ROGER Green, the 2010 Bowls Wiltshire Men’s President, and a member of Spencer Moulton Bowls Club in Bradford-on-Avon, concluded his season of friendly fixtures with a highly successful president’s tour to the Weymouth area, writes DAVE EATON.
TOMMY Bridewell believes that the re-vamping of his Quay Garage Honda team can help him clinch next year’s MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship title. After agreeing a sponsorship deal with Tyco Security Products, Motorpoint Yamaha rider Dan
CHIPPENHAM sprinter Elaine O’Neill received the perfect send-off for the Commonwealth Games after being named athlete of the year at the Welsh Athletics Award dinner. The 20-year-old picked up the women’s prize – Trowbridge-based European 400m
After a break for summer holidays, mobsta promotions returns for a series of gigs in Melksham venues, starting with a variation on the Open Mic nights There will be a £2 entry charge, and local bands will now be encouraged to headline after the Open
John (Jock) Cormack and Bryony McGinty, better known as Bradford-on-Avon-based folk duo Twice the Speed of Sound, are aiming to repeat the huge success of their January 2007 charity concert when they play at The Merlin Theatre, Frome, again on October
ADIE Mings is considering a complaint to the FA over the number of referees being assessed at Chippenham Town’s home matches. Tewkesbury official Derek Eaton was under scrutiny as he infuriated the home crowd with a number of decisions in Saturday’s
Mark Little has come a long way since his days as Joe Mangel in Neighbours and is ready to tickle your funny bone in this backlash against feminism, coming to the Wyvern on October 14 and 15. This one-man show promises to amuse both sexes with observations
The leisurely pace of life at Cranford was relished by Swindon audiences last week. Director Sandra Gilbert also played the elegant narrator. The well-designed set, sound effects and period costumes evoked the years 1835– 1836, when class consciousness
“For a play in which not a lot really happens,” commented my companion as we left Carrie’s War, “an awful lot happens to them.” Adapted from the popular Nina Bawden novel – if it was published today it would be one of those issued with two
Many thanks to the Gazette and Herald for its help in promoting the Big Plant on the Green at 11am on Saturday. The event, organised by the Rotary Club together with the town council, gives your readers the opportunity to participate in an official attempt
Jaz Carlin admits she’s got a point to prove as she prepares for a Battle of Britain at next week’s Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Carlin, 20, made a flying start to the season and ruled the roost over fellow freestyle swimmers, double Olympic champion
DELHI marks another stop on the journey to London 2012 and beyond for Corsham Paralympian Stephanie Millward. The 28-year-old, based in Swansea, competes in S9 50 and 100m freestyle and 100 butterfly in India, having returned from the IPC World Championships
CHIPPENHAM sprinter Elaine O’Neill insists her European Championship debut was a mere dress rehearsal for the main event – the Commonwealth Games. The 21-year-old won a spot on Wales’ 22-strong athletics team for Delhi following a double medal haul
The Kicking Donkey, Brokerswood, near Westbury, BA13 4EG 01373 823685 It was a lovely autumn day as we drove through the countryside to the Kicking Donkey. Set right in the countryside at Brokerswood, within easy reach of Trowbridge
It is unfair to blame my MP, Duncan Hames, for the decisions over driving test centre closures. I am one of his constituents and I know he has tried to have the closure of the Trowbridge driving test centre reviewed. When I last read reports about
Found – a lady’s watch in Devizes Market Place at 9.30am on Thursday September 23, market day, by Peter Matthews. Will the owner kindly phone me a description on (01380) 727657? Peter J Matthews, Hillworth Road, Devizes.
It is sometimes said “never believe everything you read in a newspaper” and that is certainly so when I am quoted in last week’s Gazette and Wiltshire Times as saying that I may not have taken the top job on Wiltshire Council if I had realised quite
May we thank the paramedics and fire brigade for the quick response when our father collapsed at home. They were so efficient and kind to our mother while getting our father ready to take him to hospital. Sue and Peter Evans, Devizes.
