CROWDS of Bathonians supported the official Christmas lights switch on, performed by the mayor Angela Godfrey outside the Pump Rooms. Supported by the Chart of Trustees and stars of Bath pantomime, the ceremony attracted the biggest crowd in years, said
A BATH building consultancy has been awarded sixth place in a national top 100 league of building surveyors. International property consultants King Sturge has moved up eight places from the position of 14th place last year. Bob Chapman, the partner in
TELEVISION presenter Michaela Strachan has visited Uganda to film a documentary on the work of Bath-based charity Send A Cow. The documentary, filmed over three days in the villages around Kampala, was shown on BBC1 on Sunday as part of the Countryfile
ANOTHER blank weekend due to the weather, so I was fortunate to find a game to watch on Saturday, writes Tommy Saunders. My assistant Nobby Bush and myself went to watch his son play for Bath City Reserves in their 2-0 victory over Cadbury Heath. It was
Chippenham Town 2, Welton Rovers 0: CHIPPENHAM played a fast and furious game in the Screwfix Direct League Premier Division match on Wednesday night. From the kick-off Chippenham seemed a very motivated side, with Mark Cutler and Steve Tweddle producing
Friday, December 8 Peatmoor AC Senior Citizen/Disabled Christmas match. Draw 9am at Peatmoor. Ivy House Lakes Veterans Open. Draw 9am. Sunday, December 10 Raychem/Square D AC Club Christmas match (new venue is now Wick Water at South Cerney). Draw 8am
GO-karting fan Geoffrey Fairburn was driving a colleague's company car when he lost control on the A346 near Ogbourne St Andrew, a court heard. The 29-year-old was driving a powerful R-reg BMW 535 which was full of gadgets including a television when
THIS year's Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal in Swindon raised a record-breaking £25,000. After the Evening Advertiser publicised the collectors' need to store thousands of poppies, collecting tins and wreaths, organiser Alan Baker said the support given
The entire Swindon Transport Plan would be jeopardised if the park and ride at Junction 16 of the M4 is not allowed to go ahead. This is the view of Swindon Council's principal planning officer, Rob Jones, the first witness to speak at the public inquiry
Ivy House Lakes match results Wednesday, November 29 1st Elick Payne (peg 38) 37-4-0; 2nd Stuart Dobson (peg 39) 14-8-0; 3rd Pete Sole (peg 41) 10-7-0. Friday Veterans December 1 1st L Simpson (peg 4) 13-10-0; 2nd C Dunn (peg 38) 12-0-0; 3rd G Rose (peg
A SPIRITED performance by previous year's winners Devizes Talisman put them just half a point behind winners Drake's Bait in the final round of the Upper Thames Division of the Angling Times League. It was a very tight affair on the Kennet and Avon Canal
THREE Swindon men dumped a fireplace because they didn't want to wait in a traffic jam to get to the household waste tip, a court heard. Michael Rawlins, of Carstairs Avenue, Gary Howells of, Kitchener Street and Antony Blackmore, of Cunningham Road,
THE Rev Tony Knapp was initiated as Dorcan Ecumenical Church's new Anglican minister in a service attended by the Bishop of Swindon, the Right Rev Michael Doe. The new minister told the congregation at St Timothy's Church that he looked forward to the
MORE than 1,500 people celebrated the art of modelling at Swindon Model Railway Club's 41st annual show. The two-day festival of modelling filled eight rooms of Greendown Community School, the show's venue for the past eight years. Highlights included
A LANDLADY is aiming to raise more than £1,000 for the Evening Advertiser/Rotary Christmas Appeal. Joy Wiseman, of The Village pub on Rodbourne Road near the Designer Outlet Village, is the great aunt of Down's syndrome lad Terry Anderson, whose face
A PENSIONER stranded in the war because he couldn't get a passport has lent his support to a Swindon woman fighting to become a British citizen. The plight of grandmother Alicja Bolton, refused a British passport despite living in the country for 53 years
ANDY King will have to re-shuffle his defensive pack after learning he will be without defender Richard Dryden for Saturday's game against Gateshead. The 31-year-old has played in two games since arriving on loan from Premiership side Southampton. Town
JUST a big thank you to all who worked so hard to produce another excellent Gang Show. There was something for both old and young alike. It's nice to know that there are the leaders who put so much of their time to help all those children. Their efforts
