WRITING poetry helped Rachel Goss to cope with rheumatoid arthritis when she couldn’t sleep and, a year after her death, her words continue to comfort others. Rachel’s poems have been collected and organised into an anthology by Chris and Janet
STUDENT nurses are hoping to make a difference to dozens of people’s lives when they head to Asia as part of their training. Erin Rose and Michelle Campbell, who are currently taking part in a placement at Great Western Hospital, will be flying out to
SWINDON have suffered their fifth postponement in a row with tomorrow's meeting at home to Lakeside the latest to fall victim to the weather. No new date for the Elite League clash has yet been set. The Robins' last meeting was the 54-39 victory
ARKELL’S new head brewer has praised the Community Pubs month run by the Adver in conjunction with the Campaign for Real Ale. Alex Arkell, speaking at one of the country’s last family breweries in Kingsdown, said pubs were at the heart of healthy communities
THE mum of a man who committed suicide hours after discharging himself from hospital has spoken of her relief after getting a letter of apology from the NHS Trust. An inquest, which was held at Trowbridge Coroner’s Court in 2010, found that 34-year-old
SEEING her mum battle cancer last year has inspired Hayleigh Macdivitt to get her trainers on. The eight-year-old and her mum, Natasha, of Haydon End, will be among the hundreds of women at Lydiard Park on June 10 raising money for Cancer Research UK
A SECOND school has been the target of lead thefts in the space of a week. Staff at Southfield Junior School, in Highworth, discovered that lead had been stolen off their roof when a leak emerged last Friday. A local roofer, when investigating the leak
THE race is on to raise money for young adults at the Swindon Down’s Syndrome Group and cyclist Rob Dentry has stepped up to the mark. The 32-year-old, of Oakhurst, is cycling from Lands End to John O’Groats to raise money to send 18 youngsters with
RICE, pasta and porridge are just some of the items on the menu for Carrie Napier this week as she lives on just £1 a day. The 26-year-old, of Rodbourne, has taken up the five-day challenge to raise awareness of people living below the poverty
A COMPANY in Swindon is helping put the royal icing on the cake as part of the official Diamond Jubilee Celebrations. Halcrow, an engineering consultancy firm based at Burderop Park, has launched an employee competition to design and build the tallest
Ukulele playing has become increasingly popular, and a new amateur group was formed last year in Ashton Keynes, between Swindon and Cirencester. They are a mixture of ages and skills, ranging from complete beginners to slightly more experienced players
The Doors Alive are a British tribute band widely regarded as one of the closest and most enthralling representation of the legendary 1960's rock gods The Doors in the world today. The band re-create the sound, look, presence and magic of a real 1960
“DON’T vote, it only encourages them,” ran a bumper sticker message in the days when bumper stickers were popular. “If voting changed anything, they’d abolish it,” ran another. They were just bumper stickers, though, and if bumper stickers
DISABLED athlete Ben Fox is hoping to inspire hundreds of others as he prepares to carry the Olympic Torch through Royal Wootton Bassett. The 16-year-old, of Westlea, has been selected by Coca-Cola to take part in the Olympic Torch Relay as
TEENAGE Dirtbags Wheatus will be at the MECA next month. The group will be appearing on June 2 and the concert is expected to be a sell-out. Wheatus saw their first and largest hit, Teenage Dirtbag, reach number two in the UK charts and bag them a legion
Churches in Swindon are holding two large street parties open to the public to celebrate the Queen’s diamond jubilee. Citifaith Church, is holding a party, in Regent Street, on June 4, from 11am to 2pm, featuring food, face-painting, a bouncy castle
LUCKY schoolchildren will be hoping to catch a glimpse of the Queen today as they travel to Salisbury for a special Diamond Jubilee event. Five pupils from Longleaze Primary School in Royal Wootton Bassett have been picked to help open the event in the
A BOOST has been given to a charity for adults with learning disabilities thanks to the Old Town Festival Committee. Committee members helped to pack bags at Asda in West Swindon for their charity of the year, Open Door. They raised £253.63 for the
It’s election time, but who should I vote for? Having followed the shambles of the Mechanics’ Institute and now the Locarno, having encountered Mike Bawden’s volte-face on Coate, his arrogant treatment of those wondering why the Croft school was ever
MUSIC lovers are expected to head to the town centre on Sunday as the third SN1 Fest gets under way. The event, at Revolution, will include 13 hours of music, street entertainment and a barbecue. SN1 Fest, which saw more than 2,000 people attend over
ROYAL Wootton Bassett Orchestra will be performing a special proms concert as part of the Queen’s diamond jubilee celebrations. The event will include music from all parts of the country, and will feature Last Night Of The Proms music. Their new conductor
THE Wyvern Theatre has announced that Suzie Chard will join Keith Chegwin in this year’s pantomime, Aladdin, as Genie of the Lamp. Suzie will join the pantomime straight from the UK Tour of Oliver!, where she is playing Widow Corney. Producer Daryl
A MAN who raped a woman following a night out has been jailed for six years. Fareed Tariq, 31, was found guilty of rape at Swindon Crown Court. Speaking after the sentence today, investigating officer, DCI Owen Gillard said: “During Tariq’s trial,
