Familyfinance - Warren Shute is a chartered financial planner with Lexington Wealth Management. Contact him on 01793 771093 or warren@lexingtonwealth.co.uk From the moment the Spring Budget 2014 was announced, pensions have been a strong and recurring
Familyhealth - Hay fever season is upon us already... we look at way of keeping the symptoms at bay Spring is well and truly under way. Daffodils are in bloom, lambs are frolicking – oh, and the sniffles and itchy eyes are doing the rounds.
Declan Kelly is holding an exhibition of his work at Swindon’s Central Library following a drawing project. Declan joined the Artsite Experimental Drawing Hub, a three-month project based around the ideas of Freedom and Restriction, with the aim
It is 55 years since a fateful air crash took away the life of rock ‘n’ roll star Buddy Holly, but through his timeless songwriting his legacy lives on. The Day The Music Died is a celebration of the life and work of Buddy Holly. It will be Raving
THE first of three drop-in sessions to inform residents about the Public Inquiry for Wroughton Airfield Solar Farm will take place on Friday. Swindon Commercial Services Limited and the Science Museum will be hosting the first of three sessions
A VICTIM of domestic violence has urged other victims not to suffer in silence. Today at Swindon Crown Court, Mark Eatwell, 44, of Coronation Road, Wroughton, was jailed for four years after being found guilty of ABH and false imprisonment.
OLD TOWN: Advice on how to cope with Type 2 Diabetes will be offered to patients at an information evening at Old Town Surgery today at 6.30pm. For further information call 01793 616057.
SHAW: Visitors to the Swindon Community Church at Shaw Ridge School on April 27 will be able to hear about local charity Empower’s latest trip to the Gambia from 10.30am to 12.30pm.
OLD TOWN: Tickets to the second annual Old Town Beer Festival are now on sale. The event is due to take place at Chris Church on Cricklade Street on Saturday, May 17 from 1pm to 11pm. Tickets £6 and include a souvenir beer glass and programme
SOUTH MARSTON: The next meeting of the parish council will take place on May 20 in the Village Hall. From 7.30pm residents will be able to find out more about how their councillors are representing them in the village.
SWINDON: A performance from the West End will be coming to Swindon Arts Centre today with the first national tour of Luke Kempner’s comedy. Kempner made his name with YouTube performance Downstairs at Downton, along with appearances in a number
COVINGHAM: The next meeting of the Parish Council will take place on May 12 at Covingham Park Junior School in the Harriers. The meeting starts at 7.30pm and all are welcome to attend to find out more about how their councillors are representing
SWINDON: Today is World Book Night, and will be celebrated with an evening of free events at Central Library. From 7.15pm to 10pm, there will be a quiz and poetry in the cafe and a production of Much Ado About Nothing in the reading room. For
SWINDON: Swindon Equality Group will be urging shoppers at the Brunel on Saturday to support the Living Wage. The group will be distributing flyers and speaking to shoppers in the centre throughout the day as part of the national campaign which
NIGEL Felton, the former business partner of marathon veteran and gym owner Mike Buss, has had a charge of assaulting his former colleague during a spat last year dismissed. Felton, 39, of The Common in Purton, was released on unconditional bail
A POLICE officer unlawfully Tasered a naked man who threw a pair of underpants at him during a strip search in Wiltshire, a court heard. PC Lee Birch, 31, discharged his weapon into the bare chest of Daniel Dove in a cell at Melksham Police Station
ROYAL WOOTTON BASSETT: The annual town meeting of the Town Council will take place tomorrow at the Civic Centre. All residents are invited to come along to find out what work the council has done for them in the past year. The meeting starts at
ROYAL WOOTTON BASSETT: Residents looking for a fun and interesting way to get more exercise can join a weekly walking group which meets every Monday at the Town Hall. All are welcome to come along for 9.30am to meet others for a gentle walk which
TOWN CENTRE: Charity Shaw Trust is seeking a volunteer to give advice to their job seekers who they work with. Anyone interested in helping can call 017935 39824.
OLD TOWN: Stallholders are being sought for the Lawn Family Day, which is part of the Old Town Festival, taking place on Saturday, June 28. For more information visit www.oldtownfestival.co.uk.
