One of the joys of growing up in the 1960s was to watch steam trains passing under a railway bridge, being momentarily lost from the sight of your companions as you were covered in a plume of smoke. The experience never failed to amuse. Now, many
Through your letters page may I take the opportunity to highlight the wonderful service provided by the responder button that my wife and I have in our flat. I was taken very ill in the early hours two weeks ago and our wonderful neighbour activated
As we get older we sometimes have senior moments, like the afternoon of Saturday, August 9 when I arranged for £150 to be dispensed at the cashpoint outside W H Smith in Marlborough, only to forget to pick it up. As soon as I realised I checked with
How many volunteers does it take to make carnival fortnight in Pewsey a success? There are a huge number of people, from guys and girls doing the lighting, the webpage, the marketing, the scheduling, the road closure notices, the registrations,
On the radio and in her column, Claire Perry, says that “turn up and travel” is responsible for overcrowding on trains. She wants us to book in advance. My brother was a railwayman nearly all his working life. He warned that privatisation would
James Gray has been banging the drum yet again against renewable energy on local radio and in the press. While good agricultural land should be preserved for food production, there is plenty of less productive land that can be used for solar farms
I hope that local residents have seen in this paper, on my local leaflets, website, surveys and letters that I have been campaigning hard for a reduction in Chippenham’s parking charges. As a local resident I believe that a reduction would help
I note that in the letter from Wiltshire Council asking for opinions on which rubbish collection service should be suspended during the winter, there is great play made of the “free service” which we now enjoy. I would like to sign up for this
The Chippenham Half-Marathon was a splendid sight, and I was delighted to see the excellent coverage in the Gazette & Herald. The letter from a ‘participant’ last week was a typical response from those who took part, as it was such an obvious
I have noted and agree with the comments made during past editions of the Gazette & Herald about the eyesore on top of the recently restored and refurbished former Le Marchant Barracks in Devizes. Speaking of Barracks, I wonder if Barack Obama
A few weeks back, becoming concerned at delays in getting action from Wiltshire Council departments on behalf of my residents, I wrote a general letter to the local press. In this I cited that often when I raised a matter needing attention, the reply
Having just read the book Devizes through Time, featuring Devizes past and present, I found it to be, like the curate’s egg, good in parts. The parts that were far from good involved areas of my home town that were described as slums. Having
This is a repeat of a plea I made some years ago to my fellow motorists trying to navigate through the village of Market Lavington. The village has evolved over a period of several hundred years, long before the birth of the motor car. As such
I have seen those bulb-planting baskets that are available – the idea is you plant bulbs into the basket, put the whole lot in the ground, cover in soil, leave to flower and then lift the whole lot out once they’re over. My only gripe with these
The customers of St Arbucks community café in Market Lavington have donated £200 to the Lavingtons Youth Club. The club, based at the George Baker Centre, runs youth meetings for children and young people around Market and West Lavington. St
Debs Tilney, manager of Bupa care home in Market Lavington, got a soaking along with 17 other members of staff after they were nominated for the ice bucket challenge. India Crisp, care assistant at Bupa, nominated all her colleagues and organised
Rifleman Dan Churnside has won an army award after finishing his recruit training. Rifleman Churnside, 21, from Marlborough, completed the Combat Infantryman’s course at the Infantry Training Centre in Catterick, North Yorkshire. His platoon
Chippenham's MP has submitted to an icy soaking to raise funds to fight motor neurone disease. Duncan Hames was nominated for the ice bucket challenge by Hardenhuish School student Kieran Mulvaney, a member of the UK Youth Parliament for North
Residents of Sutton Benger are pulling together to bring life-saving equipment to their village. They want to raise £2,600 for two defibrillators, one for the village hall, home ground of rugby, football and cricket teams, and one for the Wellesley
MARK Collier says that Chippenham Town will ‘live to fight another day’, despite their humbling at Dunstable Town yesterday. The Bluebirds slipped to their biggest defeat of the season as they were thrashed 5-1 in Bedfordshire, with the hosts’
While the weather remains in its becalmed state, the work preparing the fields for planting continues. Hopefully this year we will be able to sow all our crops before the weather changes, which will make life a great deal easier as we head into
Calne schoolboy Jason Kellinger has been appointed head chorister for the year for Salisbury Cathedral Choir. In his new role, Jason, 12, will lead the choir of 16 boys, sing solos and give a sermon in the tradition of the Boy Bishop Ceremony on
The fifth annual Chippenham Model Railway Show will take place on Saturday, September 27, in Sheldon School Sports Hall. Hundreds are expected to admire the 14 working layouts, presented by Bentley Model Railway Group. These will include British
As most of us pay Wiltshire Council upwards of a grand a year in council tax, I’m sure that we’re all glad that they’re always looking for ways to save money. Some of the cost-saving changes, like the move to fortnightly rubbish collections, seem fair
Four pupils at Calne’s Springfields Academy are preparing for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as part of the The Extreme Classroom project. Starting on September 28, Year 10 pupils Caitlin, Stefan, Tim and Sid will be joined by three Springfields