VisitWiltshire has held its first tourism forum since the destination marketing organisation became a private company in 2011. The event attracted an audience of over 160 VisitWiltshire members and partners from across the county. The event offered
DONATIONS are still coming in following the 24 hour cycle challenge held by firefighters last weekend. In some of the worst weather of recent months, a hardy bunch of cyclists tackled the 191 mile route linking all 24 of Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service
A GROUP of teenagers were threatened with a silver coloured pistol in the town centre on Tuesday. The incident happened at approximately 9:50 pm when a man climbed up to an open first floor window at a property on Rolleston Street, and pointed
Spring Awakening Swindon Young Actors. The Platform Spring Awakening is a new musical by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater and is the winner of 8 Tony awards including Best Musical. It is based on Frank Wedekind’s controversial 19th century play
PEOPLE will get the chance to question Wiltshire’s top police officers in an online chat open to the public tomorrow. The live session from 7pm to 8pm will provide members of the public with an opportunity to ask questions directly to Temporary
A CHARITY classical concert with artists performing on the piano and violin will be taking place later next week. The event, called “Dauntsey Park Music”, will be raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support and Youth Action Wiltshire. British -Estonian
A CHARITY classical concert with artists performing on the piano and violin will be taking place later next week. The event, called “Dauntsey Park Music”, will be raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support and Youth Action Wiltshire. British -Estonian
WILTSHIRE Police have vowed to put more bobbies on the tweet as they turn to a social network in a bid to reach out to the public. The force, which is the oldest in the country, will embrace new technology and hope to boost its Twitter followers
HOSEPIPE ban? What hosepipe ban? With a little ingenuity and some help from Honda, the grounds crew from Stratton St Margaret Parish Council will be watering their flowers as usual this summer. Earlier this month we told how Swindon Council faced being
AS IF one star from The Only Way Is Essex wasn’t enough, clubbers will get three for the price of one at Bushwackers this weekend. Ricky Rayment, Billi Mucklow and Cara Kilbey will be the stars on show at the club on Sunday, making sure it’s a Bank Holiday
DETERMINED father Adrian May has completed a gruelling run across the Sahara Desert to raise charity cash for a children’s charity in memory of his twins. Adrian, of Bishopstone, headed out to Ouarzazate, in Morocco, last month to conquer the Marathon
THE scourge of street drinkers in the town centre has persisted, as police prepare a dossier on the worst offenders as part of a major operation. Last month, the Adver revealed the Town Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) had launched Operation
The Queen saw the best of what Swindon had to offer when she visited the town’s portrait tent at the Diamond Jubilee fair in Salisbury yesterday. Glorious sunshine greeted the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh as they alighted from their Rolls-Royce
SWINDONIANS were among the crowds who gathered to see the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh as they visited Wiltshire as part of the jubilee tour. Five children from Longleaze Primary School, in Royal Wootton Bassett, opened the event in the
THE organisers of a charity football match at the County Ground tonight are hoping it will smash its fundraising target of £10,000. Former West Ham United player Julian Dicks is the latest name to be added to the star-studded line-up, which will see
A CROOK who plundered almost £20,000 from a car dealership he was given the chance to run has been ordered to pay back less than a day’s wages. Hugh Lyall, of The Street, Castle Eaton, was told by a court to repay just £78.01 despite having
TV STARS Ant and Dec were among the watching spectators as Neilson Promotions held its latest white collar show at Swindon’s MECA venue on Saturday. Some 20 fighters were involved and the main event saw Dave ‘Bam Bam’ Gregory get the better of Dennis
THE 2011/12 season has been one of real progress for the Swindon Supermarine Ladies side. While the club’s men’s team impressed in Dorset & Wilts 1 North, the ladies have been going about their business in the RFUW Championship South West 2, and performed
A YOUNG Dorset & Wilts side face an uphill struggle to reach the final of the RFU County Shield after suffering a 27-14 defeat to rivals Oxfordshire in their opening pool game. The Twin Counties struggled to put out an experienced side for the game because
STRIKER Paul Benson believes he has unfinished business in League One and can’t wait to prove his doubters wrong when he returns to the third tier with Swindon Town next season. The 32-year-old began the campaign at eventual League One champions
FORMER Town midfielder Michael Timlin hopes Roy Hodgson is ‘given a chance’ by supporters to prove his worth in the England job. Ex-Inter Milan boss Hodgson was yesterday unveiled as the man to lead the Three Lions at Euro 2012, despite Spurs
THE Wiltshire League has become the first adult league in the county to be handed the FA’s Charter Standard award. This accolade is given to a league in which 60 per cent of the members are at Charter Standard level, which is achieved by clubs attaining
SWINDON manager Paolo Di Canio will pit his wits against Town legend Lou Macari at the County Ground tonight in a charity match in aid of the Wiltshire Air Ambulance, writes ANDY WARREN. The pair will each manage teams made up of former Town players
