Archive

  • Rossiter delivers rider ultimatum

    SWINDON Robins team manager Alun Rossiter has delivered his middle order riders an ultimatum after admitting his side’s luck run out at the Abbey Stadium tonight. The hosts fell to a 48-45 defeat to King’s Lynn Stars, a result that was made to

  • Fencing team brings home the gold for Prior Park Prep School

    A SWASHBUCKLING team of miniature fencers have been declared the champions of a prestigious fencing competition.Pupils from Prior Park Prep School, in Cricklade, were named the 2017 champions of the IAPS (Independent Association of Schools) National Fencing

  • UPDATED: Town offer new contracts to five players

    CLUB captain Nathan Thompson is one of five senior players to have been offered new contracts by Swindon Town. Thompson, Jonathan Obika, Yaser Kasim, Raphael Branco and Jermaine Hylton have all been offered fresh deals at the County Ground, with

  • GENERAL ELECTION 2017: 'As your MP I would champion Swindon'

    Labour's Mark Dempsey outlines what he can offer the voters of North Swindon at this election: I am a local candidate. I live in North Swindon, I am also a local councillor alongside my day job as a sustainability manager. As a local resident

  • Teenager given detention order after motorbike theft

    A TEENAGER has been handed an eight month detention order after stealing a motorbike.The 16-year-old boy pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods after he was caught riding the bike at Kingsdown Woods on Sunday, April 30.The bike had been stolen from a

  • Light shone on dementia care at pioneering conference

    DEMENTIA care was highlighted yesterday at a pioneering conference.The Making Sense of Dementia event held at Steam Museum, Firefly Avenue and hosted by the Great Western Hospital aimed to explore and challenge the facts surrounding dementia.More than

  • Review: Rom com meets Godzilla

    COLOSSAL (15, 109 mins) Starring: Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Dan Stevens, Tim Blake Nelson, Austin Stowell. Director: Nacho Vigalondo.Released: May 19 (UK & Ireland, selected cinemas)SPANISH writer-director Nacho Vigalondo plays with madness in his

  • Special needs school ordered to improve by Ofsted

    THE quality of teaching at a special needs school in Liden is too inconsistent according to Ofsted.   An inspection by the education regulator was carried out into The Chalet School last month but this week, the highly-critical findings were

  • Marco Pierre White comes to Old Town eatery for book signing

    ONE of Swindon’s newest eateries is to see a very special visitor next month as chef extraordinaire Marco Pierre White makes a guest appearance. Marco will be his Bardolino Swindon restaurant in Wood Street for the launch of his latest cookbook, Essentially

  • Barry joins Spireites

    FORMER Swindon Town defender Bradley Barry has joined Chesterfield this afternoon. The full-back was released by the County Ground side earlier this month following their relegation to League Two. And the Spireites, who were relegated alongside

  • GOLF: Fine start for Howell in Sicily

    DAVID Howell enjoyed a fine opening round at the Rocco Forte Open this morning. The Swindon ace, who has only officially made one cut in 2017, carded a three-under-par 68 in Sicily to give himself a strong chance of making the weekend rounds.

  • Business: Bailout bank’s back in private ownership

    Lloyds Banking Group has confirmed it has been fully returned to private hands nearly nine years after the Government bailed it out at the height of the financial crisis.The Government’s final tranche of 638.4 million Lloyds shares have been sold, marking

  • All about: Wollow - Sergio Beercock

    AS the artist’s own name might suggest, Wollow is an album that contains much duality. With roots in both Sicily and England, Sergio blends a British folk honesty with more emotive, exotic and passionate sounds. But it goes beyond that too. Like

  • Sounds around town with Dave Franklin

    IN what appears to be their last full band bill for a while, in Swindon at least, Songs of Praise bow out with a bit of a rock and roll treat for you on Thursday. Spearheading the attack is Falls on Deaf Ears, last seen opening up for the awesome

  • Wormhole's world: festival fever

    Joseph Theobald aka DJ Captain Wormhole, looks at all things vinylLAST week I was a negative Nancy and wrote about the stuff that makes me not like festivals like hippies and Carling.This week, even though it’s obviously super cool to be hella nega, I

  • Travel: An escape to a quiet oasis of greenery in Wales

    DOES a plush hotel with acres of rolling green fields and trees sweeping away in front of it, yet only a short drive from charming coastal towns, sound appealing? Well, that’s what the Falcondale Hotel at Lampeter promises and it delivers in spades

  • On stage: Sweet dreams with the Dreamboys

    THE Dreamboys will be delighting the ladies at the Wyvern Theatre tonight with their brand new show. The Dreamboys are one of the top UK male strip shows, perfect for a girls night out with all your friends. With special guest appearances on some

  • On stage: I’ll give you a chuckle, says Brian Conley

    BRIAN Conley is The Greatest Entertainer (In His Price Range). Or at least that’s the title of his new show, which he is bringing to the Wyvern on Monday, May 22. Brian will perform brand-new comedy, sketches and songs, alongside some of his

