Archive
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Counting the votes at the Oasis
LINES of trellis tables filled the sports hall at Oasis leisure centre for the election count. Each line of tables is divided up into two or three wards with counters for each patiently unfolding every ballot paper. As the counters sit leafing through
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Swindon's Frampton qualifies for British final
JORDAN Frampton powered into the British final after coming through his rain-affected semi at Sheffield’s Owlerton Stadium on Thursday night. The Swindon doubling-up rider took three wins from three races to finish joint top on nine points
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People in Swindon lining up to vote
QUEUES 140 people long were seen in parts of Swindon today as people turned up to cast their votes. As the vote counters sat patiently waiting for the ballot papers to arrive back from the polling stations, the candidates and their teams paced anxiously
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Eyes down in Devizes
The last ballot boxes from the far flung corners of the Devizes constituency arrived at Devizes Corn Exchange at 11.10pm. This is a good 20 minutes earlier than five years ago and bodes well for a result before the 5.30am that candidates and
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Swindon Talent 2010: Young singer aims to work in music
Teenager Eleanor Williams is following in the footsteps of her grandmother, who was a talented opera singer. Eleanor, 13, from Uffington, has entered the Swindon Talent 2010 competition this summer with a song originally performed by Camilla
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Early indications of high voter turn-out in Swindon
QUEUES 140 people long were seen in parts of Swindon today as people tuned up to cast their votes. As the counters sat patiently waiting for the ballot paper to arrive back from the polling stations, the candidates and their teams paced anxiously
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Tenners help young minds
SECRET Millionaire Caroline Marsh believes a money-making project has been the first step towards unlocking young people’s potential. The Make Your Mark with a Tenner scheme, financed by Enterprise UK, ran throughout March giving children in Swindon’
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Official figures show crime fall
CRIME recorded in Wiltshire fell overall by six per cent last year while confidence in the police remained high. Home Office recorded crime figures show fraud and forgery, house burglary and drug offences all increased, while incidents of robbery
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Howell has to play catch-up in Turin
AN early double bogey has left David Howell facing an uphill struggle to make the cut at the Italian Open. The Broome Manor pro carded a two-over par 74 after his slip at the third hole of the Royal Park course in Turin. That only tells half the story
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SPEEDWAY RESULT: Swindon Robins 54, Peterborough Panthers 39
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE, ABBEY STADIUM SWINDON ROBINS 54: Leigh Adams (3-3-3-3-3)15, Grzegorz Zengota (1-2*3-2*)8+2, Morten Risager (1*-0-2-1)4+1, Simon Stead (2-2-F-3)7, Mads Korneliussen (3-2-2-2*-1)10+1, Justin Sedgmen (2-1*-1*-1)5+2,
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Jefferies’ interest in studying stars
ONE of Swindon’s greatest sons was the Patrick Moore of his day. That’s according to Rebecca Welshman who has discovered that Richard Jefferies, Swindon’s famed Victorian author and naturalist, was studying the stars above Swindon 140 years before the
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Four-year prison term for knifeman
A robber who mugged two people at knifepoint within a week has been jailed for four years. Daniel Coxhead, 25, first targeted a man who had given him some pizza to eat as he made his way home from a night out in town. A few days later
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Celebration by the champions
A SPORTS club for adults with learning disabilities is celebrating its 100th session today. Swindon Champions, co-ordinated by Swindon Council’s leisure services team, was set up in April 2008 providing 90 minutes of exercise at Dorcan Rec
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An hour with Jenni Murray
WOMAN’S Hour presenter Jenni Murray had her audience roaring with laughter, wiping away tears and bursting into spontaneous applause at the Arts Centre last night. Jenni, who has presented the Radio 4 show since 1987, was there to talk about her autobiography
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Tariq dips into dark genre with horrific results
A DISAPPOINTINGLY sparse audience was not enough to shake Tariq Goddard’s passion for his latest book The Picture of Contented New Wealth. The 35-year-old author was at West Swindon Library where, in the low gravelly voice ideal for someone
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Books? Don't make me laugh
MILTON Jones is one of those comedians who has been creeping up on us for some time... Plenty of people still haven't heard of the 1996 Perrier Award winner, judging by the reaction I got when I mentioned his name, but those who have caught
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Talking books with authors
MAUREEN Lipman has long since slipped without fuss into that specially roped-off corner of British celebrity marked: “National Treasures.” Last night, in a Swindon Festival of Literature appearance sponsored by the Swindon Advertiser, she reminded us
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Letter from Alan Fletcher
THE Rotary Club of Swindon Thamesdown has been organising the Walkley Midnight Walk on a twenty mile section of the Wiltshire Ridgeway for the last twenty years and Swindon Guide Dogs are looking for members of the public to walk on their behalf and help
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These ice stars are at the cutting edge
VARIETY is the spice of life. That was my mantra for signing up for a session with the Russian Ice Stars the day before I work through the night covering the General Election. I have never professed to being a Christopher Dean or even a Wayne
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Letter from Dr Roberto Piccione
I AM writing a book and making a small museum about the allied campaign in eastern Sicily in 1943 with special emphasis on the Siracusa, Cassibile, Avola, Noto area. I would like to prepare a series of exhibitions on the campaign: I would very much like
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Letter from Mark Foster
