Archive
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PLAY-OFFS 2015: Toffolo fitness boost adds to Town's final options
HARRY Toffolo is expecting to be fully fit come Sunday’s play-off final. The Norwich youngster missed both legs of the semi-final with a dead leg sustained at Colchester nine days before the 2-1 win at Bramall Lane. As a result the 19-year-old
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Halifax Bank customers bear with big fundraising challenge
A SERIES of furry fundraisers at a Swindon bank were launched with a visit by Children In Need mascot Pudsey recently.The bear made a guest appearance at the town centre branch Halifax to recognise the bank’s charity partnership with the appeal.The bank
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Swindon's Halfords gets behind Big Bike Revival
SWINDON’S Halfords store is offering free bike servicing and money off parts to encourage more people to take up cycling as part of the Big Bike Revival. Between Tuesday, May 26, and Thursday, May 28, the shop in Fleming Way will be supporting
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Police appeal after three men get into Peatmoor house
POLICE are keen to hear from anyone who has any information about an incident in which three men knocked on the front door of a house in Horseshoe Crescent, Peatmoor, at 3.30pm on Wednesday, May 9. When they got no reply they made their way to
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Takeaway boss admits to 10 hygiene breaches
AN Indian chef running a takeaway business out of the Nine Elms pub kitchen has been fined more than £7,500 after showing a lack of food hygiene. Mahbub Chowdhury, of Plymouth Street, took over the kitchen under the business of Yeahya Flavour of
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Parents' anger over Nova Hreod's 'board of shame'
PARENTS have accused Nova Hreod Academy of bullying its own students after a display ranking children on their performance was installed. The board has been installed in the atrium of the Akers Way school, visible to all staff, students and visitors
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New academy now nearing completion
THE finishing touches are being applied to a new primary school building in North Swindon, less than 12 months after contractors moved in. The Tadpole Farm Primary Academy has spent the past academic year at temporary accommodation, in Redhouse
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Traffic lights off in Thamesdown Drive because of power cut
TRAFFIC lights along the length of Thamesdown Drive are out of action due to a major power cut in the area. Police are urging drivers to proceed with extreme caution in the area or, if possible, to find alternate routes. Around 2,000 customers
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Fans snap-up Swindon Town merchandise as Wembley play-off final nears
THE countdown to Wembley on Sunday is well and truly on for Swindon Town and its supporters. A variety of clothing and accessories is now available in the official club shop at the County Ground and online, with prices starting at £3.50. Foam
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Mum Claire urging others to come along for the ride
THE Swindon Sky Rides campaign was just the impetus the Melrose family needed to get on their bikes last summer – and now they are urging other families to sign up ahead of this year’s events. Mum-of-two Claire Melrose, from Penhill, hadn’t put
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Swindon Town player back on feet thanks to hospital care
SWINDON Town has one more player to consider come Sunday after fine nursing at Great Western Hospital gave one of their team a swift return to health. Nineteen-year-old midfielder John Swift took a turn for the worse in late April when he suffered
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Flood forces village’s Prospect shop to shut its doors
A FLOOD at Prospect Hospice’s Wroughton shop has temporarily closed it. The store is based at the Ellendune Centre and water started leaking through its roof from a flat above the shop on Thursday morning. Stock has been moved to the charity
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Sporty pupils don’t dodge fundraising for charity
CHILDREN at Drove Primary School spent Friday morning dodging their PE lesson as they took part in a dodgeball tournament in aid of the British Heart Foundation. But teacher Tiffany Boyd said the children’s avoidance efforts were all in a good
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HELLENIC LEAGUE: McNally appointed Shrivenham boss
MICHAEL McNally has been appointed Shrivenham manager on a full-time basis for the 2015-16 season. McNally took over at the club on a temporary basis at the back end of last season following the departure of previous boss Sam Collier after a disappointing
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£500K revamp means ace tennis facilities at recreation ground
HALF a million pounds of investment has created 10, newly-resurfaced, full-size outdoor courts, a four-court mini tennis zone and new pavilion and community café at St Mark’s Recreation Ground. The pavilion, which has only recently been completed
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Neighbouring coffee shops in bids for booze licences
COFFEE lovers in Old Town could have something a little more than ground-up beans in their morning cuppa after outlets Baila Coffee and Vinyl and Vu:Du applied for alcohol licences. Both shops, which are just doors apart from each other in Victoria
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Beauty duo make competition finals
