Archive

  • Cooper ready to crack opposition’s new style

    TOWN boss Mark Cooper admitted that preparing his players for how the opposition will play is a bit of potluck. As has been noted with great regularity, the keep-ball style deployed by Cooper’s side forces almost every team to adapt their game

  • Jazz confirms move to Bath

    SWINDON swimmer Jazz Carlin is returning closer to home after confirming her move to the British Gas National Centre in Bath today. The 24-year-old has begun training with head coach David McNulty at the centre as she cranks up her preparations

  • More roadworks in the New Year

    DRIVERS are set to be hit by more road works in the New Year as essential flood alleviation will lead to the closure of roads around the Cheney Manor Industrial Estate. Starting next month Cheney Manor industrial estate will be closed to through

  • Going cold turkey

    An estimated 7.9 million slices of turkey are leftover by Christmas Day evening – that’s a heck of a lot of Boxing Day sandwiches. Or, maybe a gobble-worthy batch of pie, curry or casserole fillings... Whether you break the wishbone at the

  • Swindon-born Nick Hewer to quit The Apprentice

    LORD Sugar's sidekick Nick Hewer is to leave BBC1 hit series The Apprentice after a decade. The Swindon-born PR guru, who has worked with the businessman since 1983 when he began promoting the Amstrad brand, has been an adviser on the show since

  • PREDICTIONS LEAGUE: Swindon Town v Doncaster Rovers

    Swindon Town v Doncaster Rovers SWINDON will be looking to extend their winning ways on Saturday when they host Doncaster Rovers at the County Ground. Doncaster, relegated from the Championship last season, find themselves at the wrong end of the

  • Obika relishes cracking defences’ code

    STRIKER Jonathan Obika reckons the more defensive approach of many of Town’s opponents is helping them hone their killer instinct in front of goal. Last weekend’s 3-0 triumph at Notts County was Town’s fifth league win in a row and keeps them hot

  • FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Jen Burton

    JEN BURTON, 31, art teacher and owner of Bunny Pumpkin Boutique, tells us about her life with food Do you cook a lot yourself? What is your failsafe dish? Yes, even though my partner is a chef! And the failsafe is smoked salmon and mushroom

  • OFF TO MARKET: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all

    Market manager Kardien Gerbrands talks about Swindon’s farmers’ markets Well, what can I say? This Sunday will see the market at its most humungous, its most vibrant and most wonderful – 25 stalls selling anything from a potato to a bottle of sparkling

  • THE CHEF'S TABLE: Lee Pugh

    This week it’s the turn of LEE PUGH, chef at The Goddard Arms, Old Town. Call 01793 619090 When did you first take an interest in cooking, and when did you decide you wanted to become a chef? I’ve been interested in cooking since I was

  • DAN THE FAN: Second for the best - for now

    With Town comfortably beating Notts County 3-0 and Bristol City drawing 0-0 with just a few minutes left, it looked like Mark Cooper’s side would be taking top spot in League One for the first time this season. But our local rivals down the M4

  • A BIT OF A MOUTHFUL: That magical feeling

    Shareen Campbell and Phil Saunter, owners of Los Gatos and Bistro Les Chats in Wood Street, and the Swindon Business People of the Year, talk about life in the restaurant business There are many things that we love more about the work we do now

  • TOM ON TOWN: Homing in on the reality of the radar

    THERE has been a lot of talk about radars around Swindon Town this week and it is nonsense. Both Wes Foderingham and Michael Smith have recently said Town are above it, whatever that means. Boss Mark Cooper seems to be the only one who did not

  • Charity shop may be given a guard

    A SECURITY guard could be employed in Sussex Square to protect a charity shop and library against anti-social behaviour. Last week, Peter Mallinson, the chairman of the Walcot Charity Shop and Community Library, announced intentions to close the

  • CAT CALL: Players have to show restraint at Christmas

    I LIVE in the team house, so for Christmas I am just going home for a bit, back to see my parents in Royal Wootton Bassett. Christmas Day is a bit different when you know you are going to be playing two days later. You are not going to be drinking

  • Bennett’s team rule out Duke fight

    LAWRENCE Bennett’s manager Steve Goodwin has emphatically ruled out a meeting with town rival Luke Watkins. Before Bennett made the switch from Keith Mayo’s KM Promotions to Goodwin Promotions, Watkins’ team were in talks with the Greenbridge-based

  • SOUTHERN LEAGUE: Webb still looking for assistant

    DAVE Webb is hoping to have the assistant manager situation sorted by the new year. The Swindon Supermarine boss has been left without a number two since Lee Spalding’s decision to stand down at the Webb’s Wood Stadium at the end of November.

