Archive

  • REWIND: A mission to Mars

    TWO important Swindon-based organisations featured in Adver stories this week a dozen years ago. One was the Particle Physics and Research Council in North Star, which had been a major backer of the Beagle 2 Mars lander project. The robotic

  • Neighbourhood policing teams set to be replaced in new plan

    NEIGHBOURHOOD policing teams as we have come to know them will be a thing of the past in Swindon from November. The change comes as the Police and Crime Commissioner, Angus Macpherson, accepts that Wiltshire Police faces challenges and needs to

  • London date for town's ballet star

    A TEENAGE ballet sensation has successfully auditioned for a leading dance company for the second year running and will perform at a top London theatre in September. For 15-year-old Karis Wilkinson, from North Swindon, two years of hard work at

  • Parish plans struggle to stand up to scrutiny

    DESPITE the likelihood that local services will almost all be transferred to new and existing parishes within eight months, it appears much of the detail still needs to be worked out.The cabinet member responsible for the proposals went before the council

  • REWIND: Circus thrills wow the crowd

    WHEN the circus came to just about any town in the 1950s it was usually the biggest local story of the moment. So it was in August of 1956 when Billy Smart’s Circus and Great Western Spectacle arrived and set up its big top at Westcott Recreation

  • Sausage and Ale Trail returns to town

    SIZZLING sunshine and bangers are on the menu as the Sausage and Ale Trail returns to Old Town next month. The hugely popular event returns for its third year on September 4 from midday to 5pm - serving up everything from champagne sausages to

  • A different kind of grief after suicide

    Jacqueline Parry runs the Swindon branch of Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS). The volunteer self-help group is for all, but recently launched a scheme called Engaging Men to reach men isolated by the suicide of a loved one. Jacqueline, who

  • Max, 11, to ride 70 miles for cancer nurses

    MAX Smith has a special insight into the work of cancer nurses because his mum is one. That’s why he is putting his head down and pedalling hard on a gruelling 70-mile cycle ride next month to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. The 11

  • £50 wedding dresses on offer in pop-up shop

    A POP-UP wedding shop is set to appear in the Brunel Centre at the weekend offering a host of bank holiday bargains including wedding dresses for as little as £50. The fundraiser is being organised by Marie Curie, the UK’s leading charity for people

  • Baby dinosaur set to thrill kids

    AN unusual visitor is expected in the town centre's Brunel Shopping Centre from tomorrow.Pete, an animatronic baby tyrannosaurus rex, will be the star attraction at The Brunel’s dinosaurium tomorrow and Thursday to entertain families in a bid to beat

  • Cycle for Michael hopes to raise £200

    A CYCLE ride in memory of Michael Doyle, who died in Bulgaria, will kick-start a wave of fundraising in aid of his grieving family.Family friend David Wright will get back in the saddle tomorrow for the 100 mile Cycle For Michael event from his Blunsdon

  • Rugged model is a tough nut yet sprightly dances through town

    It might have been 50 years since England won football’s world cup but close behind this anniversary is that of the Toyota Hilux pick up which was first launched in 1968. And it’s fair to say that since those heady days of the 1960s the Hilux has

  • VIDEO: Burglars caught on CCTV rampaging through vape shop

    THE staff at a town centre shop are offering a £500 reward for information after thieves smashed their way in on Tuesday morning. Police were alerted to the break in at the Go Vape electronic smoking shop shortly after 3am. A neighbour heard

  • Hopes rise for crash teen Courtney

    A TEENAGER seriously injured in a car crash has made progress and will be transferred back to Swindon this week. Courtney Thurman, affectionately known as Booey, suffered a severe head injury following a crash in the early hours of Saturday, August

  • Parents warned of sexting danger by charity

    THE NSPCC has given advice to parents worried about the dangers of sexting. It comes after the charity recently revealed that one in two parents do not know it is illegal for a child to take nude selfies. And while two out of five parents fear

  • Get charged for electrical safety

    Are phone chargers risky? Q "My two sons and I charge our phones and other electronic gadgets overnight, but someone's now told me that's dangerous. Is it risky and what are the safety rules concerning charging?" A Emma Apter, head of communications

  • 11 roads to avoid as worst bank holiday jams for years feared

    DRIVERS face the worst bank holiday congestion on UK roads for years, experts are warning. Transport information supplier Inrix said some stretches of road could have twice as many vehicles between Friday and Monday compared with a normal weekend

  • On the Grapevine: Partners in wine

    The couple who drink together, stay together, say scientists. But what happens if you have very different palates? Sam Wylie-Harris suggests some winemakers who can satisfy everyone Imagine inviting a potential romantic partner round for dinner

  • Fiona Caine helps solve your problems

    Should we tell the truth? I ALWAYS thought it best to protect children and that has sometimes meant not telling them the truth. Now I’m not sure as my friend’s son, who is seven, said to me - out of the blue - that he thought the world was

  • Comfort cooking

    Cooking had always been a comfort for Georgie Hayden, but it took on a whole new meaning while she was grieving for her son. She tells Kate Whiting about the emotional journey behind her new recipe book "We cook on so many levels, not just to feed

  • Share in the hog roast, says farmers' market chief

    Market manager Kardien Gerbrands talks about Swindon farmers' markets DID you know that since the beginning of February Hinton Marsh Farm have been roasting a whole pig at the farmers’ market every week? On occasion they have done a whole lamb

  • And the lucky winner of the Route 66 competition is...

