A TRAILBLAZING initiative aimed at supporting mental health patients through the difficult transition back to independent living following their discharge from hospital is being piloted in Swindon. Staff at Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership
HIS career has spanned more half-a-century of r’n’b, soul, funk and rock’n’roll, he wrote The Rolling Stones first UK Number One, he has a voice like crushed velvet, sawdust and honey and – indisputably - he is one of the coolest dudes on the planet
Wiltshire Police have today issued more than £7,000 in fines during an operation tackling heavy goods vehicle offences on the M4. The Operation Harness day of action took place along the M4 between junctions 14 and 15. Any vehicles stopped travelling
The First World War centenary is a huge influence on this year’s Harold Jolliffe One Act Play Festival entries with gritty dramas and three plays with wartime themes. The Swindon festival runs over three days and has a rich mix of drama, comedy
Roll up roll up for your Golden Ticket to see a new high tech version of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. Swindon’s New College Performing Arts students are presenting the innovative play based on the 1971 film starring Gene Wilder at the
Paul Carrack, The Man With The Golden Voice, and true troubadour of rock music has thrived through four decades on a slow and steady burn. From the glitzy 1970s with Ace, Warm Dust and Roxy Music through the rocking 1980s with Mike and the Mechanics
This week marks the third anniversary of the terrible events which led to the discovery of the murders of two Swindon women, and sparked a huge campaign for a change in the law. Three years on, it’s hard to miss the posters calling for ‘Justice for
PRIME Minister David Cameron has made a commitment to minimise the impact of the job losses in Swindon announced by Honda yesterday. North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson stood before Parliament in Westminster this afternoon and called upon the Conservative
TOWN CENTRE: A talk entitled Sacred Landscapes & Stone Circles on Friday, April 4 at the Central Library is now sold out.
BARBURY CASTLE: A two-mile walk around Barbury Castle will highlight some features ranging over 4,000 years of history, from the Bronze Age to World War Two on Sunday from 1.30pm to 4pm. Meet by the toilet block at Barbury Castle and wear clothes to
OLD TOWN: The Swindon Youth Piano Festival will take place on Tuesday, April 1 at the Arts Centre from 7pm. If you know of anyone who would like to perform email Commonweal School’s community arts development officer Josie Williams josie@commonweal.co.uk
OLD TOWN: A talk on the Lost Chalk-Cut Hill Figures of Wanborough will take place on Friday at Swindon Museum and Art Gallery at 7.30pm. Bryn Walters, director of the Association for Roman Archaeology, will talk about the prehistoric hill figures
SWINDON... 1947: The Rev A Greenhill, former headmaster of the Church of England School at Purton, started off the marathon race that is run each year by the Purton school boys. The race began in the High Street. 1957: Swindon men completed
LYDIARD PARK: Visitors to Lydiard House on April 8 will be able to meet artists if the Great Western Embroiderers group as they stitch. For more information, call 01793 466664, email lydiardpark@swindon.gov.uk or visit www.lydiardpark.org.uk.
ROYAL WOOTTON BASSETT: Those interested in find out more about lawns bowling can head along to an open evening on April 25 from 6pm, where visitors will be able to find out more about the Wootton Bassett Bowls club in Tanners Close. Visitors are asked
ROYAL WOOTTON BASSETT: Residents can head along to speak to the MP for North Wiltshire, James Gray, at his next surgery on April 5. From 12pm to 1pm in the Civic Centre, in Station Road, residents will be able to head along to find out how James
CHADDINGTON Lane through Royal Wootton Bassett, Lydiard Tregoze and Broad Town will be closed to all traffic from April 23 to enable National Rail to carry out work on the bridge. The road will be closed from its junction with Bincknoll for its
STUDLEY Grange in Wroughton is getting ready for Easter with free eggs for children and the chance to try out painting and cupcake making. Visitors to the site will be able to enjoy Butterfly World and Craft Village, where every child visitor can
Swindon facilities manager Howard Hollister stepped out for Sports Relief – and he and his colleagues raised more than £450 in a day of activities. Howard, who works at Vygon (UK) Ltd in Latham Road, ‘paced himself’ for Sports Relief, using a pedometer
A NEW director has been appointed at NHS England South for nursing and quality. Sarah Elliott, the former director of nursing in the Wessex Area Team of NHS England will take over from Liz Redfern. “It’s an honour to take over this role from
THE workers upon whom Honda has just dropped a redundancy bombshell will be feeling both shocked and bewildered. They are not the only ones, as just about everybody who hears the grim tidings will feel the same. We had been led to believe that
I am happy with Des Morgan’s comments in the SA of 13 March regarding tax and its fairness, and accept that we need to protect the needy and vulnerable in our society, but I think the current method of local taxation needs serious reconsideration.
