THIS week 38 years ago saw the Adver treat readers to a truly mixed bag of local news.

At Drove School, pupils held a celebration for George the gerbil, whose seven years on earth meant his lifespan was nearly twice what an average gerbil might expect.

The Carrefour supermarket, showpiece of the new West Swindon Centre, prepared to open amid great fanfare.

At the Brunel Rooms nightclub in the town centre, the fashions on display showed Swindon was ahead of the game when it came to predicting the style trends of the decade to come.