Archive
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Loader calls for mental strength
SWINDON coach Neil Loader believes getting his players’ mentality right is his biggest challenge this weekend. Swindon host Olney tomorrow on the back of a week off, which followed two straight defeats which had seen the Greenbridge Road side drop to
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Rapist jailed after attacks
A FATHER-of-three has been jailed for seven years for raping and sexually assaulting a woman. Francisco Pereira, formerly of Portsmouth Street but now of Booth House, Spring Gardens, twice raped the same victim during a five-year period between
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Loud bang over Swindon confirmed as sonic boom
THE loud bang heard over the town this evening was a sonic boom. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: “It was a super-sonic boom from a Typhoon jet. Two aircraft went up in response to a helicopter, which let out an emergency signal
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SPEEDWAY RESULT: Swindon Robins 50, King's Lynn Stars 43
SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE, ABBEY STADIUM SWINDON ROBINS: Troy Batchelor (R-1-1*-R)2+1, Nick Morris (2-3-3-2-R)10, Simon Stead (2-2-3-2)9, Jason Doyle (1*-0-1-3)5+1, Hans Andersen (2*-2-3-3-1)11+1, Robin Aspegren (1-1*-1)3+1, Peter Kildemand
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Loud bang heard across whole of Swindon
PEOPLE across Swindon have been left wondering what caused a loud explosion at approximately 6.20pm. Residents have reported loud bangs and walls shaking due to the force, however the cause is not yet know. Wiltshire Police said they had been inundated
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Airlifted ship man talks from hospital
A SWINDON man who had to be airlifted from a cruise liner taking the route of the doomed Titanic has spoken from his hospital bed. Tim Rex, a BBC cameraman, was taken ill on Tuesday night, causing the dedicated memorial cruise to double back so he could
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Church is celebrating a special anniversary
THE bells will ring for marriages from across the decades at a ceremony planned for Christ Church’s 160th anniversary. Couples who have married at the church are being invited to a service and reception to celebrate those who have walked down the aisle
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Branching out for the Jubilee
SCHOOLS, residents and councillors across Swindon have been putting down roots in 2012 – all in aid of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. As part of the Jubilee Woods project, more than 4,700 trees will be planted in and around the town to celebrate the Queen
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Care centre vows to do better next time
THEY may have only just had their first Ofsted inspection, but Hop Skip and Jump Swindon already has its sights set on an outstanding grade for next time. The centre, which provides respite care for children with disabilities, has been given an overall
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Swindon versus King's Lynn set to go ahead
SWINDON Robins' clash with King's Lynn tonight is still on. The Abbey Stadium track has coped well with the afternoon's showers and the Elite League meeting is set to go ahead. No further rain is expected this evening. Tapes will go up at 7.30pm
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Fire at house in Cricklade Road
FIREFIGHTERS are on the scene of a house fire in Cricklade Road. They received a call at 2.09pm and two crews from Swindon and Stratton attended. On arrival they found the two-storey property well alight. The cause of the fire is not yet known.
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Follow The Plan stuns the favourites
Follow The Plan stunned punters with a 50-1 shock success in the Betfred Bowl Chase at Aintree. Tom Doyle brought Oliver McKiernan's nine-year-old to lead after the second last and win in tremendous style by three lengths. Nicky Henderson's
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The Chef's Table
This week, it’s the turn of Richard Duckworth, 57, head chef at the Hilton Hotel. He is also the cluster head chef for Hilton hotels in the South West, which involves master classes and apprenticeships. Tel: 01793 881777 1. When did you first
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Fast food that’s good for you... honest!