TWO beauties have made it to the finals of different national competitions to represent Swindon on the national and international stages. The fresh-faced stars have been selected from thousands of entries in the Miss Teen, Miss International and
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Week of events to highlight dementia support
CAMPAIGNERS are highlighting the support available for people with dementia as part of a national awareness week. An estimated 850,000 people in the country are living with dementia, with the figure expected to rise to one million by 2025, according
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In the courts: Teenager in dock for carrying razor blade and 6 other cases
A TEENAGER who was caught carrying a razor blade in Victoria Road has had a community order imposed. Kayleigh Nicholls, 19, of Eastcott Hill, committed the offence while already under a community order for making threats to kill Swindon Borough
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Former Swindon Council leader to chair Wilts and Berks Canal Trust
FORMER Swindon Council leader Rod Bluh is being appointed as chairman of the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust. He will be officially confirmed in the role later this month. Rod, who served with Swindon Council between 2006 and 2013, said: “I am
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Grand finale for Swindon Festival of Literature with visiting poet and party
TWO weeks of celebrating the country’s finest literary minds came to a glittering crescendo on Saturday. The final events of this year’s Swindon Festival of Literature were aimed at getting more people to hone their writing skills with a workshop
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Swindon Festival of Literature
ONCE again, Matt Holland and his team have done Swindon proud. This year’s Swindon Festival of Literature was the 22nd, and comfortably vies for the accolade of best yet. When the festival began in the early 1990s, Swindon was a different place
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Don't deny the disabled
I’M SURE readers wanted their voice to matter in the recent election. But how would they feel if they travelled all the way to a polling station only to be turned away? This is what happened to a number of wheelchair voters at the last election
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Match in memory of legend Dave Turner helps raise funds
THE families of a non-league footballing legend and immensely popular teenager joined forces yesterday at a memorial match to raise funds for disabled children. Those closest to former Shrivenham boss Dave Turner and car crash victim Jack Savage
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Turn to us for some help
WE welcome a new report by Academics Stand Against Poverty as it keeps public attention on the issue of poverty. A huge 83 per cent of low-income households told us they’ve seen no sign of their finances improving in the last year. We also found
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A bad result for animals
SO who’s pleased the Tories won? Well, there’s the bankers, Rupert Murdoch, the fox hunters, the hare coursers and the terrier men, non doms, very rich people, Jeremy Clarkson and Tory newspaper proprietors. Well done British voters for docilely
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Where now for Labour?
FOLLOWING the appalling election result, it is remarkable how (old) New Labour theorists are crawling from the woodwork and peeling themselves from the bottom of barrels to say Labour lost the election because they were too left wing. The BBC in
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Thanks for your votes
I WOULD like to thank the residents of Highworth ward who voted Conservative in the recent elections and for providing us all with the opportunity to continue serving as your councillors. We all look forward to working on everyone’s behalf. Huge
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Where is the fairness
AFTER winning the first all-Tory Government in 18 years, David Cameron announced he wants to fast track the lowering of the benefits cap to a mind-boggling £23,000 from £27,000 per year. Where do these politicians get these figures from to pay
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The Little Big Festival
THERE’S a lot to be said for the technological wonders of the modern world, but some of the best pleasures are far simpler. Give or take the clothing and some of the equipment, those on offer at the Little Big Festival in the Town Gardens were
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Minority rule not okay
WITH all due respect to Mr Bill Williams, in his letter “Respect will of People” (May 12), he tells us all to respect the decision made in Thursday’s General Election. I’m sorry, but I am unable to support a Conservative government for which a
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Barge is not to blame
IT HAS become of deep concern to me of the decline in wildlife along the beautiful stretch of canal between Mill Lane and Kingshill. I have read notices on fence posts along the route from individuals unknown blaming the decline of wildlife due to
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Disabled bays are ours
WHEN is an able bodied person disabled? Answer; when they go shopping. My wife, Olive and I are both registered disabled and are fed up with trying to find a parking space in supermarket car parks. We have a blue badge and sometimes there are able
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UK Eurovision hopes
