The introduction of decimal coinage – some personal views • 1971 – a troubled year in review • The stories behind two old favourites; Babycham and Smiths crisps • Cold start, won’t start? Advice from the RAC • Bruised and battered garden? – Don’t worry says Ruth • Final episode – the washer-upper who bought a hotel…

Town cramming and garden grabbing as explained by Weymouth Civic Society • Be careful with your home-poured drinks – just one could put you over the limit! • Are we smoking more during lockdown? We ask Action on Smoking and Health • It’s a good time to plant a hedge says our gardening expert Ruth Hayes • John reports his Covid jab was “seamless and painless” • Our good cause this time is the Margaret Green Animal Rescue centre…

Tales of royalty, film stars and a lady of the night at a grand hotel • Pip Squeak and Wilfred, Rupert Bear and Teddy Tail remembered • Why Christopher Robin’s childhood was unhappy • The history of loo paper and a warning to wash hands • Florence Nightingale at 200: more reformer than nurse • Whatever happened to common sense? • A girl’s dash for her life to escape a desert war • Spotlight on a charity…the ‘MV Freedom’…

Children read their stories about “A different summer”, Tom Restorick drums for the NHS • Gardening expert Ruth on Christmas plants and our “tame vet” Malcolm on talking to pets. • What to do if your dog is lost or stolen. • Getting your own back on the banking rigmarole. • Memories from a top hotelier and a top press photographer • An idea for stress relief in lockdown that works • Dorset’s dodgy car sales and tricks. John Shepherd and Andy Venton present…

British versus French trawlermen; revisiting the scallop wars • Rip off! Motor insurers charge 30% extra for monthly payments • Gardening rubbish; make use of Christmas wrapping • How the p.c. brigade tried to wreck Christmas • Jokey headlines and 2020 cracker jokes. Presented by John Shepherd and Andy Venton…

Recruitment fraud – job seekers beware! • Shops open again – how is Weymouth doing? • This week’s good cause – Steps, working with young people • Overnight campervan stays on Portland – no! says Civic Society • Our vet says it’s “all in a Christmas Day’s work for a vet” and warns that pet treats can cause problems • Vinegar and lemon cure for hard water limescale • Food at rock bottom prices to help those in food poverty…

To Portland for the latest on the “mighty burner” incinerator plan • More warnings about scams and how to avoid them • Gardening – Winter salads and how you can grow them at home • Pubs…first orders or last orders please! • This week’s good cause – the Dorset Volunteer Centre • How a cheeky mutt scooped the prize in a Weymouth and Portland video competition • We look at a local author’s compilation of lockdown memories. Presented by John Shepherd and Andy Venton…

The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior: from the battlefields in France to internment in Westminster Abbey, some little remembered facts • Gardening: do’s and dont’s of house plant care • Portlanders feel strongly about demolishing the Pulpit Inn with alarming plans for the SSI • Ten golden rules for avoiding scams from Which? Magazine • House keys – under the mat? Take more care of them • This week’s local good cause – The Lantern Trust in Weymouth…

What does a milk maid have to do with the discovery of vaccination • Why the Council is to take over a sea front café • Car parking in Dorset and local councillors’ fury at “harmonisation” plans • Is Weymouth falling down? A former conservation officer speaks • The mixed history of British Summer Time • This week’s good cause – a phoning and letter writing idea • Nothe Fort received funding for improvements. Presented by John Shepherd and Andy Venton…

The first in our series about deserving good causes; the mini-cruise ship MV Freedom • Gardening tips from Ruth – talking about hardwood cuttings • There’s a hedgehog in my garage – we learn more about them • Cinema is alive and well in Dorchester says the Plaza • We ask – are smart plugs that smart? Take care… • Premium Bond prize fund reduced – are you feeling lucky? Presented by John Shepherd and Andy Venton…

Today – The virus effect; Weymouth’s b & b’s leased from Dorset Council have asked it to reduce rents • Buying a used car? Dorset Trading Standards warn of dangerous cars being offered by traders • Advance warning of road works to remove railway lines in Weymouth • What have an umbrella, a girl and a deadly journey have in common? Mary Poppins is not the answer! • Gardening tips – your lawn in winter. And miner bees in your garden? We explain • Meet the world’s dumbest crooks. Presented by John Shepherd and Andy Venton…

Two young writers read their stories in Julia’s House “A Different Summer” competition • Author Minette Walters gives a judge’s view of the entries • We examine used vehicle price rises with a scam warning especially on camper vans • Gardening; don’t be afraid of taking cuttings • doing well despite Covid – tree surgeons and landscapers • the American way of justice, so different from our own. Presented by John Shepherd and Andy Venton…

Tune in to Ridgeway Magazine on 106.3FM on Wednesdays at 11am

State education is 150 years old but it was not universally welcome • Dorchester’s old schools remembered • Christopher Robin at 100 – the sad boy whose famous father didn’t like children • Tomatoes, birds and wasps: How to turn your tomatoes from green to red; Where have all the garden birds gone? Bee nice to wasps, the gardeners’ friend.

We take a hard look at vehicle insurance; too complicated…is that why most people don’t read the small print? • Scams revealed: rip off premiums, fake policy documents and “ghost insurance brokers” take motorists for a ride. • Are you insured for that drive to work and car business use? • Two readings – from vet Malcolm Welshman’s new book and the first chapter from a thriller by a Weymouth author. • Radio Postcard from Croatia – a visit remembered…

With the brake on overseas travel, we have “radio postcards” with past reports from Venice, Sicily and Gibraltar…happy memories • What links an outbreak of bubonic plague in Mongolia, the Black Death’s arrival in Wyke Regis and the Weymouth creator of nasty smells? • Also hints on summer bloomers from our gardening expert. Presented by John Shepherd and Andy Venton