I WOULD like to extend a big thank you to Marks & Spencer staff and customers at stores across the region for all of their incredible support in making March’s Prostate Cancer Awareness Month such a huge success this year. There are 250,000 men living
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Letter from Bernard Phillips
IN the article in the Advertiser dated May 3 regarding the change of pub name to ‘Pig on the HIll’ Bryn Walters states that ‘there is no evidence that Swindon ever had anything to do with pigs in its early origins’. As one of the excavators of the ten
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Letter from Jeff Adams
BARELY a few weeks ago in Iraq 14 muslims converted from Islam to Christianity. Within a week 11 of them were shot dead (source: The Sunday Telegraph/April). Under the emperor Nero many Christians were burnt alive for their beliefs. Down the centuries
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00's Review
As we are into a new decade, every month I will be looking back at a season from the 00's, also I will be looking at two of the best players from a particular season and how they helped the club. Also I will be looking at a player from the same year who
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Get ready to ride
CYCLISTS have less than a month to get their entries in for an annual charity bike ride. The 14th Castles Bike Ride in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support is on Sunday, June 6, from 10am starting at the Croft Sports Centre, Marlborough Lane, Old
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Be creative in doughnut week
A Swindon firm is inviting everyone to go ‘doughnutty’ as part of National Doughnut Week. Pippin Doughnuts has a stall at the Farmers’ Market in the Designer Outlet Village in Rodbourne on Sunday, which runs from 10am to 4pm, where staff are challenging
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We need some momentum
IT WAS another frustrating day on the pitch for Town last Saturday with the team not putting in a performance across the whole 90 minutes that might have given us a chance of taking second spot in the league. Even if the play-offs now look the most
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Movie critic chooses favourites to screen at festival
movie critic Mark Kermode will be showing eight of his favourites at a Wiltshire music festival. Mark’s choices will be screened at the Larmer Tree Festival, between Salisbury and Blandford Forum, from Thursday, July 15, to Sunday, July 18. Movies on
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Inspiring stories from Bruce Kent
VETERAN anti-nuclear campaigner Bruce Kent spoke about dying dogmas on the third day of the Swindon Festival of Literature. The 80-year-old told an audience at the Arts Centre that the dogma that countries need nuclear weapons was slowly dying
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Going green with composting tips
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust is urging people to have a go at composting this week as part of Compost Awareness Week. The trust is calling on the public to try out composting activities to mark Compost Awareness Week, which runs until Saturday. It said
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Staying safe and sound
As part of its road safety programme, volunteer Arval employees from their HQ in Swindon are trialling an innovative seatbelt enhancement device to assess its safety and posture benefits. Twenty of the 850 Arval employees are taking part in the six week
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Swindon heads to the polls
DOZENS of people turned up to the polling station at The Moonrakers pub to cast their votes this morning. Several voters from Penhill said they had decided to vote Liberal Democrat for the first time. Florence Brown, 65, of Haydon View
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Opa, Bath
IT was a balmy evening as we sat in the fading sunshine sipping cocktails, mosquitos buzzing around our ears and the sound of water lapping beneath us. We could almost have been in a Greek taverna . . . almost. In reality, we were on the
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Somewhere for the weekend... Hotel Du Vin, Birmingham
WHERE: Hotel du Vin, 25 Church Street, Birmingham, West Midlands B3 2NR Tel: 0121 200 0600 Email: info@birmingham.hotelduvin.com Website: www.hotelduvin.com/hotels/birmingham WHEN: Whenever you like, really. Britain’s second city, Birmingham, is
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Eat, drink and enjoy!
PIGS’ brains, sea urchins and fatted goose livers. Sounds like the things little boys are made of, but in fact they’re just some of the delicacies you can find at the Palais Gourmand food festival in Perpignan. And this is no ordinary food
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Burst water main closes road
Wessex Water is urging motorists travelling in the Chippenham area to allow extra time for their journey. It follows the closure of the A4 Bath Road from 2pm today so emergency repairs can be carried out to a burst water main under the railway bridge
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For the love of literature
THIS year’s Swindon Festival of Literature has got off to a flying start and there are still plenty more top names to come. The festival, which is now in its 17th year, kicked off on Monday and has seen speakers such as Cherie Blair, Lionel Shriver
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Troupe is set for fame
A successful performance group got together two years ago after a handful of the singers entered Swindon Talent ‘08. Now the Stagecoach Performance Troupe has 19 members who take part in a number of events, including a performance at Her Majesty’s Theatre
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Spotlight on The Dacoits with Sam Lee
New bands will always come and go, carried along on a wave of (usually undeserved) hype. However, more often than not, the best bands take a little bit longer to get the recognition they really deserve. The Dacoits have become regulars on the Swindon
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Sounds around town with Dave Franklin
One of the things about being allowed to air your opinions publicly, is that you have to take any honest and open criticism that comes your way as well. So when I was contacted, on-line from someone using text speak, false avatar and made up
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Guys step it up a level
THERE will be plenty of hearts skipping a beat when Scouting For Girls make a return visit to Swindon’s Oasis on Tuesday night. And bassist with the trio, Greg Churchouse, says that fans can expect a great night full of both old and new favourites.
