Lucy’s ‘voice’ heard at long last

Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes Gallery is hosting a major new exhibition of work by Lucy Kemp-Welch – the first for more than twenty years – in the town where the esteemed equestrian painter was born in 1869.

Eastenders in Dorset

Dorset’s highways and byways, countryside and coast have provided inspiration to some of our greatest artists at least since Turner and Constable went canvas to canvas under its skies in the early 19th century. So to find artists from the much-feted East London Group between the wars were just as taken with its scenery is Read More…

George’s fast, furious and full-on Paralympic dream

One of the most physical and possibly even savage of all para-sports, wheelchair rugby is fast, furious and full-on. A member of GB Wheelchair Rugby’s talent pathway squad, just one step below the elite squad that won Olympic Gold in Tokyo last year, the sport is all very far removed from the polite audiences that Lighthouse steward George Rogers helps see to their seats.

Curious corners of Poole

Ten places in Poole that reveal less well-known features of the town’s history

Lockdown song in praise of bouncy floor

Drama, dance and all forms of visual art course through its veins, but ever since it opened more than 40 years ago the beating heart of Lighthouse has kept time to the rhythm of bass, guitar and drum.   In celebration of the part popular music has played in its rich history and in the lives Read More…

DeLorean – all-new electric time machine

As a record producer he made some of the biggest hits of the 1970s, now lifelong petrolhead Phil Wainman has gone back to the future to regenerate a classic DeLorean sports car – as an all-electric vehicle! The iconic DMC DeLorean PRV V6, the same model as the star of the 1985 blockbuster movie Back to Read More…

Fred Karno, man of Poole

In his heyday he was one of the biggest names in showbusiness, perhaps the biggest, responsible for discovering Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel. His companies toured all over the world, British troops in the trenches of World War 1 sang about him and Hollywood comedy mogul Hal Roach proclaimed him a ‘genius… who originated slapstick Read More…

Arts for all our sakes

The National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies was founded 50 years ago. Now rebranded as the Arts Society, its membership is made up of local and regional societies formed by people who share a passion for the broad range of arts and are curious to find out more about artistic heritage. Dorset’s various Read More…

Happy memories of arts centre 40 years ago

Cherry Haynes has been coming to Lighthouse since before it opened and says she loves it just as much now as she ever did. Having applied after seeing an advert in the Echo, Cherry was one of our first stewards – or usherettes as they were known then – and attended a series of training Read More…