Archive

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Ten-year-old’s tour toast of the town

A TALENTED ten-year old is taking Swindon residents on a whistle-stop tour of the town’s best -loved historical locations in his new documentary. Kody Bowler, from Broome Manor, wrote, presented and produced the ‘Ye Olde Swindon’ film – a 10-minute

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PLAY-OFFS 2015: Clough left to bemoan Brayford injury blow

SHEFFIELD United manager Nigel Clough believes the loss of centre back John Brayford was a pivotal factor in his side’s failure to beat Swindon Town over two legs. Brayford played just the first 45 minutes of the overall contest, being withdrawn

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PLAY-OFFS 2015: Ten-goal thriller leaves Cooper speechless

TOWN boss Mark Cooper was left dumbfounded by his side’s stunning play-off 7-6 aggregate win over Sheffield United. Leading 2-1 going into last night’s second leg, a mad game of 10 goals ensued with no side ever really taking control, despite Town

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PLAY-OFFS 2015: Foderingham glad to hear final whistle

WES Foderingham was glad his side held out against the late Sheffield United onslaught as he was not confident his teammates could have come through extra time against a resurgent Blades. Matt Done and Che Adams struck in quick succession as the

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Wild scenes as Swindon make it to Wembley play-off final after ten-goal thriller

SWINDON Town fought their way to Wembley in a game branded the best play-off tie ever after a ten-goal thriller at the County Ground last night. They were held 5-5 by Sheffield United but won 7-6 on aggregate. Swindon Town raced into a three-goal

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THE FULL-TIME REPORT: Swindon Town 5 Sheffield United 5 (AGG: 7-6)

SWINDON Town booked a dream trip to Wembley as they overcame Sheffield United in an unbelievable League One play-off semi-final second leg this evening. A feast of attacking football and lacklustre defending saw the two sides play out a 5-5 thriller

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PLAY-OFFS 2015: Wembley tickets are on sale now

SWINDON Town have been allocated 30,485 tickets for the League One play-off final against Preston North End at Wembley on Sunday, May 24 (5.30pm). Town booked their place after last night's thrilling 7-6 aggregate semi final win over Sheffield

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Rossiter frustrated by cruel twist of fate

PHILOSPHICAL Alun Rossiter conceded that he had no choice but to be satisfied with the Swindon Robins’ first away point of the season. But circumstance is a cruel mistress and Rossiter’s men were handed a harsh lesson in the part luck plays in

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CHEQUERED FLAG REPORT: Belle Vue Aces 46 Swindon Robins 44

SWINDON Robins’ wait for their first away victory of the season goes on after they slipped to a dramatic last-gasp defeat at the Belle Vue Aces this evening. After 2014 Advertiser rider of the year Steve Worrall played the part of chief antagonist

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PLAY-OFF FIRST SECOND LEG PLAYER RATINGS: Swindon Town v Sheffield United

ADVER Sport's Tom Bassam hands out his rating's from Town's incredible 5-5 draw with Sheffield United. Wes Foderingham Wrong-footed for the first and could do little for the other two. Was a calm head at the back when others looked panicked

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SPEEDWAY LIVE: Belle Vue Aces v Swindon Robins

9:20pm So this evening ends in bitter disappointment for the Robins as they suffer a dramatic defeat heat at Belle Vue. There's a full race report right here and we'll have reaction from tonight's meeting in tomorrow morning's

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Thieves take cycles youngster built with his late dad

CAMERON Antal’s memories of his late father are dominated by the time they spent together building two bicycles. Now they, like his father, have been cruelly taken from him. Just days after the seventh anniversary of Chris Antal’s death, Cameron

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Hospital staff say end of vital number 20 bus service will overload car parks

HOSPITAL staff are facing longer days, ambulances are facing longer waits and car parks could be overloaded when a vital bus service is scrapped this month. The fall-out from the announcement Thamesdown Transport will cut its number 20 route has

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SUNDAY LEAGUE: Greyhounds are top dogs with a terrific treble

A HAIR of the dog may have been required for a few players yesterday morning after Greyhound put in a five-star performance to lift the Sunday League Knockout Cup final and complete the treble. Greyhound ran out 5-1 winners at Supermarine’s Webb

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MATCHDAY LIVE PLAY-OFF SPECIAL: Swindon Town v Sheffield United

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GIRLS FOOTBALL: Spitfires soar to cup win

SWINDON Spitfires Under 15s clinched the Berks League Cup after a 4-2 win over Wokingham & Emmbrook. Spitfires went into the game as favourites, having already beaten their opponents twice in the league this season but Wokingham started the

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AIR RIFLES: Sharp shooter Barnes

MARY Barnes, of Brown Jack, won the V Minns Handicap Bowl, promoted by the Swindon & District Air Rifle League. Barnes beat Keith Montgomery (Stratton RBL) 57-46 in a shoot-off after both had scored 72 including handicaps. In third was league

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Author brings ballooning pioneer to life during talk about book

“IT’S a mixture of life-changing achievement, interwoven with someone succeeding against the odds, telling a story which hasn’t been told before, part autobiography, part therapy and how I overcame my phobias. How often do you see that genre?”