Fresh ingredients and no chemicals are the claims from the latest takeaway in town. BARRIE HUDSON went along to give it a try EAT AT: ROOSTERS PIRI PIRI, 13-14 Fleet Street, Swindon, SN1 1RQ. Tel: 01793 491019 Open: Mon to Wed 11am to 11pm, Thur
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Sounds around town with Dave Franklin
Looking back into the annals of history it turns out that today is a landmark anniversary. In 1954 a young man called Bill Haley went into Pythian Temple Studios in New York and recorded a song that was the jumping off point for all other contemporary
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A favourite for the finale
A programme of music by Mozart, the world’s most popular classical composer, is presented as the finale to the Swindon Recital Series on Sunday. Mozart has a unique place in the hearts of audiences and musicians, and the programme has been chosen to
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The weird world of the count
COUNT Arthur Strong brings his confused, confusing and altogether peculiar world to the Wyvern Theatre next Wednesday. Best known for the cult Radio 4 show which bears his name, the Count is a former cinema and variety actor, a raconteur and an alter-ego
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Grumeti wins at Aintree for Barbury Castle trainer King
Alan King's Grumeti turned the Triumph Hurdle tables on Countrywide Flame in the Matalan Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree. John Quinn's Countrywide Flame had come with a wet sail at Cheltenham to claim the prize but this time Dougie Costello
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All their own work
Acappella stars The Magnets bring their glorious harmonies and jaw-dropping beat boxing to the Wyvern next week. Literally a six-man sound machine, The Magnets make all their music with their mouths alone. However, this is no attempt to mimic instruments
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THE MAGNETS ATTRACT SWINDON AUDIENCES TO THE WYVERN
How did The Magnets come to be one six-piece band? We started out at as students at the University of London, and at one point had as many as 12 guys in the group. Over time some left to get proper jobs, but a hardcore of us stuck it out to
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Grim fairytale comes to life
Hansel and Gretel, adapted by Poet Laureate (2009) Carol Ann Duffy is being brought to life at Swindon's Wyvern THeatre Studio One tomorrow and Saturday. Who was it who made us think that fairy-tales were always ‘happily ever after, performed by Swindon
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A little help from his friends
It’s been a while, but Paul Merton is finally returning to stand-up for the first time this century... with a little help from his friends. One of the UK’s best loved comedians, Paul is taking Out Of My Head – his first stand-up show since 1998 – on
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Swindon men to face trial over accusations of illegally exporting waste
TWO Swindon men are to face trial accused of arranging for household waste to be illegally exported to Brazil. Julio Da Costa, 51, and Juliano Da Costa, 27, pleaded not guilty at the Old Bailey and will face trial in October. They had run two companies
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RACING: Get your free office sweepstake kit plus a £1 free bet
The Aintree Grand National takes place on Saturday and we're offering all our readers an office sweepstake kit and free £1 bet. Both fantastic offers will appear in Friday's Swindon Advertiser along with our excellent coverage on the Aintree
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Ancient texts to be made available online
OXFORD University and the Vatican are joining forces to make ancient texts available for free online. The project will see 1.5 million pages from the collections of the Bodleian Libraries, which has a storage facility at South Marston, and the Biblioteca
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Boogie on back to sounds of the 70s
Pull on your platforms, as it’s time to boogie on down to the latest musical by Swindon’s Empire Theatre. A cast of more than 30 people, aged from 11 to 35, have been rehearsing every day for the past fortnight for Boogie Nights – The 70s Musical. From
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Dramatic happenings at the festival
Tonight three one act plays go head to head on the first day of a drama festival in Swindon. The Harold Jolliffe One Act Play Festival, named after a post war town librarian, runs until Saturday at the Arts Centre, Devizes Road, Old Town. The festival
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Festival takes a Twist with arrival of dance sensations
BRITAIN’S Got Talent fans will be heading to Cricklade this summer when 2010 runner ups Twist & Pulse perform in the town. The duo, who have appeared on Daybreak, This Morning, Celebrity Juice, Children in Need and subsequently toured all over the country
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Olympic star to give awards
OLYMPIC silver medallist Shelley Rudman will be inspiring the county’s sporting heroes at an awards event to recognise the achievements of athletes, sports clubs, volunteers and coaches from across the county. The 2006 Olympic silver medallist and 2012
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Preparing for Everest ascent
THE Walking With The Wounded team have been practising some of the skills they will need to climb Mount Everest. Swindon Army doctor Captain Francis Atkinson, 31, and the other current and former soldiers have been testing crucial kit such as harnesses
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PREDICTIONS LEAGUE Easter Weekend Results Update
Well 6 points from 2 games and two steps closer to the prize! Please Note that the Barnet points were doubled up in the league tables posted earlier this week, apologies to all of those who, like me, thought things had really gone well. The first
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Great Wall trek for cancer funds
A SWINDON woman is gearing up to walk the Great Wall of China for Breast Cancer Care. Collete O’Malley, is busy training for the walk, which will take place in October. She has pledged to raise at least £3,200 for Breast Cancer Care and still has £2,700
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Help avoid workplace conflict at conference
A SPECIAL workshop for businesses on avoiding conflict in the workplace is to take place in Old Town at the UK College of Personal Development on May 23. The Swindon Mindful Employer Network, funded by NHS Swindon and part of a national initiative, planned
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PREDICTIONS LEAGUE: Swindon Town v Plymouth Argyle
The first game at Plymouth was a defining moment for the spirit of our squad following the sad passing of Papa di Canio, the scenes that followed the final whistle put a BIG two fingers up at everyone in the national press for their attempts to
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Music showcase rolls back years
FOR more than a decade, variety group Stage Struck have been performing their annual show at the Wyvern Theatre. But this year they are returning to their roots by moving back to the Arts Centre, in Devizes Road. Despite being at the slightly smaller
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Man from Swindon rescued from Titanic cruise
IT IS believed that the man airlifted from a Titanic Memorial cruise was from Swindon. The Balmoral, which was following the route taken by the ill-fated liner 100 years ago, was forced to take a short detour after the man became unwell.
