Swindon Link magazine August 2015

No 399 August 2015

Swindon’s largest free news publication. Est. 1978

In print, online & mobile Est. readership: 70,000 Advertising starts from just £57 Contact us: T: 01793 602540 E: advertising@swindonlink.com

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Swindon Remembers Squadron Leader Harold Starr – One of The Few Pages 23 to 26

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Uplands voted the best in Britain at TES awards Uplands School and the Uplands Educational Trust (UET) won two prestigious TES awards at an Oscar’s style gala evening hosted by BAFTAnominated writer and comedian Greg Davies on Friday 19 June.

The Link was notified by TES that Uplands had won the Alternative Provision School of the Year category - as reported in the July edition - but on the night in London’s Mayfair, Uplands and UET were announced as the Overall School of the Year.

The announcement was greeted with surprised joy by the Uplands team of senior managers, teachers, teaching assistants and governors.

Executive headteacher Jackie Smith said everybody on the Uplands table was stunned when their name was read out followed by wild celebrations. “There were so many primary and secondary schools who were doing amazing things, it was incredible the judges selected us.”

Headteacher Deirdre Fitzpatrick said: “I think the judges were impressed by our work that allows our students to learn and broaden their experiences up to age 25.

We’ve gone above and beyond a normal school, Uplands is not just about education, it’s about all the

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Inspirational Education Childcare with Love for Boys and Girls aged 0 to 11 years Deidre Fitzpatrick and Jackie Smith celebrating the TES Awards with Uplands students other things that we do to make the school totally inclusive.

“The children are absolutely lovely, but let’s make no bones about it, the families have to give up an awful lot to support their children, some of whom have very complex needs. We are an outstanding school in terms of progression, in terms of teaching and learning, in

terms of staff expertise.”

Jackie added: “It’s good that a special school won overall school of the year because the judges recognised that we support the most vulnerable in society very well, and we also take education very seriously.”

Read the full story at www.bit.ly/ uplandsTES

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South Swindon MP relocates to Old Town Five years since Robert Buckland MP and North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson set up a combined office close to the town centre, in a postelection reorganisation they have gone their separate ways.

Robert’s constituency office is now located at 29b Wood Street, SN1 4AN. He said the move to Old Town will give him a much more visible presence and greater accessibility for residents in his constituency. “Both Justin and I are deeply committed to providing a visible service within the communities we serve so this is the first stage of a new branch office system.

“We’re in constant touch with each other and both feel that this is a new and innovative way forward.”

Justin’s office remains at 1 Milton Road, SN1 5JE but he will be moving

to North Swindon District Centre when premises are ready.

Contact your local MPs: • Robert Buckland: 01793 533393 or robert.buckland.mp@parliament.uk www.robertbuckland.co.uk • Justin Tomlinson: 01793 533393 or justin.tomlinson.mp@parliament. uk www.justintomlinson.com

Pledge to speak up for older people Robert Buckland MP met older campaigners from across the country at an event in Parliament organised by the charity Age UK. The Age Champions event held in the Speakers’ House gave seniors and charity workers the chance to explain to MPs how the aging population and the crises in social care is impacting upon older people across the nation.

MPs who attended heard about the one million older people who need assistance with basic tasks such as getting out of bed, washing, and dressing and receive no help or support. Fuel poverty experienced by 600,000 older householders and the loneliness of a million senior citizens who go for long periods without speaking to anyone are major concerns.

Robert said: “Age UK provide an invaluable service to elderly people, and I pay tribute to their work.

“At some stage, many of us will rely on the kind of support that is offered by charities and I will continue to do all that I can as a local MP to help elderly residents in my constituency.”

• In Swindon Age UK Wiltshire is looking for befriending volunteers to keep in touch with older people on the phone, to make home visits or to go out together. Call the Volunteer Centre on 01793 420557.

• Swindon Borough Council has set up a pioneering Circles project which matches volunteers to isolated older people to help them maintain contact within their community. Find out more by calling Gail Light on 07940 733430.

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ADVERTISING Call 01793 602540 or email: advertising@swindonlink.com Closing date for September adverts and editorial: 10 August September edition published: 29 August

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All change at MS therapy centre as moving up plan gets into gear Swindon Therapy Centre for Multiple Sclerosis in Westlea has launched another major fundraising drive to buy the top floor of Bradbury House on Westmead Drive.

Having nearly cleared the mortgage for the ground floor since the centre moved from Cheney Manor in 2010, the trustees have set themselves the ambitious target of raising £250,000 so that the charity will own the whole building.

Buffy Goodenough has joined the team to drive the fundraising effort called ‘Moving On Up!’ She used to work for the Early Learning Centre and more recently for her well known family removal company. Buffy said: “I admit I didn’t know much about multiplesclerosis but I’ve met amazing people who attend the centre. My task is to project this wonderful enthusiasm more widely.”

Swindon Therapy Centre won the Queens’ Award for Voluntary Service in 2012 to recognise the deep commitment of everybody involved in the charity. It’s also an acknowledgement that the organisation has been a totally self-funded group for nearly 32 years.

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New centre manager Sonia Dykes-Brown, left, and fundraiser Buffy Goodenough It provides a wide range of physio and complementary therapies, as well as oxygen pressure therapy in a purpose built ‘diving’ tank.

Expanding upwards will allow the centre to increase the range of services for its growing membership which now includes people who have suffered a stroke or have other neurological conditions such as ME and Parkinson’s disease. Children with a variety of conditions, including brain tumours, cerebral palsy and autism also receive assistance.

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Towns mark 40 years of togetherness

The Mayor and members of the twin town friendship associations toasting the future in Town Gardens Members of the town twinning organisations in Swindon and Salzgitter in German met up in June to renew friendships and confirm the special relationship built up over four decades.

In Town Gardens a bench bearing a plaque of fraternal friendship was rededicated by Mayor Andrew Bennett who unveiled a second commemorating 40 years.

Roger Gower, the chairman of the Swindon Salzgitter Twinning Association, said: "We aim to encourage and expand knowledge of culture, education, industrial and political

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Manfred Voss, chairman of the Salzgitter German English society commented: "We have worked well together for forty years. We are all Europeans and this relationship needs to continue strongly."

However both chairmen agree that the current membership is getting older and new members are needed to sustain the link.

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Above, toasting twins with a traditional English cup of tea, Beryl Bowles from Rodbourne, centre who has been a close friend with Eberhard and Waltraud Roesel since the early 1990s.

Right, Alex Arkell and Manfred Voss from Salzgitter at Arkells Brewery in Stratton, toasting the twin towns with a new beer brewed in the German style

Lotty’s trip to Palestine ‘a massive eye-opener’ When featured in the April Link, Lotty Hall, 23, had no real opinion of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the tensions with Israel.

But now the former Greendown School pupil has returned from travelling to the troubled region as part of an overseas volunteering project.

She said: “It was a massive eyeopener. I had no real idea of what it would be like before I went but I’ve learnt so much about international development; the trip has really inspired me to keep doing more.”

Lotty, from Middleleaze, was selected as part of David Cameron’s Big Youth Scheme under The International Citizens Service which provides funds for young people to fight poverty across the world.

She travelled via Jerusalem to The West Bank to work with International Services on their Right to Education Campaign, returning in June.

The situation between the Palestinians and the Israelis remains tense, particularly after last year’s sevenweek long aerial bombardment of Gaza by the Israelis in retaliation to mortar attacks in 2014.

Based in Ramallah at Birzeit University, Lotty worked at a grass roots

hope that I’ve made a difference.

“It was weird being around people whose movements are completely restricted. There’s so much we take for granted in the UK but those freedoms are just not present in the West Bank. There are no equal rights with different court systems for people of different backgrounds.

People are simply not treated in the same way.”

This is not the first time that Lotty had travelled to far-flung places to help others. While at university she spent two summers teaching in Lotty won the Ramallah 10k Uganda and was even an intern to women’s race, pictured with the the legislature on her last trip. winner of the men’s race In 2007 she spent 10 days with level helping Palestinian students tell fellow Greendown School students the stories of their experiences. She visiting their South African link said: “It wasn’t what I expected at all. Ramallah is a lot more cosmopolitan than I imagined with lots of different nationalities, except for Israeli obviously. I was also surprised to see global brands like KFC and Pizza Hut there. It seemed bizarre.

