While most 11 and 12-year-olds are just about getting to grips with French or Spanish in their first year at secondary school, youngsters at Abbeyfield in Chippenham are trying to get their tongues around Mandarin. All Year 7 pupils at the school
Radio personality Matthew Biggs wowed a green-fingered audience at Woodborough Garden Centre last Thursday. Mr Biggs, best known as a panellist for BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, spoke about the history of the Royal Botanic Gardens at
Ronald John Cooper, known to his friends also as Ron, John or Johnny, was born on April 12, 1923, in Gastard, near Corsham, as the middle son of seven siblings – all boys. He always had a strong work ethic and as a young lad, while still at school
Mollie Edwards, 100, was known to many people in Royal Wootton Bassett, where she was a lifelong resident, and cycled regularly until she was in her nineties. Despite being given the name Margaret, she was always known as Mollie. The funeral cortege
Former policeman Alan Burton will be remembered by many people across Wiltshire. Mr Burton, who was also involved in Devizes Light Operatic Society and The Wharf Theatre, Devizes, died peacefully at Anzac House, Devizes, on March 10, aged 85. He
Mobile phone companies O2 and Vodafone are planning to upgrade a base station at Seend Cleeve. They propose to replace the existing 17.5 metre mast with a 20-metre mast and replace an equipment cabinet to cater for 4G coverage. The companies
A date has been set for a fun day in Worton being organised by the family of little Isambard Pickford. Paul and Hilary Hams, his grandparents, who run Hams Transport in Devizes, are to hold a fete in the grounds of their home in the village on
Accountant Andy Coombes is to help get the finances of Devizes Opportunity Centre into the black when he runs the London Marathon on April 13 for our Give Us A Chance Appeal. Mr Coombes, 41, who works for David Owen accountants in Market Place,
Devizes man Andy Escott is planning to walk barefoot along the Kennet and Avon Canal towpath to raise money for international water aid charity Just a Drop. Mr Escott, 33, will be walking down Caen Hill and finishing at the Barge Inn in Seend Cleeve
Plans for a storage warehouse in Gastard, which could hold up to 300,000 cases of fine wine, have angered local residents, who believe it will destroy the village’s environment. A planning application has been submitted by Octavian Vaults, for
Mum Tina Buckland and her son Matthew are proof that Devizes Opportunity Centre continues to touch families’ lives long after children move on to school. Mrs Buckland, 50, of Parkfields, Devizes, sent a donation for our Give Us A Chance appeal
Slimmers in Devizes are helping to take the weight off the mind of opportunity centre manager Betty Newman. They are holding a sponsored slim to help our Give Us A Chance appeal for the nursery, which must raise £50,000 towards its running costs
AFTER a couple of months of stagnant performances from Town, it was exciting to once again experience some passion and it came in the shape of a West Country derby. All Town fans would recognise both Bristol clubs, Reading and Oxford as the club
Children from all over the Devizes area will be able to try out new sports during Devizes Lions Club’s sports coaching at various venues on March 29 and 30. More than 450 children in school years 4 to 8 have taken up the Lions’ invitation to take
The wayward flight of the artillery shell which strayed five miles off course and exploded in a farmer’s field in Patney was due to the charge being too big, says the Army. The shell was fired from a 105 Light Gun on the south of Salisbury Plain
After months of fundraising ten-year-old Luca Railton leaves for America this week for surgery to save his legs, after the community helped raise £91,500 in five months. Little Luca, who lives in Rodbourne near Malmesbury, travelled to Florida
Changes to Wiltshire Council bus services through Chippenham and Malmesbury are due to come into effect at the end of March, after months of consultations. But the revised timetable has come as a shock for passengers who rely on public transport
NEXT time you are on the putting green before you go out to play, have a go at my simple drill to help you control your distance when putting. Firstly, take six golf balls and stand 15 paces from the fringe of the green and hit your first putt
Chef Dan Miles is gearing up for the most important meal of his career, as he prepares to cook for a host of world- famous chefs. The Colerne 26-year-old, who works at Lucknam Park, will be in London today for the regional final of the the Roux
Radio personality Matthew Biggs wowed a green-fingered audience at Woodborough Garden Centre last Thursday. Mr Biggs, best known as a panellist for BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, spoke about the history of the Royal Botanic Gardens at
As the green shoots herald the forthcoming spring and the re-emergence of the sun fills the air with optimism and the inevitable hose pipe ban, we can also look upon the economic forecast with confidence… Confidence that if we fall into old, bad habits
Countryside lovers in Wiltshire are being advised to be “tick aware” this summer so they know what to do should they come into contact with the insects. Ticks are most active between spring and autumn and can transmit bacteria which can cause potentially
The death of driver Tracey Rooke, 43, on the A3102 at Mile Elm makes it likely that the 50mph speed limit there will be re-examined. The road links Silver Street in Calne to the A342 Devizes Road and had a 60mph speed limit, which was reduced to
Emergency services are at scene of a road traffic collision on the A338 between Burbage and Collingbourne Kingston. Police say they expect the road to be closed for a short time and are advising motorists to seek an alternative route.
