CHARITIES must be strong and resilient if they are to survive the recession. Voluntary organisations cannot rely solely on grants and donations in the current climate, according to Matthew Pearce, the chief executive of Voluntary Action Swindon. His
THE Swindon Advertiser was among a number of businesses and groups who were honoured by the North Wiltshire Motor Neurone Disease Support Group as they marked the 30th anniversary of the charity. Certificates marking the support the organisations
JUST two days after the country gathered to remember its fallen heroes, six more soldiers will be repatriated through Wootton Bassett today. In what has been one of the bloodiest months for British troops since being deployed to Afghanistan, hundreds
A HELPLINE counselled 36 girls and 15 boys for sexual abuse last year, new figures reveal. Statistics for the region show 212 children in the South West contacted ChildLine last year and 21 of these victims had been abused by a female. The figures were
THE first Swindon finance cafe will open its door next Saturday for people to get advice on their money. A number of charities and support groups will be on had at the event, organised by Nationwide. Nationwide’s head of corporate responsibility Caroline
Wroughton History Group will be giving free illustrated walk and talks around the area this month. Two talks will take place at 10am and 12.30pm on Sunday, November 15, and will cover agricultural and industries that have supported the village. They
I do not consider myself a fashion expert for one minute. I do not know which colours clash, what style of shorts go best with a t-shirt, nor do I know what should be worn when. However, there is one current trend I simply cannot comprehend: Jeggings
HAS Greg Heathcliffe been watching the same news as me, or have I got it wrong? It is my understanding that David Cameron has given up on Lisbon and will only legislate to avoid any future powers being devolved to Europe. This is a complete cop out and
DANNY Wilson believes that Swindon Town's FA Cup second round tie at Wrexham offers his side a good chance of progression, but the Robins' manager insists that it is not a game to be taken lightly. After dispatching of Woking in unconvincing circumstances
AFTER hearing the shocking news last week “Major kills 11 in rampage at US Army base” at Fort Hood, Texas, USA - it is interesting to note that Fort Hood was already somewhat famous because of a young recruit named Elvis Presley who was also there one
DEMENTIA is a devastating disease that changes lives - not only those with the disease themselves, but whole families. When my mother was first diagnosed we did not know where to turn – we needed as much help as she did. Admiral Nurses – trained and
I HAVE never read a single word of the Lisbon Treaty (I haven't got a free year to spare) and I am sure neither has the majority of the British public, and I suspect neither have many MPs. But it is clear to everybody that David Cameron has broken a cast
THE Lisbon Treaty has given more powers to the EU, but not made it more accountable. A UK government can be voted out, but there is no way to vote out our European government if we don’t like the laws or their conduct. ROBIN TINGEY Cherry
GOSH! Responses from six leading Tory writers, with their own ideas of history, there’s fame! Sorry, I may not be able to respond to all. Mr Plumtree, in his letter of November 3, lists five famous rich reformers from British history. I agree, we all
I WAS shocked at the scene in Canal Walk - all the lovely blocks/bricks are being removed and their incorporate designs and they are being replaced with dull grey slabs. It is, in my view, a crime akin to tearing up Roman mosaics and replacing them with
MR MORGAN says I am being paranoid over my suggestion that needing a fingerprint scan etc at Commonweal School could be the thin end of the wedge, leading to all kinds of problems. All I am trying to warn people about is that by getting children used
IN reply to Clive Hooper's letter of October 30, I agree whole-heartedly that our Labour government has completely failed students and their parents by introducing tuition fees. This has been something the Green Party and Liberal Democrats have agreed
A former international athlete who represented the UK in the 400m sprint has been offered the role of chief executive at Wiltshire Council. Subject to approval at the full Wiltshire Council meeting, Andrew Kerr, 50, who, since 2005, has been the chief
SYSTEMATIC fiddling of allowances at the taxpayers' expense has to stop. The venality of MPs as evidenced by the details exposed in the media shocked the nation. Now some MPs are suggesting that they should have a £40,000 pay increase as compensation
ANNE Snelgrove MP suggests that there are those who oppose the greater use of DNA to track down criminals - one wonders who the those are, (SA, November 6). The truth is more likely to be that no one opposes the greater use of DNA to track down criminals
JOHN Allen's reasoning in his letter Withstand guilt (SA, November 6) was difficult to follow, but I think I got his main point. He seemed to be saying that advertising which tries to dissuade us from doing things which are harmful (smoking, over-consumption
WELL done Adver! Once again you have proved that when we get together with the Adver we can take on the big boys and make a difference. I read with a considerable amount of pride today’s front page (November 7), the article on page 5 and your leader
FLASHING lights and new paving slabs. Wow! The shoppers will be flocking in...to Bath, Bristol, Reading etc. Do something useful with the taxpayers’ money, like demolish the old college eyesore for instance. The council can only regurgitate old tired
A NEW debt counselling centre has opened its doors in Swindon. The centre, run by the national charity Christians Against Poverty (CAP), is manned by a team of dedicated specialists who are able to give free financial advice as well as counselling to
