Archive
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Barack Obama lands near Swindon ahead of NATO summit
PRESIDENT Barack Obama has begun his visit to Britain for the Nato summit less than 15 miles from Swindon this evening. Air Force One, the president's USAF passenger jumbo jet touched down at RAF Fairford near Cirencester at around 6.45pm, having
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Pupils play part in opening solar farm
PUPILS from South Marston Primary School helped officially open the village’s new solar farm yesterday. The Sevor Farm Solar project has been overseen by energy firm Eneco UK, which has regularly worked with the community while building the 43-
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Tributes paid to former mayoress
FORMER Swindon mayoress Judith Stoddart has died following a long battle with breast cancer. Judith, 71, served in the position when her future husband, Peter, was Swindon’s mayor between 2004 and 2005. She spent her last days at Prospect Hospice
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Sad lyrics with high octane energy are explosive mix in Darren Eedens
Canadian multi-instrumentalist, and bluegrass folk singer, Darren Eedens, is heading for Swindon’s Old Town the same week as the Town Gardens is turned into a Jamaican jumbo of reggae sounds. The two very different old school gigs highlight Old
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Drama to build confidence in young ones
Tom Hanks, Robert Downey Jnr and Matthew Lewis who played Neville Longbottom in Harry Potter, all began acting when they were five years old. Swindon Youth Theate is launching a new drama class aimed at youngsters aged five and six years old. The
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LOSING IT: with Liz Mackley
Week 14 Weight: 12st 7lbs Total weight loss: 2st 10lbs I STILL can’t quite believe that after the toughest 12 weeks in my life it’s now all over. I took the plunge for Prospect. I am not entirely sure when excitement became fear, but what I
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She stood up in front of the class and said: ‘I’ve got leukaemia and my hair is going to fall out
Madison Shurmer may only be seven years old, but she’s already been an inspiration to others, as EMMA DUNN reports WHEN Madison Shurmer started feeling pain in her neck last year, nobody could ever have imagined she was about to face the battle
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Better Together – it’s more than just a slogan
This week Parliament has returned after the summer recess. It’s been a busy few weeks and a very welcome opportunity to spend even more time in Swindon, talking to residents, meeting community groups and attending a large number of local events.
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Street painting man
AS the bright evening sunshine turns the redbrick houses of a typically Edwardian terrace in Swindon a luminous shade of orangey-pink I can see a man at the end of the street comfortably installed on a camping chair who is utterly engrossed in his
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Smashing project
SWINDON: Youth charity SMASH is looking to recruit volunteer fundraisers and supporters to join the Friends of SMASH group. To get involved visit www.smashyouthproject.co.uk or call 01793 729748.
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Explorer in town
SWINDON: The Friends of Young Carers will hold an evening with Wiltshire explorer David Hempleman-Adams on Thursday, September 11 at the Hilton Hotel in aid of Swindon Carers Centre. Tickets cost £25 and include a three-course dinner and a complimentary
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Book up for festive stall
SWINDON: August may only just have passed, but the town centre’s inSwindon BID Company is already planning ahead to the festive season and the return of the Christmas Market. The team is looking for stallholders who want to take part in the Christmas
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LIVE NEWS: September 3
5:25pm Keep your eyes peeled for Air Force One this evening and email pictures to newsdesk@swindonadvertiser.co.uk. %if(after3) %if(after7)
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Further adventures of Born again Swindonian & Swindon Driver - with Swindon Bear
Hello listeners. Here we have the second installment of posts featuring just a few of Swindon's roundabouts and the reasoning behind their names. In the first post - Round and Round - I looked at roundabouts that are related, by dint of name and location
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Nathan hoping for GB call after trail course record
NATHAN Montague is gunning for a Team GB call up after smashing the Ridgeway Challenge course record, writes Matt Abbot. The 33-year-old Swindon Harriers runner completed the gruelling 86-mile trail run route in 12 hours 13 minutes, 12 minutes
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WILTSHIRE LEAGUE: Boss Varney delighted with Bassett’s defensive efforts
WOOTTON Bassett Development manager Mark Varney was pleased with his side’s defence as they held off a spirited Corsham Town reserves to win 2-1. In their previous three Wiltshrie Premier Division games Bassett had conceded 13 goals, albeit winning
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Promising partnership excites Jack
JACK Stephens is looking forward to linking up with his friend Jordan Turnbull at the heart of Swindon Town’s defence. The two Southampton defenders have played in the same youth teams for the last few years and are firm pals off the pitch. Turnbull
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Get into gear for Big Wheel ride
CYCLISTS are being urged to put the pedal to the metal in a bid to raise cash for charity. The annual Wiltshire 100 and Big Wheel charity ride takes place on Sunday, with participants being offered a choice of three distances to cycle; 100 miles
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Men jailed for having sex with young girls
A 26-YEAR-OLD who filmed himself having sex with a 14-year-old girl before handing her to a another man to abuse has been jailed for seven years. Royston Gonsalves used his mobile phone to film himself with the child before sending the footage
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Crash and breakdown cause long A419 delays
COMMUTERS faced long delays on the A419 yesterday following a number of incidents during the morning rush hour period. At around 7.30am, emergency services were called to attend a four-vehicle crash which blocked the road, causing delays for commuters
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Gang traded in human misery
THE six members of the Locks Network who were jailed for peddling hard drugs around Swindon have been ordered to hand over a fraction of what they made. And half of the gang will have to hand over no more than the £10 or £20 found on them when
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MP backs end to parking rip-off
