Bournemouth Air Festival

Bournemouth Air Festival drew to a close yesterday afternoon with organisers claiming more than 1.25 million people attended over its four days.
The displays reached a climax yesterday afternoon with the Avro Vulcan, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Red Arrows rounding off the weekend.
The dates for next year's event have already been announced - August 19-22, 2010.

Air Festival Fireworks Disappoint

Bournemouth Air Festival began yesterday, although high winds hampered some of the events.

The biggest welcome by far was for the Vulcan bomber, which gave a short display en-route to Dawlish where it flew with the Red Arrows. The Cold War aircraft is the last flying example and has been beset with technical problems at previous air shows.

The biggest disappointment, however, was with the evening's fireworks.
Billed as a record-breaking 'Roar on the Shore', organisers promised more than 100,000 fireworks in under 60 seconds.

Thousands flocked to the beach to see the display, causing tailbacks and queues just about everywhere. Many never made it to the seafront and were stranded in traffic jams until well after the event.

At 9.40pm, after the initial fireworks display, viewers stood disappointed, thinking they had already seen the record attempt.

A few seconds later a second barge suddenly erupted in a hail of rockets before catching fire within a matter of seconds. The blaze was quickly extinguished to the sound of boos coming from the packed beach.

As people queued to leave the undercliff, another display began in Poole, prompting many despondent revellers to pause and watch before making their way home.

Bournemouth Borough Council hailed the event a success, saying the 110,000 fireworks were let off in less than 10 seconds.

Jon Culverhouse, managing director of Fantastic Fireworks, who organised the display, said: "We are as astonished as everyone else that the fireworks went off so quickly, but we are of course delighted that we have claimed a new world record.

"It was always our aim to get the rockets up in the shortest possible time in order to claim the record but we didn't expect them to go up in 6.5 seconds."

Surf reef nears completion

Bournemouth Borough Council has said Boscombe's surf reef is close to completion.
The local authority's media team said the final phase of construction would include a "crucial" bathymetric survey (although no explanation was offered as to what that means).
The remaining sand will be distributed across the rest of the beach ahead of next week's Air Festival.
Additional waves are visible on the site of the £3million reef, however, the best and most popular surfing spot still seems to be on the west side of the pier.

Burberry in Boscombe

A rather unusual fashion has emerged on Boscombe Beach of late.
If you have witnessed the local resurgence of Burberry, you'll know it's not being sported by teenage pram pushers or skinny white boys smoking weed.
The newest devotees of the chav check are Jewish women of all ages, although I have yet to spot a man wearing a Burberry kippah.

More diversions for Spa residents

Boscombe Spa residents are set for more disruption with further road works planned in the area.
Bournemouth Borough Council has warned locals they will not be able to turn right into Boscombe Spa Road from Christchurch Road for three weeks from Monday, July 20.
Drivers will be diverted via St John's Road until the work is complete.
The stretch of road between Christchurch Roundabout and Boscombe town centre has been a traffic blackspot for nearly a year with almost constant road works and closures for one reason or another.
The council said: "The works are part of a series of improvements being undertaken on Christchurch Road, designed to reduce accidents and traffic delays, provide better facilities for pedestrians and cyclists and undertake essential carriageway maintenance and resurfacing of footpaths."

Peregrine falcons attend college

This is a rather blurry image of one of the peregrine falcons that took up residence in the clock tower above Bournemouth and Poole College in Lansdowne.

Workers in Royal London House, opposite the college, enjoyed a birds eye view of the avian des res.
One member of staff at Bournemouth University, which occupies Royal London House, said she had seen the falcons catch other birds, including pigeons, in mid-flight and dismember them on the stone lintels surrounding the bell tower.
The birds, which sit in the uppermost section of the tower, cannot be easily seen from street level.

Photo by Roz Tappenden.

Free bus - But is it Pokesdown or Boscombe?

Travellers to the recently renamed Pokesdown for Boscombe Station can now catch a free shuttle bus to the beach.
The Shoreline bus service, which launched on Saturday, is free to rail ticket holders to Bournemouth or Pokesdown for Boscombe or to anyone using the long-stay car park behind Boscombe Sainsbury's in Hawkwood Road.
Pokesdown for Boscombe Station opened in 1886 and was originally called Boscombe until another station of the same name was opened in Ashley Road 11 years later.
The Ashley Road Boscombe Station was shut down in 1965 following the Beeching Report, which drastically reduced the size of the country's rail network, but Pokesdown Station was not renamed until May this year.
The local Liberal Democrat group has included plans in its manifesto to reopen the Ashley Road stop as part of Boscombe's regeneration but the proposals were branded "too expensive" following a study by Bournemouth's head of planning and transport.
The shuttle bus will ferry holidaymakers and daytrippers to the beach every day until September. At weekends it will also pick up and drop off passengers at the Littledown Centre in Chaseside.
Fare paying passengers and concessionary pass holders can also use the service, which is partly funded by South West Trains.