“The one thing that I soon learnt is how slow the bureaucracy is to make any changes happen. There’s a mountain of paperwork that means it’s hard to make a real difference in a short period of time but I was able Lotty, third from left, taking part in a family selfie to help on several projects and just

school: Moriting Wa Thuto School in Kgubetswana, Clarens. A year later Lotty went to Parliament to meet Prime Minister Tony Blair with classmates as part of the Every Child Needs a Teacher campaign.

To go to Palestine Lotty had to raise £800 as well as publicise the trip before and afterwards. She said: “It’s hard not to side with the Palestinians; everything seems to be weighted against them. But at the same time there have been wrongdoings by both sides.

“It is so complicated out there.

Nothing is black and white and the problems are so historic that there’s no easy solution.”

Lotty starts an intensive teacher training course in September.

swindonlink.com n August 2015

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Busy time for Let’s Loop Swindon sharing best practice The campaign to ensure people who are hearing impaired are able to tune into correctly working hearing loops in business premises is gathering pace around the country.

Dave King from Hearing Link, the charity behind the project, said: “Swindon has been the front-runner of ‘Let’s Loop the UK’ since it launched last year.

“Volunteers have conducted more than 200 audits of businesses across the town. The work of the volunteers about what to look for has been shared with other groups around Britain as more towns embrace the campaign.

“It’s fantastic how we’ve received backing from Justin Tomlinson MP, who is the Minister for the Disabled, and Robert Buckland, who has a portable loop at his weekly surgeries.”

Let’s Loop Swindon has surveyed the town’s pharmacies, supermarkets, banks and building societies, department stores, and recently Post Offices.

The Post Office audit identified 20 operating branches and concluded the hard of hearing are reasonably well catered for in terms of loops

installed, but the picture is less rosy in terms of how many of them are functional. Fifteen premises had loops installed but only nine were working. There were six Post Offices with permanently installed loops and all worked well. But of the nine offices with portable loops, only three worked.

Problems with portable loops are commonplace: staff appear to be less well-trained in maintaining them in working order, using them, or even finding them.

The results of a survey at Swindon Council’s ‘people-facing’ buildings will be completed shortly by Let’s Loop Swindon volunteers.

Further surveys are planned for doctors’ surgeries and, in conjunction with GWH, training is being provided to hospital volunteers.

For more information about Let’s Loop Swindon, contact: Tim Mason: tim.mason@1100rotaryeclub.org or Steve Aftelak on 01793 536815 or stephenaftelak@ntlworld.com The group is organised by the Rotary Community Corps, working in partnership with www.hearinglink.org Read more at: www.communityact.net

Brook Field pupils back charities at cake sales

Enterprising youngsters at Brook Field Primary School in Shaw put in a big effort to raise nearly £200 by running break time and after-school cake sales in the playground in early June.

Year 4 pupils Alicia, Ellie, Alisdair, Grace and Elloise raised £118.22 for Cancer Research and Lara, Alicia, Charlotte and Caitlin raised £72.82 for Cancer Research and the RSPCA. The groups were inspired to do something after a family in the school was touched by cancer and also by their studies about the plight of endangered animals.

Link Centre maintenance plan Leisure operators GLL have announced Link Centre will be closed on Monday 3 August until 12noon for essential maintenance including testing and servicing the building’s mains power supply and repairs to the hot water system.

The swimming pool will be shut from Monday 3rd to Wednesday 5th inclusive for lighting upgrades,

tile replacement, deep cleaning and installation of a pool cover.

A three week project to refurbish the lift will also start in August.

GLL is opening a new £250,000 gym at Haydon Centre in early Autumn.

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Library has been the centre of the community for 30 years

Get your toddler swimming Teaching your little one to swim is an essential life skill; it’s fun and great exercise. It's never too early to introduce children to water and SwimsafeUK is running new courses with qualified and experienced instructors who teach in the pool at the DeVere Village, Shaw Ridge in September.

To book a place call Jo Harris on 07825 441 311. See the advert on page 33 or visit www.swimsafeuk.co.uk

Family fun day for Special Baby Care Unit Saturday 8 August, 12noon to 8pm • Sun Inn, Lydiard Millicent Lots of attractions including bouncy castles, inflatable slide and assault course, trampolines, fairground, surf simulator and gyro-ball.

Stalls, auction & tombola. Live music, licenced bar and food.

Organised by Jaywing, Arclight House, Hillmead, West Swindon in aid of Special Care Baby Unit at Great Western Hospital www.brighterfuturesgwh.nhs.uk

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Three who were there on opening day, retired librarian Linda Tomlin cuts the celebration cake with Matt Holland, right, and Roger Ogle, left, with Robert Buckland MP and council leader David Renard West Swindon Library held a thirtieth birthday party on 27 June with children’s storytime, craft activities and stalls put on by voluntary groups that meet there.

Matt Holland, resident and director of the Swindon Festival of Literature, said: “West Swindon was planned over 40 years ago with three excellent features: a network of paths lined with original

hedgerows, well spaced play areas and a large local library.

“Libraries continue to be important in our community and every year this one provides great opportunity for people of all ages to learn, to meet together, and to communicate. It has enhanced the quality of life of everybody who lives in West Swindon and visitors from further afield.”

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West Swindon skatepark now open

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Tel: 07919 343407 Trying out the skatepark which opened on 13 July It’s taken a long time to arrive but the West Swindon neighbourhood skate and scooter park at Rivermead Drive will be officially opened by the Deputy Mayor of Swindon on Thursday 30 July, 11am.

Park builders Wheelscape are organising a skatejam on Sunday

23 August, 12noon to 3pm, with professional skaters, scooterists and BMX riders showing off their stunt skills.

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Chris Barry surveying the traffic on Mead Way Kidz About children’s play centre, With the opening of the skate park the Golfing Hole and a dance studio. on Rivermead Drive, Shaw resident Opposite it is the skate park.

Chris Barry is calling on Swindon “Aldi will open in September on Council to urgently fund a crossing the west side. All these facilities atpoint on Mead Way from Section tract more car users but also people 106 developer contributions. on foot or bikes.

The July Link published a map of “Even though there are safe routes footpath routes so that pedestrians in the area they are not direct, so and cyclists heading for the skate we’re going to see young people facility on the east side of Mead Way know the safe routes, but Chris walking along the verges of the believes the amount of traffic using busy roads and crossing Mead Way the road and the number of attrac- to get to the skate park.

“My wife and I have walked from tions close to the Spectrum building home in Shaw to Kidz About with means greater danger for people our grandchildren and crossed Mead reaching them on foot or by bike.

Way and it’s a nightmare. This is a “Because Thamesdown Drive situation which needs to be dealt has yet to be completed to with before a tragedy takes place.”

Great Western Way, as originally Shaw councillor May Martin said: conceived, Mead Way has become Swindon’s western by-pass with an “I have submitted a Mead Way crossing for consideration by the ever increasing volume of traffic borough’s highway engineers. It’s including heavy lorries.

“At the same time, we’ve seen part one of several projects in West Swindon; we await the result of of the Spectrum building, on the technical studies.” east side of Mead Way, used as the

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Haydonleigh happy with across the board good Ofsted. Teacher retires on a high An inspection by Ofsted of Haydonleigh Primary School in early June has found it to be good in every area of inspection.

This covers leadership and management, behaviour and safety, quality of teaching, pupil achievement and early years provision.

It’s a particular accolade for Paula Dickens, head of foundation years, who retired at the end of term, after a 36 year career in teaching, the last eight spent at Haydonleigh.

The report states ‘Leadership in the early years is good. All staff carefully plan learning opportunities that excite children’s interest and imagination’ and they ‘know how well each child is doing and what they should be learning next.’

Headteacher Frances Billenge said she was delighted with the report. “The expansion of the school including all the recent building works required constant changes, but everybody took it in their stride.

“I’m so proud of the children and the staff for their commitment to Haydonleigh and ensuring Ofstedjudged our school as good across the board.

She paid particular tribute to

Isambard students join global education campaign lobby in Parliament

Young Ambassadors from across the country including Victoria Schoeps and Thomas Fox from Isambard lobbied Justin Tomlinson as part of the Send my Friend to School campaign.

TV presenter and Paralympian Ade Adepitan joined the event to highlight the needs of 58 million children worldwide who still miss out on school and the importance of 2015 for the world’s children.

