Wiltshire | Archive | 2001 | March
A Purton-based company's visionary approach to marketing has been recognised by Vision 100. more...
TASTE Of The West is more...
Zurich Financial Services and IBM are to join forces in a unique outsourcing deal. more...
British American Tobacco, which used to own Swindon-based Allied Dunbar, saw its profits light up by 11 per cent, boosted by the full integration of the Rothmans International business it acquired nearly two years ago. more...
Malmesbury-based entrepreneur and vacuum cleaner designer James Dyson has been re-appointed for another three years as a member of the Design Council. more...
IT is easier to buy heroin in Calne than an aubergine, says youth and community worker Peter Kallmeier. more...
A CINEMA club may be set up in Calne or a mobile cinema may be used to show films, says the town council. more...
COMMUNITY minded pupils at John Bentley School in Calne are lending a hand around the town by helping elderly and disabled groups several mornings a week. more...
CALNE Town Council is looking to link up with companies in the town to build a £120,000 skate park on the town's Anchor Road recreation ground. more...
MAGISTRATES issued a warrant for the arrest of 45-year-old Robin Brindle Calne after hearing how he indecently assaulted a woman. more...
STUDENT Pauline Bright has become the 200th person to enroll on a computer literacy course at Calne College under a new scheme allowing people to choose when they want to learn. more...
THE Calne Branch of the Royal British Legion has earnt an accolade for attracting the second highest number of new members among the 400 branches in Wiltshire last year. more...
VERSATILE Chippenham artist Andrew MacDonald has used his talents to carve a career in painting and illustration. more...
CHIPPENHAM Museum and Heritage Centre has received a prestigious award to applaud the renovation and conversion of the historic Market Place building. more...
CHIPPENHAM bus station could receive £35,000 to fund urgently-needed safety improvements. more...
MORE than 2,000 fans are expected to swell the terraces of Chippenham Town's Hardenhuish Park on Saturday March 3 when the club looks to emulate its success last year in the FA Vase. more...
OCCUPATIONAL therapists Abby Lancaster and Gill Roy who work at Chippenham Community Hospital, are to appear on BBC2's Ready Steady Cook programme. more...
DISAPPOINTED organisers of Chippenham carnival are angry primary schools have refused to support a party for the town's prince and princess. more...
DOZENS of youngsters in Chippenham enjoyed extra history lessons during the half-term holiday thanks to activities organised by the Chippenham Museum and Heritage Centre. more...
The historic St Nicholas Church in Biddestone could soon be bathed in light. more...
Residents are protesting at a farmer's plan to diversify into clay pigeon shooting, archery and quad bikes. more...
A GROUP of hungry students were recently shown how the RAF feeds its crews during a visit to Lyneham. more...
PEOPLE looking to discover more about twinning with towns and villages in France are being encouraged to get involved. more...
NORTH Wiltshire District Council has approved a major staff shake-up which could see dramatic cuts in the number of senior managers. more...
BOWLING enthusiasts handed over a cheque for £362 to the British Heart Foundation at a ceremony last week. more...
PARENTS who have had to endure the misery of dealing with heroin addiction in the family, got together this week as a first step towards setting up a drop-in centre for drug abusers. more...
THE outbreak of foot and mouth disease forced Hullavington Cubs to abandon their sponsored walk on Sunday March 4. more...
THE owner of The Rose and Crown pub in Chippenham has had his driving ban extended by eight months after police spotted him behind the wheel of his girlfriend's car. more...
MP James Gray is to protest to the Department of Trade and Industry after the closure of three north Wiltshire post offices because staff are not up to date with modern technology. more...
YOUNG people may soon be able to learn more of the history and life of the National Trust village at Lacock. more...
AN 86-year-old woman was found lying in a ditch nearly an hour after disappearing from Forest Lane Residential Home in Chippenham. more...
THE arrival of new clothing store Jeanius in Chippenham has brought six new jobs to the town. more...
THE organisers of Chippenham carnival have urged businesses, schools, clubs and associations to take part in this year's procession. more...
TRAINS were delayed when emergency repairs were carried out at Chippenham railway station, after staff noticed two panes of glass in a canopy had slipped. more...
A TEAM of young footballers known as The Blues fear they may have to drop out of their league if they fail to find a new coach soon. more...
BODYBUILDER Elvis Gomez is hoping to inspire youngsters in Chippenham to take up healthy lifestyles and exercise when he competes in a regional bodybuilding competition in April. more...
WORK is under way to protect Chippenham's Derriads Barn, in Cepen Park South, from decay and vandalism after fears were raised about the safety of the derelict building, intended to become a community building. more...