I was lucky enough to get tickets for the Gang Show. There were well over 100 young people from the Swindon area taking part in this magnificent show and they left the packed audience absolutely spellbound with their talent. I am one of many senior citizens
Chippenham 25, Marlow 3: CHIPPENHAM followed up last weekend's revitalising away win at league leaders Slough with another comfortable home win against mid-table Marlow. In an entertaining game played in difficult conditions Chippenham, fielding the same
STRIKER Matty Bown has given Melksham Town a boost before tomorrow's Les Phillips Cup derby at Corsham by pledging his future to the Conigre club. Bown had once again been a transfer target for Melksham's Screwfix Direct League Premier Division rivals
Frome 19, Cooper-Avon Tyres 23: WITH the wind and slight slope in their favour, the visitors got off to a dream start in this Dorset and Wilts Division One game when winger Stuart Moore gathered a cross field kick and touched down to open the scoring
The Dorset and Wilts women's side ran in 17 tries to demolish Gloucester 99-0 at Wootton Bassett Rugby Club. The forwards secured good clean ball from set play which allowed the backs space to run and score. Try scorers were: Pippa Crews (2), Jo Topham
Chippenham moved into the fifth round of the Intermediate Cup but it was more by good fortune then anything else. Outplayed by their visitors from South West Division 2 West, Chippenham had the failings of the opposition goalkicker, who missed six simple
SWINDON 8, GROVE 14: Swindon crashed to their second sucessive league defeat, and suffered another blow when centre Paul Wakefield broke a leg. On paper this was always going to be a close game as both sides have had good results against other teams currently
SUPERMARINE 1ST 42, HARWELL 19: Supermarine made it five wins in a row after an emphatic win over Harwell in a friendly. The game started well with the Marine forwards dominating in the rucks and mauls. It wasn't long before Marine opened the scoring
THE theft of Christmas goodies from an old people's sheltered housing complex was mean and despicable. If you think you know who did it, report them to the police. If you can chip in with a contribution for the residents' festivities, don't hesitate to
AFTER all the hopes and the build up, it would be surprising if Jaime King hadn't been depressed by her failure in her Olympic 200m breast stroke heat. But it's good to know that Jaime has bounced back. At 23 she still has the potential to be an Olympic
MATTHEW Trotman is caught up in a vicious circle. Unless he can find a job and a decent place in which to live, he could end up in an environment in which it would be all too easy to slip back into drug addiction and crime. This is the predicament facing
Jaime King has put her Olympic disappointment behind her and is concentrating on the Commonwealth Games in 2002. The 23-year-old swimmer had contemplated giving up the sport after her poor performance in Sydney but she opted to continue at her Bath training
GREEN-fingered pupils from a Radstock school have received their second award in two months. Writhlington School's Greenhouse Club were class winners in the cymbidium section at the Wiltshire Orchid Society show, held in Warminster. The club was given
THOUSANDS of people flocked to Midsomer Norton for a spectacular fair and Christmas lights switch-on. Organisers were delighted that about 10,000 people turned out for the event, now in its second year. Midsomer Norton Traders' Association chairman Mike
The RSPCA is appealing to people across the region to help raise the £500,000 needed for rebuilding work at the Bath Cats and Dogs' home. The animal home was built in 1939 and is now in need of major refurbishment. During the Christmas period, the RSPCA
BUDDING actors and actresses in Bath could be among stars being hunted by a television casting company searching for new talent. Television Casting has embarked on a nationwide search for singers, actors and dancers of all ages to work in Britain, Australia
HUNDREDS of people affected by Aids and HIV supported Bath's annual torchlit procession and candlelit vigil marking World Aids Day on November 30. The event, in its seventh year, was organised by Bath Aids and HIV charity the Aled Richard Trust with the