In 2000 world leaders promised Haydonleigh children celebrating quality primary education for every with headteacher Frances Billenge child by this year, but the target is and Paula Dickens who has retired yet to be achieved. At the United after eight years at the school Nations in September, a new set of Paula Dickens, saying: “She has sustainable development goals will been a phenomenal leader of our be agreed.

Foundation Stage, influencing Earlier this year Justin visnot only the lives of our youngited Isambard. He said: “This is a est learners but also mentoring campaign I take incredibly seriously, several teachers at the start of their having chaired the All-Party Group careers. on Global Education on this issue “We will all sorely miss Paula in Parliament. There has been some but wish her well in her travelling, great progress – millions of young gardening and spending time with people around the world have spoher family, especially her forthcom- ken out and 50 million more children ing grandchild.” have benefitted from an education.

Read the full story with more “It was fantastic to meet Thomas photographs at: and Victoria again; they and their www.bit.ly/HLgoodOfsted friends are passionate that the

Justin and Ade Adepitan with Victoria Schoeps and Thomas Fox government does more to help.

September’s talks are vital and I am proud of the work we are doing to ensure that every child around the world receives an education.”

Read more at: www.bit.ly/isambardSMF2S

Isambard students race to raise money

Pupils and staff lapped the school field in aid of cancer research on Monday 22 June to raise £522 from entry fees and online donations.

Read Jessica McDonald’s report at: www.bit.ly/isambardR4L

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Lottery grant gives the people of Toothill an arty experience There are lots of opportunities to get involved with organisations who could do with your help.

• British Red Cross is looking for volunteers for their Home from Hospital service where patients receive practical assistance such as shopping, collecting prescription or preparing a simple snack. They also provide the chance to rebuild confidence, companionship, and a listening ear.

Hazelwood Academy children, parents, staff and Toni Robinson of No Added Sugar, centre, in front of one of the four hangings created during the art week Following on from an Ofsted ‘good’ judgement, Hazelwood Academy in Toothill secured a £9,900 Big Lottery Fund grant to run the Toothill and Hazelwood Community Arts project from 22 to 26 June.

Organised by Toni Dickinson of arts in education business ’No Added Sugar,’ pupils, parents and residents of Toothill took part in sessions to create four large, colourful pieces of felt collage depicting the four seasons, which now hang in the school hall.

Headteacher Suzanne Lloyd said the project was a huge success.”It’s been fantastic for the children to work with professional artists to develop their work to a high standard.

“The academy has been alive with people of all ages sharing ideas and learning together; the impact on our children being creative with parents and people living in the community has had a really positive effect.

“It’s lovely that parents, staff and residents have discovered hidden

skills or brought out talents they had not used for a long time.

“We’re now looking at how we can build on this by having an annual creativity event.”

Toni of No Added Sugar added: “It’s been such a pleasure to work with Hazelwood to build connections with its community. It’s great to see ideas flowing out; there’s been such a positive atmosphere throughout the week.

See more pictures from the project at: www.bit.ly/hazelwoodart

• Age UK Wiltshire is seeking befriending volunteers to support isolated older people either by visiting or phoning regularly. The contact can vary from a chat in the client’s home, a trip out for a coffee, or going along to a community club.

• Many Swindon community groups are reliant on donations raised by supporters and are looking for fundraisers; roles range from organising events to being a bucket shaker.

Lots of organisations have roles to fill, from being a trustee or school governor to advice on financial, HR or project management affairs.

Find out more by contacting Volunteer Centre Swindon on 01793 420557 or email: info@swindonvolunteers.org.uk

Swindon College Do you want to learn a new hobby or develop your career?

Our NEW Part Time Course Guide is OUT NOW! Part Time courses available in: Art, Photography, Car Maintenance, Accounting, Make-up, Business Management, Care, Construction, Counselling, Electrical, PAT Testing, First Aid, Health and Safety, Cookery, HR, Engineering, Procurement, Self-Improvement, Teaching and much more…

Call (01793) 491591 to request your copy or visit: www.swindon.ac.uk

Swindon College, Nor th Star Avenue, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN2 1DY

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for more information.

(01793) 491591 * studentservices@swindon.ac.uk @ www.swindon.ac.uk

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swindonlink.com n August 2015

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Royal Wootton Bassett Academy “A global School in a local Community”

We are delighted to invite parents considering Royal Wootton Bassett Academy to visit during our Open Evening or Parent Tours You and your child will have the opportunity to look around our outstanding facilities and talk with the staff, students and the headteacher

Open Evening

6th Form Open Evening

Wednesday 16th September 2015 6pm to 8.30pm

Wednesday 14th October 2015 6pm to 8.30pm

An exceptional opportunity to join an “Outstanding” School

Ofsted Nov 2013 Awarded ‘Outstanding’ in every Category

“Standards of teaching are outstanding in all years” “Correctly described as a ‘global school in a local community’, the school has extensive links across the world and promotes tolerance, and a focus on enhancing the lives of others”

For further information on Years 7 to 11, please contact: Karen Hunt or Michele Pocock on 01793 841948 / 841954 Or email: Khunt@rwba.org.uk or Mpocock@rwba.org.uk

SIXTH FORM Opportunities for September 2016 available Access a variety of qualifications and benefit from outstanding teaching and learning during your time with us.

For details please contact Hilary Stubbs by email at Hstubbs@rwba.org.uk

Our Ofsted grading has extended our teaching school status and the Academy has been awarded School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) provider status. This enables us to recruit and train our own trainee teachers from the Autumn Term.

SCITT trainee teacher places available in both primary and secondary subjects for September 2016.

For details contact Kate Hopkins by email at Khopkins@rwba.org.uk

Academy gets ready to open in North Swindon garden village Special Offer Sensational summer deal for new enquiries

All enquiries in July & August will be able to attend classes in September free of charge plus 20% discount if you sign up to classes before the end of September.

Super summer deal for current students

During September all current students can try an additional class of their choice completely free of charge.

Classes held at: Esprit Centre

Academy headteacher Jane Leo leading her school to their permanent home Children and staff from Tadpole Farm Church of England Academy enjoyed an end of term walking expedition to visit their brand new school.

Since last September the academy has been in temporary residence at Redhouse Community Centre but on 15 July they walked to Tadpole Farm Garden Village for a picnic in the school hall, to play games in classrooms empty of furniture and run around the playground.

Headteacher Jane Leo said it was an emotional day. “I’ve been working towards this since I started with the diocese on 1 April 2014. We had to organise our school at Redhouse and spent the year planning our move to Tadpole Village, all the while meeting prospective parents

and integrating new children almost every day.

“It’s been incredible and what’s so lovely is that we’re moving with such a strong, supportive school community in place. In early July we had about 200 parents and children in the new school hall for a party with live music. There is such enthusiasm, we’re incredibly lucky.”

Even though school ended on 17 July, staff, governors and parent helpers spent the first week of the holidays packing up furniture and setting up classrooms ready to open on 2 September.

The Bishop of Bristol Rev Mike Hill will officially open the academy on Monday 7 September.

See the full story with more pictures at: www.bit.ly/TFA-1stvisit

Headlands Grove, Swindon Contact us now: 07980 918192 enquiries@tkfda.co.uk www.tkfda.co.uk *Subject to terms and conditions available on request

English, Mathematics and Science Fully qualified teachers Accelerated GCSE programme 11+ training and preparation Free assessment and first lesson Boost your child’s confidence

C N vo hild E W ac uc ca ce he re pt rs ed

HIGHWORTH WARNEFORD SCHOOL Shrivenham Road, Highworth, SN6 7BZ 9 £79 An Academy Putting Excellence First

OPEN MORNINGS Monday 21 September to Friday 9 October Highworth Warneford is an outstanding secondary school providing an excellent learning environment which allows pupils to thrive and develop their academic, personal and social skills.

In our most recent Ofsted report (May 2013) pupils’ behaviour was described as ‘outstanding both in lessons and around the school’ and such behaviour makes a ‘strong contribution to their learning’.

So that you can see for yourself the quality of our provision, we would like to invite you to visit the school on a normal working day. Each visit lasts for up to 1½ hours and will give you the opportunity to see lessons and meet pupils and staff.

