A letter written by one of the pioneers of British polar exploration during an expedition to the Antarctic is to be sold at Aldridge’s in Devizes on Saturday. Captain Albert Armitage wrote the letter on official stationary from his winter quarters
THE public will decide how much of a £500 giveaway Chippenham’s Doorway project will receive this Christmas. The Hills Group, which manages and recycles waste, is making the donation instead of sending Christmas cards to its customers. Its
International cellist Irene Enzlin is flying in from Salzburg to perform with the Marlborough Concert Orchestra for its Christmas Concert, her third with the orchestra. When Irene was 14 Marlborough Concert Orchestra conductor Christopher Irby
WAYLANDS couple Joseph and Jenny Hughes have lit up their garden with a festive Christmas display. For the 11th year running they have put together the Christmas lights to raise money for charity and this year’s good cause is Cancer Research UK
CHIPPENHAM will return to the era of the penny-farthing this Saturday at the Victorian Fayre. The event takes place in Market Place from 10am to 3pm, with all Wiltshire Council-run car parks in the town free on the day. The winners of the great
Strike action by Post Office staff will close Trowbridge’s main office this weekend, at the height of the Christmas rush. The Communication Workers’ Union has held a series of nationwide walkouts this week, which saw the office on Roundstone Street
MARLBOROUGH Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand is looking for help from its Wiltshire namesake to make the town of Blenheim the fastest area in Australasia. Blenheim has the biggest population in the region of Marlborough and it has put out a plea
Popular postmistress Eileen Clark, who ran the post office at Chirton for more than 24 years, died on November 22, aged 85. Mrs Clark was born on August 28 1928 at Peasedown St John, near Bath, to Jack and Mary Montague. She was the youngest
Ronald Leslie (Ron) Sheppard, who has died aged 84, was well known throughout the district as a Lyneham garage proprietor and was a valued member of Wootton Bassett & District Rotary Club and the local business community. He was a founder member
Lyndsay Cowen, who, as chairman of governors, saw Urchfont Primary School through its darkest days and then became the first manager of the village community shop, has died at the age of 72. Mrs Cowen was born in the tiny hamlet of Stanton Prior
CHIPPENHAM Methodist Circuit showed money does grow on trees as its Festival of Christmas Trees raised more than £1,000 for charities. The smell of pine needles and the sparkle of tinsel filled the Central Methodist Church hall at the weekend for
CHIPPENHAM ASC enjoyed a fine set of results at the British Gas National Age Group Synchronised Swimming in Gloucester. The nine-strong 12 and under Recreational team – Amy Gibbons, Bethany Barnett, Charity Sugg, Courtney Matthews, Lauren Makepeace
Wiltshire councillors vetoed plans to load recyclable materials onto lorries outside the Hills Waste factory on the Porte Marsh Industrial Estate in Calne yesterday. Hills Waste operates a recyclables management facility on the site, where around
Excited children at Kings Lodge Primary School in Chippenham have spent the run-up to Christmas thinking about the presents they would like to unwrap on December 25. The children, who took part in the school’s nativity play, have written letters
MARK Collier hopes to have signed a hungry Lloyd Macklin after adding the former Swindon Town forward to his expanding Bluebirds’ squad this week. Collier completed the signing of the 22-year-old, who also played for Torquay United from Conference
TUESDAY night’s 3-1 penalty shootout win over Stevenage was the second time in three seasons Town have reached the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Area Final. Ty Belford picked up the headlines after a number of good saves in the shootout. With rumours
More Wiltshire primary school pupils than ever are achieving and exceeding expected levels for reading, writing and maths, according to the latest government figures. The Department for Education (DfE) performance tables published today show 76
HILLWORTH Park in Devizes will be hosting a visit by Santa with carol singing and seasonal food to enjoy. The free event, on Sunday from 5pm–7pm, is organised by Devizes Town Council. Santa and Devizes mayor Pete Smith will visit the park and
SUCCESSIVE summers of hurt are the force driving Wiltshire ace Jaz Carlin towards medal glory at next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The former Wootton Bassett School pupil has already been named as part of Wales’ aquatics team for next
Ready meals company Apetito has won a national innovation award for its range for people who cannot chew food because of medical problems. The business, in Canal Road, Trowbridge, was honoured at the Food and Drink Federation Awards in London,
At this time of year, I wonder if any of my old classmates can remember the time, many years ago, when that man in red with his snowy white beard paid us a visit when we were in the infants’ class in Mrs Steadman’s cosy warm classroom, with snow outside
Beware of politicians bearing statistics. In her column last week Claire Perry MP states that: “We now have 868 Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) claimants across the constituency (less than two per cent of the working age population)”, clearly implying
Thanks for Anna Mauremootoo’s excellent report on the primary schools’ Christmas carol event held before the official switch-on of Marlborough’s festive lights. Can I add that the sponsor this year was David Dudley, the High Street jeweller, and
What will be the outcome of the leadership crisis at Wiltshire Council? I am prompted to use this stark term ‘leadership crisis’ in light of the pointed comments and penetrating analysis made by John Craig, the well respected ex-Chief Wiltshire Fire
The Gazette & Herald recently published a letter from an angry tourist who failed to get to Avebury because Wiltshire Council didn’t supply proper information about changes to bus stops when Marlborough High Street was closed to the Mop Fair.