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Marie Curie volunteers have a real ball with fun fundraiser
ROLLING a giant ball around for more than 80 miles helped raise cash for Marie Curie Cancer Care. A team of fundraisers took to the streets with a two-and-a-half metre ball for just over two days in a bid to help the charity. They travelled from Chiseldon
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Community order for teen who abused four-year-old
A TEENAGE boy who sexually assaulted his four-year-old niece has been put on a three-year community order by a judge. The 16-year-old was upstairs playing with the girl and her brother when he carried out the abuse. When the girl’s mum went up to find
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100 arrests for serious crime squad
THE regional serious and organised crime unit Zephyr has reached 100 arrests since its inception two years ago. Since it began in 2010, more than 70 of those arrested have been charged and are going through the court process, while others remain on bail
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Teenager horrified to find giblets in KFC meal
WHEN Anna Wilkins and her friends tucked into their KFC chicken meal, what they found was far from finger-lickin’ good. The Farmors School pupils, who were at KFC at the Greenbridge Retail Park on Tuesday evening, discovered what they thought was a chicken
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Fountain in full flow despite hosepipe ban
THE town may be in the midst of a hosepipe ban, but a fountain at the Orbital Shopping Centre is still in full flow. Despite a restriction being put on water usage last week, the display, which is next to Asda at the North Swindon retail park, has not
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Anger as lighting is kept on 24/7
PENSIONER John Kent has accused Swindon Council of wasting money over some street lights he says have been on day and night for at least three months. The 78-year-old retired mechanical engineer said he first complained to the council about the lights
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No one to cheer if Town win the league
A ROW over policing costs could see Town’s promotion celebrations put on ice. Swindon’s penultimate away game, at Gillingham’s Priestfield Stadium, is at risk of being played behind closed doors because of a dispute between Kent Police and Gillingham
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Big leap in foreign nationals deported
THE number of foreign nationals deported from Swindon almost doubled in the past year, according to figures obtained by the Adver. The total, relating to adults who have been forcibly removed from the town, rose from 15 in 2010 to 25 last year. The numbers
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Get one's party started
RESIDENTS are being urged to get their party hats on after Swindon Council revealed they have only received 12 applications for street parties to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee. The closing date for applications to hold Jubilee parties is May 7, but the
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Top cop’s pledge to make county safest
WILTSHIRE’S police chief Patrick Geenty has pledged that the force will continue to ensure the county is among the safest in England. He has been appointed temporary Chief Constable of Wiltshire for the next 12 months, succeeding Brian Moore, who was
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War over drug cost
CONCERNED Sandra Woodruff has hit out at the local Primary Care Trust for refusing to treat her husband with a drug freely available on the NHS because of alleged cost issues. Sandra’s husband Adrian, 69, of Eldene, has a number of serious health issues
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Lettings agent ‘kept Army cash meant for housing’
A LETTINGS agent whose business closed without warning is accused of failing to return £1,000 paid by the Army and the Royal British Legion to house a homeless veteran. The cash was provided by the charity and the Royal Logistical Corps to provide a
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RACING: Riverside Theatre leads Henderson trio
RIVERSIDE Theatre heads a three-strong team from the Nicky Henderson yard in the Betfred Bowl Chase at Aintree today, and his jockey Barry Geraghty is confident the eight-year-old will be even better over the longer distance. The horse won the Ryanair
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Rosco tells fans to 'lay off Troy'
SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter has compared Troy Batchelor to Manchester City enigma Mario Balotelli, saying the forthright personalities of both mean that supporters delight in criticising them. Rossiter was reacting to an incident in last week
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Town could help fans watch Gills clash
SWINDON Town could look at ways of allowing fans to watch the Robins’ visit to Priestfield on April 21 if Gillingham are unable to resolve their dispute with Kent Police, writes ANDY WARREN. The disagreement over the cost of policing has threatened to
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Jeremy Wray answers your questions
@thewashbag: Why are you still only ‘Interim Chairman’ and why has the club not held their AGM? JW: We have an AGM coming up soon and that will be sorted out then. Hopefully, if all goes well, we will be able to drop the interim part of it. The meeting
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Eat humble pie
SWINDON’S imminent promotion to League One has caused a host of football agents to eat humble pie and come crawling back to the club cap in hand. While Town boss Paolo Di Canio has consistently rejuvenated his squad throughout the season with new signings
