Monday, April 4 1949: Swindon is marking the 300th anniversary of a charter granting permission for a fair, that was drawn up and signed by Charles ll in 1661, by organising a spring fair in the town. Policeman are directing traffic away from The Square in Swindon's High Street, ready for the celebrations.

1959: A magnificent five-year-old leopard, Big Chief Noise, almost stole the show from the Queens at the National Children's Home Festival of Queens, held in the Methodist Central Hall in Swindon. The leopard, Chiefy to his friends, was introduced by his trainer, Frank N Farrars, but despite being a film star from Tarzan's Greatest Adventure and some tempting chunks of meat in front of him, he still had stage fright when the 28 queens, from Sunday schools, youth clubs and dancing groups, paraded into the hall and were presented to the Mayor of Swindon. Chiefy was led off the stage when he became restless.

1979: Swindon's Plessey operation was rocked by another blow when it was announced that 60 workers at their sheet metal plant would face the sack. This latest round of job cuts comes only weeks after 70 redundancies were announced at the Plessey Hydraulic Plant on the Cheney Manor Industrial Estate.

Tuesday April 5 1949: About 80 members and friends of the Swindon branch of the Retail Fruit Federation attended the Rolleston Arms Hotel, Swindon to see films showing the production, harvesting, transportation and distribution of fruit and vegetables and company retailing of the green stuffs in America.

1959: It was full house at McIlroys Ballroom, Swindon when more than 350 attended the annual dance of the Wills Imperial Sports Club. The manager of the Wiltshire tobacco factory, Mr G A Gibbs, was among those who danced to Christopher Paul and his music.

1979: Treasure hunters John Booth and Peter Humphries are counting their blessings - and their pennies. The detectorists struck it rich with a Roman mint. They found 56,500 silver coins with a metal detector and a Swindon inquest said the massive haul was treasure trove. They dug up the haul in a field at Mildenhall near Marlborough and some of the coins are rare.

Wednesday, April 6 1949: Mr E Hambridge of Pavenhill Farm, Purton, who has a long experience as a mole catcher was very surprised when collecting his traps to find a white mole. He considers it a rare specimen. Mole catching was a lucrative occupation years ago.

1949: Swindon's Civic restaurant provoked another debate at the council meeting. An application is now to be made at the appropriate Government Department for permission to make an immediate start on it. The council approved a reviewed plan.

1959: In bright sunshine, more than 300 people took part in the service for the laying of a foundation stone for Penhill Free Church (congregational) at Downton Road, Penhill. The laying and dedication of the stone was performed by Rev W Griffiths-Jones, chairman of the East Somerset Congregational Union.

1959: Mr S L Pears, prospective Conservative candidate for Swindon, and his wife, spent the weekend at Stanton House, Stanton Fitzwarren as guests of Sir Geoffrey Tritton, chairman of the Divisional Conservative Association and Lady Tritton. They visited the King's and South Wards where they met officials and electors.

1979: Bert Cox is the 56 million world man. Bert completes his 50 years with Wiltshire Newspapers this year. He is a linotype operator. His machine is like a giant typewriter which casts the letters on a thin metal bar. Bert, officially Herbert John, started work with the company, as a post boy in 1929. He was a bomb loader during the war and now lives in Highworth Street, South Marston.

1979: Swindon Concert Brass Band are still hitting the right notes even thought they are without a musical director. They came sixth in the recent Lansing Bagnall Band Concert at Basingstoke. Former member John Winterflood has gained his Bandmaster at Kneller Hall.

Thursday, April 7 1949: Thirty school boys from the Sir Walter St John School in Battersea visited Lydiard park, the ancestral home of Sir Walter St John, 3rd Baronet of Battersea and Lydiard Tregoze, who founded the school. The visit was arranged by the school and the Swindon Corporation and the boys were met at Swindon station by Mr N G Liddiard, Public Relations assistant. The school pupils had a tour of the mansion, examined the memorials in the church, had lunch in the mansion, and visited the rail works before returning to London.

1959: Polish refugees who are now living in council houses in Walcot, Swindon, say it is heaven compared to years as captives or living in camps or hutments. Five percent of the population of that expansion area in Swindon are Polish, including Honorata Belzki, who has lived in Drakes Way with her husband and family since she was deported by the Russians in 1940.

