Stories for 5 September 2005

Business News

Mobile masseur eases away stress and strain

Robert Meade massages athlete Sharna King Ref: 99117-54A MOBILE masseur is bringing stress relief to the town's tense business and sports community.   more...

Fun night for bosses

BUSINESS owners are being urged to see the funny side of serious business with a new networking comedy event.   more...

Recruiting headache

THE south west has been named as the worst region in the UK for small businesses looking to recruit qualified staff.   more...

Firm moves to new office

SWINDON-based public relations firm Vox PR has moved from Fleming Way into new offices in Old Town's Little London Court.   more...

Education News

Money for meals

Swindon Council will receive £108,435 as part of a Government drive to improve school meals.   more...

Highworth News

Rough night out for scouts

SCOUTS from Highworth will be roughing it for the night to draw attention to the plight of refugees.   more...

Swindon News

An alternative vision for site

THE Advertiser ran a feature on the Swindon Gateway developers' vision for Coate.   more...

Scottish cash wasn't good enough

IN these troubled times, when we British are trying to help the Muslim community to be at one with us, it makes one wonder why, when our daughter came down from Scotland on holiday, the Lions' Charity Shop in Highworth refused to accept her Scottish £20 note.   more...

Help on offer with fuel bills

A SUMMER of double figure price hikes by the major gas and electricity companies has left many people worried about how they are going to meet the cost of their fuel bills this winter.   more...

Don't suffer with tinnitus

AT some time most people will experience the noises in their ears or head known as tinnitus.   more...

A royal gripe over Victoria

WHAT is the problem with Queen Victoria? I refer of course to Mary Ratcliffe, that apologist for the Royal family.   more...

Haircut was a real treat

I WAS recently a winner in an Advertiser competition and won a free haircut at The Pamper Box in Eldene.   more...

Wife told police about net abuse

A RODBOURNE man continued to download child porn from the internet after police confiscated one of his computers.   more...

Festival gets to the root of green issues

Cory Greenslade with his leaf mask Ref: 99126-18MOTHER Nature smiled on visitors to this year's Lawns Forest Festival. Organisers were delighted by the turnout on Saturday, proving that the event ­ led by the Great Western Community Forest ­ is as popular as ever.   more...

`We don't want to be a target'

Michaela Hinton gives a teenager's eye view of life in the town Ref: 99172-8THE GREAT DEBATE: I'm 16 years old and start college next month to study AS/A-levels. I think the interest shown in trying to find out why teenagers hang around and to do something about it is long overdue.   more...

Why life in our town is sweet

Hazel Wollaston buys a box of Swindon fudge from shop assistant Maria Markey at Key Stores, in Stratton Ref: 99121-20SWINDON...AND PROUD OF IT: THANKS to Key Stores, in Stratton, there is now a new way to show pride in our town ­ with a box of Swindon fudge.   more...

A birthday party with wheel appeal

Britannia Majorette Charlotte Snook celebrates with a cake. Ref: 99125-77The Britannia Majorettes left their pom poms at home and instead chose wheels as their theme to celebrate their first anniversary.   more...

Police pilots hone their flying skills with simulator

WILTSHIRE Police's helicopter pilots have become the first to benefit from a mobile flight simulator.   more...

Convention for fans of Fforde

OLD TOWN'S Goddard Arms Hotel will host a convention for fans of satirical crime novelist Jasper Fforde.   more...

A hair-raising charity event

SERVICEMEN from RAF Lyneham have raised more than £500 for charity in a painful event.   more...

Money for meals

Swindon Council will receive £108,435 as part of a Government drive to improve school meals.   more...

Fire on waste land

FIREFIGHTERS tackled a grass fire in South Marston. The crew from Stratton St Margaret fire station were called the fire on waste ground shortly after 6.30pm on Saturday and used hoses to put the fire out.   more...

Crews rescue man from fire

A MAN was rescued from a flat above a shop after a storage room caught fire in Aldbourne.   more...

Kylie faces wait after treatment

BATTLING star Kylie Minogue has had her last session of chemotherapy. The 37-year-old singer, visited the Institute Gustave Roussy, near Paris, on Friday ­ the leading European cancer research centre   more...

