Archive

  • So close to reaching his peak

    It was heartbreak for Welling Royal Marine Gary "Frankie" Francis as he was forced to abandon his attempt to climb Everest for the second time in three years. He spoke to chief reporter LINDA PIPER from the Himalayas. SPEAKING from Tillman's Camp at

  • System is case of common sensors

    Life can be dangerous and difficult for the 3,000 dementia sufferers across north Kent. But thanks to new sensory technology help is on its way. Reporter LOUISE TWEDDELL discovers more about the Telecare communication system. LIVING with dementia can

  • Officers and gentlemen

    The world watched as Prince Harry passed out of military college. KERRY ANN EUSTICE talks to an officer whose Sandhurst ceremony, 63 years ago, was just as special. APRIL 12 marked Prince Harry's passing out ceremony as an officer from the Royal Military

  • Margaret’s memories

    HAVE you ever found a picture dating back to when you were at school and wondered what the people in the photograph are doing now? Margaret Thompson from Penge recently discovered old photographs of her classmates at Charterhouse Road School For Girls

  • Offering support in times of need

    Dealing with people considering suicide is something which would horrify most of us. But for a small band of volunteers it is part of everyday life. Reporter CORINNE MCPARTLAND pays a visit to the Bromley and Orpington Samaritans. IT IS not just people

  • Travel companies are greedy (2 comments)

    I am so upset at the greed of travel companies. We are hardworking, tax-paying parents of two children who would love to be able to take them on holiday, but can't afford to for the simple reason that travel companies know it is illegal to take our kids

  • Time to get rid of religion (3 comments)

    So your columnist Laura-Jane Filotrani has been 'shooting from the lip' again and this time it's religion that she has decided to get rid of. Might I suggest she would do well to do a bit of research on her subjects before she writes her decidedly rude

  • He should be ready to travel

    Will my husband find employment soon? - MT, Lee Graham says ... Your husband needed a rest. A job with travel will come to him next month.

  • You are on a long journey

    When will I learn how to use my clairvoyance and precognition the way I want? - A Mahan, Wayne Graham says ... I feel August 6, 2004 was a start point in your psychic journey and 3.5 years from then you will use it the way you want.

  • Help me understand

    An empath told me I would not be a teacher but would achieve great things. I am a healer so did he mean as a healer? Please help explain it to me - Denise, Erith Graham says ... I feel you give out too much energy when you heal so try to be passive.

  • Another baby on the way

    Will my husband and I ever have another baby? - Nicola, Norwich Graham says ... Yes, you will have another baby with your right-hand man.

  • Lily of the Valley

    Diane Murphy, of Lily of the Valley, Roundways, Biggin Hill, has been nominated by customer Margaret Day. Mrs Day, of Swievelands Road, Biggin Hill, nominated her after she provided the flowers for her daughter Karen's wedding three years ago. She said

  • Davis’s

    Rose Wickenden was among 13 nominators who put forward mother and daughter team Terri and Rachel Patterson of Davis's in Penge. Terri Patterson started working at the florist at the age of 14 and her daughter Rachel is the granddaughter of Peggy Davis

  • Eliza Wade Florist

    Jan Wade, who runs Eliza Wade Florist in Hayes, has received 75 nominations. One of the nominators was Julie La Roche, of Kemsing Close, Hayes. Mrs La Roche said: "As a florist she will always do things quickly for you. She's always got the time of

  • Just Flowers

    A brother and sister team who run Just Flowers in Petts Wood have received 25 nominations. One of those who nominated the shop in Station Square was teaching assistant Helen Dwyer who works at St Philomena's Roman Catholic Primary School, Chelsfield

  • Ernest Berger Flowers

    Joan Morris, of Foxgrove Avenue, Beckenham, nominated Ernest Berger, who runs Ernest Berger Flowers in High Street, Beckenham. Mrs Morris, who has been going to him for the past four or five years, says: "He has such beautiful displays outside on the

  • Webb beaten

    CHISLEHURST boxer Sam Webb lost to Alex Stoda. The light-middleweight bout, held at York Hall, Bethnal Green, was stopped by the referee in the third of six scheduled rounds. It was Stoda's first win in three attempts and Webb's first defeat in

  • Living in a ‘hell hole’

    A RESIDENTS' group is threatening to take Greenwich Council to the High Court over the "disgusting" living conditions homeowners are facing on their estate. Since April 2004, 391 households have been moved from the Ferrier Estate in Kidbrooke, as the