YOUNGSTERS in Corsham say they are afraid to stray far from home because of intimidation by gangs of teenagers. more...
THE body of 27-year-old Sean Hart was found in a Corsham alleyway yards from his home in the early hours of Friday February 23. more...
THREE intrepid policemen are to tackle the 100-mile Inca Trail through the Andes to raise money for Scope, for people with cerebral palsy. more...
ONE of the world's foremost string quartets is among the star-studded line up appearing at the Corsham Festival 2001. more...
Plans to build a car park on the garden of the Cross Keys pub, in Corsham, have been recommended for refusal after a site visit. more...
HARRY Potter madness took over Devizes Library as youngsters attended a half-term activity session. more...
A MOTORIST who drove off after damaging her own car and a parked one she had struck, didn't know a collision had taken place, Kennet Magistrates Court in Devizes heard. more...
LADIES' man Peter Scarff, whose remains were found in his burnt-out car on Monument Hill near Devizes, killed himself when the pressure of his love life became too much, an inquest has decided. more...
COUNCIL tax payers in Kennet will see their bills rise by an average of 8.8 per cent from April. more...
DEVIZES Market Place was cordoned off for four hours on the night of Monday February 26 after an explosion was heard outside the HSBC Bank. more...
AN independent inquiry into the escape of three prisoners from Erlestoke Prison near Devizes last November has cleared prison staff. more...
DARREN Maslen, the Market Lavington man charged with the murder of his common-law wife, Gill Barter, is to face a third plea and directions hearing. more...
THE combined talents of the acclaimed Band of the Wiltshire Constabulary and the vocal harmony group Ten in a Bar will provide the entertainment at the band's fundraising concert A Musical Miscellany at the Corn Exchange this Saturday at 7.30pm. more...
THE future of Kennet Magistrates Court in Devizes looks bleak after fundamental criticisms in a report by HM Magistrates' Courts Service Inspectorate, published last week. more...
TEN-year-old Amy Hill from Market Lavington has raised £111 for the Imperial Cancer Research Fund from a fundraising sale in memory of her neighbour Sheila Fournier who died of the disease last October after a short illness. more...
HELPING communities in Kenya enabled Jane Robinson from All Cannings to gain her Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Award. more...
FURNITURE designer Tim Hitchens ended up learning how to kill and gut a chicken and paddle a raft across eight miles of Pacific Ocean as part of C4's Shipwrecked II programme. more...
THE mother of a baby who died at Bristol Children's Hospital is appealing for parents across the county to help start a new charity. more...
RICHARD BUTLER'S family has farmed at Eastwick Farm, Wootton Rivers, for five generations. He and his son David have 450 cattle and 1,000 acres of combine crops. He writes about the effect of foot and mouth on his industry more...
EFFORTS to contain the spread of foot and mouth disease are having a severe effect on the rural community. more...
DEVIZES butcher Stephen Cook fears the price of meat will rocket as it becomes scarce following the ban on livestock movements imposed by MAFF. more...
A FARMER who remembers the last foot and mouth crisis in 1967 fears a similar outbreak could ruin the livestock industry. more...
CASTLE Combe race circuit has almost completed the mammoth task of compiling an archive which covers all 400 of the meetings held at the track since it opened in 1950. more...
THE director of an ailing Wiltshire County Council in-house group has been made redundant. more...
FORMER debutante Dorothy Lewis-Barned, who trained as a painter and continued painting until three years ago, celebrated her 100th birthday on Saturday at a party at her daughter's Ogbourne St George home. more...
TEENAGE cookery whiz Kerry Rist has snapped up the regional title in a national recipe competition organised by spice company Schwartz. more...
CROWDS lined the streets for some flipping good fun at Chippenham's annual pancake races on Tuesday February 27. more...
A BID to slow down traffic at an accident blackspot has been made by concerned councillors. more...
CHILDREN in north Wiltshire are to benefit from a lottery grant of more than £120,000 which will create 328 new childcare places. more...
County councillors have pledged to continue their support for a mobile anti-drugs unit in Wiltshire. more...
OFFICIALS working to make schools healthy in Wiltshire have received a top Government award. more...
NEW travel co-ordinators are due to be appointed in Wiltshire to help tackle the traffic congestion of the twice-daily school run. more...
TV cookery expert Sophie Grigson comes to the county next week to launch Wiltshire Fairtrade Fortnight at St John's Parish Room in Devizes. more...
KENNET District Council has been working with Devizes Hockey Club to put the recently launched Real Help For Clubs scheme into action. more...
