THE saga of the Murray John Tower tenants has taken a new twist and an ugly one. After a messy dispute with the borough council about the lack of cleaning and maintenance, residents who have applied to the authority to buy their flats in the high-rise
GIVEN the current trials and tribulations faced by many Swindon schools and the local education authority it is encouraging to hear the success that Churchfields is having with its "more difficult" pupils. Many youngsters, often from deprived or emotionally
BOB HOLT admits Town's High Court battle with Danny Donegan promises to be a lengthy and messy affair but insists it will not cost the club a penny. A mystery third party is financing a legal claim which could net Town more than a million pounds if it
THE Royal International Air Tattoo will remember a leading British aviator when Europe's biggest airshow takes off from RAF Fairford in July. Wing Commander Roland Prosper Beamont died last November, aged 81, after a prestigious career. To celebrate his
THAMES Water, Swindon's water provider, is offering community groups the chance to hear more about the vital work of its principal charity, WaterAid. The charity helps some of the poorest people in Africa and Asia gain access to safe water supplies. The
KEYNES Country Park was today holding its annual Great Lakes Family Day. The open day, from 11am until 4pm, was due to feature dozens of activities, with a particular theme on 'have a go' sports, such as sailing, kayaking and canoeing. There was also
THE beds are changed every day, the rooms have a certain rustic charm and there's 24-hour room service to cater to every whim of the pampered residents. Rodent's Retreat is Swindon's only hotel for guinea pigs and hamsters represents the height of luxury
PROPOSALS to increase opening hours at Cricklade Library are being considered on Wednesday. Following consultation with users, Wiltshire County Council has drawn up plans to increase the number of days it opens from three to five, including Saturday mornings
JULIA Drown, MP for South Swindon, has welcomed Swindon's participation in an Employer Training Pilot Scheme. The Swindon pilot is one of only six in the country, with a combined budget of £40 million, and aims to raise the basic skills level of the UK
A TENANT bidding to buy his council penthouse in the David Murray John Tower faces seeing his annual maintenance charge more than trebled from £974 to £3,889. Bob Barrett, 45, was horrified to hear the news from Swindon Council. He hopes to buy his two-bedroomed
SHEILA Fox could face a jail sentence for leaving her car unattended overnight. The bizarre letter from Swindon Council, threatening prosecution and a £1,000 fine, appeared on her "abandoned" M reg Cavalier when it was legally parked outside her daughter's
THE SUN shone as hundreds of cyclists descended on Coate Water for the second annual Blue Peter Bikeathon. More than 280 youngsters and their families were registered for the charity event, with many more late entries on the day. Last year it raised more
PADDINGTON Bear had a day out from London to entertain children at the Steam Museum as part of Swindon's Litfest. Peru's most famous export brought his marmalade sandwiches along for the youngsters as he judged a best dressed bear competition and listened
DESPITE last winter being one of the mildest on record, Age Concern Energy Services says Swindon people aged 60 or over are still set to benefit from a Cold Weather Payment. The payment is available exclusively for Age Concern's gas customers who are
A VERY big thank you for a lovely day at Turner's on Wednesday. Thank you to all who made donations so that John Holmes could give us such a wonderful day. (Mrs) R M MOORE Twyford Close Park North Swindon
The Anthony Nolan Trust is looking for people to join the New York marathon on Sunday November 3. What's more, if you raise enough sponsorship it's free to enter. If you want to join our team or want further information on the trust call us on 01865 875757
COME on Mr or Mrs A C "you can't stop the rain by complaining" as the song goes (Children are out of control, Letters May 2). I am very sympathetic with your plight, but you talk about this as if it is something personally inflicted on you by a bunch
A FAMILY are living in fear for their pets after two out-of-control dogs broke into their garden and savaged two of their pet rabbits. Sandra Wrobel, 34, of Cranmore Avenue, Park South, says her daughter Lucy, eight, cannot sleep at night because she
A SPORTING session on Saturday mornings has been saved from closure with the help of a grant from the Co-op. The Sport on Saturday Club is enjoyed by disabled people every week, but was under threat of closure due to a shortage of cash. But its sessions
THE dramatic turnaround in these four pupils' behaviour is the result of Churchfields School's innovative educational inclusion unit, which has been aimed for the first time at final year students. Pupils in the unit say they were a nightmare to teach
BOB HOLT admits Town's High Court battle with Danny Donegan promises to be a lengthy and messy affair but insists it will not cost the club a penny. A mystery third party is financing a legal claim which could net Town more than a million pounds if it
CHARITY minded Commonweal school pupil, Amy Busson, managed to persuade her friends and teachers to hold a non-uniform day to raise much needed cash for a good cause. The 15-year-old, from Hughes Street, Rodbourne managed to drum up £314.33 for Hearing
WEST Swindon library is the place to be on Thursday when a host of events will celebrate Swindon Library festival day. Budding authors who want help with their debut bestseller can get a free one-to-one private session with accomplished writer Crysse
THE colour and pageantry of the first bloom of summer was brought to Minety Pre-School when pupils per-formed a traditional Maypole dance. The 24 children at the school, clutching red and yellow ribbons and dressed colourfully, skipped around a tree in
THE HUNT is on for Swindon's top curry chef. The borough has a mouth-watering 34 restaurants special-ising in Indian-style cuisine. And eight have chosen to enter their masala maestros in this year's cook-off. The competition began last year when Biplob
SWINDON Town's season might be at an end but the County Ground was still in action at the weekend when it played host to the third annual Trish Dow Memorial Football Tournament. Four teams from the Nationwide Building Society came to raise money for cancer
MANAGERS of a new radio station are gambling that Swindon is a hotbed of interest in swing, bebop, fusion and all that jazz. Swindon 107FM unveiled its proposed jazz programme this week revealing shows devoted to this particular music type every night
HOSPITAL Radio Swindon, which provides music and entertainment for the town's Princess Margaret Hospital, has been honoured at this year's Hospital Radio Awards. At a star-studied ceremony in Glasgow, hosted by Johnny Beattie, the station picked up the
THE Royal International Air Tattoo will remember a leading British aviator when Europe's biggest airshow takes off from RAF Fairford in July. Wing Commander Roland Prosper Beamont died last November, aged 81, after a prestigious career. To celebrate his
HAVE any of your readers received a scratchcard in a magazine or newspaper, found a winning line and been tempted to spend £4 on a phone call to get a claim number (required in the rules)? I ask this because by some sort of mistake I received ten such
I SEE FOEPAS (Friends of the Earth Personal Advice Service) is at it again. Perhaps FOEPAS could elaborate on just where the brownfield sites are in Swindon which could be used for several thousands of low cost houses. Practically all sites in Old Town
Andy Harrison (Evening Advertiser April 16) would do well to get his facts right. So far as the budget meeting of the council is concerned, the Labour majority could and did out-vote all other parties, so whether Conservative members were absent or abstained
I READ with interest about the First Great Western poster design by Craig Tiley, which is good, to say the least. But can I ask GW spokeswoman Elaine Wilde who said it represented Swindon, what has Uffington White Horse got to do with the town? On my
BATH coach Michael Foley has conceded his relegation-haunted team must show a huge improvement to have any chance of beating Wasps in their critical final Premiership game on Sunday. Bath, just four points above bottom club Leeds in 11th place and having