BLUNSDON: Residents are welcome to raise any issues to Blunsdon St Andrew Parish Council at their next meeting taking place at Brimble Hill School, in Redhouse, at 7pm on Thursday, May 1.
TOWN CENTRE: Pianist Paul Turner is performing a selection of songs from films at a lunchtime recital taking place at the Wyvern Theatre at 1.05pm today. For ticket information call 01793 524 481 or visit www.swindontheatres.co.uk.
ROYAL WOOTTON BASSETT: Alcoholics Anonymous meet every Saturday from 6pm to 7.30pm in The Croft near St Bartholomew’s Church. Anyone who thinks that they might have a problem with alcohol is welcome to attend. You can also call the helpline on
COATE: For those looking to get active Swindon Shin Splints is holding a run for people of all levels at Coate Water Country Park, in Marlborough Road, at 6.15pm tonight. For more information call 01793 490150.
ROYAL WOOTTON BASSETT: Visitors to the library in Boroughfields from today until Saturday can enjoy an art exhibition hosted by the Royal Wootton Bassett and District Art Society. The exhibition will be on display until 7pm today, 9.30am to 5pm
IN one corner is a phalanx of smartly suited planning and legal experts whose names are suffixed with an admirable array of initials denoting hard-earned degrees and qualifications while besides them sit several hefty boxfuls of documents that include
A local man was attacked and wounded with a hammer in an unprovoked assault near the Beehive pub last night. The 37-year-old victim was set upon by three men on Prospect Hill, near to the Beehive pub, shortly before 5pm last night and needed to
THE 16-year-old who was stabbed in the groin during a gang fight near a children's play park insisted to a jury his attacker had pulled a knife on him. Although he said he lied to the doctor who saw him, his family, and the first policeman he spoke
PREDICTIONS LEAGUE: Bradford results and updates Town chalk up another win, in a game they dominated from start to finish, Bradford came to park the bus, but Lee Cox was able engineer a goal in the 64th minute which ended up being the winner.
DARRYL Ritchings is expected to make a “full, happy recovery” following his release from hospital, according to Swindon Robins manager Alun Rossiter. Reserve Ritchings suffered bruising on the brain and a broken ankle following a horrific crash
DRUG dealer Shaquille Cumberbatch has been jailed for four years and 10 months after boasting of making £450 a day after relocating to the 'softer market' in Swindon. Cumberbatch, 20, moved into the Nythe home of a vulnerable young woman early
WEST SWINDON: Crabtree & Evelyn at the Outlet Shopping Village will hold a shopping evening in aid of Swindon Therapy Centre for Multiple Sclerosis from 6pm on Thursday, May 1. Tickets cost £7 and include nibbles and a hand cream worth £9.
SWINDON: An open feedback session for all mental health service users and carers in Swindon will take place on Friday, May 2. The event will run from 9.30am until 12.30pm in Asda supermarket’s community room at West Swindon Shopping Centre.
WALCOT: Churchfields Academy celebrate their 50th birthday this year and are looking for past and present students top help them celebrate. They are looking for former students to send in their photographs, anecdotes and memories of the school
ROYAL WOOTTON BASSETT: Spittleborough Farmhouse will host a wedding fayre this Sunday from 11am to 3pm. Spittleborough is situated just off junction 16 of the M4 towards Royal Wootton Bassett, and representatives will be on hand to talk through
KEMBREY PARK: The North Swindon Rotary Club swimathon for Prospect Hospice will take place on Saturday from noon to 6pm at Next Generation Sports & Fitness Centre. It is not a race, nor a marathon; each team of four people will swim for 55
TOWN CENTRE: Swindon Film Society will be screening Joss Whedon’s 2013 version of Much Ado About Nothing tonight to mark William Shakespeare’s 450th birthday from 7.45pm to 9.35pm at the Central Library, in Regent Circus. For more details email
STRATTON: The planning application for a peace memorial on the corner of Grange Drive and Ermin Street by Stratton St Margaret Parish Council has been given the green light. The memorial will consist of vertical screens depicting war, weapons and
A FLEDGLING business has offered itself up – offices, boardroom and all – for 160 hours in support of the Adver’s 160 Appeal for Prospect Hospice. Bowman House has pledged to donate all funds raised through the rental of its conference facilities
I love my country, Great Britain. Driving from Inverness to Oban as the sun sets over the lochs, with the wildlife in abundance, a scenario I often take to my dreams as I fall asleep. Returning to Wiltshire after a holiday, to see the cornfields
In reply to Roger Jones, April 18, the climate of the earth moves regularly from warm to cool over periods of several thousands of years. During the age of the dinosaurs the earth was very hot and animals lived comfortably at the South Pole.
