TONY Shama's 84 was not enough to prevent Wootton Bassett slipping to a two-wicket defeat against Hatherley & Reddings in their Glos & Wilts Division 1 outing. Hatherley won the toss and inserted Bassett, with the returning Shama and Paul Elliott
TEACHERS have long been convinced of the value of the Storysack scheme pioneered by former Westlea School head Neil Griffiths as a way of helping to teach children to read. But even Mr Griffiths probably didn't envisage that the sacks with their books
KIDS' league football in Swindon has received a big boost. The Swindon & District Football League Minor Divisions will definitely go ahead again next season. Rumours had been rife at the end of the 2001/02 campaign that the youth and minor divisions
COLUMN: I WAS prepared for changes in my small son when he started school. It's now normal for him to come home with his school bag bulging with books on dinosaurs and endless worksheets covered in his embryonic writing. Over the course of his first year
THE Women's Royal Voluntary Service requires volunteers to deliver Meals on Wheels to the elderly in the Bath area. Hilary Edwards of the WRVS said: "We want to take on new rounds and would be delighted to hear from anyone who has some free time to spare
ONE OF the biggest movie releases of the year opens in Bath tomorrow for what will be amongst the most eagerly awaited productions in motion picture history. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is the latest instalment of the multibillion-dollar
WOMEN in Bath are being urged to take part in a sponsored fun run to raise cash for research into cancer. More than 1,000 women have signed on to take part in the Race for Life, which begins at the University of Bath sports village on Sunday June 9. Participants
SUNDAY'S defeat at the hand of London Wasps marked the end of a tough season for Bath, one which proved the devotion of its army of supporters. For the final game of the season lifelong supporter Sue Munday thought it appropriate that team captain Dan
BATH Hospital Radio has been voted the best in the UK after scooping the top prize at the national hospital radio awards. The station won the UK Station of the Year award for its service, which is broadcast 24 hours a day to the Royal United Hospital
BATH'S workforce is facing a major crisis as one in ten workers are rumoured to be planning to call in sick so they can watch the World Cup. Concern has been growing in the run up to the football tournament, which begins at the end of the month, that
DRIVE COLUMN: IT'S a long drive to Scotland, so we met our friends Alastair and Nancy just south of the border to spend a few days in Northumbria. Our car was big enough for all of us, with enough left over to impress everyone. The three-pointed star
COLUMN: SICK to the back teeth of coffee bars, shops and cafes? Fed up with trying to find anywhere that offers a good, old-fashioned cup of tea? Then why not join us in a celebration of all things genteel, English and cucumbered. Every month, Earl Grey
BRIAN Duckworth has been appointed to the board of Avon Rubber as a non-executive director and Detlev Bartels has been appointed to the board as an executive director with responsibility for European automotive operations. Accountant Mr Duckworth, 53,
POWDERJECT pharmaceuticals the Oxford based company at the centre of a controversial £32 million contract to supply smallpox vaccine said it had moved into the black for the first time. The Government contract hit the headlines earlier this month after
STATIONERY firm Pentel celebrated its 10 year presence in Swindon by cracking open the bubbly. The Japanese-owned manufacturer of writing products has based its UK headquarters in offices on the former Vickers Estate at South Marston Business Park since
SWINDON College boss Mike Hopkins has expressed support for lecturers' claims for better pay but says he cannot condone their plans to strike for the second year running. The principal is actively involved himself in a campaign to try to persuade the
THE case of a giant in his early 20s who has been accused of violent disorder and is banned from all his local pubs has been brought before Gloucester Crown Court. Daniel Upton, 23, of Deansfield, Cricklade, who stands at six feet eight inches tall, has
SWINDON seems to be the most expensive place around to hold a Golden Jubilee street party. And with the label comes the predictable adverse publicity. Since the Evening Advertiser revealed last week that party organisers in Stratton St Margaret were landed
TRIPLE double vision is the order of the day at a Swindon playgroup. Twins Tiffany and Selina D'Silva, four, Jessica and Kiera Lay, also four, and three-year-old Lucy and Ellie Brown all attend St Mary's Playgroup in Bessemer Road. And they're not averse