EMILY Hodges, of Potterne, recently qualified as a Norland Nurse. She received her diploma and badge at a ceremony at The Norland College in Hungerford on February 9 from Professor Colin Fletcher, who teaches educational research at the University of Wolverhampton. more...
MORE than 30 dedicated blood donors received certificates at a special presentation evening at the town hall in Devizes last Thursday. more...
ANYONE connected with the farming industry must have felt a cold sense of dread when the first cases of foot and mouth disease were confirmed in Northumbria and Essex last week. more...
I WAS puzzled and somewhat vexed by the article headlined "village post offices sent out of business" in the Gazette on February 22. more...
WE wish to record our abhorrence of Devizes Town Council's cavalier attitude to the Market Place trees. more...
WITH reference to the article in last week's Marlborough and Pewsey edition of the Gazette about underage drinking at a disco, I think we should be grateful that there are people in the community (such as the Pewsey Hasbeens) who give up their private time to run events such as the Pewsey disco for our children. more...
I THINK it is disgraceful that at this moment in time there is a disaster on our doorstep with our farmers, and nobody seems to care. more...
I REFER to the letter from Margaret Martin in relation to the proposed housing development at the former fruit farm off Downlands Road in last week's Gazette. more...
The report into the Calne redevelopment fiasco shows, at the very least, maladministration. more...
WHILST sympathising with Terry Fell over the amount of dog mess on the towpaths, as a regular walker I have to say I have never seen so much litter and mess left behind by the anglers. more...
EILEEN Bromley's letter contains lots of information which I would dearly like to follow up but her letter has no address, phone or surname. more...
There are some very strange happenings in Angel Yard, Marlborough. more...
MANY Christians myself included do not share Mrs Hamilton's stance on the Harry Potter books (Gazette letters, February 22). more...
WHAT an unhappy time for the county, £2 million rise in council tax fails to stave off redundancies and increases in charges, this negative situation cannot be allowed to continue year after year. more...
I MUST say that it is a real boost for Calne and its residents to be hosting a visit from the Queen. more...
MATHS does not seem to be the strong point of North Wiltshire's Conservative chairman. more...
MALMESBURY could have affordable starter homes, a bypass, another supermarket and a new football ground, if it is willing to accept a development of 450 houses on land owned by Lord Morton to the north west of the town. more...
A FAMILY from Crudwell is mourning the sudden death of 27-year-old Caroline Womack. more...
RESIDENTS in Bristol Street, Malmesbury have sent a petition to Wiltshire County Council demanding urgent road safety measures. more...
POLICE investigating a hate campaign against a Lechlade family, which included the sending of a parcel bomb with a Swindon postmark, are following up new leads. more...
VINCENT Evans, who was found dead in his car in December, had been worried about his obesity. more...
TRADERS in Malmesbury have called on Transco to waste no time finishing vital work on gas pipes that they fear will threaten their livelihoods. more...
LEADING Malmesbury veterinary surgeon Roger Griffin retired this week after nearly 40 years in the town. more...
VILLAGERS are celebrating after controversial plans for a housing development in Luckington were thrown ou t for the second time. more...
GEOGRAPHY graduate Anna Muckle has always found Iceland fascinating, and now she hopes to go there and raise money for charity at the same time. more...
PLANS to open Malmesbury's tourist information office six days a week and on bank holidays during the summer will have to remain on hold unless an assistant is found for manager Sandra Pell. more...
MICHEAL Hamblin bought a new car so he would not have to cycle to work in the rain, but has been forced to sell it after thieves stole two windscreens in less than a month. more...
PIANIST Raymond Clarke opened the Malmesbury Abbey Music Society's season on Saturday with a concert on the abbey's newly-refurbished piano. more...
VILLAGERS are preparing to fight plans to allow 100 new homes to be built on two greenfield sites in Great Bedwyn. more...
LESS than six months after parents were told the Puddleducks Playgroup at Pewsey would close if they did not take it over, an Ofsted inspector has given it top marks. more...
A RAMSBURY woman has embarked on a quest of a lifetime to find out what happened to the father she never met. more...
ST John's School and Community College in Marlborough has been presented with the Government's prestigious Charter Mark after undergoing a strict assessment which involved consultations with everyone using it and also with people in the town. more...
DEPUTY mayor Stewart Dobson's failure to take action over a wall at the Marlborough war memorial has cost the town council £4,000 in lawyers' and architects' fees, it has been alleged. more...
COUNCIL Tax payers in Kennet will see their bills rise by an average of 8.8 per cent from April. more...
