A TRIP to the shops is something most people take for granted. Most of us can drive into Swindon, park the car, and wander about the shops at will. But imagine trying to do that if you are confined to a wheelchair. Disabled people should be able to enjoy
WILTSHIRE Festival could be saved if the organisers can clinch a deal with a top chart band and attract local sponsors. For the last 10 years the festival has been run by Andy Cotton from TAO Productions. Mr Cotton is eager to continue bringing top acts
ANadventurer from Cirencester was part of the winning team in the first Polar Race, devised by Swindon-born explorer David Hempleman-Adams. Phil Ashby was a member of the British Initial Style Explorers, which was hours ahead of the second-placed team
TODDLER Caiden Williams has spoken his first precious words thanks to a talkative baby parrot. For instead of the parrot mimicking Caiden . . . the toddler is mimicking the bird. Timmy, a six-month-old African Grey, from Rodbourne Cheney, is teaching
EXCLUSIVE: COMMUNITY campaigner Phil Rashid is leaving Swindon for Malaysia after finding his wife-to-be in an internet chatroom. The 49-year-old chairman of Swindon's Race Coalition clicked with Maria Ithnin, 44, when they got talking on muslimmatch.com
COTSWOLD WATER PARK: There is fun for all the family at Keynes Country Park on Monday. The Great Lakes Family Fun Day takes place between 11am and 4pm, and visitors have the chance to explore the wildlife wonders of the reserve.
LITTLE COXWELL: The Icknield Way Morris Men will be dancing on Wednesday May 7 at the Eagle Public House, Little Coxwell, near Faringdon, starting at 8pm. All welcome.
The Highworth Artists' Society Spring exhibition will run until Monday in the Council Community Room. Members of the club will be displaying their work for sale. Admission is free. For more information contact the secretary 01793 762506.
Cyclists will be raising money for the Leukaemia Trust when they take part in the annual Blue Peter Bikeathon at Coate Water Country Park on Sunday. The event starts at 11am. For further information contact 01793 721919.
LYDIARD: Swindon Kite Festival takes to the skies above Lydiard Park on Saturday, May 10. The free event takes place from 10am 5pm.
Keen dancers can get into the swing of jive dancing lessons held at the Faringdon corn exchange. The dance classes are held every Tuesday, from 8.15pm. For more information contact 07767 360854.
Musicians are required to support The Music Group, which accompanies church services in Liddington, Wanborough, Hinton Parva and Bishopstone. Anyone interested in joining should contact Fiona Gruneberg on 01672 540197.
JENNIFER Nash, 40, of Oakham Close, Toothill admitted having used racially-aggravated threatening, insulting or abusive words or behaviour in Oakham Close in March. Magistrates imposed a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered her to pay £55 in court
CHUNG Yee Lee, 36, of Cranmore Road, Swindon admitted having stolen drink and other household items from Safeways supermarket in March. He was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £100 in compensation.
AN EXAMPLE of how to get things right in the fast food sector can be found in Park North's Cavendish Square. For more than three years, Arafike Meah, 63, has run his King Balti outlet there. It serves everything from traditional western fast food such
A SPECIALIST rehabilitation centre has been opened by NHS chief executive Sir Nigel Crisp. Sir Nigel unveiled a commemorative plaque to mark the opening of the £6 million centre yesterday the first purpose build unit of its kind in the country. Based
THE Well Woman Centre in Swindon's Milton Road is appealing for money and items to help it stage three planned events. The first request is for sponsorship for a Caribbean evening on July 12. Prizes are also needed for the centre's annual prize draw,
THE mystery of a shrink- wrapped car discovered in Broad Street has been solved. Pranksters Matthew Northcott, 21, Jason Mc Culloch, 22, and Daniel Groundwater, 25, played a trick on their friend, Dave Jones by wrapping his F-registered turquoise Fiesta
SPEED demons will have the chance to burn rubber while raising money for the Swindon Cancer Appeal. Michael Schumacher wannabes will be heading to a Grand Prix-style track at the Hullavington Min-istry of Defence airfield this summer. The 2.4-miles of
CYBER-fans will be able to battle it out among themselves at new internet-gaming cafe opening in Old Town today. Wired Inn is the first shop of its kind in Swindon offering the opportunity not only to just browse the internet with coffee and a baguette
A NEW addition to Swindon Museum and Art Gallery attacks the effect modern architecture has had on London. The painting, by artist Timothy Hyman, depicts London as a human figure seen lying across a central London landscape being pulled apart by men dressed
JIM and Peggy Pearce fell in love in an ammunitions factory and 60 years later they're still gunning for each other. The couple from Fairfax Close, Walcot, celebrated their diamond wedding at a party with 50 family members and a telegram from the Queen
