A BOSS of a Swindon women’s project has won a national award. Rose Mahon, head of excellence at the Nelson Trust, was named Criminal Justice Champion at the prestigious Howard League for Penal Reform’s Community Awards. Based in Stroud, but
STORIES about Swindon bridges being bashed by tall vehicles are a Swindon Advertiser hardy perennial. Of the hundreds we’ve run, though, one from October of 1996 is unique. It involved a collision which was carefully planned, viewed by hundreds
A PRIMARY school in Swindon has filled dozens of shoeboxes for deprived children across the world to give them a Christmas they will never forget.More than 80 shoeboxes were put together by Greenmeadow Primary School as part of the ‘Operation Christmas
A HOMELESS man who burgled a Good Samaritan pensioner has been jailed for three years.Lee Allen sneaked into the house of a 74-year-old widow, who had helped him in the past, after asking her to get him a glass of water and pinched her purse.And when
THE contributions of Swindon’s First World War servicemen has been recognised at a ceremony at the Civic Offices.In 2011, former mayor Rex Barnett made a request to have Swindon’s World War One memorial restored and rehomed.That request was finally realised
POLICE are hunting a man they believe was involved in a Gorse Hill café fight. A man in his 30s was left with cuts to his face and a sore arm after being assaulted inside Buteco Café on Cricklade Road at around 1pm on Sunday, October 1. Officers
Keeping their new fleet up to scratch Kia have just launched their refreshed Sorento, a spacious seven seater SUV. And as you would expect it’s another winner. It went on show at the autumn Frankfurt Motor Show and should be with UK dealers before
DUMPED litter remains at a Wichelstowe quiet spot – despite council moves to make one fly-tipper clear his mess. Now, a dead deer has appeared near the waste – leading one wildlife enthusiast to fear that it may have died after eating the litter
PADDINGTON 2 (PG, 103 mins) Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Grant, Brendan Gleeson, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Samuel Joslin, Madeleine Harris and the voices of Ben Whishaw and Imelda Staunton. Director: Paul King.The bare necessities
HAY meadows near Royal Wootton Bassett, described as a glimpse of paradise, could be saved for the nation if Wiltshire Wildlife Trust can find £50,000 by the end of this month.The fields at Morningside Farm, Chaddington, are up for sale with a price tag
IF you are a fan of live music then there is a busy week ahead for you. And if you have a penchant for rock music in particular then it may seem as if Christmas has come early, such is the amount of hard hitting, guitar slinging, heavy four-four salvos
Freedom Child by The Script Out on Columbia Records now.THE Script’s first offering after their hiatus in Ireland has a different, lighter tone to it than the edgy rock of past albums.Rain, the single from the album, shot in to the top 20 of the UK charts
I’M wary of even writing about this because it is so fraught with difficulties and controversy, but in recent weeks, a thought keeps coming back to me in the wake of the ever-growing number of sex scandals. So let me start by saying any man who
Ahead of the cinema release of Paddington 2 on November 10, Sarah Marshall recommends the best places to see the spectacled bears that inspired Michael Bond's classic character.Carrying a suitcase stuffed with marmalade sandwiches, Paddington Bear
Sarah Singleton looks at the Western Players latest production THE Venetian Twins, an 18th century comedy drama of love, poison and mistaken identity, is running at the Swindon Arts Centre this week. Written in 1743 by Italian master dramatist
GILL HARRIS goes off-grid for a weekend of ... well, very little at all... on a relaxing glamping breakI WAS really looking forward to getting away from it all in a cosy log cabin on a farm in the middle of nowhere. Birdsong, greenery all around, peace
THIS weekend Swindon will join other towns and cities across the country in falling silent to remember those who have fought in conflicts to preserve the freedom that we enjoy today. There will be a number of opportunities for people to pay their
IT IS is always difficult for musicians associated with a past name act to bring fresh music to the table without people trying to join dots and name check, extrapolate and reference, particularly if that previous act was one which rose over the years
High street giant Marks & Spencer has said it will accelerate its clothing store closure plans and slow Simply Food openings as it posted a 5.3 per cent fall in half-year profits.The retail bellwether said it would further reshape the clothing and home
Swindon 1951: Workers from the Swindon Railworks Iron Foundry made an open casting in molten metal of the letters HRH Princess Elizabeth in readiness for the princess’ trip to Swindon, 26 years after King George V, accompanied by Queen Mary, visited
BEST-selling author and TV presenter Ned Boulting explores the agony and ecstasy of British cycling in his show Bikeology on Wednesday. With plenty of new tales from the cycle lane, Ned will discuss his time at the 2017 Tour de France as well as
Joe Theobald, aka DJ Captain Wormhole, Looks at all things vinyl HERE at the Swindon Advertiser we never shy away from the really tough questions, the big debates, the divisive issues; the sort of stuff that risks our social cohesion, hotly contested
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FINDLAY Napier is both a comedian, musician and VIP, who is stopping off in Cricklade to play at the latest acoustic session in The Old Stables.Findlay graduated from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland before joining traditional Scottish folk bands such
JASON Byrne has such a strong following that his comedy is almost like a religion to his fans.His autumn tour of a new, highly audience-interactive show will stopping off in Swindon next Friday (November 17).“My shows are like a fun church, but everyone
RELIVE the glory days of Swedish music phenomenon ABBA tonight, as the tribute show Thank You for the Music is appearing at Swindon’s Wyvern Theatre. The international hit show brings all ABBA’s number one songs to the stage, along with plenty
YOUNG literature lovers enjoyed talks from two top authors yesterday. Helen Dennis spoke to Year 8 pupils at Highworth Warneford School, while Sarah Mussi entertained Swindon Academy students from Years 7, 8, and 9. Helen taught creative writing
