THERE has been cause for a double celebration at a pub in Bradford on Avon, with a twentieth anniversary and entry into a national competition. The George at Woolley plays host to the Bradford on Avon Folk Club, which marked two decades since its formation
A PENSIONER from Park North has been arrested by armed police after trying to set fire to his house. Officers were called to an address in Axbridge Close at around 9.15pm last night following reports that a man was trying to set fire to the property
The charity Keep Able has kindly donated two wheelchairs to the Wyvern Theatre. The Wyvern has long campaigned for wheelchairs to give greater access for the physically impaired. "Having a wheelchair on the premises is very beneficial," said Sian Walters
ONE in 10 new mums get the baby blues after giving birth. And Swindon's most famous mother, Melinda Messenger, is among them. The symptoms can range from feeling anxious, tearful, exhausted or isolated. But a new group in North Swindon is aiming to
MUFFIN, a one-year-old black and white cat, has been missing from her Stratton St Margaret home for the past six weeks. She was last seen on Thursday, July 20, at her owner's home in Burden Close, but has not been seen since. Muffin's owner, Pete Morse
We have teamed up with the Richard Jefferies Society to bring readers Richard Jefferies' monthly nature notes. For September here is an extract from a piece entitled Fruits Of September from Wild Life In A Southern County, which was first published in
IF a car boot sale bargain is too good to be true, it probably is, a consumer protection agency has warned. Consumer Direct, an organisation which offers advice to customers, is warning boot sale fans that goods sold at heavily discounted prices could
GOODS worth thousands of pounds are waiting to be claimed by their rightful owners. As revealed in the Adver earlier this week, the police have a haul of stolen jewellery, games machines and cameras which they want to return. Despite a public appeal
A MUM has admitted falsely claiming benefits - while she was working for the council that was paying them. Paula Instan swindled £19,000 in council tax benefit, income support and housing benefit over four years. Yesterday the 29-year-old wept as Swindon
CAR enthusiasts have taken a culinary mystery tour to mark the opening of the Brinkworth Food And Drink Festival. Drivers joined in the first North Wiltshire Festival Classic Car Rally from Brinkworth House on Sunday. The rally, organised by events
POLICE are reiterating the need for people to be on guard after a man pretending to be a fireman tried to con his way into a retirement home. As reported in the Advertiser yesterday, a man wearing black trousers and a red T-shirt with a fire service
CHARITIES across Swindon could increase their coffers, thanks to the Advertiser's parent company. The Gannett Foundation, the charitable arm of our parent company, is on the lookout for groups and organisations across the town which would benefit from
A NUTRITION expert will be teaching Swindonians how to prepare healthy meals. A few places are still available for the two-day cookery course at Lower Shaw Farm in Shaw next month. Josie Cowgill from Stroud will also teach visitors how to prepare meals
BANK workers from Swindon and Wootton Bassett will be hitting the road to raise money for Breast Cancer Care. Twelve staff from two Cheltenham and Gloucester branches will complete a 10-mile sponsored walk at Lydiard Park this Sunday. Brenda Smith,
THE Wiltshire Wildlife Trust is opening a new visitor centre at its Lower Moor Farm Nature Reserve near Oaksey. The centre will show developers and the public how new buildings can be environmentally friendly. It will be built in the autumn ready for
PEOPLE from across Swindon are being urged to visit Bristol for the finale of the Brunel 200 celebrations. It is being held between September 15 and 17 and will mark the official end of the celebrations, although other projects will take place during
GLENYS Scrivens met her partner Ray Brown just one year before tragedy struck. At 64 the former Royal Marine commander suffered a stroke which left him unable to walk or talk. Glenys devoted her life to Ray and cared for him at home until he died 10
MANUFACTURING in Swindon has taken a steady turn for the worse over the past decade. At least 6,000 jobs have been lost in the town since 1995, according to a survey published this week. An analysis of employment carried out by the trade union GMB reveals
WILTSHIRE'S emergency services will be showing off their abilities at this weekend's Emergency Services Show. The event at Hullavington Airfield, near Chippenham, takes place between 10am and 5pm on Saturday. It will feature displays from a number of
A TODDLER group is launching a new session especially for two to three-year-olds and their carers. Caterpillar Plus will include interactive stories, music, craft activities and organised play. Sarah Newman, who helped set up the group, said: "We hope
A BENEFITS cheat who claimed more than £5,000 has been told to do 100 hours of community service. Sally Anne Gordon, 37, was living in Swindon when she claimed £5,056 between November 2003 and June 2004. Gordon, who has since moved to Kent, appeared
A FUNERAL director will be looking pretty in pink as he tackles the Swindon Half-Marathon in memory of Chantel Boland. And Paul Tollafield hopes sponsors will dig deep into their pockets to help him raise money for cancer charity CALM. The 47-year-old
MUMS and dads, toddlers and teenagers all pulled on their running shoes to take part in the first Active Swindon fun run. The aim of the fun run, which went around Nightingale Woods, was to highlight the importance of exercise and the positive impact
SWINDON Council has clubbed together with 17 other local authorities to get cheaper legal advice. Swindon Council solicitor Stephen Taylor, who is leading the project, said that having a panel of firms ready to do work would save the councils money.