Wow, the minimum wage is to rise by 19p an hour to make the hourly rate of £6.50. Now, I am not sure whether we are expected to laugh, cry or cheer at this ‘development’. Personally, I’d take it as an insult. C J Meek, Cloche Way, Swindon
I can only concur with Miss S Witts’ letter (Adver 24 March) regarding the recent blitz by the Jobcentre to seemingly sanction as many people as they can. I have a friend who works part time doing volunteer work. She made a small error on her weekly
I could not agree more with Shirley Pickett, Letters 21 March. She wrote that she would like to hear other people’s opinion; here is mine. I feel sorry for the police officers who work hard to get these people where they should be – locked up in
Barrie Hudson’s article on Humanism (SA 21 Mar) was interesting; but it raises some fundamental principles about religion in general. He states that surveys suggest that “about a third of us” would fall into the category of “non-religious”; but
GREEN Party Deputy Leader, Coun Will Duckworth, visited Swindon to support local greens in their campaign for election. Coun Duckworth was the first Green to be elected on to Dudley Council in the West Midlands, a region where support for the Green
Athletics, crafts, free swimming and basketball are all available for young people during the Easter holidays in April. Youngsters aged under 16 will be able to swim for free from Monday, April 7 to Thursday, April 17at their local leisure centre
People can now take part in a gentle guided stroll through the Cotswold Water Park every fortnight, led by Dinah Wise. The first walk will start from the Gateway Centre at 10am on April 8. The event is free, and walkers will need to wear sturdy
STAFF and customers in the Sainsbury’s store in Royal Wootton Bassett raised more than £100 when they took part in a dance fit session. Staff from the store in Boroughfields and their families raised a total of £176 after dancing for an hour at
A LADIES’ indulgence night to raise funds for Breakthrough Breast Cancer will take place tomorrow. The event, organised by the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Swindon and North Wiltshire group, will include jewellery, gifts, arts, crafts, clothes, cosmetics
ROYAL Wootton Bassett Indian restaurant Chillies has re-opened following interior refurbishment works. The high street restaurant was closed until March 19 and once again it is accepting orders for a take away and delivery as well as restaurant
A MAN who is accused of conspiracy to commit fraud is to face a trial by judge and jury. Olurtimin Shoderu, who had a fake American driver’s licence when he was arrested, is also said to have had a bogus bank card on him. The 44-year-old pleaded
THE Hills Group and the Council for the Protection of Rural England Wiltshire branch have joined forces again to launch the Best Kept Village competition for 2014. Invitations to enter the competition have been sent to all 234 villages across Wiltshire
STRATTON: An application to erect a 2.4-metre-high fence and new gate at Unit One in West End Road Business Park has been withdrawn. Mr P Simpson lodged the application on Friday, February 7, but withdrew it last Thursday. The fence would have separated
BRIDGEMEAD: McDonald’s has been granted planning permission for the various signage associated with its new restaurant at the former Abbots Cross service station in Ashworth Road. As well as the traditional golden arches across the building, there
COTSWOLD WATER PARK: Early birds can head along to the park on April 26 to enjoy the dawn chorus and a breakfast in a guided walk led by Biodiversity Field Officer Kim Milsom. The event is at 5am from the Neigh Bridge car park. Tickets cost £15, which
CRICKLADE: North Swindon MP James Gray will next hold a surgery on April 19 in Jenner Hall in Bath Road. James will be in the hall from 10am to 11.30am and all are welcome to share their views and discuss local issues.