  • On stage: Critically acclaimed comedy from Tez Ilyas

    IN 2015, Tez Ilyas achieved phenomenal success with his debut stand up show Tez Talks.   It was met with packed out audiences and huge commercial success at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.   A totally sold-out run at London’s Soho Theatre

  • Spotlight: Adver's top stage shows this week

    THE Cast of Stage Struck are bringing Allsorts and Dolly Mixture to Swindon Arts Centre, featuring music, dance and comedy. The show starts at 7.30pm tonight. Tickets are £11 (concessions £9) from 07596 151 051 or email thecastofstagestruck

  • On stage: Carl Hutchesson wrestles with a funny future

    Carl Hutcheson's Half Nelson had him on the ropes as far as a career in wrestling went, but his off the canvas quips stood him in good stead as a comedian. Carl created a whole comedy show on his attempts to become a professional wrestler called

  • On stage: Choir are back with a concert full of zing

    The dark, passionate drama of Phantom of the Opera opens the Kentwood Show Choir's spring concert in Swindon this week. Rachel Sparrow from Kentwood, who sings the solo Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again in the Phantom section, scoured the internet

  • ADVER CHAT: Geoffrey Boycott on all things cricket

    CLOSE your eyes from the comfort of your seat at the Wyvern Theatre later this month and you will be delivered by an all too familiar Yorkshire voice to the beaches of the West Indies or the bustling streets of India. So synonymous has Geoffrey

  • ADVER CHAT: Clive John on Johnny Cash

    Singer/songwriter Clive John was a massive Johnny Cash fan, but admits the man in black had his mischievous moments. Clive takes on the role of the country star in his theatre show, Johnny Cash Roadshow, which is heading for Swindon. "Our band

  • Gill Harris' column: Change for change's sake is such a waste

    IF things aren’t going too well or if they’re just in need of a bit of zhooshing up, never fear — you don’t actually need to do anything to fix them, you can just use the modern magical trick of rebranding. Look at this year’s GCSE students. Ever

  • David Renard's column: We need more foster carers

    This week I am writing about two important issues affecting the borough where we have agreement across all three political parties on the council: our united opposition to moving a place of safety facility from Swindon to Devizes and our call for more

  • Thamesdown is onboard with Switch On campaign

    THAMESDOWN has announced it is to become an ambassador for the ‘Switch on to Swindon’ campaign.The firm’s buses have been a recognisable sight in the town for many years, and its team is keen to promote all that is great about the town.“Since acquiring

  • Swindon author launches her debut novel

    AN AUTHOR from North Swindon launched her first book on Saturday. Countless by Karen Gregory explores the struggles of a teenage girl with an eating disorder who discovers that she’s pregnant and tries to keep her disorder under control for 17

  • Letters: Thursday, May 18, 2017

    PLEASE keep your letters to 250 words maximum giving your name, address and daytime telephone number - even on emails. Email: letters@swindonadvertiser.co.uk. Write: Swindon Advertiser, 100 Victoria Road, Swindon, SN1 3BE. Phone: 01793 501806.

  • Highworth care home rated as one of the best in the south west

    A HIGHWORTH care home has been rated as one of the best in the south west.Grove Hill Care Home was ranked in the top 20 care homes in the region by carehome.co.uk - a review website that helps people search for the right care home.Residents as well as

  • Tributes are paid to Robins superfan

    HUNDREDS of people have paid tribute to dedicated Swindon Town Football Club supporter Roger Freegard, who died over the weekend. The 70-year-old was an avid footballing enthusiast and for the last five years, Roger made it to every single game, home

  • CYCLE SPEEDWAY: Swindon slip to defeat at home to the hammers

    SWINDON Robins were narrowly beaten 91-85 when they hosted local rivals Horspath Hammers in their second home meeting of the season. The teams looked fairly even on paper but a late withdrawal for the Robins tilted the tie in the visitors’ favour

  • WHEELCHAIR TENNIS: Louise back on the hunt for titles

    WANBOROUGH wheelchair tennis ace Louise Hunt made a triumphant return to the court by claiming success in the doubles at the Open De Vendee. This was the first time Hunt had been in action since February, after taking some time off from a hectic

  • GOLF: Howell unsure of Italy entry

    GOLFER David Howell will make a last-minute decision on whether he will play at the Rocco Forte Open this week. The 41-year-old has entered the event and was given a tee time of 8am BST in Sicily for the first round this morning but may not feature

  • BOXING: Watkins set for title test

    THERE is no doubt in Luke Watkins’ mind that he is up to the test awaiting him when he faces Ian Tims for the Irish cruiserweight title next month. The bout was confirmed earlier this week as unbeaten Watkins looks for his 11th straight victory

  • Stars are in their sights

    SWINDON Robins team manager Alun Rossiter is aware of the importance of coming back from a two-week sabbatical without any signs of rustiness. Having claimed back-to-back wins on the road at Somerset Rebels and Poole Pirates before an enforced