Free community afternoon on Sunday 16 August, 12noon to 4pm, at Tadpole Farm Academy. Fun events, attractions and the chance to meet people involved in the community development of the garden village Find out more at: www.crestnicholson.com/tadpolegateattadpolegardenvillage/news

To book your visit please contact Mrs Lewis, Admissions Officer, on (01793) 767083 or email: llewis@warneford.swindon.sch.uk swindonlink.com n August 2015

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Summer fun at STEAM

preschool gymnastics

This summer STEAM has plenty of fun and adventure in store. Budding engineers can take up the challenge with the museum’s new engineers box, suitable for 8 to 11 year olds, which includes a kit to make a balloon-powered carriage as well as other activities.

There is also a detective box complete with activity trail, a secret message pen and magnifying glass.

The cost is £5 per box in addition to STEAM admission.

Don’t miss STEAM’s Kids for a

where an early start makes a world of difference!

Quid offer: children aged 3 to 15 years can visit the museum for just £1 per child when accompanied by a full-paying adult; under 3s free.

To obtain this special price, you just need to complete the voucher opposite and hand it in to the STEAM ticket desk.

The voucher can be used any day of the week and is valid until 30 August 2015.

See more details of STEAM’s summer holiday activities at: www.steam-museum.org.uk

Musical party for all

daily classes for the under 5’s

01793 822262

www.esprit-gymnastics.co.uk

How can Musical Minis help your child be ... .. a skillful communicator - by developing language and co-ordination. .. emotionally developed - through sharing stories and songs whilst meeting new friends. .. a confident child - by joining in the activities in a relaxed group atmosphere. .. a creative child - by exploring instruments, sounds, rhythm and movement.

Phone Chrissie on 01793 725259 www.musicalminis.co.uk

Musical Minis is a pre-school fun time music group for babies and toddlers.

Each structured session encourages cognitive, physical and emotional development through the use of music, instruments and stories.

Please call us at Windmill Hill to arrange a nursery tour just for you and we will look forward to welcoming you to our Outstanding Nursery

Chrissie Rolls, owner of Musical Minis Swindon, is marking six years running classes this summer by throwing a party for children on Monday 10 August, 10am to 11am, at the Haydon Centre.

Chrissie, who teaches with the help of her mum Anne, had to miss out on the traditional fifth birthday celebrations, as she was recovering from an operation but was determined to mark the occasion when she was back to full strength.

The party is open to all, not just those who currently attend the classes. There will be a bouncy castle and cake and all monies

received on the day, including the £5 per child entrance fee, will be donated to SANDS the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity.

Musical Minis classes are designed for children from birth to five, to enhance their cognitive, physical and social development through the singing of traditional songs and nursery rhymes and the playing of musical instruments.

Nearly 500 local children have benefitted from attending Musical Minis over the past 6 years.

To book a place, email: Chrissie@ musicalminis.co.uk or call 01793 725259.

ISTD - Ballet - Tap - Modern - Jazz Contemporary Street Jazz Musical Theatre & RAD Major Ballet BRING THIS ADVERT AND GET FIRST TWO WEEKS FREE

Classes from 21/2 years upwards.

Lessons held at: The Haydon Centre Haydonleigh School Abbeymeads Community School Blunsdon Village Halls

Tel: 07825 543529 or 01793 524112 Visit our website for more details: www.swindonacademyofdance.co.uk 18

swindonlink.com n August 2015

Parenting specialist launches new book in West Swindon

LittLe Foxes ChiLdCare & eduCation

FOR CHILDREN AND THEIR PARENTS Established 1986 The Common, Brinkworth, Wilts Tel: 01666 510356

Just a 15 minute drive from West Swindon & Priory Vale on B4042

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Jane Evans, third from left, with family centre operations manager Janet Donnelly, Caroline Smith of Swindon Womens’ Refuge, and family centre business development manager Mike Smith Leading trauma parenting expert Jane Evans launched her second book Kit Kitten and the Topsy-Turvy Feelings, which aims to help small children talk about ‘big feelings,’ at West Swindon Family Centre on 6 July.

Jane recently became the patron of the family centre. With her wealth of experience in the field of child trauma, she brings credibility to the role. She said: “My work has been with families in crisis because of domestic abuse, complex parenting needs, poverty, homelessness and a range of daily trauma so I’m delighted to be involved with the centre to help raise awareness of their vital community based work.”

Over 20 years, Jane has worked for a range of organisations like the NSPCC and Barnardo’s. She said: “I wrote my first book Baby Bear, and now Kit Kitten, because there are none available to parents to help children explore the issue of domestic violence in the family.

“Children who witness distressing situations or pick up on the tense relationship in the house don’t know how to talk about it. This can have a great impact on their development; the long term result is childhood violence at school, teenage violence against parents, and domestic violence in the next generation.

“At the launch a copy of Kit Kitten was presented to Children and Young People’s support worker Caroline Smith of Swindon Women’s Refuge who said: “I do a lot of work with children who have experienced trauma and have grown up in homes where there is violence and mothers who are depressed or dependent on drugs and alcohol.

“Kit Kitten draws out children’s thoughts and ideas. I agree with Jane, I’ve not come across a book that can be used with under 8s to help them talk about what they’re feeling. It’s a starting point for all kinds of conversations.”

West Swindon Family Centre business development coordinator, Mike Smith, said: “We’re so pleased Jane has become our patron. Times are tough with the recent financial cut backs and staff redundancies. But the need for our services remains high. There will always be children, parents and families facing difficulties and we will always strive to be there to support them” “We have just secured a contract with Swindon Council to deliver a pilot Family Centre service, so Jane’s support has come at just the right time.”

• Learn more about Jane Evans: www.parentingposttrauma.co.uk westswindonfamilycentre.com

Kids for a Quid at STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway

D1408\15

This voucher entitles children aged 3-15 years to visit STEAM any day of the week between 20 July and 30 August for just £1 each when accompanied by a full-paying adult.

Under 3s go free!

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An independent family run nursery offering quality care and education within a safe, secure, stimulating environment for all babies and children from 0-5 and an out of school club for children aged 5-11 years Open: Monday to Friday, 7.30am-6.30pm, 51 weeks of the year Full, part time and term time places. Government funding for 3-5 year olds High staff to child ratios with qualified and experienced teaching staff and nursery nurses Nutritious 3 course meals, hydro pool, multi sensory room, school hall with gym apparatus, secure gardens, mini bus for trips out and about

The Springboard to Confidence for your child Britain’s leading National Active Physical Play programme for children from 6 months to 7 years.

Your child will learn agility, balance, climbing, co-ordination appropriate to his or her age.

Structured programmes designed to build self confidence and develop essential listening and language skills.

Supervised by trained staff in a fun and caring environment.

Tumble Tots now in your area!

For information about local centres call

Liz Davies on 0844 800 0219 www.tumbletots.com/swindon

IMAGINATION CHILDCARE is a new private day nursery launching in September 2015 providing high quality inclusive childcare for children aged 2 to 5 years Open 8am to 6pm, 51 weeks of the year, situated in Moredon Children’s Centre For details and to enquire about a place, please contact Becky Shore on 0750 1919057 or email: becky@imagination-childcare.co.uk

STEAM Museum of the Great Western Railway

Please complete the following information before you use your voucher. We will not pass your details on to any other party.

I am interested in receiving details of future Museums and Heritage events and offers from Swindon Borough Council. (Please tick box )

Name: _____________________________ Email: ______________________________ Postcode: __________________________

Terms and conditions: Valid between 20 July and 30 August 2015.

Up to 4 children visit for £1 each when accompanied by an adult.

swindonlink.com n August 2015

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Benefits and legal advice on offer Beautiful flowers for all occasions to include weddings, funerals and gift flowers Delivery to Swindon, Swindon villages & Marlborough

Contact:

01672 539840 or 07825 871984 kerry@poppywillow-flowers.co.uk www.poppywillow-flowers.co.uk

If the welfare benefit changes announced in the budget impact on you, there are free advice and information services in the town which can offer assistance with: • Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payments • Employment Support Allowance • Universal Credit • Tax Credits • Family law • Job Seekers Allowance • Housing Benefit • Income Support • Money matters & budgeting

• Bankruptcy • Debt relief orders • Rent and mortgage arrears Swindon Citizens’ Advice Bureau, Sanford House, Sanford Street: drop-in sessions on Monday and Wednesday, 9.15am to 4pm; Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 9.15 to 1pm.

The Advice Line on 08444 994114 is open Monday to Friday, 10am to 12.30pm.

Swindon Advice and Support Centre in Sanford House is open

five days a week, Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 4.30pm.

Stratton Advice Point, Upper Stratton Library, Beechcroft Road is open on Thursdays, 10am to 12noon.

