Archive

  • The sweet way to aid charities

    PEOPLE are limbering up to take part in Swindon Cares week. And Zurich Financial Services, a supporter of Swindon Cares and a member of the fundraising committee, will rise to the occasion by baking cakes. The Swindon-based company, plans to host a cake

  • Give Alfie a big cuddle

    THE opening of Swindon's biggest bookstore coincided with the first public appearance of the Advertiser's new mascot, Alfie the Alligator. Alfie is making the rounds at summer events such as fetes and carnivals. He is a very friendly chap, especially

  • Coucil must sort this mess out

    The SwindonCard seems to have thrown up more problems than solutions for more many people. According to its critics, the concessionary scheme is apparently confusing to apply for, costs more than its predecessor and has been introduced alongside across-the-board

  • Champions

    SWINDON Cougars have been crowned English Under 19 ice hockey champions. They clinched the title in a dramatic final in Nottingham on Saturday evening. Trailing 2-1 at the end of the first 20-minute period, Cougars came roaring back with a single goal

  • Doing the biz on the box

    TIRED of endlessly trying to stay plugged in and on to just what's happening in the business world? Then why not sit back and let television take the strain? But just what makes good business TV and how important will it become? Jeremy Smith reports.

  • Peace protests continue

    MAY 12: PRESIDENT Bush may have declared the war in Iraq over but protests continue at the US airbase in Fairford. Long-standing opponents of the base, Faringdon Peace Group, staged a sponsored walk to Fairford carrying white cardboard doves. On arrival

  • Peace protests continue

    PRESIDENT Bush may have declared the war in Iraq over but protests continue at the US airbase in Fairford. Long-standing opponents of the base, Faringdon Peace Group, staged a sponsored walk to Fairford carrying white cardboard doves. On arrival they

  • Path is laid for new twin

    A DELEGATION from Swindon flew out to Poland today to sign an agreement which could lead to the town's third official twinning. Swindon is already twinned with Salzgitter in Germany and Ocotal in Nicaragua. This time town leaders have turned their attention

  • A fair wind aids kite flyers

    Ready for take off . . . Erika Pearson, eight, plays with a Bols balloon at the Swindon Kite Festival held at Lydiard Park at the weekend. AROUND 3,000 people went to Lydiard Park over the weekend for Swindon's 13th annual kite festival. Giant novelty

  • As good as gold ... and it was free

    SWINDONCARD FEATURE: On its introduction, the SwindonCard replaced the Booking Card, GoldCard, Student Card and Staff Card. The GoldCard was very similar in principle to the SwindonCard but was only offered to those people on fixed incomes such as pensioners

  • Scheme is available to everyone

    SWINDONCARD FEATURE: The new SwindonCard is available to everyone, both residents and non-residents of the town, and can be used all day every day to receive discounts on services. There are three main types of SwindonCard. The first is the baseline card

  • Vet clinic team arrives in style for charity walk

    AROUND 250 Swindonians joined the 15,000-strong Moonwalk in London to raise money for breast cancer charity Breakthrough. Setting off at midnight on Saturday from Battersea Park the women, and men, walked 26-miles through the streets of London with their

  • So come to the pub for a good debate

    A GROUP of Purton villagers have come up with a novel new pub activity - intellectual conversation. Bar-room philosophers have been invited to make their way to the Angel pub on Thursday, May 22, for the first meeting of the Academic Inn. The project

  • What's it all about, Alfie?

    THE EVENING Advertiser unveiled its new mascot at the opening of Swindon's biggest bookstore. Alfie the Alligator joined children from Blunsdon St Andrew's C of E Primary School to cut the ribbon at Borders in the Orbital Retail Park in North Swindon.