QUIDS in this May! Many thanks to Mr John L Crook (Letters, May 4) who offers £1 for each point above 50 that the United Kingdom accrues in Eurovision. I think we are line for 35-53 points at best so Mr Crook will not be much out of pocket. Should
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Shortage of nurses
THERE is a hugely worrying shortage of nurses, so the announcement that hundreds of additional ones are to be trained by Oxford Brookes University is very welcome. Something else to be welcomed is the fact that many of the new intake will be trained
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Guide Dog quiz a hit
THANK you to all who attended the Quiz Night at The Village Inn at Liddington on May 11 in aid of Swindon Guide Dogs for the Blind. We had a great night with great food and through the quizzers generosity we raised an amazing £356. Our thanks go
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Dangers of asbestos
A RECENT episode of BBC’s Inspector George Gently put the very real, yet forgotten threat of asbestos into the public eye. The storyline featured a man fighting a losing battle against mesothelioma, whilst his wife was made to stand by and watch
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Litmus test for EU
IN ENGLAND the pro EU parties, namely Labour and the Lib Dems, did very badly in the General Election, while the parties that were more sceptical of the EU, such as the Conservatives and UKIP, actually increased their share of the vote. UKIP got
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Help Nepal victims
THE Nepal earthquake has claimed more than 8,000 lives and injured 16,000 young and elderly people. There is a big Nepalese community in Swindon and some of the people in the community are collecting money for those who have suffered. We must contribute
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Not a true democracy
WHAT do we mean by ‘democracy’? Much to the surprise of many, the General Election has produced a ‘majority’ government – as defined by the number of seats in the House of Commons. However, along with most governments in the past 50 years, it is a
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You made your bed....
FOLLOWING on from the results of the General Election, I just wanted to say to those that have been hoodwinked into believing another five years of a Conservative government is good for this town, that should you be stuck in traffic because of another
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Dreaming of a win
I HAVE a concerned perception regarding reality. I often waken up covered in sweat, having had nightmarish dreams. I suspect I am not the only one. My favourite film as well as its music is Born Free. Because without that faith in our individual
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Play-off was a cracker
WELL done Swindon Town for getting through to the Division One play-off final at Wembley. History was made when Swindon knocked out Sheffield United. Whatever happens at Wembley, this amazing scoreline will stay in the record books. STEVE HALDEN
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Jailed: Man blinded victim in one eye in revenge for Dream Lounge glassing of brother
A MAN who took the law into his own hands when he attacked a reveller who had glassed his brother in a pole dancing club has been jailed for 20 months. Leon Douglas was involved in the brutal attack in the street which left his victim blind in
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RACING: Hannon duro aimed at Curragh glory
RICHARD Hannon will launch a twin assault on Saturday's Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas with both Ivawood and Estidhkaar set to line up at the Curragh. Ivawood put a rather dull reappearance in the Greenham behind him when finishing third to Gleneagles
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LIVE NEWS: Monday, May 18
6:07pm 5:49pm Well after all the rain earlier it's turned out nice again- have a good evening Swindon and see you in the morning GF — @thamesdown 18 May 2015
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UPDATE: Travel and weather round-up: Monday, May 18
The skies are expected to remain damp and grey until noon and from then it should be dry until about 8pm although the Met Office says westerly winds may gust up to 38mph until about 5pm. A two-vehicle accident near the Longcot junction of the A420
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Paddy is talking garbage, says Cox
JAMIE Cox says his old trainer Paddy Fitzpatrick is 'talking garbage’ after slamming a potential clash against Eamonn O’Kane. The former 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medallist’s trainer John Costello talked up a fight between the two middleweights
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Harding is in it for the long haul
ADAM Harding says that he’s hoping to be a Swindon Wildcat for ‘many years to come’ after signing on at the Link Centre for next season. On Saturday, the Wildcats announced that the 22-year-old had agreed a contract with the club for the 2015-16
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PLAY-OFFS 2015: John's eyeing Swift return
ON LOAN midfielder John Swift is “desperate” to play at Wembley as he faces a race to be fit for Swindon’s play-off final. The Chelsea player missed last week’s 5-5 draw with Sheffield United with a calf strain and has been back at the Premier
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Town fan sets up mosaic for Wembley
SWINDON Town’s players need only look to their supporters as they walk out at Wembley next weekend for all the inspiration they need. It was streamers against Sheffield United, but creative fan Jay Collett has masterminded something on another