The day that started was a long one. A day that started like every other and finished like none seen before by the eyes of man. At the age of 35 – a bachelor and and living like one in my ancient flat on floor 12 – I thought I'd seen it all. The Far
This maybe the time in your life when you are making decisions about what college you want to go to next year, and I don’t know about you but I’m finding it extremely difficult to decide. The choices I have riddled it down to are Cirencester and New
YOUNG bookworms will be meeting top children’s authors next week for the Swindon Ten Youth Festival of Literature. The second Youth Festival of Literature aims to encourage young people to explore and celebrate the world of literature. School partnership
NOVEMBER 15 is the World Day of Remembrance for road crash victims. People throughout the world will be remembering the many millions who lose their lives or are injured in road crashes. It is a tragic fact that in Britain, on average, 3,000 people lose
CONGRATULATIONS to T Reynolds on a brilliant letter (SA, Nov 4). What he forgot to mention was that the Labour party were only elected in 1997 on a promise of sleaze free government, since when we have been in it up to our necks, just like we were under
DAVID Cameron has gone back on his cast iron promise to hold a referendum on the latest EU Treaty. The British public can never trust a word David Cameron says, ever again. STEVE HALDEN Beaufort Green Swindon
MORE than 200 children in the region have turned to ChildLine for counselling because of sexual abuse. The statistics were collated by staff at the ChildLine South West base in Exeter. ChildLine manager Cheryl Marshall said: “Sexually abused children
Where did size zero ever get anyone? Not very far by the looks of things! Except the entrance to heaven’s door. Yes you’re right; here we go again, prodding the sore subject of ‘size zero’. It must be stated that the girls we see modelling in advertisements
A 21-year-old is to face trial by jury accused of assaulting a man and then threatening him after he bad been to the police. Carl Hiett is said to have assaulted Adam Wilmott on Monday, July 20, and then made the threats to harm him on Thursday, July
A drug user caught with thousands of pounds worth of heroin said he was preyed upon by his dealer soon after he was released from prison as he still owed him money. Paul Bruce, 27, was jailed for two years in September last year for possessing
TRAIN enthusiasts made tracks to ModRail’s 50th anniversary model railway exhibition in West Swindon. The event, at Greendown Community School in Grange Park, saw model makers, railway clubs, painters and repair specialists pack the school’s gym for
British housewives were asked to give up the practice of boiling their white clothes on washday, thereby saving the country a predicted £2,500,000 in fuel. Perhaps not surprisingly, this announcement came from the producers of Rinso who showcased their
Across the country people gathered to remember those who had fallen in the Great War on the 21st commemoration of Armistice Day. In Swindon, the mayor, Coun HR Hustings, placed a wreath from the people of Swindon on the Cenotaph which read: “In hallowed
Thursday, November 9 – “We are getting more drunks in Swindon than we ought to do. We are breaking the record altogether,” declared magistrates clerk Mr A.E. Withy, imposing a fine of 7s 6d on labourer William Petrie of 131 Chapel Street, Swindon.
Hitler Dodges Death by Ten Minutes was one of the dramatic Advertiser front page headlines this week 70 years ago. A time bomb in an attic was thought to have caused the explosion at the Buergerbrau beer cellar where Hitler had previously delivered
SMOKERS who kick the habit in the lead-up to Christmas could save themselves more than £300 by the big day. That is the message from NHS Swindon as it launches a fresh bid to help the town’s smokers quit. “November is also Lung Cancer Awareness month
POLICE were called out to Stratton St Margaret on Saturday night after reports that a group of cows escaped from their field and ran onto the A419. The animals ran across the stretch near the Honda works shortly before 10pm. Motorists were asked to pass
JOURNALIST Janet Street-Porter stuck the boot into the National Trust during its annual meeting at Swindon’s Steam museum. She was fighting her corner in a debate citing the footpath as man’s greatest gift to civilisation rather than manor houses
A SERIOUSLY ill Swindon girl and her mother say they were left stranded after being kicked off the bus on their way to hospital. Seven-year-old Ella Cridland has severe asthma, eczema and zero tolerance for heat, dust, peanuts and egg.
SWINDON Supermarine shared the spoils with fellow strugglers Bedford Town in an uninspiring encounter at Hunts Copse at the weekend. Mark Collier’s side were made to settle for a point that provided them with a small boost in their bid to move away from
A VIDEO nasty failed to have the desired effect as the Swindon Wildcats slumped to their seventh straight defeat last night. Loss number six arrived on home ice on Saturday night as the Cats were beaten 5-2 by Guildford Flames at the Link Centre. In
LOVING families in Swindon are being encouraged to bring stability into the lives of children by signing up to the town’s adoption register. Swindon Council’s Family Placement Team (FPT) is looking for families to provide homes for children in the foster
CHEF Rana Miah’s life fell apart when he was left with serious head injuries after trying to stop car thieves. He lost his business, his partner and the hearing in his left ear and was hospitalised for three months. But the 37-year-old has fought back
FOR some at the County Ground on Saturday, Town’s victory against Woking provided more than just progression to the second round of the FA Cup. It may not be up there with one of the performances of the season but a first clean sheet since
DANNY Wilson hit back at Town's FA Cup critics, insisting it was never going to be a Woking walkover at the County Ground on Saturday. Billy Paynter's first half header was enough to seal Swindon's progression to the second round of the competition