Drop in or visit www.strattonadvicepoint.co.uk Toothill Advice Point in Toothill Community Centre is now available to assist any resident living in West Swindon on Thursdays, 9.30am to 4pm.

To book an appointment, call 01793 871303.

Relief at last for church goers

Who’s to be the first user? Revd Tudor Roberts with church members

West Swindon and Lydiard Tregoze Church Partnership Please join us in worship on Sunday mornings Westlea Church, Westlea School: 10am St Mary’s Lydiard Tregoze - the church in the park: 10am Holy Trinity, Shaw: 10.30am Toothill Church: 10.30am For details of these and our other services call the Partnership Office on 01793 874221 Email: wspartnershipoffice@gmail.com Website: WSwinlyd.org.uk

Anglican • Baptist • Methodist • United Reformed Church

New Life Church - Swindon

After 650 years of waiting, almost two years of planning, fundraising, seeking permissions, and sensitive building work, worshippers at the 14th Century parish church of All Saints Lydiard Millicent can step outside to the loo rather than dash across the road to the village hall.

The sparkling, accessible toilet and washroom is also now available for people attending weddings who used to have to sprint to the pub 800 metres away so as not to embarrass themselves.

Fundraising to complete the work stimulated creative thinking

Outdoor church service

Everyone is welcome to join the Old Town Partnership of Churches evening service on Sunday 2 August, 6.30pm, at the site of Swindon’s original parish church Holy Rood, on the Lawns, Old Town

St. John’s Haydon Wick On Thames Avenue next door to Morrisons

Committed to the mission of loving people and changing lives for the best in CHRIST Join us each Sunday morning for an awesome time of worship and the Word.

10am to 12 noon at Roughmoor Community Hall Swinley Drive, Peatmoor, Swindon SN5 5AP For more information, visit: www.new-life-church.co.uk Contact: Pastor Matthew Hamza on 0789 1001572 20

swindonlink.com n August 2015

in 2013 during the planning stage of a humorous calendar of toilet euphemisms.

When the Bishop of Bristol, Rt Revd Mike Hill, visited the church in February 2014, he prayed for the project and quipped: “The Church of England had moved with customary speed in installing a toilet – hundreds of years after the church itself was built.”

Longtime church member Margaret Tapscott shared the unveiling duties as a letter she wrote to a previous church council almost 30 years ago had finally been heeded.

Contact: Revd Raymond Adams Tel: 634258

Sunday 9am Services 11am

Traditional communion service Eventful, contemporary worship with children’s groups meeting www.stjohnshaydonwick.org.uk

Open to all, serving tea, coffee, cakes & light lunches Fridays and Saturdays: 10am - 2pm

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Living history exhibited at Swindon Museum 1955 to 1985, from the closure of the now demolished Empire Theatre in 1955 to the opening of the arts suite at Link Centre, exactly thirty years ago, was a period of amazing performing arts activity in the town.

It’s the subject of an exhibition called Entertaining Swindon researched and curated by Kate Parsons. It reflects a time when large numbers of people got together to put on shows; the internet had not yet been invented, TV was less dominant and when the local council was able to fund arts development.

The display of photos, posters press cuttings and memorabilia excludes famous exports like Diana Dors and XTC in favour of showcasing the talents of ordinary Swindonians.

Entertaining Swindon is open from Wednesday to Saturday, 11am to 3pm, at at Swindon Museum & Art Gallery, Bath Road.

FOR ALL YOUR PRINT & DIGITAL REQUIREMENTS IN WEST SWINDON ARTWORK & DESIGN • WEBSITES LITHO / DIGITAL PRINTING LARGE FORMAT • CANVAS PRINTS STATIONERY • NCR PADS, AND MORE

Unit 101 Basepoint Centre Rivermead Swindon Wilts SN5 7EX Telephone: 01793 490490

www.mllprint.co.uk

Entertainers and historians from the past, Robert Stredder of Les Bicyclettes, Polly-Ann Tanner, Mollie Tanner, exhibition curator Kate Parsons, former reference librarian Roger Trayhurne, Jon Ratcliffe, museum engagement officer

Saturday 8 August, Town Gardens, Old Town A carnival party parade from Town Gardens starts at 11.15am returning for a day of events around the theme of community in the gardens and music in the bowl.

The Family Zone includes soft play area and show off your talents in the Arts Zone.

Stooshe, right, headlines the Bowl music programme with performances from DJ Burnout, The Fabulous Miss Bridy and boy Jase, Derek Darker, A Way with Words, Sister Sister. See more at: swindonwiltshirepride.co.uk Volunteers are still needed to ensure Swindon & Wiltshire Pride goes smoothly. If you can spare a few hours or longer, mail: volunteerswpride@hotmail.com swindonlink.com n August 2015

21

Royal progress at Wichelstowe

The Duchess with hard working volunteers by the canal at Wichelstowe

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swindonlink.com n August 2015

The Patron of the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall visited the town on 13 July to inaugurate a new landing stage at Wichelstowe next to Waitrose in West Wichel.

She arrived aboard the narrowboat Dragonfly, the trust’s craft which allows the public the chance to enjoy trips on the historic stretch of water which once flowed through Swindon town centre.

Once ashore the Duchess, who has been patron for eight years, unveiled a commemorative plaque in front of trust volunteers and supporters, sponsors and civic dignitaries.

The trust is planning to connect the one mile stretch of the original canal to the new mile long section of the canal at East Wichel which was recently constructed in a joint venture with Swindon Council.

The council has agreed a partnership with Barratt Homes to build 3,000 houses at West Wichel, on either side of the canal which will be joined from the rebuilt section at Royal Wootton Bassett.

Over the next ten years the trust aims to reconnect 70 miles of restored canal between Bath and the Thames at Abingdon.

See the picture gallery at: www.bit.ly/HRHwichelstowe

Local author reveals German World War II aviation achievements Swindon based award-winning journalist and aviation historian Lance Cole has published a fascinating investigation into how aeronautic technologies developed

by German scientists influenced the design of aircraft in the 1950s and 60s.

A trained designer and glider pilot, he has written ten books and many feature articles for newspapers and magazines worldwide.

Secret Wings of World War II, is a detailed examination of German aeronautics before the war, how the Nazis invested heavily in the technology, and how the Allies and Russians swooped in to acquire valuable knowledge as the Third Reich collapsed.

The designs appeared in post-war British aircraft like the English Electric Lightning, and the Vulcan which has just flown for the last time.

Cole also tackles questions about how far ahead German scientists actually were, checks out stories of Nazi UFOs, and charts the aeronautical story from its origins, through present-day innovations and beyond, into the all-wing future of tomorrow.

The book also covers myths,

legends and popular conspiracy theories and attempts to uncover the truth.

The fully illustrated book at £25 is published by Pen & Sword Aviation and is available from www.pen-and-sword.co.uk • In 2012 Lance Cole published Secrets of the Spitfire: The Story of Beverley Shenstone, The Man Who Perfected the Elliptical Wing.

He will be speaking at Swindon Remembers in September - see page 26.

A Swindon hero Sdn Ldr Harold Starr, one of ‘The Few’

The Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne, Kent, where Harold Starr and the rest of The Few are honoured

­The summer edition of Swindon Heritage takes a detailed look at the story of Sdn Ldr Harold Starr – and with good reason. Swindon has been chosen to host a spectacular flypast in September that will honour Harold and the other 543 RAF pilots killed in the Battle of Britain. In a four-page special, Graham Carter, editor of Swindon Heritage, reveals stories behind this local hero

windonheritage.com Find out more at www.s

When Winston Churchill made his famous speech about the Battle of Britain in August 1940, victory was far from won, but he already understood its significance to not just his own generation, but to ours.

“Never in the field of human conflict,” said our Second World War leader, “was so much owed by so many to so few.”

‘The Few’ – those RAF pilots killed in the battle – were eventually to number 544 as the vital struggle for aerial supremacy with the German Luftwaffe began on July 10 and lasted all summer.

It was October before the battle was over, but the tide had turned by September 15, when, in a make-or-break confrontation with the enemy, every Spitfire and Hurricane was in the air. But still The Few stood firm.

Everybody knew the stakes, including Hitler, who, just two days later, cancelled Operation Sea Lion, his plan to invade Britain.

Had it not been for The Few, invasion was inevitable, and the consequences for the whole population of the United Kingdom would almost certainly have been catastrophic.

