Dorset County Hospital

Advantages: Friendly, Efficient, Very Clean
Disadvantages: None, apart from waiting time

...I am at present resting at home after an operation on my left shoulder, made necessary after a clumsy fall that compressed the shoulder joint. After a regimen of physiotherapy and steroids it was deemed that an operation called a subacromial decompression was arranged and took place at the orthopaedic unit of the Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester, Dorset. I was given a choice of three hospitals, in line with the government's policy of offering a choice and I feel that I made the correct decision. The choices on the list were The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospital, Poole General Hospital and the Dorset county. Bournemouth was too far away, Poole is not a very nice hospital so I was left with Dorchester . First Impressions Once the appointment for surgery was made I was asked to attend a Anaesthesia Pre...

JeffFromPoole 15.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Dorset County Hospital

Highs and Joys of Haskins Garden Centre

Advantages: close to home, good selection of items
Disadvantages: some things can be expensive

...I realy love wandering around Haskins Garden Centre on a weekend. Haskins is close to home as it is near Longham Just off the Bakers Arms roundabout. There is a nice big car park so you have plenty of room for parking.There is also a realy nice restaurant/tea room where you can have a hot or cold meal or snack, but this can be a bit pricey especialy if you want a nice cream cake at £2. each or more it can work out expensive. That aside it is a fantastic garden centre and you can buy just about everything for the garden, also they sell pet food, home ornaments, indoor plants and pots, plant food, compost, water features, aquatic plants and fish, pond liners, hanging baskets, garden features such as statues. I especialy like the garden animal ornaments they sell they range from £2.99 up to about £20 for larger ones, but there is a good...

tobias1 05.09.2004 · Read review
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Review of Haskins Garden Centre, Dorset

Dinosaurland in Dorset

Advantages: Preserving a Phenomena. Tourism. International Recognition
Disadvantages: None

...and the South East in the summer, and all year round, as they make their way to Devon and Cornwall, bypassing us. What an excellent opportunity for my wonderful adapted county to be renowned because its geology and physical geography is of international conservation importance. My Bit of Jurassic **************** I live on the coast in West Dorset, right at the centre of this natural phenomena. My six hundred year old cottage is built of local amber coloured building stone, complete with the occasional visibly imbedded coiled ammonite and pencil shaped belemnite. I dig my garden and they appear like stones in my soil. A walk on the beach at Charmouth, and instead of looking outwards to the horizon and the breathtaking scenery, I look down onto the beach and they appear like magic amongst the fallen rocks. Have you ever found a fossil...

mornev 28.10.2002 · Read review
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Review of Dorset (England)

It's that time of year again

Advantages: lots of things to look at
Disadvantages: can be expensive

...It's definitely that time of year again. The gardens are beginning to bloom and the weather is starting slowly but surely to get better and with it lifting people's moods, encouraging them to think about doing the garden. We only moved into our new house in December so our garden hasn't seen any action from either of us this year, but we're starting to get excited about what we can put where, etc. Neither of us are gardening experts but with a bit of advice from parents, we trundled off to Haskins to take a look at what they had on offer. There are four Haskins garden centres around, but the one we visit is in Ferndown, Dorset. Others are situated in Southampton, Angmering, and Copthorne. They started off as a family business which still exists today in 1882. Three out of the four stores are also attached to a Hobbycraft store as...

ang_2906 28.03.2007 · Read review
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Review of Haskins Garden Centre, Dorset

Breakfast from Dorset

Advantages: It is exactly as it says on the box.
Disadvantages: Quite expensive.

...I as really can't stand milk breakfast can be a bit of an issue with me. Just the thought of cereal going soggy in a bowl full of milk just churns my stomach. Therefore I just usually give breakfast a miss. That is until I discovered Dorset Cereals Really Nutty Muesli. Whilst cat sitting for the parents the other week, I discovered a box of the said muesli in mum's kitchen cupboard. It really caught my eye because the packaging is so different. The cereal comes in a terracotta coloured cardboard box with a design cut out on the front that resembles an ear of corn that is backed with clear plastic. On the front it states 750g of unadulterated breakfast pleasure. Through the plastic windows you can see the museli. It looked so good (an I will come on to why in a mo), that I decided just to try a handful. Oh, what heaven, its...

tattie123 30.09.2007 · Read review
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Review of Dorset Cereals Really Nutty Muesli