    A SWINDON car fan celebrated today as he scooped the top prize in the Route 66 competition. Lucky winner Lee Baldry, from Stratton, was presented with £500 worth of Love2Shop vouchers after he entered a draw at the motor show, which was organised

  • Simon says: Embrace the French fondness for fish

    Something fishy with Simon Rhodes from Lobsterpot Fishmongers, Wood Street Food Hall MY wife and I have just returned from a short break in Le Touquet in Normandy France. This bustling town characterises the typical French way of life. With

  • £154k boost ensures future of primary school cycling scheme

    PRIMARY school children in Swindon will continue to benefit from a cycle training programme thanks to funding of more than £150,000 from the Department for Transport (DfT). Swindon Borough Council has been awarded £154,695 by the DfT to extend its Bikeability

  • How to make... Sticky Thai Prawns

    Toby Refoy from The Weighbridge Inn, Longfords, Minchinhampton  GL6 9AL 01453 832520  How to make Thai prawns Ingredients 250g of raw king prawns 100ml of dark soy 200ml of red wine 50g of castor sugar 2 stems of chopped

  • Grants galore up for grabs for local charities

    TIME is running out for local charities to bid for thousands of pounds up for grabs from the Adver.Each year the paper’s parent company, Gannett, awards a generous sum to a small but dedicated organisation making a difference in the Swindon and Wiltshire

  • Lead us not into temptation

    Dietician Fiona Dickens tells MARION SAUVEBOIS how we can dine out and still be healthy WITH new restaurants popping up here, there and everywhere, lunch has never tasted better for Swindon foodies. But with greater choice comes unbridled guilt

  • Satire and spice and all things nice

    A whimsical THOMAS HAWORTH visits the Indian restaurant at the top of the hill and questions a profundity WHEN U.S. satirist P.J. O’Rourke remarked: “The C student starts a restaurant. The A student writes restaurant reviews,” he was, if I do say

  • Do you know man wanted over rum theft caught on CCTV at Co-op?

    WILTSHIRE Police have released a CCTV image of a man they want to speak to over a shoplifting incident.The theft happened around 4pm on Monday, August 1, in the Co-op in the High Street in Old Town, Swindon.A man left the supermarket with two bottles

  • It's the cutting truth... says Barrie Hudson

    AS I’ve mentioned before, people often ask me about things in the news. Lately a lot of people have been asking about 'zombie' knives, which have been illegal to make or sell since last Thursday. So many people have been asking about them that

  • The wonder of Ginger

    Zara Kolasinska was 40 weeks pregnant when she lost her daughter Ginger. Nearly two years on, the 42-year-old from Swindon recalls the heartbreak of giving birth to a child who would never take her first breath in this moving letter to the little girl

  • Letters: August 23, 2016

    PLEASE keep your letters to 250 words maximum giving your name, address and daytime telephone number - even on emails. Email: letters@swindonadvertiser.co.uk. Write: Swindon Advertiser, 100 Victoria Road, Swindon, SN1 3BE. Phone: 01793 501806.

  • Charity collecting tins dumped beside lake

    EMPTY charity collecting tins, cash boxes and a till found dumped beside a lake in Royal Wootton Bassett have come from burglaries in Malmesbury. Some of the collection tins were discovered at Jubilee Lake in Royal Wootton Bassett on Sunday with

  • Tributes paid to much-loved 'curry king' Rafu, 58

    TRIBUTES have poured in for a much-loved chef and pillar of the Highworth community. Rafu Miah, who was a fixture at Rafu’s on the town’s High Street for more than 30 years, died following a heart attack on Sunday afternoon. He was just 58

  • Solicitors Withy King set to merge with Royds

    WITHY King solicitors is set to merge with Royds, which is based in the City of London. The merger will take place on September 1. Royds is particularly well known for its retail property, commercial litigation, employment and family/private

  • New warning over rogue traders' risk

    BRITAIN'S financial regulators are too bogged down in paperwork to focus on catching the next rogue trader, according to Nick Leeson - the man who single-handedly brought down one of Britain's oldest banks. Mr Leeson - who spent more than six years

  • GOLF: Howell happy with help

    SWINDON golfer David Howell is proving that it is never too late to teach an old dog new tricks after teaming up with a new coach saw him master the Albatross Golf Resort in Prague. The 41-year-old has recently teamed up with golf instructor Brad

  • WEPL WILTSHIRE: Purton's title hopes slipping away

    PURTON were left cursing the weather at the weekend as their six-wicket defeat to Devizes saw their title hopes all but washed away. Having lost the toss, Aaron Lee’s side were put in to bat and were looking steady at 45-2 after 15 overs before

  • Tuns of fun for Robins against Poole

    SWINDON Robins team boss Alun Rossiter hopes that Rohan Tungate carries on feeling the love for the Abbey Stadium track after he starred in his side’s superb victory over Poole Pirates on Monday night. Rossiter’s troops plucked a display straight

  • MOTORSPORT: Handy are ready to Rock

    HANDY Motorsport will head to Rockingham this weekend after another impressive performance in the British Touring Car Championship at Knockhill. Hot on the heels from their first podium finish at Snetterton in July, Rob Austin claimed his second

  • Challenges facing Wiltshire Police, says PCC's annual report

    SERIOUS challenges lie ahead for policing, warns Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson in his annual report today. Looking back over 2015-16, Mr Macpherson notes that policing, like all public services, is continuing to undergo rapid change