It would be easy to argue that it was, in fact, the most important single victory in Britain’s military history – and Swindon should be proud that, among The Few, was a local man.

Harold Starr was born in Swindon in 1914, at 39 Regent Street, in what was then a temperance hotel run by his mother, and is now the site of The Savoy – once a cinema, now a pub. Harold, a gifted former Clarence Street Schoolboy who rose rapidly through the ranks, took control of 253 Squadron on August 8, 1940, and led them into the front

line at RAF Kenley on August 29. It was the proverbial baptism of fire for him and his squadron comrades, including Colin Francis, who was killed on the squadron’s first day of combat, August 30, aged just 19.

Harold was to survive just one day longer.

Early on the morning of August 31, his Hurricane was hit and he bailed out at 15,000 feet, only to be machine-gunned by enemy fighters as he descended in his parachute.

He was dead before he hit the ground, just a few miles from the white cliffs of Dover, over Sandwich. His plane came down five miles away.

Harold Starr was buried on September 6, two days short of his 26th birthday, and just eight months after his marriage to a Welsh girl, Betty Rees, who was carrying their first child.

After a funeral at Christ Church, he was buried at Radnor Street Cemetery – one of 103 official war graves there.

This year the grave will be one of the main focuses of events commemorating the 75th anniversary of The Few’s sacrifice.

On Battle of Britain Day itself, September 15, the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will honour Harold and his comrades by performing a flypast over his grave.

The exact formation is yet to be confirmed, but Swindon Heritage, who requested it, have been told it will be ‘spectacular’ and ‘unique’.

A week of events leading up to the day, called Swindon Remembers, has been organised (see page 26).

The full story of Harold’s and his comrades’ heroism is told in the summer edition of Swindon Heritage.

This 4 page preview of Swindon Remembers is published in partnership with

23

Ken ‘Shag’ Rees (above) and Tom Gleave (below), who were both influenced by the death of Swindon pilot Harold Starr

Harold Starr and a real-life Great Escape connection As inspiring and poignant as the tale of Swindon’s Battle of Britain hero Harold Starr is, it’s not the whole story.

His death and the manner of it resonated even after he was laid to rest at Radnor Street Cemetery in September 1940 – and still echoes in popular culture today, 75 years later.

Although the Battle of Britain has

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been said to be perhaps the most important military victory in our history, it also made an impact in other important ways.

For a start, it was the first major victory by our Forces in the Second World War, thus providing a boost in morale that cannot be overstated, coming just weeks after the disastrous defeat at Dunkirk, where total disaster was averted by somehow evacuating more than 300,000 British troops from the path of a rapidly advancing enemy.

Winston Churchill, who understood, more than anybody, how important it was for Britain to lift its spirits, made a series of landmark speeches in 1940, but the soldiers, seamen and airmen found their own incentives to tackle an enemy they called ‘The Hun’.

Remarkably, Harold Starr’s death would inspire not one but two key figures in the war effort who both knew him well.

One of those was Tom Gleave, a fellow squadron leader who stepped aside to allow Harold to take command of 253 Squadron in August 1940. Gleave was awaiting a posting elsewhere, but stayed with the squadron temporarily.

Gleave assumed command once again, just two hours after Harold’s death, and on August 31 he became the squadron’s second squadron leader to be shot down on that day, receiving severe burns after miraculously bailing out and landing safely by parachute.

After receiving pioneering plastic surgery for his injuries from Archibald McIndoe (who was later knighted for his work), Gleave co-founded the famous

Guinea Pig Club for pilots treated for burns, but was to become even more famous as one of the authors of Operation Overlord, the plan for D-Day, later in the war.

Gleave published a book about his experiences as a pilot, called I Had a Row With a German, which recalls the morning Harold was killed: “The station CO arrived shortly afterwards and informed me that Starr had baled out but the Hun had shot him on the way down.

I could hardly believe that this could be the end of Starr. That a fellow of his ability and charm, a fellow who had the right idea about everything and only wished to do his job in complete accord with all, regardless of rank, should die like this was too much.

“I went back to the dispersal point and broke the news to the squadron. Nothing can describe their feelings; they were expressed by all, crews and pilots alike, in no uncertain terms. Tempers were raised to white heat; nothing that they had heard or read could ever have brought home to them more forcibly the ruthless type we were fighting against. Their determination to smash the Hun knew no bounds. Although they had missed the first mass raids of the Blitz, their subsequent efforts bear testimony to the fact that this act profited the Hun nothing.”

Gleave and Harold’s comrades in 253 Squadron weren’t the only ones influenced by Harold’s death.

Wing Commander Ken Rees was a wing commander who was too young to fight in the Battle of Britain but made a name for himself when his Wellington

Graham Carter reveals how the manner of the death of Sdn Ldr Harold Starr in the Battle of Britain helped to galvanise morale – and finds a surprising link between his death and one of the most dramatic incidents of the Second World War

Steve McQueen as Hilts, the ‘Cooler King’ in The Great Escape – a character based on Harold Starr’s brother-in-law, Ken Rees, bomber was shot down over Norway in 1942 and he survived after crash-landing it in a lake and scrambling ashore.

Captured, he found himself in Stalag Luft III, a prisoner-of-war camp built especially for captured airmen that would be immortalised as the scene of The Great Escape, particularly since the story of its three tunnels was dramatised in the film, made in 1963.

Rees played a key role in the escape, being chosen as one of the tunnel diggers, apparently because, being Welsh, he was assumed to have mining skills!

The third tunnel, nicknamed Harry, was divided into three lengths, and Rees was positioned at the first of two wider sections (nicknamed Leicester Square) where trolleys were pulled along the length, loaded with escapers (nicknamed ‘kriegies’).

The book of the story, called Escape to Danger, written by Paul Brickhill and Conrad Norton, takes up the story of how Rees was involved when the tunnel was discovered, and was one of the last to retreat back along it.

“The last three back were ‘Red’ Noble... Denys Maw and ‘Shag’ Rees, a nuggety, tough Welshman who had been hauling in ‘Leicester Square’. Shag had had a nasty moment. When he heard Denys Maw, the last man, returning from the far end, Shag did not know whether it was a kriegy or a ferret

[German]. He took the light bulb out of its socket in this half-way house and squeezed himself against the wall. Unable to stand the tension any longer he called out: ‘Who’s that?’ Maw answered reassuringly and said he was the last man. Back they both scuttled along the tunnel, Shag expecting a bullet from behind at any moment.”

A scene familiar to cinemagoers was then played out when Rees and his colleague ‘Red’ were brought before the camp commander and ended up in solitary confinement, known as ‘the cooler’.

“His face became a shade richer in colour. ‘Cooler,’ he said. (It was funny how even the Kommandant used that word.) Not long after, ‘Red’ and ‘Shag’ were duly removed to the cooler.”

When Rees died in 2014, aged 93, the last survivor of the escape, his obituary in the Daily Telegraph considered whether, as some have suggested, he was the inspiration for Hilts, the ‘Cooler King’ in the movie, famously played by Steve McQueen.

“It’s always said that he was based on me,” Rees had said, “apart from him being a six-foottall American and me a Welshman of about four feet, three inches, who can’t ride a motorbike.”

What is not in dispute is that Rees was driven by the memory of his brother-in-law Harold Starr, as the same obituary explained.

“Rees’s antagonistic attitude to his captors stemmed from his outrage on learning that his pilot brother-in-law had been machinegunned to death by a circling

German aircraft as he floated earthward, having bailed out of his burning Hurricane. ‘We would do anything to disrupt the Germans,’ he said.”

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25

Swindon set to honour Harold and ‘The Few’ The nation will commemorate the 75th anniversary of one of the most important events in our history in September – and Swindon has been chosen to play a starring role.

On Battle of Britain Day, September 15, the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will perform a flypast over Radnor Street Cemetery to honour Harold Starr, who is buried there, as well as a tribute to all those other pilots killed in the conflict in the summer of 1940.

The flypast will be the culmination of a week of events, organised by Swindon Heritage, beginning with a civic reception at STEAM on September 8 – what would have been Harold Starr’s 101st birthday.

Called Swindon Remembers, the events include illustrated talks at Swindon Central Library and the Beehive pub, including one by local author Lance Cole, an expert on the design of the Spitfire, and a

talk on what it’s like to fly one.

There will also be schools’ art displays and an exhibition by Old Town-based David Bent, the official artist of the Red Arrows.