This Sunday there was a cycle event around Worton and Potterne. It was for a good cause but its participants were amateur and, as I would be, unfit and often wobbly. There was no warning of this for drivers and no signs on the road. After I had come
I support Val Compton’s campaign (September 23) for a comprehensive review of parking in Marlborough. Increasing numbers of cars are now parked all day at the top of Hyde Lane near Frees Avenue and in the access road to Melin Court and the Rugby Club
HANNAH Shepherd scored five times as Derry Hill claimed an emphatic 8-0 win over Lavington in the U16 Division. In one of two matches in the section, Shepherd’s nap hand led the way, the other goals coming from Lia King, Katie Hamilton and Rebecca Daw
In reply to Val Compton’s letter about a residents’ parking scheme (September 23), I fully support her aims, though I think that initiating a scheme in Marlborough at the moment might cause more problems than it would solve. Like most small towns
We would like to thank everyone who came to the Macmillan coffee morning we held in memory of our mum, Valerie Ritchie. It was a really special day, full of happy memories from special people. We raised £130 for Macmillan, so thank you to all who
May I, through your newspaper, thank the inconsiderate swine who drove into the back of my car while it was parked in the car park next to Malmesbury Town Hall last Thursday. My wife noticed the damage after we arrived at Lacock. Unfortunately, there
The Waiblingen Way and Neighbourhood Watch Residents’ Association is happy to advise that they recently won an ‘Improving’ award through the Royal Horticultural Society and South West in Bloom scheme. This award was presented to Mr P J Matthews who
I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who stopped and helped when I fell down the escalator in the Shires shopping centre on August 15, especially the security guards, paramedic, the ambulance service and Rachel Lowe. Sheila Hale, High Street
Although I do hold certain personal beliefs, I can’t claim to be particularly religious. But I have fond memories of morning assembly at Southbroom School in the 1940s and early 1950s when, accompanied by Miss Harding or Mr Lavery on the old upright
Further to Mr Young’s letter last week, don’t let’s blame the young people for Marlborough’s decline. I have lived here for 68 years and it is so sad to see it now. Not only do we have empty shops which always contribute to a town looking shabby
Pewsey Carnival 2010 was once again blessed with fine weather and the people of the Vale were able to enjoy a programme of over 30 different events over the two weeks. We still have the band and choir concert to look forward to, on November 6. I
Ben Highmore is hoping to get back on the goal trail as quickly as possible for Chippenham Town after spending four months in Canada. The striker returned to the line-up against Banbury United on September 11 and came off the bench in Saturday’s 1-0
I don’t think Lewis Cowen can have been in a very good mood the night he reviewed Habeas Corpus (Gazette, September 23). How anyone could have failed to laugh out loud in some parts and chuckle through virtually all of the production escapes me. A
Following Mayor Goldstone’s rallying speech promising to fend off unwanted development, the 300-plus Malmesbury residents, who gathered in the town hall on September 14 to oppose plans to build hundreds more houses here, agreed that a committee
DEVIZES youngster Rhianna Andrew will pull on Great Britain colours for the first time this November when she competes in the 19th World Age Group Trampolining Championships. The 14-year-old, who attends Devizes School, was named as a reserve for last
Devizes Town chairman Shaun Moffat is eyeing a new dawn for his club under Mark Love, but only after they reluctantly accepted the resignation of manager Tommy Dryden. The former Calne Town joint-boss quit Nursteed Road on Monday night and
Saturday against Farnborough was a poor game and it was pretty poor in terms of what we offered in the final third. But when you have a team that are trying to spoil the game, that are on to the referee, trying to get players booked, trying to get players
Volunteers manning the Community Speedwatch scheme in Dauntsey have helped police catch drivers speeding through the village. The three offenders were fined after being repeatedly caught by volunteers who passed on details of the drivers’ vehicles and
Calne Town’s good start to the season continued with a pulsating victory at Keynsham on Tuesday night. The Lilywhites, who have been in free-scoring form for much of the campaign, took a 4-1 lead into the last 20 minutes, through two goals each for