Everybody needs good neighbours', according to the TV theme song, but Swindon Council figures show that not all become good friends. The council's environment department received more than 1,250 complaints last year. They have also filled a storeroom
SWINDON Trading Standards and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service are offering free electric blanket safety testing. The free tests will be conducted by appointment only at Stratton Fire Station on September 20 and the next day at Swindon Fire Station,
A STRATTON woman who cared for soldiers during the Second World War is celebrating her 100th birthday today. Rose East, of Gay's Place, grew up in West Ham, in London, and moved to Swindon during the Blitz. The former nurse will be joined by her daughter
NOBODY cares about when Prime Minister Tony Blair intends to quit, they want to talk about local issues, according to South Swindon MP Anne Snelgrove. Mr Blair yesterday came under pressure from a group of junior ministers and backbenchers to name a
THE completion of Fairford's long-awaited community centre has taken a giant leap forward. The team behind the project has been awarded £180,000 by Gloucestershire Rural Renaissance as part of the organisation's plan to boost the rural economy. Town
PEOPLE are being offered an opportunity to have A Meeting with Truth next month in Swindon. Satyananda, an enlightened and spiritual master will be available for open talks and intensive sessions from Friday, October 13 to Sunday, October 15. As a society
THIS week pupils arriving back to begin a new term at The Ridgeway School can look forward to a more stable future. Steven Colledge has taken over the headship at the Wroughton secondary school. And to support him is a brand new management team. Mr
I JUST wanted to congratulate everyone involved with the Wyvern's SYP Annie on such an outstanding performance and to say a big thank you to all involved for a very memorable two weeks. I had a fantastic time meeting you all and being around helping throughout
MAY I thank all the wonderful letters and comments in your recent editions from parents and audience who came to see this year's production of Annie. It was great to see so many young people make a valuable contribution to a production like this, you
HAVE sports fans in Swindon ever had it better? The tale of 2006 sporting success in the town continued earlier this week when Swindon Robins emulated their football rivals by soaring to the top of their league. It is believed to be the first time
SO there we have it, Swindon Borough Council at last admits it doesn't want cars in the town centre. May I, as a car-user, suggest a six-month experiment. First, for example, make an area within the bounds of Fleming Way-Princess Street-Clarence Street-Groundwell
USUALLY I write full of moans - this time I would like to be on a positive note. First I would like to congratulate our local government on putting a positive zip' into Swindon. What a wonderful idea bringing Kew Gardens' to the centre of Swindon -
FOOTBALL: RAY BURROUGHS interviews Chokri Kartit - the man who has assembled a multi-national side in the Wiltshire League. Blueprint Chiseldon's inclusion in the Wiltshire Premier Division this season caused a few raised eyebrows - but manager Chokri
YOU are quite right (SA, September 4) to opine the view that the council must act to ensure the safety of the public and accordingly one must agree that a closure of the Wyvern Theatre does appear to be justified. However, I believe the public has
BOWLS: PLAYERS from the south of the county dominate the competitors in the Wiltshire Women's domestic finals being staged at Stratton Churchway tomorrow. Local clubs only feature in two of the county women's finals while another has a representative
BOWLS: SWINDON and District Men's Bowling Association complete their finals this weekend with the staging of the Eddie Wells KO Charity competition. The event has been running all season with Wootton Bassett and Haydon Wick battling their way through
A RECENT survey of wages and salaries in the UK listed the best paid jobs ranging from £50.5k to £171.5k to the worst paid jobs from £15k to £16k. Average earnings across all trades and professions was £28.2k in 2005. We now have 12.5 million pensioners
I OFFER two hopes of salvation to David Tetlow, who is chairman of the Cricklade Hall committee. He need not worry about loss of bookings for parties at which drinks will be served. The first good news is that all those of us running halls are in the
