerned about the proposed restrictions on the sale of vitamins and herbal remedies by the Medicines Control Agency. A while ago, I wrote to my MP, Dr Brian Iddon, expressing my concerns. Dr Iddon
IT is not surprising that Bolton Metro Finance Department take six months, or more, to pay local businesses for goods supplied when they have to budget for 18pc 'fat cat' councillors' pay rises. R. Lord Milverton Close, Bolton. Converted for the new archive
THE people of Leigh are being given a chance to have their say on the future shape of health services across the Wigan borough. Wigan and Bolton Health Authority is holding a series of public meetings to give local people the opportunity to talk to representatives
A YOUNG singing sensation is set for stardom with members of a top national choir. Jenny Howarth, nine, has just been picked to join the ranks of the National Children's Choir of Great Britain. It comes after a demo tape audition sent to members of the
STUDENTS at Bolton Institute have another reason to be happy with their choice of study - they drink the cheapest booze in the country. But, according to The Alternative Guide to British Universities, they would be better off supping their £1 pints in
WOULD it possible for the Bolton Chamber of Commerce to produce a leaflet listing places in the town where one can obtain a meal/snack without being blasted out by loud music? I visit Bolton periodically to see my family and have always enjoyed shopping
CAPTAINCY candidate Mike Whitlow says the players will not be distracted by the financial problems that are hanging like a cloud over Wanderers' build-up to the new season. "We might not be able to go out and buy million pound players but we still have
By Matthew Taylor ABOUT 13,000 young people in Bolton are expected to have some kind of mental problem before the age of 24. A report by Wigan and Bolton Health Authority shows young adults, teenagers and even children are suffering from a variety of
AN AMATEUR football club are to complain to the Chief Constable of Lancashire after a parking blitz outside their ground. About 40 players and spectators left a popular weekend derby cup clash to find they had been booked for parking on residential roads
I AM writing regarding the allowances Bolton councillors have received for their work. I am referring to Cllr Howarth and Cllr Foster. About two years ago, a very popular lollipop lady in Horwich had to retire as she had reached the age of 65. She didn't
A BOLTON neighbourhood has been stripped of the special historical status residents claim was bestowed on it more than 30 years ago when the Queen visited the area. And householders are so incensed they may write to let the Queen know what is happening
HOW can our town councillors justify an 18pc increase in their pay when they are always telling us that cuts have got to be made in nearly all the services expected by rate payers? I got a 2.9pc pay rise in April and, since then, my rent, rates and water
By Julie Freer A LANDOWNER is claiming that Bolton Council owes him almost £2 million after seizing land for a £60 million leisure development. The local authority did issue two cheques - one for £999,999 and one for £992,580 - but they were stopped before
Cambridge Utd 0 Wanderers 1 DEAN Holdsworth might never live up to the sky high price tag Colin Todd and Joe Kinnear negotiated in October 1997; transfers never come with guarantees but a £3.5 million fee does carry a certain weight of expectation. Pound
'It offers an excellent education and so much more...' ON the face of it Rita Liddell appears to be the kind of professional, middle class mum who fights tooth and nail to get her children into a school at the top of the league tables. Grammar school
CHAMPIONS Tonge are in the groove and back on top of the Fort James Bolton League after strugglers Horwich were contemptuously brushed aside as the champions raced to a nine wicket win. Professional Sikander continued where he left off last week with
BOLTON law firm Cyril Morris Arkwright has announced recent staff changes. Paul Tonge, who was a partner with Dearden Tonge & Co for 20 years, has joined the crime department as a consultant. Mary Gracie, who has joined CMA's family department from
THE Inland Revenue's enquiry centre in Churchgate, Bolton will be open on Saturday, July 31 and Sunday, August 1 to help the introduction of the Construction Industry Scheme. New arrangements - designed to tighten up on tax evasion - involve new-style
I WAS amused with the report within your Crime Beat feature (July 20) regarding the headline "Heatwave sparks home crimewave". Apparently careless Bolton homeowners are responsible for break-ins to their property because they have left their doors unlocked
THE Bolton Association fought back from 57 for five to pull off a famous victory against the Bolton League and retain the Danisco sponsored Trinity Cup at Tonge yesterday. Elton professional Greg Dimery rescued the Association with a 74 run partnership
THE story of Horwich man Bob Brown's experiences is worth bearing in mind. He suffered permanent damage when he viewed the partial eclipse in 1984. He didn't immediately associate the pain in his eyes with his five-second glance at the sun. It was only
MY wife and I would like to register our disgust and disappointment about Bolton Council's final proposals to close Oldhams Primary School and, as a consequence, the senseless increase in High Lawn's standard number to 40 children per class. In all recent
25 YEARS AGO IT'S triangular, its briefer than brief, it comes in all colours, it's the Tanga; and it was invented when authorities slammed down on efforts to go topless along the sunbaked beaches surrounding Rio de Janeiro. Basically the Tanga consists
I REFER to your Opinion column in the BEN on Wednesday, July 21, and front page article too, questioning the value of certain named councillors. Now over 80 years of age, I have, in my different careers, known personally politicians and councillors of