  • Old Boys looking to sink World Cup winning duo

    SWINDON College Old Boys will come face-to-face with two World Cup winners when they host Chesham this weekend. The Buckinghamshire side are coached by Rochelle Clark and Kat Merchant, who helped the England women’s team claim the world title in

  • Oliver Tomkins School impresses inspectors

    HIGH expectations of achievement and teachers’ accountability for pupil attainment are among the qualities that make Oliver Tomkins a good school, according to Ofsted inspectors. Following an inspection last month the education watchdog praised

  • School topping league tables must improve, say inspectors

    A TOP performing primary school was left baffled after Ofsted said it required improvement following an inspection in October. St Catherine’s Catholic Primary School, in Stratton, snatched third place in the league tables published last Friday

  • Engraver is given honour by Army

    ENGRAVER Luke Seago has received an award honouring his efforts commemorating servicemen who have died in action. Yesterday, Luke, 27, who has worked as an assistant at the Vince Ayris shop, in Havelock Street, for 11 years, received a certificate

  • Search of another field in Sian O’Callaghan murder case

    POLICE were yesterday searching a fresh location in the hunt for items belonging to murder victim Sian O’Callaghan. Officers from Wiltshire Police’s Major Crime Investigation Team were searching a field between the villages of Bourton and Bishopstone

  • Swindon target 50 points

    ADAM Westall hopes to see Swindon further ahead of schedule when they sign off for Christmas at home to Leighton Buzzard on Saturday. Skipper Westall says Swindon had aimed for a 40-point return from the first half of the season but they are already

  • Pervert jailed for five years

    NATHAN Woods faces five years in jail after deceiving a 14-year-old girl and collecting more than 200 lurid images of her. Woods, 30, of Seagry Court in Penhill, began messaging the girl, from Essex, in 2012 and told her he was a 16-year-old schoolboy

  • £6.1m homes bonus

    THE Government has provisionally announced Swindon Council will get £6.1m from the New Homes Bonus next year. It is a fund given to authorities depending on how many new homes they build and can be spent how the council wishes. If given, the

  • Chief Constable warns of tough challenges

    FRESH cuts mean Wiltshire Police will explore all options in a bid to meet savings targets, according to the county’s top policeman. Chief Constable Patrick Geenty has warned of major changes to policing in the county after the Government announced

  • Growth Deal hits the right balance, says Clegg

    THE Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was in Wichelstowe yesterday to sign the Swindon and Wiltshire growth deal, which will see £132m come to the area to be spent on infrastructure projects. Included on the list of projects the money will be used

  • Furniture firm is going soft

    SWINDON-based Oak Furniture Land has revealed a new chain of stores that will see it branching out into soft furnishings. The company, which has its head office on the South Marston Industrial Estate, today unveiled SofaStore, offering sofas and

  • Powerful speech on abuse given by Jahmene’s mum

    FORMER X-Factor star Jahmene Douglas was moved to tears when he appeared with his mum at Women’s Aid’s 40th birthday celebrations. The 23-year-old, who lived in Swindon before he shot to fame after appearing on the talent show in 2012, appeared

  • Waste not, want not

    Every year we throw away 7m tonnes of edible food in the UK, much of it at Christmas. MARION SAUVEBOIS asked four Swindon women how they recycle their leftovers WE HAVE all erred on the side of excess when planning a large Christmas meal, or simply

  • HELLENIC LEAGUE: Collier eyes basement battle win

    SAM Collier will welcome back six familiar faces for Shrivenham’s must-win game against fellow strugglers Cheltenham Saracens tomorrow. After conceding 13 goals in two chastising Hellenic League Premier Division matches, the Barrington Park outfit