A BICYCLE enthusiast is gearing up for a first-ride on the 96-speed bike he spent 10-years perfecting. Alex Morton, a student working towards his software engineer degree, from the town centre, says he has fitted his factory purchased mountain bike with
A FORMER Diana Dors impersonator has vowed to fit into the same dress she wore a decade ago. Sharon Woodhouse, 32, from Stratton, says she will embark on the six-month Cambridge diet from next week to try and fit into the same red dress she wore at 22
GIPSIES have been given permission to set up a temporary home near Wootton Bassett. A meeting of North Wiltshire District Council’s planning committee last week granted the gipsies temporary permission for a pitch at Purdys Farm, on Wood Lane
A TRAGIC railway pile-up that resulted in the deaths of the train’s driver and a female passenger has been commemorated by a local historian. Raymond Rowland, from Churchward Avenue, Swindon, has been researching the crash of January 15, 1936, when an
DRIVERS are being warned to avoid Hackpen Hill due to heavy snow in the area. Police have said that the Broad Hinton to Marlborough road is impassable, except to 4x4 vehicles. Anyone wishing to travel to Marlborough should use the A346. In addition
I did my first work out in months this afternoon. Ok ok its took me a while to do it, but now the garage is finally cleared there is no excuse. So watch this space for how I am getting on.
THE next meeting of Swindon Artswords Reading Group will take place at 7.30pm Tuesday 17th February – The Moon and Sixpence by W Somerset Maugham - do some artists find conventional morality stultifying? Why do some artists prefer the southern
Ten plays will be battling it out to win one of Swindon’s answers to the Oscars in the Harold Jolliffe One Act Play Festival. The 62nd One Act Play Festival takes place from February 12 to 14 at the Swindon Arts Centre, Devizes Road in Old Town. The
FIve minutes with... Jane Macdonald Jane Macdonald is in concert on Monday at the Bristol Hippodrome. In the 10 years since she featured on the BBC documentary series The Cruise, Jane has sold hundreds of thousands of albums, toured the country, earned
February 3 marks the 50th Anniversary of “the Day the Music Died”, as Don McLean called the death of Buddy Holly in the song ‘American Pie’. The West End musical Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story will be rocking Swindon’s Wyvern Theatre from March
FIRST Great Western has reported yet more disruptions or cancellations to services because of today's snow. Services affected include the 15:56, 16:56, 17:31, 18:01, 18:31, 19:01, 19:31, 20:01, 20:31 and 21:01 from Swindon to Bristol Temple
On the 30th January 2009, Peatmoor School went to a hockey match at Greendown School and these are the people that went (Lewis in goal, Tom as centre mid, Sam as right winger, Freyja as left defence, Ella as left winger, Poppy as defence, Lucy
On the 21st of January the climate cops came in to do some really fun activities with us. There were five sections, the first was K’eyush’s key messages, this was where a huge polar bear asks some questions about the environment. Next was
A LODGER and his boyfriend appeared before Chippenham magistrates this morning to face a charge of murdering Antonietta Guarino. Marc Riley, 24, and David Carr-Burstow, 19, are both accused of murdering 61-year-old Italian national Antonietta Guarino
A CAMPAIGNER opposed to the transfer of 10,500 council homes into a not-for-profit organisation wants to stop the process before it begins. Martin Wicks, secretary for Swindon Trades Union Council, says the council’s current consultation on
A 14-year-old boy from Wootton Bassett has admitted a series of sexual assaults on two 10-year-olds. The defendant, who was 13 at the time, pleaded guilty at Swindon Crown Court to three charges of sexually abusing one boy, and four identical counts
FIRST Great Western has reported more services have been cancelled as a result of the snow. Cancelled services include the following: * The 13:59 service from Swindon to London Paddington * The 13:11 service from Swindon to London Paddington
OPENING HOURS: Mondays to Thursdays 4pm to 11pm; Fridays and Saturdays noon to midnight; Sundays noon to 11pm. WHAT DO THEY SERVE?: Real ales Butcombe and Wadworth 6X are available at £2.50 and £2.65 a pint respectively. Lagers start at £2.70
Eat at... the sally pussey’s inn Swindon Road Wickfield Wootton Bassett Wiltshire SN4 8ET Tel: 01793 852430 Food served: Mon-Sat 8am to 9.45pm; Sun noon to 8.30pm. Breakfast served from 8am to 11amYOU get what you pay for, they say, and with
MUSICAL talent spotters have secured a band with ties to Swindon a slot in a national competition. The Rubiks cleared their first local heat of national talent hunt Live and Unsigned. Band members singer James Tutt, 18, from Liddington
I JUST had to put my pennyworth into the letter Janet Angelo (Wall 2 Wall) had said regarding Roger Averies of UNISON. Janet either did not read his letter correctly which Roger had put in previously in support of employees of Swindon Commercial or she
GORDON Brown’s mobile phone rang while he was speaking at a press conference last Friday. Was it Anne Robinson calling to say, “You are the weakest link!”? JULIAN MARSHALL-ANDREWS Nyland Road Nythe Swindon
I WRITE to thank Des Morgan for clarifying the real purpose behind President Roosevelt’s New Deal, (Many believed it would get better, SA, January 30). I have spent all these years thinking it contributed to getting the Americans back to work after the
FIRST Great Western has reported that the following services have been cancelled because of the poor weather conditions: * The 12:59 service from Swindon to London Paddington * The 13:59 service from Swindon to London Paddington