  • Good day at Danson for Dartford's Green runner

    ANDREW Green of Dartford Road Runners beat almost 250 finishers in the Myra Garrett 10k at Danson Park. Never a fast course, conditions were made harder by a day's rain beforehand but Green won in 34mins 49secs and was only seriously challenged by

  • Chance to take part in project

    RESIDENTS are being invited to take part in an outdoor art project. Bromley Council has commissioned charity Bromley Mytime to create a giant mural in Kimmeridge Road, Mottingham. The mural, located by the Co-op supermarket, is planned to reflect the

  • Man admits attacking wife at railway station

    A HUSBAND who admitted attacking his wife at a train station has been locked up. Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court heard on May 24 how Harry Hazelby pulled his wife Jackie around and shouted at her at St Mary Cray station. Fellow travellers watched in

  • New centre helps boost town shops

    A NEW shopping centre is luring more shoppers to the High Street despite fears it would do the opposite, according to traders. Retailers in Orpington High Street say the Nugent Retail Park, Cray Avenue, has not threatened their profits, as previously

  • Stop youngsters carrying knives

    A CONCERNED parent is calling for metal detectors to be installed in schools to keep children safe. Karen Reed's 10-year-old son Joshua is going to secondary school in September and she says she is worried one day he might not come home. Ms Reed, of

  • News in brief

    EXHIBITION: A Flowers and Sugar exhibition will take place on Sunday at Bromley Civic Centre. A celebration of cake decorating and sugarcraft, the event will run from 10.15am to 4pm. Entry is £2.50, 50p for under 12s, with proceeds going to Breakthrough

  • Officer grateful for support from public

    A POLICE officer has thanked the public for helping restrain a man who was slitting his own throat. Members of the public rushed to the aid of police officers who were trying to arrest the man in Orpington High Street on May 22. The man, in his 30s

  • Left high and very dry thanks to Pope

    A BRIDEGROOM experienced a sobering stag weekend after alcohol was banned due to a visit from the Pope. Carl Smith, 23, from Bromley, jetted off to Krakow, Poland, with 18 friends without realising their visit coincided with the pontiff's. The Polish

  • Police make appeal

    POLICE have released a CCTV image of a man wanted in connection with a robbery at an off-licence. The robber walked into Threshers, Parrock Road, Gravesend, at 1pm. He was carrying a machete and demanded the cashier hand over cash from the till. After

  • Most rape victims know their attacker

    SHOCKING figures have revealed 86 per cent of rape or sexual abuse victims know their attacker, according to a Gravesend charity. Family Matters, Wrotham Road, Gravesend, which helps people living across south east London and Kent, offered counselling

  • Council is set to take over site

    A PHARMACEUTICAL giant is gearing up to hand over control of a 23-acre park site to Dartford Council. GlaxoSmithKline will officially hand over Acacia Hall to its new owners, the council, on July 1. Glaxo took over ownership of the land in 1995 after

  • News in brief

    IN THE TEAM: PC Neal McConnell, from Dartford, took part in Exercise Executive Stretch, a team-building weekend for employees in London to develop leadership and communication skills. It was held at Pirbright Army Training Camp, Surrey. He was in the

  • Fun day offers magicians and clowns

    A FUN day is being held to coincide with Carers Week. The day at Hextable Junior School, Rowhill Road, Hextable, is being organised by the Parents Consortium, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, charity Carers Support and Kent County Council's

  • Students angry at threat to courses

    DISGRUNTLED adult education students are demanding answers about whether their course will be swallowed up in £2m budget cuts. They reacted after news their English Improvers Course tutor at Gravesend Adult Education Centre, Darnley Road, Gravesend,

  • Help police catch train attack trio

    NEWS Shopper's award-winning Shop a Yob campaign needs your help. Police are trying to trace the three men pictured in connection with a screwdriver attack on a London-bound train on March 8. The trio boarded the train in Dartford and began to mock

  • Driver was over limit at time of lorry accident

    A FORMER businessman says he will never drive a lorry again after overturning his vehicle while over the drink-drive limit. Dartford magistrates banned David Lea from driving for a year on May 23. Magistrates heard Lea was involved in an accident in

  • Exiles Youth batter Spartans

    Kent Exiles Youth 42 v 0 Essex Spartans THE Kent Exiles youth team continued their great start to the season by winning their second game and recording their biggest ever victory at the same time. Luke Aylward opened the scoring from nine yards

  • Ravens Women tame the bears

    Kent Ravens Women 26 v 22 Coventry Bears London League KENT Ravens Women took early control over the travelling Bears, even with 11 debutants in the squad. Ravens opened up a 208 lead in the first half with three tries from unstoppable prop Hebe