Wootton Bassett will be at the centre of a 250 mile march next month in aid of the Royal British Legion – each mile representing one serviceman or woman killed in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001. Former and existing service personnel from all the Armed
DAVE Turner doesn’t believe that his Wootton Bassett Town side go into this weekend’s FA Vase clash with Cadbury Heath as favourites. Bassett travel to the Toolstation League First Division outfit in the first round proper of the Vase after dismissing
MALMESBURY Victoria chairman Paul Neale is hopeful the club can appoint a new manager swiftly and shift the focus to their on-field fortunes. Ken Turner was axed from the Vics hotseat last week, leaving vice-chairman Martin Woodhouse and assistant
PEWSEY Vale’s impressive debut season in the Wessex League Division One continued as they went second on Tuesday. But boss Adi Holcombe was less than impressed with his side’s performace as Ricky Franklin got the goal just before half-time, to extend
Motorbike enthusiasts are being called on to sign up for two charity rides in a tribute to RAF Lyneham before it closes next year. The Ride Of Respect takes place on Mother’s Day, April 3, and a separate 1,500-mile Ride With Pride in aid of Afghan Heroes
ADAM Young is braced for battle when his side host Laverstock and Ford in the FA Vase on Saturday. Melksham, for whom striker Dan Kovacs scored in the defeat against Merthyr, said: “It would be nice to put a cup run together, the money is very important
Police have seized around £500 worth of cannabis from a teenager in Wootton Bassett. The find came as a result of collaboration with the town’s CCTV operators during which officers tracked down the large quantity of cannabis. A further inspection of
Wootton Bassett High Street was blocked last night while several fire crews tackled a house blaze. Wiltshire Fire and Rescue received a call at about 8pm after a small fire had started in a bedroom on the first floor of a two-storey house. A crew from
More than 2,000 people are expected to attend firework celebrations in Neston in November in a bid to raise funds for Neston Primary School. Last year the celebrations at the Rec raised £7,500 for the school and preparations are underway for this year
Corsham has been awarded its first ever silver gilt in the South West in Bloom competition. The award is a step up from 2009 when it was only awarded a silver. Corsham in Bloom organiser Ruth Hopkinson said: "The Corsham in Bloom committee is extremely
Plans to put Corsham on the tourism map have been unveiled. Town councillors are hopeful that they can recreate the success of Lacock, which was last week named by travel website TripAdvisor in a list of the fastest growing up-and-coming tourist hotspots
Organisers of Sherston Mangold Hurl have put out a nationwide plea for more of the root vegtables after a poor season has resulted in a drastic shortage. Growers in the village have produced only 30 roots but the organisers want 300 for the competition
Derry Hill couple Tom and Maureen Lewis, who are celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on Friday, say there is no secret to their lasting marriage. Mr and Mrs Lewis, of Wycombe Close, moved to Calne from London in 2000. Mrs Lewis said:
Cyclists Darren Tapper and Ben Higham are back home in Pewsey Vale after cycling almost 1,000 miles to raise funds for Children with Leukaemia. Mr Tapper of Stratton Road, Pewsey, and Mr Higham of Burbage Road, Easton Royal, hope to have raised about
The former manager of Devizes Visitor Centre, Maggie Moore, has raised £1,200 for Rowdeford School by taking part in the Great North Run on Sunday. Mrs Moore, 59, of Cherhill, completed the course from Newcastle to South Shields in two hours and 25 minutes
Young violinist Tobie Tripp of Market Lavington has won an award of £1,000 from Wiltshire Rural Music School. Tobie, the sixth young musician in the county to win the annual award, was presented with the cheque by music school chairman Glyn Bridges
This is another picture sent in by Pat Pithouse and shows Rowde School in the early 1940s. The pupils have obviously won a trophy for their sporting achievements, but quite which sport is not clear. The team picture is still a common memento of school
A golf day organised by Devizes company APT Electrics has raised £230 for Wiltshire Air Ambulance. Pete Franklin, Stuart Trusler and Richard Fletcher from APT Electrics, based at Roundway Hill Farm Business Centre, handed over the cheque to paramedic
Celebrity chef Peter Vaughan visited Downland School in Devizes on Friday to show the pupils what their newly renovated food technology room could produce. Mr Vaughan, of The Bistro in the Little Brittox whose TV appearances include BBC Breakfast, was