1959: Swindon Town (holders), with seven teenagers in their side, defeated Salisbury 2-1 at the County Ground and so qualified to meet Trowbridge Town in the final of the Wiltshire Professional Shield.

1979: Shy, mild-mannered bachelor, Cyril Gunstone, who lives with his 80-year-old mother, in Westcott Place, Swindon has pulled off a billion to one double. He won his second prize of £1,000 in the Viewpoint Cashcade lottery operated by Ladbrokes, and on the same day as he won his former £1,000 exactly a year ago.

1979: Swindon Robins gained their first victory of the season in their home challenge match against Poole. Following his ride in this match, Swindon Robins' American rider Steve Gresham is safely through to the finals of the Midland Riders Speedway Championships in Coventry.

Friday April 8 1949: British Railways moved an entire farm of animals and equipment from Highworth to Lancashire. The animals including one small pony, from Parsonage Farm in Highworth, belonging to Mrs S H Hollis, breeder of Friesian cows, were loaded on to a special train of 41 wagons before travelling to their new home near Preston by rail.

1949: Pupils of Beryl Messenger gave a dancing display at the Arts Centre in Swindon in aid of St John Ambulance Cadet Corps. Outstanding among the older girls was Zena Rawlings who is shortly leaving Swindon to join the Russian Ballet.

1959: Over Easter pupils from Pinehurst Secondary School spent eight days in Paris. The trip started at an early hour of 5.15am when children and parents assembled at the school. The journey ended more than 13 hours later and they stayed at an Institute in St Mande area of Paris, a school originally built by Napoleon to accommodate his soldiers.

1959: An appeal to Swindon people to treat pigeons as "dirty nuisances'' was made by Alderman L C Mobey, Chairman of the Public Health Committee at Swindon Town Council's meeting. He urged people not to feed them and to keep them moving so they did not settle on buildings and do irreparable damage.

1979: Fred Cheshire started teaching at Wroughton Junior School in 1946 when some of the children had to walk half a mile to their classrooms after assembly and there was no electricity or flushing toilets. Now it has got bright and airy classrooms as befits one of the biggest primary schools in Wiltshire. After 33 years wielding the chalk, Fred is now retiring.

1979: Charlie Parks from Home Farm, Highworth, found a copy of the News Of The World that was 100 years old. He found the newspaper on top of a wardrobe when he moved into his new home. It told tales of husbands selling wives at auction, prisoners being sent to a penal colony and people starving to death in Britain. The paper was priced at two pence and dated April 1872.

Saturday April 9 1949: Sidney George Dean of Seagrams Farm, Imber, has brought a claim before Justice Morris for compensation against the Secretary of State for War. The claim arose from his sudden dispossession of his farm at Imber in 1943 by the war office. He had to sell his whole flock of sheep.

1949: Swindon women railway employees won first, second and third prizes at the Western Region Women's First Aid Competition in London. Swindon's A team, who won first prize with 254 marks out of 400, took home the Florence M Lean Challenge Cup.

1959: The Vale of White Horse branch of the national Pony Club hunter trials were held at the Upper Burytown in Blunsdon, near Swindon. The youngest competitor was Kitty McGivern, six of Broad Town.

1959: A steeplejack is to be called in to inspect the defects on the spire of Christ Church, Swindon the annual church meeting was told. An architect's report says that the cross on the west gable at the base of the spine is leaning, the cross on the east has lost its arms and the cross on the north has disappeared all together. Water is entering somewhere on the south west face of the spire and is dripping down over the bells. Rough estimates of repairs are £100 for essential work and £500 eventually.

1979: Vic Antrobus is Top Swot having won the Swindon College's number one award. He was presented with the senior award at the college prize giving. He is undertaking a management in action programme in the Department of Environment.

1979: Drama workshop classes have been included for the first time in Swindon's annual Music and Drama Festival. Hundreds of school children are taking part in the festival's speech and drama classes at the Devizes Road Arts Centre. They have been receiving high praise from drama adjudicator Freda Hodgson.