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Postal votes pile in
IN what could be the most closely-fought election in recent years, postal voters in Swindon have been eager to get their ballot papers in. Candidates are hoping for a bigger than usual turnout after a general election campaign that has captured
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Help for managers offered on Stress at Work - Swindon Mindful Employer Network
Written by David Latham The Swindon Mindful Employer Network is offering free advice and support to local employers on mental health issues in the workplace. The next network meeting on Wednesday 12th May at the offices of Thring Townsend Lee &
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Route 66 launch to improve links
STAGECOACH West has launched its new Route 66 which the company says will boost transport links between Swindon, Faringdon and Oxford. The company held an official launch this week to mark the start of services along the A420, increasing the number of
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SNOOKER: Fans preparing to take on White
SWINDON snooker fans are gearing up to take on their idol Jimmy White when he puts on an exhibition at the 147 Club on Friday night. Forty-eight-year-old White is unlikely to be beaten on the night and most of the players luckily enough to have been
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Letter from Mick Bray
I NOTE that the Stagecoach Bus Company has today again taken a full page advertisement in your paper extolling the greatness of its new service to Faringdon and Oxford. It is most unfortunate that the company did not go to the same lengths with an advert
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JEREMY NEWTON COLUMN: The lads deserved their lap of honour
THE under 18s were presented with their championship trophy on the pitch at half-time of Saturday’s League One game with Brentford. Bob Bloomer, who is the south west monitor of youth development, handed it over and it was nice that he came
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Letter from Paul A Moore
SADLY, your unnamed correspondent has got the wrong end of the stick and may have caused many of your readers unnecessary worry. The BBC will not be transmitting any of their channels solely by means of the DVB-T2 standard. They are transmitting all
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Letter from Mary Ratcliffe
THE resurrection of Old Town by Richard Deacon is a delightful concept. We owe it to future generations and, of course, to ourselves, to ensure that Richard’s vision becomes a reality. We, the residents of Old Town, long to be able to shop in our vicinity
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Letter from Des Morgan
IT is always nice to read the views of new correspondents to the letters page of the Adver so Mr Thomas Gerreston’s letter of May 5 is very welcome indeed. Thankfully, a mixture of democracy, press freedom, tolerant editors and long suffering readers
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Letter from J Marsiglia
HAS anyone else had problems with the roundabout by Jurys Inn and Halfords? It’s a very big circle, my daughter was cut up by another car there and hit the kerb causing £71 damage. I drove over it and found it was tight to get around it, the buses drive
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La Casa, Swindon
La Casa, 6 Devizes Road, Old Town, SN1 4BJ. 017913 6144185 Most chain pubs serve a pack of supermarket tortilla chips, covered in melted cheddar cheese and pass them off as “Mexican” food – this isn't the case at La Casa. Formerly
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The gloves are on for local footballers
LOCAL footballers Michael Corcoran and Richard Slattery will take off their boots in favour of boxing gloves this weekend. Corcoran and Slattery, both 29, have enjoyed a friendly rivalry since their school days but on Saturday they will go toe-to-toe
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Will Howell's form slip in torrential Turin?
DAVID Howell will be hoping inhospitable weather conditions in Italy do not derail his growing momentum. In carding two sub-70 rounds in Spain last weekend, Broome Manor’s two-time Ryder Cup winner showed some signs of returning to the sort of form that
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Justin time for the Robins
RONNIE Russell has backed Justin Sedgmen to make a big impression on Swindon’s Elite League clash with Peterborough tonight, after the young Aussie provided his boss with the “perfect bank holiday present”. The 18-year-old got his top flight career off
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Disabled drug dealer had £5k
A WHEELCHAIR-bound drug dealer who sold cocaine and cannabis has forfeited almost £5,000 which was seized by police when he was arrested. Charles Goble, 65, was found with the money when his high value drugs business was smashed by police two years
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Project chief reveals County Ground plans
THE new-look County Ground will be a “traditional” redevelopment which creates “24-7” income for the club, according to the man heading up the project. In an exclusive interview with the Advertiser, David Robinson, managing partner of the Frank
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Premier bid for Ward
DANNY Ward hopes he can use his successful time at Town to become an established Premier League player next season. The teenager has been on loan from Bolton since November and, despite not playing in his natural striking role, has excelled
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Douglas and McGovern pick up supporters' awards
TOWN midfielder Jonathan Douglas has picked up yet another award for his impressive displays this season. Having already claimed the Swindon Advertiser’s and TrustSTFC’s Player of the Year awards, Douglas completed his hat-trick as he was