VILLAGERS at Great Bedwyn fear for the future of the post office following a decision by postmaster Graham Kirby to sell up. more...
POLICE in Pewsey who have expressed concern at young children drinking alcohol at village discos, are suggesting new regulations to tackle the problem. more...
THE mother of a 14-year-old boy who received a serious eye injury at a teenagers' disco in Pewsey says he was attacked by a cowardly group of older teenagers who are terrorising local youngsters. more...
TOWN councillors in Marlborough have been angered by a letter from Kennet leader Jerry Willmott in which he asked if local councils wanting CCTV would be prepared to fund it themselves. more...
CERAMICS artist Annabelle Faraday is mapping out a career for herself in a rather unusual way, producing pottery with a design featuring maps. more...
THE family of four-year-old Caitlin Peck, who suffers with the rare communication disorder Angelman Syndrome, have been deeply touched by the generosity of Marlborough people who have responded to an appeal for funds to send her to swim with dolphins. more...
THERE were tears when a brief association between Guides from Wiltshire and Girl Scouts from America came to an end at the weekend. more...
A PENALTY shoot-out and a six-goal thriller entertained those gathered for a prestigious schools football tournament at the County Ground yesterday afternoon. more...
ANDY King has dismissed any notion that his players do not care enough about the threat of relegation. more...
MICHAEL Reddy has pleaded with Town fans not to place survival hopes squarely on his shoulders. more...
YOUNG midfielder Frazer McHugh is itching to play a greater role in Town's bid for Division Two survival. more...
TOWN RES 0, READING RES 2: Sloppy defending in the opening quarter of an hour proved costly for Town's second string. more...
Swindon Town FC is playing host to the England V Wales under 18's International match. more...
SWINDON Town must win promotion before supporters have any chance of viewing a decent night match. more...
MY attempt to break into the competitive market of crisps seemed to go down rather well last week. more...
FOOTBALLERS have an unfortunate (and not always deserved) reputation as being a bunch of thickies. more...
I IMAGINE interest in the Worthington Cup final extended well beyond the boundaries of Liverpool and Birmingham. more...
I HAVE previously lived for many years in Maidenhead under both Liberal and Conservative councils. more...
EVERY year Swindon Borough Council comes out with the same excuses. more...
I HAVE just received advice that the rent I pay on my council-owned flat is to increase by six per cent from April 2. more...
HOW generous of the council to give us this chance to vote for a raise in council tax. more...
To all councillors: more...
In response to Mr Bates' letter (Wednesday, February 21), some of his facts are inaccurate. more...
Having read the comments made by Mr Ioan Rees of Swindon Borough Council (Evening Advertiser, February 26) in which he attempts to justify the creation of yet another Park & Ride facility, I am left confused. more...
I NOTE with dismay (Evening Advertiser, February 22) that the streets of Swindon now echo to the bloodcurdling cries of marauding bands of wild Christians accusing each other of heresy (rather like Alexandria in the 4th century). more...
YOUR correspondent who recently ended his letter to the Evening Advertiser with those wonderful words "Thank God I am an atheist" surely deserves the highest literary commendation. more...
A DEAL straight out of Only Fools And Horses made plonkers out of three traders near Swindon. more...
STAFF at Blunsdon's Leapfrog Day Nursery will be handing out information cards to make parents aware of what they need to watch out for to protect their children from meningitis. more...
PARENTS who want to enroll their children for schools in Swindon are being reminded that the deadline is approaching. more...
FAIRTRADE Directory for Swindon is being launched by Julia Drown MP outside Regent Street's Oxfam shop on Satur-day, March 17, at 10am. more...
TICKETS are on sale for the Wroughton Folk Club's annual barn dance at Ridgeway School on March 24. Admission is £5 for adults, £2 for children and £12 for a family. For more details contact Julia Hobbs on Swindon 812282 or Les Morris on Swindon 497856. more...
THE study centre at Swindon Town Football Club can look forward to continued success thanks to a £65,000 grant from Swindon Borough Council. more...
A PIONEERING one-stop safety advice shop has been opened in Swindon by Home Office minister Paul Boateng. more...
WILTSHIRE Police in partnership with Swindon Borough Council and Wiltshire County Council are running a series of seminars aimed at reducing the number of motorcycle casualties. more...
THE Evening Advertiser's Reader Travel Roadshow was a resounding success and the Adver's travel executive Barbara Challis hopes to repeat it again soon. more...
TEENAGE fairground worker Michael Rowe told a jury he didn't grope a 15-year-old girl or threaten anyone with a knife. more...