Sarah Singleton checks out what's on offer this week on stage in Swindon Rocking round the Christmas tree Rock’n’roll variety show That’ll be the Day returns to the Wyvern Theatre on Friday with its brand new Christmas show. Featuring popular
ORIGINAL Zombies fans, as well as those converted to the band's music by their recent successful revival, are in for a treat when lead singer Colin Blunstone plays Devizes on November 25. This solo tour follows Colin's outing at the head of the
A GANG of men who attacked a man in the street have been remanded in custody by a judge. Romanians Marian-Laurentiu Badea, 23, Alexandru Dinca, 26, and George Ivan, 25, had just been thrown out of a club when they punched, kicked and stamped on
A PAIR of teenagers who had been accused of carrying out a serious assault in Walcot have had the charges against them dropped.Jordan Betterton and Billy Livingstone, both 18, both denied causing grievous bodily harm with intent on Wednesday August 16
UGG opened its doors in Swindon yesterday (Nov 9) as dozens of eager shoppers turned up to grab a pair of the sleek and snuggly boots for winter.An excited queue snaked its way around the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet while those already inside bustled
A MAN posing as a “detective” allegedly conned a pensioner out of thousands of pounds. Police are hunting the man, who is suspected of carrying out the large cash fraud. A Lawn woman, who is in her eighties, was phoned on Tuesday, September 19, by a man
DAVID Flitcroft feels the intensity provided by Donal McDermott’s style of play would be much missed by Swindon Town, should the midfielder be forced into a spell on the sidelines. McDermott suffered an injury just eight minutes after coming on
Some beautiful sunsets have graced Swindon in the past week, which have inspired our camera club. Members have also been out and about capturing autumn in all of its finery. If you’d like to join the club – and be in with a chance of winning
THE first acts for a planned music festival organised by a British Army veteran to celebrate the military have been revealed. But organisers have yet to apply for permission to stage the concert at Lydiard Park, despite now announcing their headline
Led by Swindon’s Helen Gamberg, Swerve Dance Theatre Company has More To Say in a new mixed media performance. The double bill, consisting of two pieces of theatre plus a short film, explores the concept that there is often more to things than
Entertainments in ancient Rome, including gladiators fighting to the death, were distractions from the political shenanigans of the day. Today comedian Stephen K Amos employs the same tactics with his new show Bread and Circuses. Stephen drops
A CAMPAIGN has been launched to ensure people in Swindon win the fight against burglars. Wiltshire Police have sought to tackle the town’s higher than average burglary rate by issuing security advice to residents. The campaign, which runs until
A BLUES musician and poet from Old Town spoke of his surprise when he heard that his first single was played on BBC Radio 6 Music. Gerard Gearon’s song Love Is Bad was picked by DJ Steve Lamacq to be one of the best new releases on his show recommending
SWINDON could get its first glow-in-the dark cycle path.Council officers have been looking at the new surfacing as part of planned improvements to Spring Gardens, in the town centre.They want to tackle contamination, cut back brambles, install a new games
I HAD high hopes for this play. It promised it all: sword fighting, love tussles, mistaken identity and a pimp of a father. For the most part, The Venetian Twins lived up to expectations. Written over 250 years ago by Italian playwright
THE Royal British Legion have returned to the Tesco on Ocotal Way to raise more money for the Poppy Appeal. The supermarket has been working with former and active army personnel who volunteer for the local branch of the charity, who have raised
Children's charity gets a boost in the form of a new office in the centre of Swindon. Swindon’s latest new serviced office provider Fig Offices has generously donated new office space at its 3 Newbridge Square centre to the Jessie May Trust, which
A MAN who beat his girlfriend around the head as a woman and her child looked on has walked out of court with no punishment. Royston Morris, 47, of no fixed abode, appeared at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday having pleaded guilty to one
VOTERS in Swindon could be asked to show photographic ID before being allowed to cast their ballot in next year's local elections. An emergency motion will go before tonight's meeting of the full council which will see councillors asked to consider
SOME of Swindon’s most hard-to-reach street homeless will have a roof over their heads this winter as part of an ambitious new project being rolled out for the first time. The town has two main hostels for those who have fallen on hard times and found
INITIATIVES to cut household waste are under way in the Royal Wootton Bassett and Cricklade area.Waste workshops, an anti-litter campaign and education are all being tried as part of a Wiltshire Council funded programme being run by Wiltshire Wildlife
A SELECTION of photographer Dave Evans' images as Swindon Town reached the Checkatrade Trophy knockout stages with a 4-2 success at Bristol Rovers last night.
SWINDON men’s first team maintained their fine start to the season as they defeat Bristol Uni A 4-1 in Conference North. Against the run of play, the hosts took the lead through Tom Wickens before Thomas Gillingham doubled Swindon’s advantage shortly
LAWN B were forced to battle hard against Royal Wootton Bassett A to maintain their unbeaten start to the season in Division Two in the Swindon and District Winter League last Saturday. Defensively, Lawn took hold of the game from start to finish
SWINDON Shock coach David Colclough remained upbeat despite his depleted side being edged out 95-87 by Team Solent Kestrels II at the weekend. The hosts were penalised for players standing up on the sidelines allowing the Hampshire side to claw
SWINDON teenager Charlie Nesbitt has finally put pen to paper on a new contract to race in the Moto3 Junior World Championship for 2018.The deal will see the 16-year-old again race in the Estrella Galicia 0,0 garage for the Monlau Engineering Team, but