A SOZZLED sunflower is living the high life at a Stratton pub. The giant bloom is growing on the outside wall of the Rat Trap in Highworth Road and has already broken the 12ft barrier. And the monster plant can put its incredible height down to a regular
WILTSHIRE Police have launched a month-long crackdown on speeding motorists. Officers will be working closely with the Wiltshire and Swindon Camera Safety Partnership in an initiative that will see more people detected by mobile cameras and laser devices
BOWLS: SWINDON Bowls Club will be deeply involved in the Wiltshire Mens Bowling Association competitions finals. They are through to the last stages in both team events to be played on the green at Chippenham Town this coming Sunday, the finals having
Swindon Town fans will be given some half-time entertainment at Tuesday's game against Milton Keynes Nine shop assistants from Warehouse, pictured, will be hoping to score winning goals against town mascot Rockin' Robin. And they hope to raise £150
SPEEDWAY: SWINDON Robins' three-point lead at the top of the Elite League is likely to evaporate this evening as third-placed Peterborough entertain whipping boys Arena Essex. The rock-bottom side were rolled over 39-56 at home by a Jason Crump-inspired
WREXHAM'S caterers are being warned to get the pies in' with the Swindon Town Supporters Club hopeful that a milestone will be reached on Saturday. More than 800 fans made a difficult trip to Chester City last week and seemingly caught the host club
WREXHAM veteran Darren Ferguson may be in line for a first team return against Town on Saturday. The Red Dragons' midfielder has been out since the second match of the season with an ankle injury but played just over an hour for the reserves at Oldham
DIVIDE and conquer is not the Dennis Wise way and Lee Peacock has nothing but admiration for the way that his manager has avoided an unhealthy us and them' scenario in the camp. And Town's leading scorer has more than a degree of sympathy for those
ANDY Caton's troubles are literally unravelling before his eyes and the youngster is now looking to end a long wait which began in Wrexham two years ago. The 18-year-old, who suffered a head wound in the win over Stockport County last month, went to
HUNDREDS of workers at Intel face losing their jobs after the company announced it has to make huge cutbacks. The firm, which has its UK headquarters in Pipers Way, Old Town, said it would need to cut about 10,500 jobs worldwide during the next year
thieves made off with wine and spirits when they broke into a bowls club last weekend. The crooks struck at the County Bowls Club, County Road, between 4pm on Friday, September 1 and 11.50am the next day. Police have reported that the thieves made off
PUPILS and teachers are just months away from moving out of the existing Hreod Parkway building into their new state-of-the-art site. The south site of the school was built in the 1960s and used to be known as Hreod Burna School. To remember the school's
A FUNERAL director will be looking pretty in pink as he tackles the Swindon Half-Marathon in memory of Chantel Boland. And Paul Tollafield hopes sponsors will dig deep into their pockets to help him raise money for cancer charity CALM. The 47-year-old
A GANG of youths in West Swindon have stolen 40 mopeds and other bikes in the last two months. Police say the bikes, including mini-motos and motorbikes, are often not being taken for profit. Instead the thieves steal them, ride them dangerously around
A MAN had his mobile phone stolen from his hand by a cyclist. It happened at about 9pm on Monday, August 28 as the victim was walking down the slope from Fleming Way towards the subway leading to The Parade. He tried to stop the cyclist as he leant
A multiple sclerosis charity is hosting a pop quiz to raise funds. Last year the event raised more than £500 and organisers are hoping this year will be an even bigger success. Questions will be on pop music from 1950 to 2004, with the main emphasis
A teenager has denied threatening a shop worker with a dirty needle after she tried to stop him stealing. The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Swindon Magistrates' Court yesterday. He pleaded not guilty to two charges
TWO Wootton Bassett youngsters have become legends at their cricket club after smashing their way into the record books. Alistair Wood, 13, and 12-year-old Greg Davies made a first-wicket stand of 302 while playing for Wootton Bassett Cricket Club in
CHILDREN are taking their lives in their hands by playing on railway lines. In the past three months, Network Rail has recorded almost 20 incidents. They include youngsters climbing signal boxes, throwing stones at trains and playing on the tracks.