WANBOROUGH residents are objecting to a third mobile phone mast being erected in their village. They say they are concerned about the long term health effects of the mast and also fear it will spoil an designated area of outstanding beauty. Permission
A ONE in fifty million DNA sample trapped the man who robbed £10,000 from the manager of Greenbridge's Kentucky Fried Chicken. Sri Lanka-born Gajamugan Poobalasingham, 24, of no fixed abode, was caught after surgical gloves were found near the Covingham
A LONG time ago in a galaxy far, far away George Lucas made three magnificent space epics, using some great actors, dodgy special effects and puppets. Now, festooned with more cash than the average South American state's defence budget, roomfulls of special
MALMESBURY Vics are inviting men's and women's teams to enter their senior six-a-side tournament next month. The men's tournament is staged on Saturday, June 22, with the women's event on the following day, June 23. The entrance fee is £15 per team and
KIDS' league football in Swindon has received a big boost. The Swindon & District Football League Minor Divisions will definitely go ahead again next season. Rumours had been rife at the end of the 2001/02 campaign that the youth and minor divisions
THOUSANDS of Swindon youngsters have signed up to walk to school next week. They are taking part in national Walk to School Week which encourages parents to leave the car at home for at least one day between 20 and 24 May and walk to school with their
SHOPKEEPERS in Swindon will benefit from a £36,000 government grant towards tackling crime and vandalism. The Home Office today announced those who will benefit from a three-year £15m crime-busting scheme, which was launched last June. In Swindon, an
A PILOT scheme allowing bank customers to use the services of banks other than their own has won the praise of an MP. North Swindon member Michael Wills visited Cricklade to see the scheme in action. The participating banks are Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds
BEING unemployed is an isolating experience but help is at hand thanks to the charity Amber. The Amber is a charity which helps people enter the world of work and its promotional bus is being launched in Swindon on May 30. Sue Crawford-Condie, fundraiser
BY DAY Elizabeth Kirby is a full time carer, Sunday school teacher and nurse. But at night she transforms into a Swindon Supermum. Caring Elizabeth, 51, was awarded the title in a contest which recognises extra special mums. The competition, organised
I WOULD like to comment on the letter from D Smith on voter apathy (EA, May 8). In a democracy, it is up to the individual what they do with their vote it is not for people to denigrate them for choosing not to use it. The remarks about the streets of
FOLLOWING the hyperactive campaign by Andy Newman to advertise his declining Socialist Alliance, the result of the council elections should have come as rather a shock to him. His few supporters queued up to write letters to you and organised marches
I have very recently been a patient at Princess Margaret Hospital, and after reading, at times, what conditions were like in there, often adverse, I can only say how very kind everyone was to me. By this I mean every person in or to do with the Yatesbury
ONE advantage of being over a certain age is that you don't have to worry about avoiding temptation; it starts avoiding you. So it is with an element of self-satisfaction that I can remain indifferent at the current furore over the admission criterion
THERE were some outstanding performan-ces in the second week of the league season. Westinghouse bowler John Cleverley led the way with a league best return of four wickets for one run in 10 overs, nine of which were maidens, in his side's Division One
Swindon put their opening-day defeat against Apperley behind them, as they recorded an excellent seven-wicket victory at Devizes in their Glos & Wilts Division 1 match. The hosts elected to bat first and began at a quick rate, until Hussain bowled
Purton produced an improved performance but still went down by 73 runs at home to Hinton Charterhouse in their Gloucestershire & Wiltshire Division 1 encounter. Hinton were asked to bat and despite losing Fossell in the fifth over made a good start
SWINDON Council must find a way around the planning law which threatens to allow three takeaway food establishments and a video store to operate on the doorstep of people living in a confined area at Abbey Meads. It is not reasonable that these householders
A RADICAL new approach to road layout in residential areas is to be introduced by Bath & North East Somerset Council. The Home Zone pilot scheme aims to re-arrange the design of streets at Malvern Buildings, in Fairfield Park, Bath and Frederick and