THE Great Dorset Steam Fair

Advantages: Plenty to see and do
Disadvantages: Does require a lot of walking

...The Annual Great Dorset Steam Fair, has been running since 1968 at Tarrant Hinton in Dorset, and for five days each year is the premier tourist attraction in the county. The Fair has grown to be one of Europe's biggest outdoor shows, covering as it does 600 acres of farmer's fields in Dorset. It is difficult to convey just how big the fair has grown to, but the first glimpse of the site always astounds me as to how much land is taken up. There is a preconception that the fair is purely for those interested in steam power, but it is much more than that. The most common exhibits are the steam traction engines, tractors and farm engines, many of which undertake the purpose they were built for in the showground. There are also scores of musical attractions in the form of fairgorund organs run from steam. Aside from these core activities...

mrtimharry 03.12.2007 · Read review
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Hanging Gardens of Wellington

Advantages: Nice stroll, good plants
Disadvantages: Steep

...If you only can spare time to seek out one plant in New Zealand, it would have to be the most famous of all its plants - the silver fern. If, on the other hand, you are a nature lover and you find yourself with a free afternoon to spend in Wellington (New Zealand's capital city), then I strongly recommend the Botanic Garden for its plants, scenic views and pleasant strolls. For everyone else, I'd still recommend it, but only after you have taken your fill of the Te Papa museum (which is my number one "must-see" recommendation for Wellington). The gardens span some 25 hectares and if you are anything like me, they will fill as much time as you have to spare and then some. People with bad knees or small children be warned though - it's pretty steep and you may struggle a bit! There are some mobility scooters available though. I came here...

beckyXX 28.12.2009 · Read review
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Review of Wellington Botanic Gardens

The Constant Gardener

Advantages: Excellent plot, superb acting, stunning location
Disadvantages: Emotionally draining

..."In Africa there are no murders, only regrettable deaths." The Constant Gardener is an adaptation of a John Le Carre novel, a thrilling adventure of immense social relevance which highlights commercial exploitation and political corruption in Africa, whilst simultaneously celebrating the astounding beauty of the landscape, culture and people. The political focus of this movie is cleverly interwoven with the struggle of a British diplomat to discover the truth behind his wife's murder, to learn who she really was, and to realise a greater love and trust in her than he ever had when she was alive. The Main Cast Ralph Fiennes ...Justin Quayle Rachel Weisz ...Tessa Quayle Hubert Koundé ...Arnold Bluhm Danny Huston ...Sandy Woodrow Bill Nighy ...Sir Bernard Pellegrin Donald Sumpter ...Tim Donohue Archie Panjabi ...Ghita...

VC81 03.11.2005 · Read review
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Dorset,A Greatly Underated County

Advantages: Unspoilt. Traditional. A Microcosm of England. Compact
Disadvantages: Very few.

...Dorset is I think one of the greatly under-rated counties of England. A lot of people going to the South West for their holidays target Devon and Cornwall - and both are delightful-but at best hurry through Dorset. Yet this county has a great deal to offer the visitor ranging from typically English,rustic,villages, to the sophistication of Bournemouth, the elegance of Poole, the delights of Georgian Weymouth,the beauty of the coastline and the joys of small towns such as Bridport, Dorchester and Lyme Regis.It is not only very compact but in many ways an almost perfect microcosm of England. Literary buffs will find Dorset is no backwater for this is Hardy country and it was the home for part of his life of T.E.Lawrence.Dorset also has its place in agrarian history as the Tolpuddle Martyrs serve to remind us. Celebrities are...

ashford 21.10.2000 (16.08.2001) · Read review
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Review of Dorset (England)

The Spice Garden - No Garden, Plenty of Spice

Advantages: Light airy conservatory, pleasant service, good value for money
Disadvantages: Nothing out of the ordinary

...Another week brought another visit from my hungry curry-loving colleague Joep. I had no plans for the evening and asked if he wanted to have dinner. His eyes lit up; "Can we have curry?" he asked excitedly. And so at around 6.30pm we left the office to go in search of a new curry restaurant that we'd not tried before. I'd spotted the Spice Garden on my way to work that morning and decided that this time it would get our custom. The world (well the UK anyway ? and India, Bangladesh, Pakistan etc?..you get what I mean) is full of curry restaurants and in the middle of a recession we should spread our pennies around and try to support a new one each time until we run out or get food poisoning. I got lucky and found a parking space right in front of the restaurant. It's on New Chester Road in Bromborough, about a mile off the M53, close...

koshkha 07.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Spice Garden, Merseyside