Drivers are being fined for driving a few yards the wrong way down a street in Old Town when others are being let off for far worse things. I watched policemen waiting to catch drivers near the Beehive but there are cars nearby breaking other rules
Congratulations to the PC brigade who have persecuted Nick Martin into resigning as Mayor. He apologised and explained why he said what he did. What more could he have done? He might have been wrong to use an old-fashioned word, but there was
I’m sure the long-suffering people of Swindon want to thank the council for once again showing off our town under the best light. Thanks to them and mayor Nick Martin the very word ‘Swindon’ causes revulsion from here to Timbuktu. Only in Swindon
Thank you for the brilliant article in the Adver about “Bridging a gap in our history” and the photographs included. Living near both the York Road Bridge and the Whale Bridge sites the photos are more poignant. I read somewhere that in the
IT’S vital that we all rally around Swindon Children’s Scrapstore, which has been targeted by destructive thieves. The charity, as many of our readers already know, takes donations of everything from unused paper to carpet tiles and hands them
SPARCELLS: Work to install a gas main on Mead Way from the junction with Sparcells Drive to Purton Road was due to come to an end yesterday with temporary traffic lights no longer in effect.
THE victim of a violent attack on a bus has been urged to come forward by police, having identified the suspect. The incident took place at 10.27pm on March 14 while the Stagecoach bus was travelling along Rodbourne Road. CCTV on the bus shows
OLD TOWN: The two-way traffic signals in The Mall are due to be taken down today. Wales and West Utilities has been laying a new service in the road and needed the signals since last Wednesday.
STRATTON: Wales & West Utilities should finish replacing temporary tarmac with a permanent substitute in Bridge End Road today. Give and take traffic controls have been in place near the Swindon Road junction since yesterday.
STRATTON: Two-way traffic signals in Swindon Road, near the Tilley’s Lane junction, will be removed tomorrow. Delays have been an issue for vehicles in that road since yesterday, when Thames Water roadworks began.
M4: Expect delays of up to 10 minutes between Junctions 16 and 17 on the westbound carriageway tonight, as Highways Agency closes two lanes for roadworks. The work will be going on from 8pm until 5am tomorrow.
TOWN CENTRE: Lunches held by the churches of St Mark’s, St Saviour’s, St Luke’s and St Aldhelm’s every Friday through Lent raised more than £550 for Christian Aid and CAFOD.
WANBOROUGH: This year’s May Day Fayre will take place on May 5 at the village hall. There will be a host of activities including a Scarecrow Trail, a bouncy castle, a wang the welly competition, a BBQ, bar, and a penalty shoot-out.
WROUGHTON: This year’s Annual Parish Council meeting will take place at 7.30pm on May 19 in the Ellendune Centre. All are welcome to attend to find out how the council has represented them during the past year.