COLUMN: IT IS said you should never judge a book by its cover, which is why we decided to pop in and visit the toilets at the Hilton hotel in Walcot Street, Bath. While its external appearance may not exude the charm of the Royal Crescent or the Bath
THE estranged husband of missing Highworth mum-of-four Linda Razzell has been arrested by Swindon police on suspicion of murder today (May 15). Glyn Razzell is being questioned at Westlea Police Station. Police spokesman Alvina Kumar said: "I can confirm
AN extremely rare membership certificate for the world's first golf club will come up for sale in Swindon tomorrow. The certificate, printed on vellum with manuscript insertions, dates from 1808. "This is just 20 years after the foundation of the modern
PEOPLE in Abbey Meads are protesting at plans to create a strip of drive-through fast food restaurants just yards from their homes. McDonald's and KFC want to build on land near Pennine Way, complete with giant neon signs and late night opening. There
COLEVIEW Girls' under 14 side were edged out 1-0 by Reading in their Vale League Cup final. Reading started brightly, and their early pressure was rewarded when they were awarded a decisive penalty. Natalie Mitchell, Coleview's reserve keeper, saved the
THE next Wanborough Farmers' Market is being held at Wanborough Village Hall this Saturday, May 18. On sale will be a variety of seasonal produce including bedding plants, meats and dairy products as well as the usual array of cakes and preserves. Entrance
A DRUNK has been jailed for four months for spitting at a police officer who was sitting in his patrol car with the window open. Roy Ogbourne, 37, was walking past the vehicle which was parked at the end of Wood Street in Old Town when he launched the
A MAN who swore at police officers while drunk in Wootton Bassett has been fined £40. Peter Butler, 35, of The Rosary, appeared before North Wiltshire magistrates in Chippenham charged with being drunk and disorderly. The court heard that on March 11
A SHOPKEEPER has had his water cut off after being landed with a bill for more than £1,000 because of a pipe leak under the road. Azim Khan, 61, who runs Khan General Stores in Rodbourne, is unhappy that he should pay the price for a leak which he didn't
Police believe a man of Asian appearance is using two small children in attempt to extract money from charitable residents in town. The man is calling on homes and falsely claiming that his car has broken down. Police say he tries to obtain money for
GARAGE owner David Robinson has had steel shutters fitted over the windows at Minety Motors following the latest in a string of raids by gangs of cigarette thieves. Thieves smashed a window at the garage, stealing around £1,500 worth of cigarettes and
A SPATE of car vandalism is hitting Swindon. The offender is cutting fuel lines and siphoning petrol from Vauxhall cars parked in Rodbourne, Rodbourne Cheney and Moredon. So far five cases have been reported in the past week. Police suspect that the incidents
POLICE are appealing for witnesses to a racist attack in Swindon's Victoria Road. A group of seven or eight white men hurled racist abuse at two young black men before assaulting them. While crossing the road to help his brother, one of the black men
TANYA Spice, 34, has set her sights on climbing the highest mountain in Africa. But her motivation stems less from her wish to conquer Kilimanjaro the world's highest free standing mountain, than from witnessing the daily challen-ges faced by her sister
TEACHERS are hoping a sack full of Shakespeare will inspire primary school pupils in Swindon. The now intern-ationally renowned Storysack was the brainchild of former Westlea Primary School head Neil Griffiths. Now in its eighth year, the idea was to
WITH reference to the letter from Mr Des Morgan (EA, Friday, May 3), I am afraid that he has misunderstood the situation. Swindon Services responded to a call from the council's Environmental Services Department to carry out a temporary repair to Southernwood
CAN I publicly thank Sheila Harrod and Kentwood Choir for a wonderful evening last Wednesday. The choir was brilliant, Sheila very entertaining and enthusiastic, the venue, Holy Rood Church, was wonderful and Father Toomey was so very supportive. The
NOW that Diane Pretty is at last free from anguish, I feel anger that she had to continue to live a life of suffering when she had no hope of improvement, and when she had begged for death. I also feel regret because Diane asked the courts to permit her
THE injury-plagued career of Bath scrum-half Gareth Cooper took another turn for the worse yesterday when injury forced him out of Wales' summer tour to South Africa. Cooper (right), who has seen the past 18 months of his career hampered by persistentinjuries