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Boy taken to hospital after coach blaze

AN eleven-year-old boy was taken to hospital after suffering smoke inhalation when 40 children had to be evacuated from a burning coach on the M4 on Sunday night. The single-decker South Gloucester Bus and Coach service was enveloped in flames

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Train company's network ban lifted despite ongoing probe into near miss

STEAM train company West Coast Railways has had its network ban lifted after improving safety following a high-speed near miss at Wootton Bassett junction in March – despite an ongoing criminal investigation. The unprecedented suspension imposed

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Violence in South Africa strikes a chord with budding songwriter

A TALENTED 10-year-old with a big heart has put pen to paper to write a song urging the South African government to take action against xenophobic violence. Dexter Mpofu, the son of Swindon Gospel Choir director Steve, was so upset by the violence

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Group offers advice and support for ME sufferers

A SUPPORT group for people suffering from ME is looking to promote the work it does in Swindon as part of national campaign raising awareness of the condition. Myalgic encephalomyelitis is a long-term chronic illness and , which sees sufferers

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Budding politicians learn all about democratic process

EVEN those ineligible to vote in this year’s General Election couldn’t help but get caught in the excitement with students at Royal Wootton Bassett Academy and hosting their own mock version of the event. Campaign season at the Lime Kiln started

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School's flag tribute supports Nepalese earthquake victims

PRIMARY school pupils painted their classrooms red, blue and white to fundraise for victims of the Nepalese earthquake. Children at Oaktree nursery and primary school in Park South donned the colours of the Nepalese flag to raise money for those

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Big leap of faith in aid of hospital

PLUCKY fundraiser Chloe Thomas whose family has been touched several times by cancer is taking on three different challenges to raise money for the Great Western Hospital. The 26-year-old is hoping to raise £1,000 for Brighter Futures, the charitable

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Steam train firm can keep running despite near miss at Royal Wootton Bassett

STEAM train company West Coast Railways has had its network ban lifted after improving safety following a high-speed near miss at Wootton Bassett junction in March – despite an ongoing criminal investigation. The unprecedented suspension imposed

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New police chief for Wiltshire confirmed

The Wiltshire Police and Crime Panel (PCP) today endorsed the appointment of Mike Veale as the next Chief Constable of Wiltshire. The panel makes a recommendation to the Police and Crime Commissioner as to whether his proposed candidate should

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Riot of colour as dancers launch Old Town Festival programme

BOLLYWOOD dancers and a taste of the Taj Mahal burst the launch of the Old Town Festival to life on with a vibrance promising this year’s offerings will be the best yet. The festival’s community partner The Commonweal School hosted the event in

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PLAY-OFFS 2015: Swift out of tonight's game with Sheffield United

SWINDON Town will be without midfielder John Swift for tonight’s crunch clash with Sheffield United. The Adver understands the Chelsea loanee has a calf strain and will miss out on tonight’s Wembley decider. There is no indication how long

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Lost in translation

I WON’T mention this correspondent’s name, because lately I feel he has had more of his share of flack. You are quite right sir, when you say Swindon town centre is short of quality shops. Morse’s Department Store and Mckilroy’s, just to name two,

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Diabetes stories please

WE ARE searching for people affected by diabetes to help us spread the message about the importance of good diabetes care and support in Swindon during Diabetes Week, which takes place from June 14-20. I hope your readers may be able to help us in

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Brightened up my day

THANK you to the Adver for bringing a smile to many on May 6 with your headline on page 6, “Campaign to raise awareness of sun”. At the time of reading it, it was raining and the sky was so overcast it was necessary to put a light on to read the

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Car parking needed

AS WE seem to have a new one-in-one-out system in operation at the barriers at GWH hospital and we obviously don’t have enough space for people to park their cars thus bringing traffic congestion out onto the road outside the hospital, I think a good

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Stop exaggerating

MARTIN Webb is correct in his letter of May 6 when he says Roger Lack’s letter is not factual. I live in the town centre and yes, I do hear some other languages, but mainly it is English that is spoken. Roger Lack says St George is not celebrated

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Passengers aside.....