WANBOROUGH: The Great Wanborough Scarecrow Hunt launches on Saturday through the village with the theme of the world of celebrity. The hunt runs until May 11 and there is still time to get involved but there is a limit of 60 scarecrows. For
A festival for the people and by the people is the motto of the Town gardens Little Big Festival. The idea came from an idea originally tried out in New York’s Bryant Park where a number of small events came together under one umbrella into one
SWINDON... 1947: Giving the dispatch box a resounding thump, Winston Churchill, figured in a midnight clash in the House of Commons over changes in constitution of the Commitee of Privileges. As a result two MPs were dismissed from the committee
ROYAL Wootton Bassett Town Council have reassured residents about pre-application proposals to build a new Tesco and 300 homes on Marsh Farm. Although an application has yet to be submitted to Wiltshire Council, Leda Properties has expressed its
SWINDON: The next cabinet meeting of Swindon Council will be held today at the Civic Offices. On the agenda for discussion will be the affordable housing programme 2015-18, a feasibility study into the future of Swindon’s energy needs, and public
COATE WATER: A photography workshop will take place around the country park on Sunday from 1.30pm to 4pm. Suitable for people of all abilities with any type of digital camera, participants are asked to meet at Coate Water Ranger Centre and bring
PURTON: An application for 34 new homes off Restrop Road in Purton has been refused as it does not tie in with the emerging Wiltshire Council Core Strategy. A number of developments to the west of Swindon have been accepted on the basis of a lack
NEXT up in the Adver’s Hotseat is Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership’ head of professions and practice for the Swindon locality and innovation development lead, Newlands Anning. Newlands who has been a registered mental health nurse since
WROUGHTON: The next meeting of the Vision4Wroughton community group will take place on May 7 at 7.15pm at the Brown Jack. For more information email info@vision4wroughton.org.uk.
SWINDON: Equality Coalition is appealing for people to attend its annual meeting at the Broadgreen Centre between 5pm and 7pm on Tuesday, May 20. The group appeals for fair treatment for all the town’s residents. Member Tom Wilkes said: “The UK
TOWN CENTRE: The Laurel, which provides accommodation for people who require nursing or personal care, has passed its latest Care Quality Commission inspection with flying colours. The Park Lane care home met all five standards in its February
OVER the first May Bank Holiday weekend the National Trust is inviting local residents and visitors to help them re-chalk one of the oldest chalk figures in the country, the White Horse at Uffington in Oxfordshire. To keep the world-famous landmark
WALCOT: A suicide prevention conference will be held by the Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS) Group in Swindon on Friday, May 16 at Swindon Town Football Club between 8.45am and 2pm. To book a place visit www.healthwatchswindon.org.uk.
LAWN: The Community Speed Watch is looking for volunteers to join its ranks. To find out more contact John Roe on 01793 485082 or at john.roe1@tiscali.co.uk or alternatively get in touch with Tracy Scott, Swindon Council locality facilitator on
SWINDON: A man who is charged with burglary and going equipped to steal has been released on bail by a judge. William Sheehan is said to have taken part in a break-in at a house on Gold View in Rushey Platt on Wednesday, February 5 this year.
THE identities of the temporary workers making up the 135 personnel due to be axed from South Marston Distribution Centre have been confirmed. A handful of agency staff have already left the business at SDC in Thornhill Road, bringing the final
WILTSHIRE Police are appealing for witnesses following a burglary at an Islamic centre in Swindon. The incident took place at approximately 8pm on Sunday April 20 at the Habib Islamic Centre on Chapel Street. A male who lives within the centre
Familyfitness - With Amy Martin of Sustrans IT’s A little-known fact that Swindon is home to a whopping 100km of cycle paths. There is a growing momentum around cycling in the area with cycling clubs such as MB Swindon seeing 30% growth in membership
Send pictures of your pets to: Pauline Cole, Swindon Advertiser, 100 Victoria Road, Old Town, Swindon SN1 3BE, or email to pcole@swindonadvertiser.co.uk. Include your name, address and phone number, and your pet’s name. The owner of the star pet will
Familydaysout - John Carter challenges daughter Millie on a trip to Thorpe Park Thorpe Park. An unforgettable experience in more ways than one. It was the place where my daughter Millie enjoyed a magical 13th birthday with three friends. And
5:36pm That's the end of today's LIVE NEWS feed. We'll return in the morning. If you've joined us late use the scroll bar to see how the day unfolded. The website will be updated with any major news as it happens throughout