  • Icy journey for charity

    SWINDON CANCER APPEAL: Trekking 100 kilometres across frozen Icelandic terrain may not be everyone's idea of a fun week, but one group of fundraisers is determined to complete and enjoy it as a Macmillan Challenge in July. John Hughes, 47, says he will

  • Fun and games at Lions club football tournament

    A TEAM of young footballers from Liden are to take part in a national knock-out competition after winning a tournament held by Highworth Lions Club. The club held the contest in order to pick a team to play against other Lions' clubs around the country

  • Still to come

    SWINDON LITERARY FESTIVAL: TODAY: 1pm, Melanie Phillips, Arts Centre. 7.30pm, Kate Adie, Wyvern Theatre TUESDAY: International poets Peter Porter and Candy Neubert, 1pm, Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, Dr Dina Glouberman How the end of the world can be

  • Escape to neverland

    SWINDON LITERARY FESTIVAL REVIEW: Songs that Tell Stories at the Town Hall focussed mainly on the biography and travel sections of the bookshop. Z Z Birmingham.and his Piranha band began with a dip into each, sweeping us off to the deep South to hear

  • An interesting - and Royal - appendix!

    SWINDON LITERARY FESTIVAL REVIEW: JENNIE Bond had the audience at the Arts Centre eating out of the palm of her hand, rather as the Queen's horses accept sugar lumps from the Royal fingers. There are those who regard the Royal Family as the backbone of

  • Conference calls for a greenprint for borough

    A STRATEGY has been set in motion to preserve Swindon's wildlife for future generations. The inaugural Swindon Biodiversity Action Plan conference was held on Saturday at Hreod Parkway School. The plan will link with national and regional action plans

  • Give cash to police to stop litter louts

    YOUR newspaper (EA May 5) reports 'chronic voter apathy' during the recent local elections, but no-one should be surprised. The vitally important meeting of SBC (which I attended) to set this year's council tax resulted in a 15 per cent increase. A lower

  • Amazing that people still deny Holocaust

    INCREDIBLE though it may be, there are still people who deny the Holocaust. Ted Sankey, whom you featured on Easter Monday, knows how lucky he is to have survived Theriesenstadt concentration camp. In June 1944 Dr Rossel, a delegate from the Berlin office

  • What a way to finish!

    BATH stalwart John Mallett was able to savour his final league game for the club as their 24-12 victory over Newcastle secured their top-flight status for yet another season. The 32-year-old prop retires at the end of the season and Saturday's relegation

  • Bath: we must avoid a repeat

    Bath could be one of the biggest movers in this summer's Zurich Premiership transfer market following their Houdini-style escape from relegation. The 1998 Heineken Cup winners and six-times English champions only stayed up on points difference - pushing

  • Bath escape is too much for words!

    BATH coach Michael Foley was almost rendered speechless after his side's 24-12 victory over Newcastle Falcons, and Bristol's last-day defeat at London Irish, saw the club keep their Premiership status. The post-match scenes at the Recreation Ground were

  • Lewis and co on brink of victory

    SWINDON'S Jon Lewis helped guide Gloucestershire closer to victory in their Frizzell County Championship Division Two clash with Glamorgan. Lewis, who took 5-61 on the opening day, hit an unbeaten 37 with the bat as Gloucestershire rattled up 400-8 declared

  • County stars crash in cup

    Wiltshire used nearly 50 players in their two Middleton Cup trials at the weekend, but lost both matches. On Saturday at Bath they lost by nine shots when going down to Somerset 124-115. But 24 hours later at Banbury they were totally outplayed and made

  • Bosses should perform

    Michael Wilson has been Sky News business editor since 1995, anchoring nearly all of Sky's coverage of major business events from Budget specials to market crashes. According to Michael, what businessmen really like to watch is chief executives being

  • The day Swindon was gripped by FA Cup fever

    AN ARSENAL man got his hands on the FA Cup a full week before his team contends for the prize. Gunners fan John Fisher, 21, was among hundreds of people aged two years and upwards who queued to have their photo taken with the silverware of dreams, which

  • 'You must have one'

    SWINDONCARD FEATURE: Kathy Jefferies, 35, from Covingham, an administrator for nPower, pays for her daughter Lauren, nine, to have swimming lessons at the Health Hydro. Kathy bought a Concession One card for her daughter but she feels forced to have a

  • 'We are not saving'

    SWINDONCARD FEATURE: Emma Godbold, 36 a childminder from Covingham, pays for her nine-year-old son, Connor, to attend a sports holiday camp at the Dorcan Leisure Complex each year. Until a price increase earlier this year, the cost each day for the camp

  • Fair play, please!