  • Pupils having a ball during visit from TV presenter

    MATHS was made fun when a school was visited by TV personality Johnny Ball. Pupils from Years 7 to 10 at Darrick Wood Secondary School, Lovibonds Avenue, Orpington, were visited by Mr Ball as part of their maths week. Mr Ball became a household name

  • Officers aim to cut knife crime

    COMMUTERS and revellers have been searched for drugs and knives in a police crackdown. A walk-through metal detector and a sniffer dog were used during Operation Summer Sun at Beckenham train station on May 26. The operation aimed to keep people safe

  • Bank holiday weekend full of car crashes

    A SPATE of car crashes occurred over the bank holiday weekend. At 9.15am on May 26, a white Toyota Hilux collided with a blue BMW in Crossway, Orpington. The male driver of the Toyota was taken to the Princess Royal University Hospital, Farnborough,

  • Police dog’s bank deposit causes a stink

    BANK staff dealt with a different kind of deposit after thinking a man was hiding in the building. A police dog was used during a search of Barclays Bank, Station Square, Petts Wood, on May 26 but there were no signs of a suspect. But the dog defecated

  • Teenager slapped with two-year Asbo

    SUMMER will be brighter for shopkeepers and residents after a teenage gang member was given a two-year anti-social behaviour order (Asbo). FTS Crew member Jake Dunmall, aged 16, terrorised traders and residents living in the Burnt Ash Lane area of Bromley

  • News In Brief

    ELECTED: Bromley Council leader Councillor Stephen Carr has been elected deputy leader of the Conservative group at the Association of London Government (ALG). The ALG represents all 32 London boroughs and the City of London and lobbies central government

  • Cottage dispute inquiry opened

    A PUBLIC inquiry has opened following more than a decade of planning disputes over the site of a demolished building. Lavender Cottage in Manor Way, Beckenham, was knocked-down four years ago, shortly after it was badly damaged in a fire. Landowner

  • Group aims to improve park

    A PARK group is dreaming of a "river of bulbs" after receiving a Lottery grant. The Friends of White Hall Rec has been given £5,000 by the National Lottery's awards for all scheme. It will be used to buy tools and bulbs to enable them to make the park

  • Left disgusted by public toilets

    I WOULD like to point our councillors' noses to a very small problem the gents' public toilets in Orpington. Their design, lack of cleanliness and resulting smell is unbelievable for one of the richest boroughs in London. From one end of town to the

  • Children should have BCG jab

    HAS anyone looked into the reasons why children are no longer given the BCG vaccination as a matter of course when they reach 14? Having completed a questionnaire, my child, along with the vast majority of other children, have now been told they are

  • Be aware when parking on road

    REGARDING the unfortunate woman in Petts Wood (Parked Cars Block Fire Engine On Call, News Shopper, May 17) who was badly burned in a house fire in Transmere Road on May 11. The fire engine was delayed as residents had parked leaving insufficient room

  • We must try harder to help save water

    DURING all the latest discussions about possible drought orders and water restrictions, I have to say I cannot understand the reluctance the water companies seem to have to compulsory water metering. We are all happy to pay for the amount of gas and

  • Kent Ravens move to second in table

    Kent Ravens 34 v 18 Greenwich Admirals Rugby League National Conference WITH the rain lashing down, Ravens dominated the match against rivals Greenwich thanks to their powerful forwards. However the game could have been different after Ravens let

  • Exactly what the doctor ordered

    FOLLOWING K Raju's letter regarding the work GPs do (GPs Work Hard To Provide Good Service For Us, May 17), my GP is Dr Barbara Lewis of Pope Road Surgery, Bromley Common, and anyone who is one of Dr Lewis's patients is very fortunate indeed. In my opinion

  • Efforts spoiled by council jobsworth

    EVERY year in Pratts Bottom they have a village fete. This year there was a different committee organising it and some of these people have worked very hard, giving up their spare time to try and make it a success. Being a new committee, they tried

  • Are residents complacent?

    I APPLAUD the letters New Store Will Lead To Traffic Problems by John Arnold (News Shopper, May 17) and Councillors Should Knock Store Back by Derek Dobson (News Shopper, May 3). If residents are complacent it will allow Tesco and other developers to

  • To The Point

    BLAIR MUST STAY: Regarding the Vox pop about whether Tony Blair should step down (News Shopper, May 17). Are you mad? Blair is the only person talking sense in Europe today and he's done an excellent job of changing the Labour Party's image and steering