Then, on Saturday, September 12, the focus turns to the town centre, where full-size replica Spitfires and Hurricanes will be on display, along

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with vintage vehicles and other attractions, including singing and dancing.

On Sunday, September 13, Radnor Street Cemetery will host a family event, including guided walks and refreshments “The is a tremendous honour for the town on a big anniversary,”

said Graham Carter, editor of Swindon Heritage, who requested the flypast.

“They could have chosen any town and any of the 544 pilots killed in the battle for the flypast, but we are delighted Swindon and Harold Starr got the nod.

“So we are hoping lots of people in the town take the opportunity to see this unique spectacle and pay their respects to Harold and ‘The Few’.

“First Great Western have come forward to be our main sponsors, but we’ve also had support from Swindon Borough Council and local businesses, such as the Orbital Shopping Centre, InSwindon and Swindon Link.

We’d love to hear from any other companies, schools or groups who would like to get involved.”

Watch this space for more details, nearer the time, and also see www.swindonheritage.com for more information.

Coate Water Miniature Railway: a great place to visit in the summer holidays Although we have celebrated our fiftieth year of running a railway in Coate Water Country Park the volunteers of the North Wilts Model Engineering Society are really very young at heart, writes Ken Parker.

Trains run from 11am to 5pm in the summer and to dusk in the winter, on Saturdays and Sundays, except the third Saturday in the month when we are closed for member training.

The cost is £1.20 per ride for all ages.

Work parties take place every Tuesday to maintain the existing railway and currently we are building the extension down to the Richard Jefferies Museum and back, which will double the current length of half a mile.

Fifty years ago the railway consisted of a short raised track with no facilities. Everything to run the attraction had to be brought to the site including the water.

Over the years additional facilities were added as income from public openings was reinvested.

Volunteers have built a proper station, a small clubhouse, workshop, carriage sheds and the signal box. In recent years the clubhouse has been

Roves Farm

A great family day out, come rain or shine

extended, which allows us to hire it out for children’s birthday parties which include rides on a dedicated train.

Members also built a special needs coach so that people in wheelchairs and their carers can be transported around the track.

Our aim is have the extension running for the public in 2016 although the planned tunnels will take several years to finish. Funds for all projects come from ticket money so the more you visit and ride our trains the sooner we can complete our plans.

We’ve always keen to meet people interested in helping run the railway. Contact us and also see details of public running times via www.nwmes.co.uk

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27

WHAT’S ON CHILDREN & FAMILY Until Monday 3rd Jurassic Farm.

Join the ranger on a free tractor ride to detect and even discover a new species of dinosaur.

Normal admission prices. Roves Farm.

See the advert, p. 27 Tuesday 4th, 11am Toy Story, the film. £10, incl ice cream and squash; adults free.

Wyvern Restaurant Wednesday 5th, 11am How To Train Your Dragon, the film. £10, incl ice cream and squash; adults free. Wyvern Restaurant Tuesday 4th to Thursday 13th Superhero School. Test your strength and agility as you duck, dive and dodge your way over Roves’ elite training course. Normal admission prices. Roves Farm. See the advert on page 27 Saturday 8th, 11am The Great Jaydini. A professional magic show with lots of comedy, suitable for ages 4+. £10, incl ice cream and squash; adults free.

Wyvern Restaurant

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swindonlink.com n August 2015

Friday 14th to Friday 21st The Bear Hunt. Swish, splosh squelch and tiptoe whilst on a beat hunt on the free tractor ride.

Normal admission prices. Roves Farm. See the advert on page 27 Friday 21st, 6.30pm The Secret Garden. Take a picnic and enjoy theatre in the park alive with music and song and an array of especially designed puppet creatures. £14; students & children £10; family (2 adults, 2 children) £42, for tickets call 01793 524481.

Lydiard Park.

Saturday 22nd to Monday 31st Adventures in Neverland. Join Peter Pan and explore the magical world of Neverland on a quest to Skull Rock. Normal admission prices.

Roves Farm. See the advert on page 27 Saturday 22nd, 8pm Brilliant Bats. Join Swindon’s twilight bat project officer on an evening walk to watch these incredible creatures flying around and hear why Lydiard Park is the perfect environment for them. £5, child/ senior £4. Book on 01793 465270.

Lydiard Park

SWINDON

FUN DAY

MUSIC Friday 28th, 8pm West Country Music Club: Dave Montana. £6; under 18 years, £3; under 10s free. Ferndale Club

MUSICAL Thurs 20th, 7.30pm; Fri 21st, 7.30pm; Sat 22nd 2.30pm & 7.30pm; Sun 23rd, 1pm Hairspray. This legendary musical full of sensational songs and toe-tapping tunes is performed by 250 young people taking part in the Wyvern Summer Youth Project. £12 - £14. Wyvern

Toothill Community Centre Sunday 30 August, 2pm to 10.30pm

Duck Race & Barbecue

Have a great day at the races in aid of Swindon Ocotal Link which celebrates the civic and cultural links between Swindon and Ocotal in Nicaragua.

Sunday 9 August, 1pm Maroubra Waters Castle Eaton, SN6 6JZ £10, children under 10 - £5 Donations for drinks For tickets call 01793 495073 solswindon.co.uk

OPEN AIR CINEMA Saturday 8th Dirty Dancing. The all-time 1980s favourite with an amazing soundtrack. Lydiard Park Sunday 9th Top Gun. Tom Cruise stars as daring young pilot Maverick as he competes to be crowned one of the Navy’s elite fighter pilots. Lydiard Park Doors 7pm, film starts 8.30pm. Refreshments on sale or bring a picnic.

Tickets: www.thelunacinema.com

VENUES Arts Centre Devizes Road SN1 4BJ. Tel: 01793 524481 Roves Farm Sevenhampton Nr Highworth SN6 7QG. Tel: 01793 763939 Swindon Information Centre, Central Library SN1 1QG. Tel: 01793 530328 West Point Country Music Club at Ferndale Club, 131 Ferndale Road SN2 1BX Tel 07910 111825 Wyvern Theatre Theatre Square SN1 1QN. Tel: 01793 524481 Confirm date, time & price with venue

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The Summer Reading Challenge is underway It’s the summer holidays, the perfect time to read books - lots of them, free of charge.

Swindon Libraries aim to recruit a record number of participants in its summer reading challenge and to make this year even more exciting there is a tie-in with the Guinness Book of Records to create the Record Breakers campaign for 4 to 11 year olds and their families.

Last year Swindon children read a record 13,684 books throughout the summer holidays and library organisers are challenging youngsters to join in and aim for another

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Mondays 5.30pm & 7.30pm St Johns Church, Thames Avenue Haydon Wick, Swindon SN25 1QQ. Consultant: Sharon 07841 119082 Mondays 7.30pm Bridlewood Primary School, Chartwell Road Redhouse, Swindon SN25 2EX. Consultant: Lisa 07414 540866 Tuesdays 6.30pm Abbey Meads Community School, Hugo Drive Abbey Meads, Swindon SN25 4GY. Consultant: Paula 07733 082579 Tuesdays 7.30pm Tregoze Primary School, Sleaford Close, Grange Park Swindon SN5 6JU. Consultant: Jo 07815 838944 Tuesdays, 7:30pm Westlea Primary School, Langstone Way, Westlea Swindon, SN5 7BT. Consulatant: Sabrina 07791 809504 wednesdays 9.30am, 11.30am, 5.30pm & 7.30pm Moose Hall Eastcott Hill, Off Bath Road, Swindon SN1 3LS. Consultant: Steve 07791 041411 wednesdays 5.30pm & 7.30pm St Francis School, Taw Hill Swindon SN25 1UH. Consultant: Heather 07816 860840 Tuesdays, 7:30pm Westlea Primary School, Langstone Way, Westlea Swindon, SN5 7BT. Consulatant: Sabrina 07791 809504 Thursdays 9.30am, 11.30am, 5.30pm & 7.30pm St Johns Church, Thames Ave. Haydon Wick, Swindon SN25 1QQ. Consultant: Sharon 07841 119082 Thursdays 5.30pm & 7.30pm Freshbrook Community Centre, Worsley Road. Consultant: Leanne 07727 614751 Fridays 9.30am Community Room, St Francis School, Taw Hill Swindon SN25 1UH. Consultant: Heather 07816 860840 saTurdays 9am & 11am Freshbrook Community Centre, Worsley Rd Swindon SN5 8LY. Consultant: Lou 07784 098022

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Justin Tomlinson MP who launched Record Breakers in Parliament Book Sorter, where youngsters can recommend books to others.