    SWINDONCARD FEATURE: James Effeny, 73 who lives with his wife, Esther, in Park South, had to buy a SwindonCard two months ago although his Gold Card was valid until the end of this year. Mr Effeny used his Gold card to get reduced rates on his two allotments

  • Cards on the table

    SWINDONCARD FEATURE: WHEN the SwindonCard was introduced, it was described by the council as a good way for people to access services at keen prices. But, as Anthony Osborne discovered, some users are not happy. IT has not been a smooth start for the

  • Oxon eye final

    DORSET & Wilts failed to book a place in the County Championship semi-finals at Twickenham as they slipped to a 34-15 defeat against Oxfordshire. The combined counties certainly gave their all in their group game at Swanage & Wareham's Bestwall

  • Great start to carnival

    TEN DAYS of events to celebrate Wootton Bassett Carnival got underway with a quiz evening at the Memorial Hall and Noremarsh School Fete. More than 50 attended the quiz on Friday night and poor weather didn't stop hundreds turning out for Saturday's School

  • Wimpey buys pub site for over £1m

    THE site of the old White House Hotel has been sold to a housing developer. After it was proposed that a probation hostel be built there, residents mounted a campaign which culminated in a 1,200 signature petition to the Mayor of Swindon saying that they

  • Musical extravaganza

    SWINDON LITERARY FESTIVAL REVIEW: CHILDREN from the video game generation were treated to a performance from the age of greasepaint and gas lamps at Lawn Woods. Gifford's Circus draws its inspiration from big top entertainment of the Victorian era even

  • Steaming ahead on all fronts

    SWINDON LITERARY FESTIVAL: AS THE tenth Swindon Festival of Literature passed the halfway mark, it threw up some surprises for the organisers. There was a near sell-out crowd for philosopher AC Grayling on Friday night compared with just 70 for Edwina

  • Peace protests continue

    PRESIDENT Bush may have declared the war in Iraq over but protests continue at the US airbase in Fairford. Long-standing opponents of the base, Faringdon Peace Group, staged a sponsored walk to Fairford carrying white cardboard doves. On arrival they

  • HOME (not so sweet) HOME

    A BUILDING site in North Swindon is the latest target for vandals. There is concern after a group of children climbed into an open manhole and started a fire. Now Peter Stevens, who lives near the site, is urging the developers to take action. Mr Stevens

  • Thanks Swindon!

    MY husband and I spent May Day weekend in Swindon. I would like to say thank you to the staff at the shopping outlet and Steam Museum, for their courtesy and kindness. On receipt of my disabled badge, we were given a wheelchair without charge. We were

  • Fresh is best

    I WAS shocked to read (EA, Saturday, May 3) of the continuing difficulties faced by Berkeley Farm Dairy in its efforts to maintain a viable business. I would like to urge everyone in the Old Town and Wroughton areas who are concerned about the environment

  • Stores are not to blame

    AS a veteran trolley collector (along with several of the Abbey Meads and Penhill residents), and one who frequently phones up regarding this to Asda, may I make two points. Asda tries to retrieve its trolleys on a regular basis, but to my mind it is

  • Complacency was Labour's downfall

    IT is no surprise that New Labour have lost a great number of seats and the control of many councils at the recent local government elections. The vote no doubt reflects the feeling of the electorate because Labour has let them down. It is difficult to