Pewsey race night organiser Carol Parsons is betting on raising a good sum for Prospect Hospice. The event is on Saturday, March 29. from 7.30pm at the Bouverie Hall and includes a ploughman’s dinner. As well as the usual horse race fun, an
A four-year-old girl and her three-year-old half-brother are to be adopted after twice being removed from their mother and her partner by Wiltshire Council social workers. The youngsters were taken into care in 2011, returned home in March 2013
Mourning is a natural and a healthy process. We are sad, perhaps beyond words sad, at the passing of a loved one. We will miss him or her; we think of all the things that might have been. Very often we may be distressed at the manner of their passing
At last, the Government is tackling the unfairness in our school funding system that has seen Wiltshire schools get less than they should compared to schools in other counties. On Thursday, Liberal Democrat Schools Minister David Laws announced
Funds continue to flood in for our Give Us A Chance appeal with cash coming from a parish council, a WI group and a quiz night, as well as a number of other cash donations. Pewsey Parish Council has presented Devizes Opportunity Centre with
Youngsters in Calne can be part of two different projects organised by the Wiltshire charity Splash over the Easter holidays. The first is a street dance project for youngsters aged nine to 12 giving them the chance to learn dance moves to hip-hop
There was a snippet in this paper a couple of weeks ago about vandalism on a building site in Devizes and it reminded me of a similar incident from a few years ago. In both cases, a newly-built wall was pushed over some time when the site was unoccupied
Few people in a sell-out audience – how wonderful to see that – will have heard two of the six Brandenburg Concertos played more convincingly and fewer still will have heard the final one played at such a pace. It was truly eye-watering. Regular
This week saw the excitement of Budget Day where the House of Commons simmers like a saucepan coming to the boil until the Chancellor stands up at 12.30pm. There were some important economic changes to welcome and then a whole parade of juicy morsels
CHIPPENHAM Town manager Mark Collier isn’t pointing the finger at Hungerford Town’s Ian Herring after Bluebirds midfielder Rob Dean suffered a horrific dislocated knee during Tuesday’s abandoned Calor League Premier Division clash. Dean, 24, was
Large audiences responded warmly to the Clarendon Players’ entertaining Alan Ayckbourn production last week. Director Karen Smith was assisted by Charlotte Pracy-Nyman, Justin (Neil Edwards) and Julie-Anne (Fiona Jacobs) plan to announce their
After seeing Pack of Lies you can’t help but have a lively discussion about what you would do were you faced with the dilemma put in front of protagonists Bob and Barbara Jackson. Based on a true story from the early 1960s, the play tells the tale
CORSHAM Town maintained their fine form with a derby victory over Chippenham Park at the Southbank last night. Trevor Rawlings' men, who are now unbeaten in ten matches in the Toolstation League First Division, ran out comfortable winners, with
A woman has told how she comforted Tracey Rooke as she lay dying after a crash in the fog. Ms Rooke, 43, of Worton, near Devizes, died after her Ford Fiesta was in collision with 7.5 tonne lorry on the A3102 at Mile Elm between Sandy Lane and Calne
The Budget announcement that duty on ordinary cider will be frozen and that on beer cut by 1p a pint has been welcomed by South West England Liberal Democrat MEP Sir Graham Watson. He said: “Freezing the duty on cider is a welcome hand up for cider
Childhood friends Catherine Brown and Jade Deverill have raised £1,500 for Cancer Research UK through a cake sale in Heddington Village Hall. The event on February 22 was the pair’s first fundraiser and they are planning several other events this
VISITORS to the Tedworth Point-to-Point meeting at Barbury Racecourse on Sunday, April 6, will see two pony races alongside the six action-packed thoroughbred races. Leading amateur jockeys from the region and further afield will descend on the
Three loyal employees waved goodbye to The White Horse Bookshop after a total of 91 years’ service. Christine Ellis, Jenny Smithers and cleaner June Pike said fond farewells to colleagues and customers at a party last Thursday attended by around