COTSWOLD WATER PARK: Visitors to the park on April 6 can enjoy listening to bird song while taking part in a walk led by Dave Kilbey. The event will take place from 10am and tickets cost £2 for members and £4 for non-members. To book, call 01793
SOUTH SWINDON: The locality meeting which was due to go ahead tonight has been cancelled. The opportunity to discuss local issues with councillors and the neighbourhood policing team will now be rescheduled for another date next month. For more
THE NEW University Technical College due to open in September has announced that it will hold more open evenings for prospective students. Parents and pupils will be able to find out what the new engineering college will be able to offer them at
WROUGHTON: BT begins roadworks in the A4361 Broad Hinton Road, which will stretch into next week. The telecoms group requires two-way traffic signals for the work, which will take place near the junction with Hay Lane.
WANBOROUGH: Severe delays are expected through the village tomorrow and Friday. Swindon Council is connecting a sewer in High Street opposite Hewers Close and requires two-way traffic signals as a result.
SWINDON: A suspect has been questioned over a road rage attack whille travelling along Thamesdown Drive shortly before 6pm on Saturday evening. The man got out of his car and punched his victim to the ground. He has now been questioned by police and
NORTH SWINDON: Drugs were seized from two offenders on Monday night by the North Swindon neighbourhood policing team. One was smoking cannabis openly by their front door and was spotted by a foot patrol, and another was found with drugs concealed within
Familyfitness - With Amy Martin of Sustrans Swindon welcomes yet another fantastic cycle park on April 5, with the grand unveiling of the new Fleming Way Cycle Park. With bike security being the main concern for most people when they think
SWINDON Robins boss Alun Rossiter has settled on his riding order for the start of the season but admitted he expects it to change during the early weeks of the season. The Robins host Poole tomorrow night in a season-opening Elite Shield first
Familypets - David Jones, manager of Pets At Home Swindon Bridgemead, writes about keeping fish Fish are increasing in popularity as household pets and within the workplace because they can provide a therapeutic antidote to the stresses of day-to-day
Familywalks - Malmesbury Malmesbury is the oldest borough in England, having been granted its charter in AD 880 by King Alfred. It can lay claim to be the original capital of England and is built on the site of an Iron Age hill fort on a rocky
Familylife - Parents don't need to stop arguing for the sake of their children, they just need to do it better, a relationship expert tells Lisa Salmon Most parents realise that bickering – or full-blown arguing – is a normal part of a relationship
IN the Mid-West city of Rochester that is strung along Minnesota’s Zumbro River, Shari Jarett became intrigued by a box crammed with an eye-catching assortment of pewter vessels which was going under the hammer at auction. Being something of a
POLICE investigating a serious collision in Winterbourne Bassett near Swindon last week are trying to trace a motorcyclist and cyclist who they believe could provide important information. As previously reported, a Ford KA Cabriolet overturned
4:42pm Tracy Mason of Crowdys Hill School was amongst those teachers striking today. She was at the march in Bristol and said she was pleased with the turnout and hoped the government listened to the message. “I think it
Jack O'Connell has revealed that Angelina Jolie tried out some of his stunts herself on her new film Unbroken.