Historian and author Richard Broadhead is campaigning to get better recognition of Calne’s forgotten war hero Geoffrey Rumming. Chief Petty Officer Rumming, 29, an air mechanic with the Royal Naval Air Force, was providing cover for the doomed landing
Pupils at St Paul’s School in Chippenham were given a taste of life in Egypt when they took part in a re-enactment of a pharaoh’s funeral. Children in Years 3, 4 and 5 were transported back 3,000 years as they looked into the burial process and how Egyptians
So we’ve got yet another generation of the Labour party, if now-not-so-red Ed’s inaugural speech is anything to go by. I know time goes faster the older you get, but wasn’t it just 13 years ago that 1997 took place? When New Labour replaced
The Duchess of Cornwall has agreed to extend her patronage of the Devizes-based charity Community First for another five years. Camilla had been patron of Youth Action Wiltshire before it merged with Community First, Wiltshire’s rural community services
TOMMY Dryden has stepped down as manager of Devizes Town less than two months into the season. Former Malmesbury and Calne boss Dryden returned from holiday to manage the team to a first away victory for six months at Portishead last Saturday
THE Qatar Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp is undoubtedly the highlight of this weekend’s racing. The richest turf race in the world gets underway on Sunday and has attracted its usual top class field, headed by favourite Behkabad and the Aidan
Dozens flocked to the Assembly Hall in Melksham on Sunday to pick up tips and ideas for their dream wedding. Brides and bridegrooms-to-be attended the Gazette & Herald Wedding Fair, which featured exhibitors, including wedding planners, a luxury car
Sky dive fanatic Peter Smith, 57, of Sutton Benger, raised over £550 for Meningitis UK with his fourth parachute jump on Sunday. It brings the total the postman has raised for charity to £3,050.
Record numbers of cyclists took part in the Wiltshire Bike Ride, the British Heart Foundation’s big local fundraiser, which set off from Seend on Sunday morning. More than 700 riders, the most in the event’s seven-year history, set off from
Jobless Natasha Gregory, who dyed her cat bright pink to match her hair, will receive a dressing down before having it returned to her, the RSPCA said this week. An officer from the animal charity will be visiting the single mum to offer welfare advice
The first Literary Festival in Marlborough has been such a success that it is sure to became an annual fixture on the town’s calendar, said its principal organiser, author Mavis Cheek. It was one of the 14 visiting authors, best-selling novelist
Armed police surrounded a block of flats in Calne after a man was shot with an air rifle during a row. A man was arrested after the incident at Baily House in Foreman Road, Calne, at 9.10pm on Friday. It is believed the two men began arguing after one
Famous limited edition prints of Beryl Cook paintings will go on sale at Court Gallery in London Road until the end of October. The paintings, which are popular for their bright colours and humorous depictions, will cost from £350 to £650 for a framed
A last-ditch attempt to gain planning permission for an 18-hole golf course in Yatton Keynell has been dismissed at appeal. Planning inspector Richard McCoy has ruled against an appeal to import nearly 148,000 cubic metres of inert waste material to
People have been busy baking and putting the kettle on for Macmillan Cancer Support’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning. Staff at Travelwise and Coffeewise in Sidmouth Street mounted their event a day early, last Thursday, to make the most of the market
In less than 12 months the ailing Royal British Legion Club and branch in Great Bedwyn has been turned round and become a huge success with packed events. Sally Rhodes, who is on the committee that stepped in to breathe new life into the High Street
A woman had to be cut from a car after a crash at the junction of Bath Road and Dunkirk Hill in Devizes on Tuesday evening. Police, ambulance and fire crews were called to the site of the crash, involving a black Toyota Celica, a blue Peugeot 306 and
Mother Dawn Bowers, who studied for a degree while bringing up three children, has been named national radiography student of the year. Mrs Bowers, 44, gave up her administration job at Zurich Insurance four years ago to study radiotherapy and oncology
There will be 13 real ales from 12 Wiltshire breweries on tap at the Wiltshire Wobbler Beer Festival taking place in Pewsey Scout Hall on Saturday. It will be the second beer festival organised by insurance advisor Sam Edwards and the proceeds from the
