THE arts in one form or another featured strongly in many Adver stories during the second week of September in 1976.

There were two stories about painters, one of whom used conventional canvases while the other preferred his living room wall.

Both showed immense ability.

“Arthur Taylor,” we said, “has created a unique alternative to wallpaper.

“Arthur, an artist, of Tudor Walk, Walcot, has transformed his council house living room into a lifelkike country meadow.

“He has painted the 12ft by 22ft living room wall into a mural depicting a typcal country scene, complete with slow rolling river, ivy-covered manor house, grazing horses and overhanging trees.”

Judging from the photo we ran, it was an excellent work, and we wonder whether it survives in whole or in part.

The artist told us the scene represented a memory of a visit to Cornwall some years before, and added: “The room needed decorating so I decided to do my own sort of decorating.

“Most of the work was completed over a short period and I’ve been adding bits, like a duck here and a tree there, ever since.

“Everyone sticks to the same old formula in decorating, either paint or wallpaper. I decided to do something different, and I am proud of the finished result.”

The other painter whose work appeared in the Adver that week produced rather more portable works.

Yorkshireman Allan Milner was exhibiting a selection of his colourful abstract and semi-abstract pieces at the Wyvern Theatre, which was celebrating its fifth anniversary.

Mr Milner, 65, who would live until 1984, revealed that his greatest inspiration was not a painter but a composer, Bach.

The works of the painter, a World War veteran and son of a miner, are still sought after by connoisseurs.

The Wyvern also announced its Autumn programme of events.

We said: “There is a predominance of music of all sorts, local societies get a fair crack of the whip and there is a gap of more than two months between thrillers.”

There were also to be acts from mainstream theatre companies of various kinds.

These included acclaimed actress Vivien Merchant, who was due to appear in an Edward Albee play called All Over.

Merchant’s life would spiral into tragedy within a few years. She died in 1982, having spiralled into alcoholism after splitting with her husband, playwright and future Nobel Prize winner Harold Pinter.

Also set to tread the boards at the Wyvern were the era’s most famous female impersonators who weren’t Danny La Rue.

George Logan and Patrick Fyffe played Hinge and Bracket – Dr Evadne Hinge and Dame Hilda Bracket, who were elderly spinsters with theatrical backgrounds.

Jazz pianist Stan Tracey was among the musical stars booked for an appearance at the Swindon venue.

Another arts-related story was about a Swindon star of the future.

We said: “Amber Bezer, eight, will not be outdone by her nother, Mrs Diane Bezer, of Long Acre Purton.

“When Mrs Bezer, 34, went to Butlins Barry Island holiday centre in South Wales and won the Miss She contest, Amber entered the Miss Junior Miss competition – and won.

“Mrs Bezer now goes forward into the semi-final of the Miss She contest, judged on stylish dressing, in Brighton in December.

“It is the second year in succession that both mother and daughter have won the contests – a record for the holiday camp.”

Amber Bezer, as everybody with a knowledge of celebrity Swindonians knows, went on to enjoy a successful acting career in pieces as diverse as classic science fiction series The Tripods and Michael Winner’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s appointment with death.

She also earned a place in advertising history with a role in the iconic 1980s ‘laundromat’ commercial for Levi 501 jeans.

Over in Haydon Wick, where about 1,100 houses were shortly to be built, the old Haydon Farm house was in the process of being demolished.

We tracked down a woman called Norah Hollick and asked her to pose for a photograph in front of the roofless structure. It was a poignant moment for Mrs Hollick as she had been born there, and so had her father and grandfather.

“It was a little palace,” she said. “We had oak panelled walls and oak beams. Outside there was a lovely gravel drive, and there were two lovely wrought iron gates and a tennis court. There was a fish pond with all sorts of fish in it.”

Some called the demolition progress while others called it vandalism. In the town centre, meanwhile, there was no such debate over something that had happened at the Town Hall.

When an unknown person used scaffolding to reach one of the clock faces and hack off most of an hour hand, it was definitely vandalism, not to mention theft.

The two-foot chunk of metal was said to be worth £35.