SWINDON speeders have been warned that safety cameras are still a fixture of the town’s roads. There have been reports that drivers around Swindon are being caught out because they mistakenly believe speed cameras have already been removed. Although
SECRET Millionaire Caroline Marsh gave students tips on how to make their fortune - and how best to use it. The students are taking part in a scheme called Make Your Mark For A Tenner, where they have a month to make as much profit from a £10 note as
AS I sit at my computer and type out this blog I am in complete agony - and I'd appreciate a bit of sympathy. Walking is proving more difficult that it's been since I was learning how to do it in the first place - as is crouching, sitting,
The 11:35 service from Swindon to London Paddington is cancelled due to poor weather conditions. The 12:31 service from Swindon to Bristol Temple Meads is also cancelled because of the snowy weather. For more information and the latest on
CHIPPENHAM Town had to settle for a BGB Southern League Premier Division point after a crazy few minutes of injury time at Hardenhuish Park. Tied at 1-1 with promotion rivals Gloucester City as the match headed into time added on, Adie Mings’ men looked
DEAF footballers have backed our I Love Swindon campaign – and are considering making them their official shirts. The Swindon Deaf/Hearing Football Club is made up of players aged between 20 and 48. It was formed last year and plays
SWINDONIANS woke up to a blanket of white this morning. But while it may have looked like an idyllic winter scene it has been causing problems for the town's commuters. Trains have been affected and motorists have been advised to travel
HIGHWORTH chief Dave Webb hopes his side’s New Year improvement can translate into trophy success after stalling Shortwood United’s Premier Division charge on Saturday, writes OWEN HOULIHAN. Only Matt Green’s injury-time equaliser prevented Webb’s men
Artist Gordon Dickinson made the observation last week that maybe we are in a ‘culture crunch’. We are hearing endless commentary at the moment (and presumably for some time to come…) about the recession and how terrible things are for businesses
MARK Collier perhaps allowed himself a wry smile when he considered that the architect of the goal that heralded the end of Swindon Supermarine’s glorious FA Trophy run once plied his trade just a few miles down the road from Hunts Copse. After a first
LOUISE Hunt fell just short of the singles title at the Cruyff Foundation International Wheelchair Tennis Junior Masters - but another win in the doubles meant she does not return home from France empty handed. It was still a clean sweep
ROBINS youngster Justin Sedgmen finished fourth in the Australian Under 21 Championship at Gosford's Central Coast Speedway on Saturday. Sedgmen, who qualified for the semi final with seven points, finished behind champion Darcy Ward, who took victory
A MAN says he has been driven to taking the law into his own hands because yobs are terrorising his neighbourhood. This weekend Ken Tomlin woke to find his beloved model railway in the garden of his Kingsdown Road home smashed by the vandals – believed
VIGILANTE Sydney Davis, who chased yobs away from his home, will not face criminal action. The retired builder ended up in the cells when he finally lost his rag after waiting in vain for hours for police to respond to yobs terrorising his
We’re off to the ground now, dad and me We’d better hurry, the match starts at three I’m so excited, I can hardly wait I can see the fans waiting outside the gate The turnstiles open and we start to go in Dad looks at me and gives me a grin As we
MARK Collier has urged Swindon Supermarine’s players to use their FA Trophy heroics as the springboard for a renewed assault on British Gas Business Southern League Premier Division honours, writes OWEN HOULIHAN. The Hunts Copse’s minnows’ romantic run
DANNY Wilson revelled in the scenes of jubilation in the Town dressing room after only their second clean sheet of the season – before paying tribute to the unflappable duo that have introduced a new-found confidence to his defence. The visitors’ stubborn
PAT Kanyuka was as surprised as anyone by the selection call that had visiting eyebrows all around Boundary Park quizzically raised on Saturday. The appearance of the former QPR centre-back in the centre of Town’s midfield dominated the pre-match discussion
TOWN have suffered their second major injury blow inside three weeks with club captain Hasney Aljofree ruled out for the remainder of the season. After Saturday’s goalless draw at Oldham, boss Danny Wilson confirmed that Aljofree, 30, was facing imminent
THE Swindon Wildcats turned on the style in front of a bumper crowd yesterday to round off a perfect weekend. The best part of 2,000 fans crammed into the Link Centre, making the most of the Kids Go Free offer, and they saw Cats put on an exhibition
BURGLARS have broken into a church which is described as the heart of its community. St Andrew’s Methodist Church, in Moredon Road, was broken into between Thursday night and Saturday morning. But forgiving minister Rev David Gray said
MELINDA was in the party mood last night dancing to a favourite tune of bar mitzvahs, weddings and 1990s’ teenage birthday parties. But, dressed in a red dress and attractive hairdo, her skating to The Maquerena with partner Fred Palascak,
CHILDREN in Africa got a timely educational boost following a visit from a former Swindon champion boxer, who helped deliver vital supplies. Ricky Porter gave away educational materials, clothes and furniture during a two week trip to the Elmina