A WALCOT woman will travel to Peru in a bid to help Britain's thousands of homeless teenagers. more...
TRUANCY-busting St Luke's School has been awarded for its efforts to keep pupils in class. more...
THE search is on for the maddest hat in Chiseldon, courtesy of a Mad Hatter's Tea Party organised by the Women's Royal Voluntary Service. more...
TUCKED away on Okus Trading Estate is a small team of staff responsible for ordering everything at Princess Margaret Hospital from baked beans to anaesthetic machines. more...
A MAN who was put up by someone he met on a train thanked his host by making off with his bank card and stealing nearly £200. more...
POLICE have renewed their appeal for witnesses to a street robbery which happened near the County Ground athletics track. more...
THE search for comedy stars of the future is coming to Swindon. more...
SWINDON swept the board at the 15th annual Wiltshire Junior Open Chess Championships, with girls doing particularly well. more...
HEROIN addict Gary James stole two trendy micro-scooters from Wool-worth's to try and raise cash to buy drugs. more...
POWER supplier Southern Electric is inviting pensioners and those on benefit in Swindon to get a new fridge for £25. more...
BRITAIN'S biggest women only fundraising event is set to take place at Lydiard Country Park on June 10. The five kilometre run is one of 71 races taking place across the country between April and July this year in aid of Imperial Cancer Research. For more details in joining the Race For Life visit www.imperialcancer.co.uk/raceforlife or ring 08705 134314. more...
MORE than 300 teachers from around Swindon are attending a conference today in Weston-super-Mare. more...
MICHAEL Wills, MP for North Swindon, has backed the financial support the Government is giving Wiltshire councils towards childcare. He said: "I am delighted that Swindon Borough Council is receiving £210,379 and Wiltshire County Council is receiving a total of £683,327 for the recruitment and training of childcare staff. more...
COUNCIL tax payers in Kennet will see their bills rise by an average of 8.8 per cent from April. more...
BUTCHERS in Swindon are braced for meat shortages, following the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. more...
DAIRY farmer James Woolford managed to get hold of the last two cans of foot and mouth disinfectant in South West England. more...
More than 1,500 responded to the Evening Advertiser's unique council tax consultation. more...
THE Labour administration of Swindon Borough Council could be toppled tonight as the two other parties move closer towards an alternative budget. more...
A new military staff college said to be the most modern, purpose-built facility of its kind in the world was officially opened near Swindon yesterday by the Duke of Edinburgh. more...
THE stars of TV's Popstars will lead a host of big names at this year's Wiltshire Festival. more...
DRUG abuse among young people is to be targeted by a new Government plan. more...
A PARENT and baby group in Abbey Meads is suffering because of the rapid expansion of the new Swindon estate. more...
A WOMAN who stole more than £100 worth of baby clothes to fund her £20-a-day heroin habit has been placed on probation. more...
KENYA is often described as a land of contrasts. In a deeply religious country the lion is king, the elephant is a god and some here say that crew members from the Royal Air Force are a blessing. more...
Today we would like to thank all our readers who took part in the council tax consultation more than 1,500 of you. more...
THE impressive line-up of bands which will be appearing at this year's Wiltshire Festival should quieten all those cynics who under-value Swindon's cultural life. more...
THE Wiltshire farming community has been devastated by the foot and mouth crisis, which this week took a dramatic turn with the closure of the abattoir at Westbrook, near Chippenham. more...
DAVID Howell returned to the scene of his greatest triumph today (Thursday, March 1) knowing he will need to beat the world number one to repeat any success. more...
TRAVELLERS have been moved on from council land in Highworth only to set up camp in private fields next door. more...
THE Mayor of Wootton Bassett, Bill Roberts, presented town council grant cheques to seven organisations at the Civic Centre last Thursday. more...
STAFF, pupils and patients at a Romanian school and hospital in Bucharest have been thrilled to receive vital basic supplies from the UK, thanks to the support of generous business people in Wiltshire. more...
A WOOTTON Bassett firm has won a top award in recognition of its efforts to promote health and safety at work. more...
ONE of North Wiltshire's biggest carnivals needs financial help to make sure this year's event is better than ever. more...
RESIDENTS in Cricklade are preparing to take part in Britain's biggest All-Day Breakfast on behalf of the Cancer Research Campaign. more...
A barn dance is being held on March 24, at Ridgeway School, Wroughton, between 7.30pm and 11pm. more...
JILL Thornton is to become the new minister of churches in Wootton Bassett and surrounding towns. more...
THE decision to allow a travellers' camp to expand at Lydiard Plain has angered the parish council. more...
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