A BATH councillor has slammed the government for taking money away from the city in what he describes as a "pre-election sweetener" to other areas of the country. A government proposal to reduce the revenue support grant (RSG) this year will result in
Banana firm Fyffes is to close its banana rippening centre in Chippenham. The job losses will be part of a planned axing of 200 jobs in a huge overhaul of its subsidiary Geest Bananas. Fyffes, which is based in Dublin, and the Windward Island Banana Development
IT was, agrees 27-year-old Matthew Trotman, an amazingly stupid thing to do. But arming himself with a plastic pistol and brandishing it at passing drivers, the police helicopter and a scared woman resident in Mill Lane was his last desperate plea for
ALL-NIGHT curfews for the under-16s have been welcomed by Swindon police as a way to make parents more interested in their childrens' whereabouts. But they also urge caution in using the orders, saying they shouldn't restrict youngsters' everyday freedoms
COUNCIL tax could rise by as much as 10 per cent next year, and there are calls for householders to be given a say on how their money is spent. At tonight's Swindon Council cabinet meeting, the Labour party will be recommending that members of the public
IT WAS a right old knees up as Cockney rockers Chas 'n' Dave sent an appreciative audience Snooker Loopy at Swindon's Green Baize club. The East End duo went down a storm at the Park South venue, with their madcap brand of rhythm and blues. The dance
MAIL deliveries returned to normal in Swindon after Post Office bosses persuaded workers to abandon their unlawful walkout. Thousands of homes and businesses in the main urban areas of Swindon received no post yesterday after 700 workers at the Dorcan
The Queen is to visit Wiltshire as part of a six-month programme of royal "awaydays". Prince Philip will accompany the Queen on her visit to Wiltshire on March 16 next year. The Queen's extensive six-month itinerary, which was announced by Buckingham
IT was fishy day at Asda as the supermarket helped raise funds for National Fishermen's Day. The first such day was set up by the Fishermen's Mission to help the thousands of fishing families affected by death or injury at sea. Asda donated profits from
TWO brothers who scaled three of Great Britain's highest peaks have raised more than £3,000 for deaf children in Swindon. But Adrian and John Cooper's charity challenge was almost over before it began. The pair, who both live in Park North, left in the
THE headmaster of Kingsdown School has praised the school's standard of teaching in his address to the school's eighth annual presentation evening. David Williams, head of the school in Stratton St Margaret, said: "Last year I proudly reported the best
A PARTY of young people from Swindon has arrived safely in Nicaragua at the start of a three-week mission to help people there. During their stay in Swindon's twin town of Ocotal the youngsters will help set up a major reforestation programme. It is needed
LAST week I travelled by Stage-coach bus from the bus station, up the hill to Old Town. In contrast to recent letters in your columns, the service was punctual, and the driver friendly, courteous and helpful. With a pram in tow, the low floor buses operated
In last Wednesday's Evening Advertiser you published an article about Swindon Animal Concern's campaign to remind people that buying a pet for Christmas is not very sensible. I was very concerned by a response given by a Petworld spokesman. It was stated
YOUR recent item about the Northern Orbital Road was informative but failed to note two very important facts. Although commuters will find progress between Crick-lade Road and Purton Road, Moredon, much quicker than at present, there is no doubt that
I WAS born and raised in Swindon and regard this town as my home. However, next summer myself and my family are upping sticks and moving to Devon. We live in Rodbourne, over the wall from the Designer Outlet Village, so you can appreciate the enormous
MINETY 1ST 17, CRICKLADE 0: Three well-worked first-half tries from Minety were enough to seal Cricklade's fate. Both teams became bogged down in the second half, but while Minety continued to press till the final whistle, Cricklade had no real answer
SWINDON U12s, WITNEY U12s: Swindon continued their unbeaten run at Greenbridge Road on Sunday where they met Witney, in a hard and physical game. Grant Hurry opened the scoring for Swindon after a scrum ten metres from the Witney try line. Scrum half
