Archive

  • Wiltshire see off Wales

    WILTSHIRE recorded victory over Wales at Pontypridd yesterday with something to spare. The visitors won by an innings and four runs. Wiltshire 434-7. Wales 130 & 298 (G Rees 72, J Morris 56, LO Jones 56, MS Coles 4-71). Points: Wiltshire 24 Wales

  • Unbeaten Nationwide cruise pastsad Castrol

    NATIONWIDE maintained their unbeaten leadership of Division One of the Swindon and District Midweek League with a comfortable victory over Castrol. Nationwide rattled up 185-2 with Chattell making 52 before being run out. Archer ended up 70 not out and

  • Keen On Dean!

    SAM PARKIN would relish the chance to play alongside Dean Holdsworth should Andy King succeed in luring the much-travelled striker to the County Ground. The 22-year-old feels the addition of an old head would aid a young group of County Ground forwards

  • Bored of Bawden

    MANY of us enjoy days when things are a little different, for example dress down Fridays. How about the Adver starting a No Mike Bawden day? One day a year would be a start. MIKE MESSAM Queens Drive

  • Is it a free press?

    CAN you explain why you allow certain correspondents to slag off the Christian religion yet those who criticise the Islamic religion have their endeavours immediately binned? I have a wager with work colleagues that you will neither publish this letter

  • Have no shame

    WHAT an appalling statement from Arkells Brewery (EA May 23) to whinge upon the fact that they have to spend money on upgrading their pubs to accommodate the new Disability Discrimination Act. For such a profitable company they should be thoroughly ashamed

  • Wrong choices

    If the council officer, Geoff Howe, is favouring an underpass, it follows logically that the correct solution is a flyover. Our council officers have shown a remarkable consistency in making wrong decisions, so our councillors should pay heed to the 81

  • Creativity displayed

    SWINDON FESTIVAL SEASON: People are already displaying their creative talents for the Think Art festival. Around 25 local artists submitted their entries for a competition, sponsored by Nationwide Building Society, based in Pipers Way. People of all ages

  • I want Locarno plan to go ahead

    THE owner of Old Town's fire ravaged Locarno is determined to push ahead with his scheme to transform the historic site. Speaking for the first time since the fire, entrepreneur bar owner Gael Mackenzie said that he expects a structural report from engineers

  • DATES FOR YOUR ANGLING DIARY

    Fri Jun 6: Golden Carp AA prize giving at Milton Rd Club 7.30pm start. The Friday evening matches at Ivy House start this week 4pm draw. Fish 4.45pm to late Sat Jun 7: Ivy House lakes AC Junior match. New members welcome. Sun Jun 8: Ivy House Lakes AC

  • 'Bargain' shop is now boarded up

    A SHOP advertising electrical goods at discounts of up to several hundred per cent was shut and boarded up a day after trading standards officers handed out warning leaflets to potential customers. And those same officers are now trying to find out who

  • Fish galore!

    SOUTH Cerney AC, who have gone from success to success over recent years, have come up with the goods again with the introduction of more fish in their Wick Water Fishery and Ham Pool, near their popular club house. On Sunday in the annual 15-a-side match

  • School is praised by Ofsted

    A JUNIOR school in Faringdon has won praise from Government school inspectors. Faringdon Junior School is "rapidly improving" and new headteacher Karen Foster provides "excellent leadership and clear educational direction." The inspectors made a clear

  • Come along for the ride

    SWINDON CANCER APPEAL: REGULARS at the Cricketers Arms will be getting into the saddle for our Macmillan appeal this weekend. Nine members of the pub's regular cycle team are taking part in the Macmillan Mountain Bike Ride on Sunday. The fundraisers have

  • Hospital tries out Sim Man's skills

    MEDICS at the Great Western Hospital welcomed their latest potential recruit. Sim Man is a £22,000-advanced training simulator to help train doctors and nurses at the hospital in life saving skills. And it was on loan to the hospital for the day to demonstrate

  • Quiz to keep tabs on gangs of youths

    A questionnaire has been sent to Stratton homes in a bid to put an end to a gang's activities. Residents like Valerie Hearn claim they are being kept prisoners in their own homes while youths run amok in the streets. More than 100 questionnaires have

  • Hairdressers ride on a wave of success

    Swindon hairdressers have clinched a hat trick in a prestigious competition. Steven Goldsworthy and Julian Clarke, co-partners at Goldsworthy's Hairdressing in Catherine Street, will go head to head in the Guild of Hairdressers Photo Stylist of The Year