FOLLOWING Swindon does have its highs and lows and this week we got to experience them both. Last Saturday, they put in a very good performance against Huddersfield. The team is starting to put in the performances that put us in the top six for nearly
IT’S a long way from the Harz Mountains in Germany to the village of Chirton, near Devizes, but the new licensees at the Wiltshire Yeoman are pleased to have made the trip. Rob Coombes and Jutta Hahn took over the popular pub on August 31 after deciding
Six Wiltshire Army Cadets and four of their instructors are taking part in a trek to the base camp of Mount Everest next month hoping to raise £8,000 for Help for Heroes. Organising the trip are partners Amanda Rowley and Mark Calaz who are both cadet
Despite completing 100 marathons in as many days, ultra-fit fundraiser Mike Buss has pledged to keep on running as he sets his sights on the Arctic. Most people would be happy with a century of marathons under their belt, but for the 36-year-old
Six months ago the Gazette joined forces with Help for Heroes to help create a personnel recovery centre at Tidworth. This week, as the charity marks its third anniversary, its founder Bryn Parry is about to sign the paper work on Tedworth House on the
Women in Sutton Benger will be helping to raise money for Help for Heroes on Saturday when they hold a Gladrags and Handbags fashion sale in the village hall. Christine Williams of the Sutton Benger WI, which is hosting the sale, said the toll on human
Devizes is destined to turn pink during the week of October 9 to 16 as more businesses sign up to raise cash for Cancer Research UK. More than 60 shops, restaurants and other premises have agreed to dress their windows, and in some cases their staff,
The business community of Devizes is being urged to support the town’s CCTV system as Wiltshire Council looks for £40million savings. The future of the eight-camera system, operated by Devizes Development Partnership, is in the balance if the council
The organisers of Devizes Junior Eisteddfod, who hold the 64th competition on November 20, have appealed for volunteers to help run it. Eisteddfod secretary Lisa Jacobs said: “I am about half a dozen people short for helping out on the day – runners,
Young people in Pewsey looking for a site to build a skate park have been rebuffed by the village’s secondary school governors and have appealed to the parish council for help in finding a suitable location. Adam Pratchett, chairman of the village’s
The final event of Devizes Carnival 2010 played to a full house at the Corn Exchange. Businessman Bruce Hopkins had managed to attract the hit 1960s band Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich – all Wiltshiremen – as well as EastEnders composer Simon May, born and
Townspeople young and old are being urged to roll up their sleeves and join a mass planting of more than 3,500 crocus bulbs on the Big Green in Devizes on Saturday. The town council has joined forces with the Rotary Club for the event, which is part
Pupils and staff at St Nicholas School at Baydon have been coming to terms this week with the death of teaching assistant Diane Wright. Mrs Wright, who had two daughters aged 20 and 17, was killed in a head of car crash as she drove from the school to
Devizes police have appealed for witnesses to the theft of lead from the roof of the Assize Courts building in Northgate Street. It is thought the lead was taken from either end of the roof some time over the weekend, although the theft was not discovered
‘Happy’, ‘generous’ and ‘always smiling’ are just some of the ways that Diane Wright will be remembered by her family and friends. The teaching assistant from Woodshaw, Wootton Bassett, leaves two daughters after she died in a head-on collision
Di Lunn, the effervescent chairman of Market Lavington parish council, has lost her battle against cancer at the age of 46. Mrs Lunn died in Pembroke Unit at Salisbury District Hospital on Sunday, having been diagnosed in January. She took over as
Wootton Basset Otters swimming club co-founder Tony Mason, 76, was a keen waterways enthusiast and President of Pewsey Wharf Boat Club. He had retired from his final job at Maslin Funeral Service, where he had worked for 16 years, only two weeks before
A large congregation attended the funeral of former railwayman Leslie Edward Axby, 86, at St Bartholomew and All Saints Church, Wootton Bassett. Mr Axby had maintained regular links with former colleagues through the railway retirement club at Swindon
The body of a British Army engineer who was killed by a Taliban roadside bomb while working alongside special forces in Afghanistan will return to Britain today. Corporal Matthew Thomas, of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, will be
