Monday, January 25

1949: Any Questions? the BBC show is to be broadcast from Swindon. The programme will be recorded at the Arts Centre - the first time the centre has been broadcast. Residents questions are answered by a team of experts.

1959: Mr A S MacRae, speaking at Swindon Public Library's Poetry Circle on Robert Burns, whose bi-centenary it is, deplored much of the mentality of the Scotts towards the poet. He read Tam O'Shanter one of Burn's best known poems and said he had made a huge contribution to literature.

1979: Swindon rock band, Stadium Dogs, are out of the stall boxes and off with a bang this year, as the five-piece have secured a major British tour and a new single release. The band are supporting The Kinks on a 17-date nationwide tour. Their new single, Love On The Airways, is getting more and more airplay even on Radio One. It was written by the band and sung by keyboard player Jon Perkins. Other members of the band are Kevin Wilkinson, Kirk Thorne, Pete Cousins and Paul Griffiths.

Tuesday, January 26

1949: Sporrans and tartans flew at the skirl of the bagpipes when 120 members of the Swindon Caledonian Society and guests attended the dinner and dance celebrating 190th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, at the Goddard Arms Hotel in Old Town.

1959: A hat trick by Ken Davis put Swindon BR in a semi-final of the Wiltshire Senior Cup Competition. The Railwaymen won 3-1 at Bromham.

1979: Julie Williams, 13, from Swindon has appeared on the BBC TV Jim'll Fix It show, where the disco dancer was given the opportunity to dance with Paul Anderson, the third place disco dance champion, because the UK number one champion, Grant Santino, was held up in Germany. Julie had wished to dance with Santino.

Wednesday, January 27

1949: Arthur Carron, the Swindon singer who won international fame as an operatic star, appeared with a group of local artists at the Arts Centre, Swindon, He sang songs to demonstrate his magnificent voice.

1959: Mr A G E Groves, 64, of Devizes Road, Wroughton, completed 50 years service with Swindon and District Co-operative Society Ltd. The society's grocery manager and buyer, Mr Groves, started at the Wroughton branch on January 26 1909. To celebrate he tucked into a high tea of steak and mushrooms and was presented with an inscribed silver cigarette case.

1979: There was a big thank you to landlord Dennis Lawler and his wife Eileen, from the Belle Vue Hotel, from Evening Advertiser journalists. They have presented Dennis with two books on aircraft, for his help during the journalists recent seven-week strike. They used the Belle Vue's Stage Bar as their HQ.

Thursday, January 28

1949: Four charities, including ex-servicemen's organisations, were the beneficiaries from the proceeds of the ball, held at the Majestic Ballroom in Swindon, when Joe Loss and his orchestra performed. 700 people watched from the balcony as 300 joined the dancing. Swindon's Johnnie Stiles Band also played.

1959: The cost of keeping a patient in hospital is now £20 a week, but in Swindon's Victoria Hospital dealing with acute illnesses, the cost of each in-patient a week is £31 four shillings and 10 pence. The figures come from the National Health Service Costing Returns just published.

1979: XTC, Swindon's premier rock band, are smack in the middle of a split-up mystery. Rumours that the band is breaking up have been denied by XTC's management, who claim the group are alive and kicking. Keyboard player Barry Andrews has definitely left the band to pursue a solo career, and it is believed that the band are searching for another guitarist.

Friday, January 29

1949: Rhode Island hens are known to lay strange eggs at times, but the seven-month-old pullet, belonging to Mr S F Theobald, a retired butcher from Wharf Road, Wroughton, has laid an eggstra special egg. It stands bolt upright, like the toys that will not be knocked down. The shell at the narrow end is thicker than usual, altering the centre of gravity.

1959: A new journal is to be printed in Wiltshire, but only one issue will come off the press, and then the publication will be suspended for another year. The newcomer is four pages of light reading called Nightmare News, which will make its debut at the Marlborough Press Ball, organised by Swindon and district journalists.

1979: Cocky, the bantam, won a first in his class at the Western Counties Bantam Club regional open annual show, in Swindon. The prize-winning bantam is owned by Kalvin and Brenda Skuse of Glenwood Close.

Saturday, January 30

1949: Entering the home of Mr and Mrs W J Pool of Dean Street, Swindon, is comparable to walking around a small art gallery. Wallpaper has long since disappeared from the hall, and in its place are murals with rural lakes and coastal scenes. Mr Pool, who works nights as a fitter in the Swindon Railway Works, spends a few hours each morning on his hobby.

1959: Ex servicemen in Swindon have decided to send a delegate to a Ban The H-Bomb group. Mr B R Warner, chairman of the British Legion Nuclear Disarmourment Committee, had told the branch to appoint a representative at the committee. They voted to make a delegate as an observer.

1979: Manchester City star Mike Channon refused Swindon Town's £250,000 bid to lure him back to Wiltshire - just 12 hours after he looked likely to accept the move. Third Division Swindon shocked the football world by making City's £1/4 million asking price for the English striker.