  • 'We've got your number' police

    CUTTING edge technology was put into action by traffic police in a crackdown on motorists in Swindon. As part of a day-long operation yesterday, a team of police officers set up an auto- matic number plate reader system in a white van at the Coate Water

  • Motorists are set for roadworks

    CONTRACTORS due to start work on the A419 have pledged to keep any traffic disruption to a minimum. A number of schemes are planned for the dual carriageway between Swindon and Cricklade over the next few weeks. But most of the work will take place overnight

  • Poor service

    I AM appalled by the way Swindon Borough Council (Bulk Waste Collection) staff treat the residents of this town. Quick to take the collection fee, long on collecting. When I rang several times to enquire about the delay I got number one excuse "It will

  • Let skateboarders use the Bowl

    So no-one wants to give Swindon skaters a home, then how about the Bowl at the Town Gardens? It's contained in its own area, fenced off and being below ground level out of sight to most users of the park, and the noise would be contained. The banking

  • Kangaroos are not a menace

    KANGAROOS are not and have never been a menace (letters, May 29). They have evolved with and are part of the Australian environment. Their numbers build up at certain times in order to withstand the regular drought that can wipe out half the population

  • Vegetarians want a gentler way of life

    As a vegetarian, I am used to petty insults regarding my diet. But Mr Tripley's letter (May 29) really scraped the bottom of a murky barrel with its implication that promoting a meat-free diet is akin to Al Qaeda's philosophy. Far from supporting terrorism

  • Civilised people don't kill Skippy

    I REFER to the letter from Anthony Tripley and his defence of the cull of kangaroos in his native Australia. He appears to suffer from what I have found to be a typical Antipodean attitude to animal welfare in which the desire is to kill as many animals

  • Ex-champs Goatacre bombed out of knockout

    PREVIOUS champions Goatacre crashed out of the National Village Knockout when they were easily defeated by visitors Shrewton in the third round on Sunday. Goatacre got off to a flying start with 21 runs in the first two overs. The wicket of Ferris for

  • Purton cling on for close victory

    PURTON beat Swindon by one wicket in an under 13 match in the North Wilts Junior Cricket League. In a low-scoring match, visitors Swindon were dismissed for just 41 in 12 overs. Robert Dean (3-7), Sam Walton (2-8), Aaron Lee (2-9) and Joseph Mills (2-

  • Nine-run loss for Swindon

    SWINDON slumped to a second successive defeat when they went down to Worcestershire side Colwall at the County Ground on Saturday. Acting skipper Darren Beasant lost the toss and Swindon were asked to bowl first on a very flat-looking wicket. Swindon's

  • Swindon through

    Swindon Cricket Club Under-15s, sponsored this year by The Ridgeway Hospital, beat Malmesbury away in the first round of the Portman Under-15 National Club Cricket Championship. Swindon captain Marc Williamson won the toss and led the way with the bat

  • Fairford lose to fiery Frampton

    Fairford visited Frampton and lost by two wickets. Both Gray and Leadbeater battled hard to give Fairford the start they needed but the fiery Robson bowled both of them with in-swinging yorkers for 14 and seven. With five wickets falling for a miserable

  • Bucking the trend, but for how long?

    THE UK's latest Gross Domestic Product figures may be a threat to Swin-don's economy, according to Swindon Chamber of Commerce. Dennis Grant, chief executive of Swindon Chamber, said: "The latest figures are sadly totally predictable. They reinforce the

  • Motorists are set for roadworks

    CONTRACTORS due to start work on the A419 have pledged to keep any traffic disruption to a minimum. A number of schemes are planned for the dual carriageway between Swindon and Cricklade over the next few weeks. But most of the work will take place overnight

  • Putting a mind to art

    SWINDON FESTIVAL SEASON: The annual Think Art festival is once again under way. Running through the whole of June it will see a series of talks, debates, workshops and exhibitions. The action is centred around the Brunel Centre but there will be events

  • It's time to party

    SWINDON FESTIVAL SEASON: There's no time to get bored with no less than three festivals running in Swindon during the summer. ALEX EMERY checks out the action. A dazzling array of international theatre, comedy and music will be hitting our town at this

  • Group is back on its feet

    SELF-harm group SPEAR has received a welcome boost to funds. SPEAR, Self Preservation Encouraging Active Response, has been given £6,000 from the Lloyds TSB Foundation. The money will help pay the rent of the charity's new offices in Milton Road. Currently

  • Family agrees to settlement

    A TEN-YEAR-OLD twin boy who suffered catastrophic injuries during his birth at a Swindon hospital has had his and his family's financial "peace of mind" guaranteed by a High Court judge. Thomas Crewe-Turrell was stricken by acute cerebral palsy because

  • 'We would welcome its closure'

    Zurich workers today welcomed the move to shut off the subway. Dermot Hayden, 26, a team manager, said: "The subway is quite dangerous at night. "It can be really dodgy and I worry about the safety of my team members. "I use it occasionally for lunch

  • End of the underpass?