NORTH Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson has backed a campaign to abolish the hefty parking charges in place in England’s hospitals. Mr Tomlinson is one of more than 100 MPs to have joined the Stop The Hospital Car Parking Rip-Off campaign, which aims
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Bags of kindness
TITCH Ockwell wants to find a Good Samaritan who went above and beyond to help him during a recent shopping trip. At 2.50pm last Friday, 86-year-old Titch knocked over his milk at the till at Tesco, in Ocotal Way, and the woman behind him in the
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Age group in the running for a £3,000 grant
AGE UK Wiltshire could be awarded a grant of up to £3,000 after being shortlisted for the Lloyds Bank Community Funds 2014. It will now be up to the public to vote for the charity and allow it to receive valuable funding. Age UK Wiltshire has
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It’s a tall order for the poppy appeal
POPPIES taken to the summit of Europe’s tallest mountain are being sold in an effort to boost donations ahead of Remembrance Sunday. They were taken on the trek by Richard Hignett, 60, of Victory Row in Royal Wootton Bassett, who is the town Royal
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SWIMMING: Swimmer Harris eyes place at the Rio Games
SWINDON’S Craig Harris says swimming in the London 2012 pool as part of this year’s National Paralympic Day only makes him more determined to fulfil his dream of making Rio 2016. Harris travelled down to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on Saturday
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New look Wildcats ready for Lightning
RYAN Aldridge says that he is excited at the prospect of seeing Aaron Nell and Tomasz Malasinski icing together. The Swindon Wildcats attacking pair join forces for the first time tonight as the club take on Milton Keynes Lightning in a challenge
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Cooper is all smiles as he gets his men
MARK Cooper got exactly who he wanted in this summer’s window as he secured Jack Stephens and Jonathan Obika on transfer deadline day. The Town boss has insisted over the opening weeks of the season he would only move for the right players and
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Obika returns a more committed man
SWINDON Town’s new signing Jonathan Obika may only be 23 but he feels like he has gained vast experience from the series of loan spells he undertook while at Tottenham Hotspur. Obika has been at seven different club across 11 loan periods but has
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Dancers jumped at cha cha chance
CHA cha cha and quickstep lovers took over the Nova Hreod Academy on Sunday for a ballroom challenge with a difference. No fewer than 80 Strictly Come Dancing fans came together for a 60-minute FitSteps class, a dance fitness programme developed
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Bright new future
STARTING the new term was particularly exciting for Holy Cross Catholic Primary School as children as young as four walked through the school gates for the first time. Yesterday, the first reception class started at Holy Cross – formerly known
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Don’t delay with picking a school
THIS week, as thousands of youngsters return to school after the summer break, parents are being urged to get their applications in for places next year. And for the first time, parents in Swindon will be able to apply for their child to go to
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Knife robber gets 13-year jail term
Luke O’Brien threatened to slit shop workers’ throats and stole hundreds of pounds in a spate of robberies last May, but felt justice yesterday with a 13-year prison sentence. O’Brien, 24, of no fixed address, committed a series of knifepoint robberies
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Guide dogs Joy six times over
AN appeal set up in memory of a guide dog has raised £30,000 in a year – enough to train six puppies. Swindon Guide Dogs chairman Alan Fletcher, 66, launched 4Joy after his eight-year-old black labrador, Joy, died following a short illness.
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Boris bounds in for a meet and greet
ONE of the most famous faces in British politics visited Swindon yesterday to meet apprentices at Nationwide – and hailed the town’s Magic Roundabout a “curious masterpiece”. Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who recently announced his intention to
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Stab suspect may be back in town
ARMED police swarmed on Alfred Street yesterday afternoon as part of an investigation which left shocked residents baffled. Wiltshire Police remained tight-lipped over the operation as the Adver went to press, after the drama unfolded at around
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Staff take on power walk for cancer charity
A TEAM of adventurers from a power company’s Swindon headquarters trekked 26 miles along Hadrian’s Wall last weekend in aid of cancer sufferers around the country, raising more than £4,200. On Saturday Barbara Pocock, Terry Ash, Elaine Newman,
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‘Sorry’ teen told to pay church for lead
A TEENAGER who admitted attempting to steal lead from a church roof has said he regrets his choices and wants to move on with his life. The 17-year-old, who cannot be named because of his age, appeared at Swindon Youth Court yesterday to be sentenced
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Filthy fire burns for 43 days
FIREFIGHTERS are making good progress in their battle to put out the Averies Recycling blaze but are still unsure when it’ll be out. The fire started on July 21- 43 days ago - and 2,500 tonnes of non-hazardous waste has been removed from the Marshgate
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Workmates put in the miles for walk
COLLEAGUES Esther Newman and Gemma Willis are training for one of the summer’s toughest challenges to raise money for charity. The pair, who both work at Chruchfields Academy, in Salcombe Grove, are taking on the Stonehenge to Avebury Trek to raise
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Town set for festival of poetry
THIS year’s poetry festival is set to return with a bang with a range of riddles and rhymes to entertain in the four-day bonanza. The third festival of literature, which is organised by the BlueGate Poets, will kick off on National Poetry Day on
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Inspirational zumba instructor with cerebral palsy nominated for awards
A CEREBRAL palsy sufferer who has overcome prejudice and adversity to build a successful career as a zumba instructor has been recognised with two nominations for coaching awards. Sam James, 34, of Old Town, turned to fitness training after being
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Brush with a street painting man
AS the bright evening sunshine turns the redbrick houses of a typically Edwardian terrace in Swindon a luminous shade of orangey-pink I can see a man at the end of the street comfortably installed on a camping chair who is utterly engrossed in his