If about 30 free parking spaces are made available at the George Lane car park in Marlborough for the sixth formers from St John’s, it will annoy local taxpayers, local residents and the environmentalists. The council ensures that there is enough
On a recent visit to a well-known supermarket (Tesco in Trowbridge) I came across a worker with a trolley containing about two dozen large joints of beef she was removing from the shelves. When I asked if she was reducing the items for quick sale
I would like to write and thank all the volunteers and customers who made the Burbage Christmas tree sale and market such a success. More than 50 volunteers were involved in running our kitchen, foliage and table decorations, cake stall, rustic reindeer
Imagine having one of these lorries, right, squeezing past your house on a regular basis. This happened to us in Compton Bassett last week when one of Hills’ large articulated lorries took a wrong turn. It was just a one-off for me (I hope) but
John Craig in his article ‘Leaders must share pain’ last week really nailed the key issue in the ongoing saga of greediness by Wiltshire Council’s leaders in awarding themselves huge increases in their allowances. Most people understand only too
I would like to say that I totally agree with Mr Hayter’s comments on last week’s letters page. I feel the ‘shed’ on top of The Keep looks alien to the rest of the building. It’s ugly and does not do the rest of the building any justice. While
Heart-warming total I would like to thank, via your letters page in the Gazette & Herald, all the very generous people who sponsored me recently in aid of British Heart Foundation. I am delighted to announce that more than £1,800 has been pledged
The lantern festival in Devizes attracted great crowds last Friday. In the crowds, the impact of the Christmas decorations was a little lost. However, when the fuss had died down, it was apparent that there was a poverty of support for seasonal
The lantern festival in Devizes attracted great crowds last Friday. In the crowds, the impact of the Christmas decorations was a little lost. However, when the fuss had died down, it was apparent that there was a poverty of support for seasonal
DEVIZES primary school teacher Chris Henley has retired after more than 40 years in the classroom. Mr Henley, 64, also bowed out at Bishops Cannings Primary School where he had worked part-time for 22 years. Born and brought up in Devizes,
A planning application for 200 ground-mounted solar panels in Potterne has been submitted by resident Robert Hunt-Grubbe. They are proposed for a field to the south of Court Hill on the western side of Potterne on land which is part of the estate
Most of us would struggle to remember the first time we watched television, surfed the net or twiddled a gaming joystick but it’s fair to say that few of us ever forget our first theatrical foray, usually accompanied by our parents, to a seasonal show
Of all of the things said about Nelson Mandela over the last week or – what a great man he was, how much South Africa owes him, how much the world owes him for an end to Apartheid and so on – one thing has struck me more than almost any other.
THOUSANDS of pounds was handed to charities during a presentation at the Jubilee centre in Marlborough. The disbanded Carnival Fun Day committee donated more than £1,000 to Wiltshire Air Ambulance, £500 was given to Prospect Hospice and Naomi House
Did you shop locally on Saturday? From the heaving High Streets locally it looked like many of us did, proving that Small Business Saturday was a great success. Now we have to keep the momentum going for the rest of the year, supporting local businesses
HUGE increases in councillors’ allowances were defended by Coun Jane Scott, leader of Wiltshire Council, for the first time yesterday, following weeks of silence. During November’s full council meeting, members voted in favour of the recommendations
DEVIZES produced an emphatic 9-3 defeat of Firebrands to move six points clear at the top of Davis Wood League Central One as the season entered its winter break. Devizes were positive from the pushback and went 1-0 to the good courtesy of a Tom
With the economy growing strongly at last, the Autumn Statement was able to include more good news than we’ve become used to. The coalition government is abolishing employer National Insurance for those under 21, more than 11,000 of them here in
Marlborough Army Major Kate Philp, who joined Prince Harry for a 200-mile charity trek across Antarctica in November, is looking forward to flying back to be with friends and family at Christmas. Maj Philp is part of a team of 12 wounded servicemen
NORTH WILTS men are rooted to the foot of the central region table in the Wessex League after another heavy defeat. After losing 86-66 to Purnell in their opening game and collecting one point out of 16 they crashed last weekend to a heavy 97-54
SIXTEEN-year-old Charlie Marshall made the perfect start to his riding career by guiding former graded chase winner Kornati Kid to a thrilling victory in the Novice Riders race at the PPORC meeting at Barbury on Sunday, writes ANDREW NORMAN. The
VISITORS to a Christmas angel festival at St Laurence Church in Hilmarton enjoyed a festive display of colourful decorations brought in and made by congregation members. During the festival, on Friday and Saturday, the church was filled with a
Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Wiltshire and Swindon Angus Macpherson has visited Caenhill Countryside Centre, near Devizes, to find out about its work with the community. It follows the centre receiving a £3,000 grant from the PCC’s Fund
SAM Collier's second half header shattered Wootton Bassett's seven-match winless run in the Hellenic League Premier Division as they claimed all three points against Binfield last night. Striker Collier headed home the only goal of the game in
SUE COOKE has become the first bowler from North Wilts this season to qualify for the latter stages of a national indoor championship event. She has reached the last 16 of the National Champion of Champions competition due to be played at Warner
ALAN King is to give Balder Succes a break following his disappointing run in the Henry VIII Novices' Chase at Sandown on Saturday. The five-year-old was well fancied for the Grade One after impressing in his short chase career to date, but only
Hundreds of young children clapped and cheered as Father Christmas arrived at Wansdyke School, Devizes, pulled by Wadworth’s shire horses. The event was designed to launch the school’s annual Christmas advent fair last Friday, which raised £1,000
Chippenham vicar the Rev Simon Tatton-Brown has said he is sorry he made children doubt Santa Claus. Parents of children at Charter School were incensed because they said Canon Tatton-Brown, vicar of St Andrew’s Church, questioned Father Christmas