JUST wanted to praise Thamesdown Bus Service. I haven’t used buses regularly for over ten years but on Thursday I decided to visit Marlborough as my five-year-old son wanted to go there on a double decker. I thought I’d give it a trial while he was

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Swindon Town FC

SWINDON Town’s victory at Bramall Lane last week proved many things. Most important among those things is that there is absolutely no reason why they cannot do the same or better when they meet United again at the County Ground tonight. After

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Cause for indigestion

I AM fed up with reading and listening to so-called experts talking about food and wine. I recently watched a programme on television where one of these so-called experts was tasting wine. This is how it went. He swirled it round the glass

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Foster carers needed

AS NATIONAL Children’s Day UK approaches (May 17), we’d like to take this opportunity to remind your readers of the thousands of cared-for children in the United Kingdom who are in need of foster care. The special day, established by the United Nations

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Sow seeds of hope

AS SPRING is in full swing and the flowers begin to bloom, The British Polio Fellowship is offering schools up and down Britain packs of wildflower seeds as part of its “Sowing the seeds of hope” campaign. The campaign, which is running alongside

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Marvellous music

MAY I remind all lovers of being entertained by the best in professional talent, the 2015 Kentwood Show Choir is coming again to the Wyvern in May, and I would like to suggest that you consider supporting this wonderfully talented local choir of entertainers

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General Election

OUR local General Election candidates can be credited with running dignified and decent campaigns. The rivalry was often fierce and the questioning of one another’s credentials often uncompromising, but there was scarcely any of the unwarranted

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Arnie Rogers' bid to have driving ban reduced

THE judges who threw out death driver Arnie Rogers’ bid to have his driving ban shortened have done us all a favour. Rogers had been drinking before running a red light and smashing into another car, killing Paul Winters and leaving his father

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Avoid blocked drains

THE two main things that block drains are cooking fat and wet wipes. Wet wipes are a marvellous invention and are useful in all sorts of different situations, but wet wipes must go into the wheelie bin and not down the toilet. Cooking fat should

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Don't judge too quickly

I HAVE not joined in the see-saw of letters coming from either side regarding our Muslim population. I judge people by their character, not their colour, their contribution as law abiding citizens to the laws of the land they live in or temporarily

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Letter hypocritical

RE ‘HONEST beliefs disrespected’ (Adver letters, April 28) from Bill Williams, I, among others, found it amusing that Mr Avenell (that distinguished person placed upon a pedestal by number one fan Bill Williams for reasons peculiar to himself alone

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Magna Carta fiasco

HAVING unwisely decided at extremely short notice to celebrate Magna Carta at Salisbury which did not even exist in 1215, Wiltshire Council are now desperately seeking volunteers from elsewhere in the county to come and take part! So desperate

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Spooky experience

I AM writing to share my supernatural experience at Lower Stratton cemetery. Around 15 years ago I was in the cemetery after dark one night. I had forgotten a relative’s birthday memorial day and drove over around 5pm in late October. After

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Council urges people of Wiltshire to make a pledge for good of community

PEOPLE across Wiltshire are being urged to sign up to make a difference this summer as Wiltshire’s Big Pledge returns for a second year.The campaign, run by Wiltshire Council will run until September 30 and challenges people to get healthy, volunteer

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PREDICTIONS LEAGUE: Swindon Town v Sheffield United (2-1 agg)

Pay-Off semi final second leg Swindon v Sheffield United (2-1 aggregate) What a result on Thursday night. No not the election. The Town winning at Bramall Lane for the first time since Feb 1970. Not only that, but it is twice on the trot that we

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Historic sex offender spared jail due to ill health

A sex offender who showed 'little sign of any remorse' has been spared jail after a judge took the extraordinary step of not requiring him to attend court to be sentenced. Rodnell Baker was in his twenties when he repeatedly molested a vulnerable

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Robins look to repeat the trick against Aces

SWINDON Robins will go in search of a quickfire double over Belle Vue Aces this evening when they continue their Elite League campaign in Manchester.Alun Rossiter’s troops claimed an impressive 48-42 success at the Abbey Stadium on Thursday night and

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Consistency will win May an England recall, says World Cup winner Back

CHISELDON’S Jonny May needs to add consistency to his flashes of impromptu brilliance to nail down a starting spot on the England wing, according to World Cup winner Neil Back.The 25-year-old former Royal Wootton Bassett RFC youth player lit up the international

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PLAY-OFFS 2015: 'Long wait is a weight for Blades' - Allison

MANY Swindon Town fans are dreading the thought of defeat in tonight’s second leg, but for Sheffield United fans play-off defeat is to be expected. This is not because Nigel Clough’s team is weaker, far from it. It is because Sheffield United do

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PLAY-OFFS 2015: The Opposition Report

ADVER Sport's guide to Town's play-off rivals: Sheffield United. The Chalkboard NIGEL Clough sent his troops out fired up for the first leg and they were out of the blocks quickly at Bramall Lane and had Town rattled in the opening stages.

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Wembley beckoning as Robins face crunch tonight

MUTE your televisions, put down your smartphones, take off your headphones after 9.30pm tonight and you might just hear the sound of a football club going to Wembley. Swindon will be overwhelmed with an eruption of cheers if its football team successfully