REACTION against a second successive double-figure council tax hike has cost the Labour group six seats and an overall majority on Swindon Council. That was the opinion of council leader Kevin Small (Lab, Western) who still stands by his decision to raise
POLICE have unveiled their latest weapon in the fight against speeding drivers in Swindon. Starting next week, officers will be using four mobile speed cameras to target motorists who break the speed limit at accident blackspots in the town. Laser guns
Bath coach Brian Smith is confident his players can banish thoughts of a merger with neighbouring Bristol when the relegation-threatened West Country rivals clash tomorrow. The derby will attract a Zurich Premiership record 20,500 crowd to Ashton Gate
SAM PARKIN held aloft his Evening Advertiser player-of-the-year award and pledged to return with even greater goalscoring fire in his belly next season. The 22-year-old simply left the other contenders in his wake as the votes poured in for the award,
SWINDON & District Bowling Association have a full calendar of 14 representative matches arranged this summer. The first, against the county bowls association, will take place tomorrow at Cricklade (2.30pm). Mike Large, the 2003 S&D president,
THE bomb disposal squad was called in to Trowbridge police station on Wednesday after an unexploded shell was brought in as part of the national gun amnesty. The 15lb shell was brought in by a man who said it had been in his family for the past 30 years
THE last remaining milk producer and retailer within a 40-mile radius of Swindon has said he is struggling to make ends meet. And while that might not be an uncommon phenomenon in British farming today, he has urged the people of Wroughton to support
FISH and chip restaurant Harry Ramsden's, based in the Designer Outlet Village for six years, will close on Tuesday with the loss of more than 20 jobs. The restaurant's operations manager Andy Payne broke the news to staff this week, explaining to them
People are being invited to comment on the Wiltshire and Swindon Structure Plan 2016. The document outlines what development can and can't take place in Wiltshire up until that date. Issues covered in the plan range from housing, transport, employment
A TOTAL of £2.3 million promised to Swindon schools has gone "missing in the system" since being handed to the borough council, the Government claims. But the council has hit back at the suggestion by Education Secretary Charles Clarke, saying it has
LACKHAM Countryside Centre is holding a Wedding Fair to raise money for Wiltshire Air Ambulance on Sunday between 10am and 4pm. Hair and beauty students from Wiltshire College will be preparing the hair and makeup of model brides for fashion shows taking
Dancers will have a chance to develop a little Latin rhythm, with a new Salsa Class being held every Tuesday at the Round, Bridge Street, Swindon. For more information contact 01793 882963.
OLD TOWN: There will be fun for all the family at a May Day Gala and Craft Fair at the Croft Sports Centre on Monday between 10am and 4pm. A fun fair and over 30 stalls will be on display as will an exhibition of local artists. A football match between
GARY Philpott, 43, of George Selman Gardens, Park North admitted having possessed ecstasy, cannabis and amphetamines, as well as driving with no insurance and with excess alcohol, wilfully obstructing a police officer, driving with no appropriate licence
A NATIONWIDE survey has found widespread unsanitary conditions in takeaway shops but Swindon is bucking the trend. Environmental health officers have made routine visits to 60 Swindon outlets in the past year but have only brought one prosecution. A handful
A swap-shop style website has been set up to cut down on rubbish disposal in the county. Swapitwiltshire.com is a materials exchange site, which gives people the chance to swap items they consider to be junk. Potential swappers are asked to complete a
A TOTAL of 574 guns, 41 illegal firearms and 7,526 rounds of ammunition were handed into Wiltshire police during the month long gun amnesty. People who had guns, ammunition and other weapons in their possession had until midnight on Wednesday to hand
A MILE of coins will snake its way around the Zurich offices in a fund-raising event for the Swindon Cancer Appeal. About 800 customer services employees at the finance firm in the town centre are saving up their small change for the event on May 23.
SWINDON'S newest NHS dental practice has treated more than 3,000 patients in just four months. Abbey Meads Dental Practice opened on January 6 and now has more than 3,000 registered patients, 98 per cent of whom are NHS patients. North Swindon MP Michael
COMPLAINTS against estate agents in the town have risen to a record high. According to the national ombudsman for estate agents, reported grievances rose by 16.2 per cent in the UK last year. He added that Swindon's figures echo the national trend. Nationally
THE appearance of four Tory councillors all under the age of 27 on Swindon Council gives the Conservative group a dynamic look and brings down their average age. For years the party's support has been known as the blue rinse brigade but Thursday night's