    Workers using this subway felt it had become so dangerous that Zurich has stumped up half the £80,000 needed to put in a pedestrian crossing across Princes Street. Now other walkways could face closure under a review. AN £80,000 crossing that could be

  • 'She did a lot to help others'

    A WELL-known campaigner for the rights of people with learning difficulties has died. Clare Moss, 38, lost her two-month fight against cancer on May 26. Clare, who had mild learning difficulties, was born in Swindon and attended Sevenfields Primary and

  • Ron's still magic

    WHEN magician Ron Bridgeman lost his sight, he at first thought he could never perform again. But against the odds, he has become a master of blind magic. Ron, 77, from Walcot, said: "I was asked to perform for some children and didn't have the heart

  • Project in running for national award

    A COMPUTER project run by a Swindon-based charity has been shortlisted for a national award. The SCAMP project helps provide computer equipment for disabled people to use in their own homes and provides the training to use it. The project aims to help

  • Brothers stole to fund their heroin habit

    BROTHERS Andrew and Robert King have been jailed for six months after they stole thousands of pounds worth of hi-tech equipment to fund their heroin habits. The pair came to Swindon from their home in Slough to steal DVD players and discs as well as computer

  • Cash available to boost rural post offices

    A £60 million package to help struggling rural post offices fight the threat of closure has received a cautious welcome in Swindon. The European Commission has approved the cash handout to small outlets hit by moves to end over-the-counter payments of

  • Gardening prize is up for grabs

    Green-fingered residents in Stratton are preparing for their annual neighbourhood gardening competition. Flowers, shrubs, bushes and bulbs are all being primed for the Stratton in Bloom 2003 contest. And this year the field is wide open as three-times

  • Studying work and stress

    EDUCATIONAL courses are on offer at the Health Hydro in Milton Road, Swindon. The courses are run by the Workers' Educational Association, which provides courses for adults of all ages and backgrounds. Courses in June include Preparing for Paid Work,

  • Court earns award for giving a top class service

    SWINDON Combined Court has received the Charter Mark Award for providing a top class service to the public. The court, based in Islington Street, is one of 14 courts in the south west which have been given the award in recognition of enhancements made

  • Mind your language!

    TWO Swindon town centre pubs are calling time on swearing - but drinkers remain unimpressed. The Savoy in Regent Street and the Grove Company Inn in Fleet Street, both owned by the JD Wetherspoon chain, are asking drinkers to be more considerate in their

  • The Shop resource centre returns after revamp

    Residents in Parks can enjoy free internet access - because The Shop's resource centre has reopened. And the centre in Cavendish Square, which closed for refurbishment six weeks ago, now boasts 10 computers. The Shop, which sells clothes and bric-a-brac

  • Soulful sounds to fill the Bowl

    SWINDON FESTIVAL SEASON: A series of world music concerts starts in Old Town on Saturday. The 10-week World Music at the Bowl festival kicks off with The Soul Brothers bringing township jive from the streets of Johannesburg in South Africa. They have

  • Look up old navy friends

    DID you ever serve in the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Artillery or any other of HM Forces on board any of the light fleet carriers, HMS Bulwark, HMS Albion, or HMS Centaur? If so, there is an association the Bulwark Albion Centaur Association you

  • They just make area ugly

    I WOULD like to express my point of view on the apparent skate stoppers that have been put in place at the Octagon. If you have seen them, you would realise how ugly they make the concrete and general area around the Octagon look, not to mention how they

  • Not impressed by pointless, blaring noise

    You can tell when it's summer in Swindon. How? Simple stand on the High Street in Old Town for half an hour and count how many cars go past with their windows and sunroofs open, blaring out obnoxiously loud, thumping, brain dead music. I work in an office

  • One levy for all with card

    IN response to the SwindonCard article (EA May 12) I would like to draw your attention to the following: For a considerable time the Council has been seeking to provide a consistent approach to charging for all Council services that levy a charge. Elected