SWINDON captain Adam Westall said his team were in a state of disbelief after their dramatic comeback win at Buckingham. The Wiltshire side had been dominated for 60 minutes of the game and were 32-5 down when they turned on the style to overhaul
SUPERMARINE coach Sean Millwaters said his team never recovered from giving up a 17-point head start to league leaders Bradford-on-Avon on Saturday. The South Marston side did pull back within point in the second half but a late try gave Bradford
HIGHWORTH Neighbourhood Alliance has disbanded as a result of declining support from the public and police, according to chairwoman Rosemary Jackson. The association came to the decision on March 11, when the remaining members felt there was little
SELF-confessed nerds Carl Benjamin, Russ Jarvis and Giuseppe Constantino are appealing for donations to boost the chances of Swindon spawning its first commercial video game. Necromancer, a mobile game for touch-screen devices, has been created
THE latest in our Crook Of The Day feature, in conjunction with Wiltshire Police, features not one suspect but three. The three men entered Royal Wootton Bassett Rugby Club, at Ballards Ash on January 26 between 1am and 1.15am and used an object
RESIDENTS in South Marston trickled through the Mercure Hotel yesterday afternoon to view pre-application proposals to build more than 100 new homes. Hartwell Plc is preparing a planning application to build 160 new homes on two sites in the village
BOXER Kelvin Young has given the Open Door Centre, in Gorse Hill a £400 boost. The charity, which provides specialist day resources for adults with learning disabilities, was given the money generated through ticket sales from the Penhill pugilist
AN £8m revamp of Junction 16 on the M4 which could severely increase congestion on feeder roads may be pushed ahead without any public consultation, a rural lobby group fears. Plans to overhaul the busy junction to smooth the flow of traffic have
Wiltshire College has appointed an acting principal after telling its staff that principal Di Dale is taking time off and won’t be back again this term. But the college is denying that she has resigned her £130,000 a year post, although vice principal
THE EFFORTS of volunteers and councillors to reinstate Wroughton’s youth club have paid off as the group is poised to relaunch this evening – nearly five months after it was forced to disband. Youngsters in the village will finally have a safe
YOUNGSTERS were taken back in time to learn what life was like for Swindon people during the First World War. A special workshop saw dozens of pupils from Ridgeway, Commonweal, St Joseph’s, Nova Hreod, Crowdys Hill and Kingsdown invade Lydiard
I’VE been in Poland for practice at the start of this week and it’s a place I always like to go. I’m riding for Rzeszow this year and we got on the track on Monday morning before practice was off on Tuesday for a waterlogged track, which was a
FORMER professional Phill Day will realise a dream on Saturday night when he headlines a boxing show in his home town. Boxing in Swindon eluded Day during his 19-fight professional career but, over a decade after retiring from the pro circuit,
SWINDON Town recorded successive League One victories for the first time since mid-November after riding their good fortune at Tranmere Rovers. Having taken the lead through Alex Smith’s blistering strike after just 11 minutes, Town were pegged
MARK Cooper revealed a few stern half-time words helped his Swindon Town side to their 2-1 victory at Tranmere Rovers last night. Town recorded successive League One wins for the first time since November 16 thanks to Alex Smith’s thunderbolt opener
SWINDON College Old Boys finally managed to break their duck in Southern Counties North with a win 27-21 against High Wycombe. Until Saturday, Old Boys results sheet read played 18, lost 18 and they actually had a negative points difference after
RESIDENTS packed out the Memorial Hall in Shrivenham on Monday night to hear about plans to double the size of the village. About 300 villagers turned out to the public meeting held by the Vale of White Horse District Council to express their anger
MULTI-talented Clifford Cardis, former lecturer at Swindon College and secretary of the Swindon Croquet Club, passed away last week after a four-year battle with cancer. Clifford, 86, leaves behind wife Marie, son Kim, and daughter Dawn, as well
PLANS to build an estate that will dwarf South Marston have stalled after the Highway’s Agency raised concerns about its impact on the roads. Last year developers submitted an application to build 2,380 homes just north of the A420 in South Marston
SKILLED workers employed by Honda will receive letters today detailing offers from the car giant to give up their livelihoods. The Japanese car giant yesterday announced 500 jobs will be axed from its 3,000-strong workforce at the South Marston
IT will be ice cream galore at Empire cinema next month as staff give away free cones in a bid to raise £750 for The Adver’s 160 Appeal in aid of Prospect Hospice. Cinemagoers and anyone walking into the multiplex will be offered a scoop of their
EVER since he was a youngster Liam O’Rafferty has had an enduring love for musicals. The Sound of Music, he simply couldn’t get enough of. But it was West Side Story that really got to him – and it still does. Now, as his 50th birthday approaches
A RARE neurological condition affecting tens of thousands of people in the UK but which continues to puzzle medical experts will be placed in the spotlight at a national forum in Swindon next month. CMT UK, a charity dedicated to supporting people
YOU’VE been sending us your questions all week, and today we put them to Swindon council leader David Renard as he took to the Hotseat. Here’s what he had to say to your burning questions... Q: You have been leader of the council for almost
Ann Mooney suffers from epilepsy, schizophrenic episodes and a personality disorder, and still hears no fewer than five voices in her head. Yet she has turned her experience of mental health into a positive to help others, as she told EMMA DUNN