Familylife - Olympic star Mo Farah is setting his sights on yet another goal; getting the country's children active. He talks to Lisa Salmon Champion athlete, and national hero, Mo Farah might be giving his legs a well-deserved rest after running
TOWN boss Mark Cooper feels his side have dished out a healthy portion of optimism ahead of next season with their recent run of good form. Six wins in seven matches might not ultimately be enough to lift the club into the League One play-off places
EXCITEMENT will reach river pitch for children and adults alike as 350 rubber ducklings fight it downstream to the finish line at Wroughton’s annual duck race next month. The quirky event, which has raised thousands of pounds for local youth groups
CHILDREN around the town will be drawing out their swords and slaying dragons today to celebrate St George’s Day, the patron saint of England. In the town centre today a 20ft-high St George, kitted out in chain-linked armour featuring the English
VOLUNTEERS at Swindon Children’s Scrapstore are devastated after vandals targeted their van over the Easter weekend. The Ford transit Luton van was parked at the charity’s base in Bramble Close when its front and rear number plates were stolen
A 16-YEAR-old boy was stabbed in the penis during a fight between teenage gangs in a shopping area, a jury has been told. The lad was allegedly attacked by a member of the North Young Guns, known as NYG, in a scrap which had been organised on Facebook
NICOLAI Klindt says that he was left speechless when he was told the news that he was being axed by Swindon Robins. The Dane was informed of team manager Alun Rossiter’s decision to release him while out for an evening meal. And now the 25-
SWINDON Tenants’ Campaign Group have urged Swindon Council not to bid for a grant to build affordable new homes in the town, branding the terms ‘unacceptable’. In January the Government made a pot of £1.7bn available for local authorities to bid
Member of the Youth Parliament, Ellie James, 16, from Swindon has been answering your questions this week. Here’s what she had to say as she took to the hotseat Q Your “education then procreation” strapline is interesting. Does it mean that, in
THE boardroom rumblings at Swindon Town continued yesterday, as members of Seebeck 87 Ltd spent much of the day in meetings inside the County Ground. The holding company which acquired Andrew Black’s controlling stake in the Robins in January 2013
CANCER sufferer James Baker had his head shaved in support of a charity that raises awareness about the illness he is battling. James, 24, of Moresby Street in Westlea, was diagnosed with testicular cancer in March, the day before his birthday.
A HIGHWORTH auction house is urging people to root through their lofts for any Oriental treasures after last weekend’s sale raised nearly £250,00 from bidders around the world. Kidson-Trigg’s latest special Oriental sale saw 500 lots on offer,
WORK could start within weeks on the new speedway track at the Abbey Stadium. The final position of the stadium in north Swindon is yet to be confirmed, but will be just feet away from the exisiting building. The owners of the building are
I WOULD like to say thank you to all you Swindon fans who have supported me in my short time back at the club. It is such a shame that I won’t be here to finish the season, to be honest I’m still digesting the news. Hopefully I can get myself
HAIRDRESSER Paris Steenson was overwhelmed when family and friends raised more than £3,000 to help her through eight sessions of chemotherapy. Twenty-year-old Paris, of Toothill, was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma four weeks ago and is currently
VIDEO game developers Carl Benjamin and his two colleagues are facing pressure to ensure commercial success with their first release after it reached its £8,000 fundraising target. Other Worlds Software, made up of Carl, 34, Russ Jarvis, 32, and
IN one corner is a phalanx of smartly suited planning and legal experts whose names are suffixed with an admirable array of initials denoting hard-earned degrees and qualifications while besides them sit several hefty boxfuls of documents that include
SELF-proclaimed non-walkers Lisa and Ali Williams will put their stamina and endurance to the test as they walk 25 miles along Hadrian’s Wall in support of the thousands of women affected each year by ovarian cancer. The couple, from Ash Brake,
SWINDON captain Adam Westall conceded his side have “not got out of third gear” over the course of the campaign, after they lost 34-14 to Witney in their final South West 1 East outing on Saturday. Defeat leaves the Greenbridge Road side fifth
FOR a teenager without a licence, Alessandro Latif can’t half drive. The Marlborough College pupil, who turned 18 earlier this month, kicked off his Blancpain Sprint Series campaign with the Phoenix Racing team over the weekend, while still revising
EVERY hour, someone in the UK is told they have Parkinson’s. Eleven years ago, that hour belonged to Dave Logan. The father-of-two, of Liden, had tried all types of medical treatments for swelling in a tendon in his foot, including NHS injections