Still time to enter art competition

THERE is still time to enter an art competition being run by a Swindon craft store.   more...

Eastern dance

A DAY of mystical dance from the Far East is coming to Swindon in November. Swindon Dance, in association with Jaqui Jamal, is hosting Eastern Promise 3 ­ a day of fun and Arabic dancing for all.   more...

Jamie leads out England football team

A FOOTBALL-MAD youngster met some of England's rising stars when he led the under 17s team out onto the pitch.   more...

Breakthrough for local firm

A SWINDON research council is funding a major breakthrough in the use of molecules as information processors.   more...

National Trust deals pensioner a £9,000 blow

SWINDON-BASED National Trust has smacked a pensioner with a £9,000 bill ­ to enable him to walk to his front door.   more...

Beer festival

REAL ale fans will flock to Arkell's brewery later this month for a special beer festival in aid of the Prospect Hospice.   more...

Molly's in town

BOND girl, Molly Peters will be visiting Swindon next month. Molly played the mink-gloved Patricia Fearing in the classic Thunderball.   more...

Branch out into management

WOODLAND management is on the agenda at a course being run by the Active Swindon Project.   more...

Bin was set alight

FIREFIGHTERS put out a fire in a wheelie bin in West Swindon on Sunday morning. Crews from Westlea fire station tackled the blaze at the rear of the Lloyds Chemist in Ramleaze at 7.30am.   more...

Man killed in M4 traffic accident

A MAN has been killed in a crash involving two cars on the M4. The victim, who is believed to be in his 20s, died between junctions 12 and 13 on the eastbound carriageway in Berkshire shortly before 4pm on Saturday.   more...

He's a little walking miracle

Callum Barrett before his first day at school Ref: 99132-01The five-year-old boy who has a serious condition that makes him `allergic to life' has defied medical experts by enjoying his first day at school.   more...

Paedophile told he faces prison

Paedophile Stephen Kelsey has been told he faces going to prisonSERIAL paedophile Stephen Kelsey has been warned to expect jail after admitting further child abuse.   more...

Calling all star pets!

TODAY is the launch of the Swindon Advertiser's Pet Idol 2005 competition for the owners of all kinds of pets ­ from Sea Monkeys to Llamas.   more...

Posters go up to aid hunt

One of the posters put up to help the search, and inset, how we reported the story on Saturday Ref: 99143-104THE two faces who brought terror to a 56-year-old woman last week have been splashed all over the area of the attack in the hunt to find them.   more...

Everything's sunny for hospice fete

Millie Taphouse among the sunflowers. Ref: 99128-85THE Prospect Hospice celebrated its silver jubilee in style over the weekend with its annual garden fete.   more...

Hurricane-hit pair call home

Helen RichardsA WOMAN from West Swindon is still waiting for news of friends she believes might have been caught up in Hurricane Katrina.   more...

Youngsters rewarded for summer project

Some of those involved in STEP Ref: 99127-01TROUBLED youngsters were given a pat on the back for completing a summer confidence-building course.   more...

Facing jail over benefits fraud

A mum has been warned she faces a jail term after cheating the benefits system out of tens of thousands of pounds.   more...

Fundraising golf day boosts charity coffers

Carrie Cardale from the NSPCC and, right, Karen Davison, director of C&D Recruitment Ref: 99117-58A SWINDON business has been swinging out to raise money for the NSPCC. C&D Recruitment, of Regent Circus, holds an annual golf fundraiser in aid of the children's charity each year.   more...

Wiltshire News

Posters go up to aid hunt

One of the posters put up to help the search, and inset, how we reported the story on Saturday Ref: 99143-104THE two faces who brought terror to a 56-year-old woman last week have been splashed all over the area of the attack in the hunt to find them.   more...

Wiltshire Sport

Bounce back

IFFY Onuora is backing Tom Heaton to bounce back all the stronger for his Bescot blunder and the goalkeeper himself is confident that a philosophical approach to triumph and disaster will reap its rewards.   more...