The challenge runs until Sunday 6 September.

Visit a Swindon library for information and to register to take part, or mail queries to: librariesoutreach@swindon.gov.uk Find out more at the libraries blog page: swindonlibraries.wordpress. com Left, not only can you break a

Burn off holiday energy at Scrappers

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record by reading 14,000 books.

Children can sign up at their local library, then read six books and collect stickers. After reading their first book they can enter a competition to win prizes ranging from books to vouchers donated by local businesses.

When they have read four books they receive a voucher for a free DVD. After the sixth book readers will received a free entry voucher for Beale Park (subject to availability). and there will be a random draw with the lucky winners invited to a party at The Platform in September.

On days that you can’t get to the library, visit www.recordbreakers. org.uk which has lots of information, videos of authors talking about their books, a place for children to record what they’ve read and

Scrappers Boxing Gym and Community Fitness Centre is offering summer holidays non-contact boxing skills courses for children aged 5 to 11 years from 10am to 2pm on: 28 July, 11 August and 25 August.

The cost is £10 per child and includes a medal for each child taking part.

Run by experienced instructors and boxing coaches Paul Rogers and Alan Reid, the courses are designed to be fun, improve fitness and encourage the love of sport.

Scrappers is managed by Swindon

Children’s Scrapstore and is the town’s only community gym providing a low cost alternative to expensive commercial fitness centres, aimed at giving young people on low incomes the chance to increase their health and fitness.

Scrappers Gym is located at the rear of the 24HR Gym, Sensor House, Langley Road, Hillmead, Swindon, SN5 5WB. Places on the kids courses are limited and need to be booked with Paul Rogers on 07505 370383 or email: jammyrogers@gmail.com

Kit wanted for Gambia trip

John Maxwell, chaplain to the Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service is appealing for football kit in advance of another visit to Gambia in November.

He’s lost count of the number of times he has visited the country, always loaded down with shirts and boots. “Everybody in the Gambia loves football, even the baggage handlers in the airport recognise me as the kit man,” said John.’

“There’s huge enthusiasm to play in organised leagues, but like play-

ers everywhere they love to wear the same shirts to show they’re part of a team.”

In November John will be based at the BJ Academy in Gambia, the largest in the country, and will be visiting the national team.

If you’re involved with a club or any group which is replacing their strip, or have boots in good condition to donate, contact him on 07830 609372.

• John, who lives in Westlea is part of Kit Aid network. www.kitaid.net

Junior players needed by North Swindon team FC Abbeymeads is looking for players to join their under 8s, u9s, u10s, u11s and u12s football teams - Years 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 pupils in September.

As a registered FA Charter Standard Club, all coaches are CRB checked, and are FA Level 1 qualified (or undergoing the training course).

The emphasis is on improving

player skills and development through coaching and healthy competition.

The club regularly enjoys league success at all levels, including the under 14 girls who completed their first season by winning three titles.

For details email: clint.ricketts@ fcabbeymeads.co.uk or martin. smedley@fcabbeymeads.co.uk www.fcabbeymeads.co.uk

Skate legend signs Swindon petition With the future of the free skate park at Oasis in doubt, a campaign to persuade Swindon Council to retain it received a major boost on 11 July when Tony Hawk, the inventor of skateboarding, signed a petition at the National Adventure Sports Show.

The council planning committee will soon consider a multi-million pound redevelopment at North Star submitted by Moirai Capital for a snow centre, a 5,000 capacity arena, a cinema, bowling alley and hotel.

An indoor paid-for skate park is in the planning application but Diana Kirk of the ATBSkate Warehouse has raised the petition calling on the existing outdoor skate facility to be retained and improved.

She said: “When we told Tony Hawk what’s happening in Swindon he just couldn’t believe it. He’s a legend in the worldwide skateboard community, both a fantastic skater and a wonderfully nice person.

Affordable Personal Care for Your Feet Treatments: Nail cutting (feet & hands) Nail deformities & ingrowing toenails Nail infections Verrucae treatment Corns & callus treatment Diabetic foot care Contact Joan Schofield MCFHP MAFHP 07763 908167

Billy Steinman putting the Oasis outdoor skatepark to good use He’s set up a foundation www. tonyhawkfoundation.org which supports local campaigns to open free outdoor skate parks. It explains why local skateparks are good for communities.

Read the full story with more pictures at: www.bit.ly/THoasis

Freedog is off the leash A new 36,000 square foot trampoline centre has opened at Kembrey Park.

Said to be the largest facility in Europe, it has 90 two metre square trampolines, six foam pits, two dodge ball courts and a couple of trampoline basketball hoops.

See the advert on page 9 or www.freedog.com

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Corns, Calluses, Verrucas, Thick Nail or Ingrowing Toenails Call Freephone 0808 108 8545 or 01793 849914 Clinic at: 113 High Street Royal Wootton Bassett

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In just 10 weeks we will help you run non-stop for 30 minutes (approx. 5km) InformatIon and regIstratIon evenIng tuesday 8th september, 7.30pm at Unit 8, star West, Westmead drive, sn5 7sW For more information call Clare on 07793 573487 Email: slinnallstars@hotmail.co.uk www.slinnallstars.co.uk Affiliated to England Athletics Qualified Running Coaches

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Get ready for Rockstar As users of The Ridge climbing wall at Link Centre said farewell in early July, the town’s brand new dedicated climbing centre continues to move forward with plans to open in the Autumn.

Rockstar Climbing’s vision is simple: to create a fun and safe environment where people of all ages and abilities can enjoy this increasingly popular sport. Owner, Mike Aston, said: “People try climbing for many reasons, some are looking for a more fun and social alternative to going to the gym, families want to do something exciting and creative together, and children just love to climb.”

Rockstar Climbing will offer a broad mix of experiences including a large bouldering area, roped climbing for both lead and top-rope up to 10 metres, a dedicated kids climbing area, slacklining, strength training zone and a chill-out zone with refreshments.

Try out sessions will take place regularly and there will be kids clubs, junior and adult courses as well as more advanced masterclasses.

Keep up to date at www.rockstarclimbing.co.uk and on Facebook: Rockstar Climbing Swindon

Annabelle Miller-Blundell, 13, signing off at Link Centre

Summer climbing in Cricklade Until Rockstar opens climbing instructor Adam Girling is reopening the lead rope facility at Cricklade Leisure Centre. Sessions will run on Wednesdays, 6.30pm to 10pm, and Thursdays, 7.30pm to 10am.

Find out more by calling him on 07841 986943.

Trampolining in the West

Link Centre operators GLL are installing a 1,200 square metre trampoline centre in the sports hall. Details have yet to be revealed but a September opening is being considered.

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Healthy kids with Laurence Shahlaei and LPA sport teacher Alex Buchalik Health ambassadors from Peatmoor and Tregoze primary schools were put through their paces at Lydiard Park Academy on 2 July when Swindon resident and strongman competitor Laurence Shahlaei had them running and lifting to find the fastest boy and girl.

However the 20 children got their own back when they challenged Laurence and LPA sport teacher Alexander Buchalik to a tug ‘o war which they easily won.

In the evening Laurence, who is a winner of England’s Strongest Man, Britain’s Strongest Man and competitor on seven occasions at the World’s Strongest Man, and world record holder for Yoke and Deadlift, presented medals and awards to academy students who have excelled in a variety of sports at an end of year presentation at the DeVere Village.

See photos from the event at: www.bit.ly/LPAsports015

Players invited to netball training Burmah Netball Club is calling for players to join them on Wednesdays, from 12 August, 7.30pm to 9.30pm, at Lydiard Park Academy.

Current players aged 14 upwards and those who want to restart after a break are welcome to join ready for the new season.

For details contact Coach Sharon Ashman on 07982 782020.

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Want to be part of a Swindon video?

Westfield Way and Thames Avenue

Videographer Peter Albanese has been inspired by a community video made

by BBC Radio Lincolnshire - www.bit.ly/LincolnLipSync - and wants to do something similar.

If you’re part of a group interested in taking part in this film project which brought lots of people in Lincoln together, who obviously had a great deal of fun, message him via Facebook: Peter Albanese

Swindon Council is carrying out much needed maintenance and resurfacing works to Westfield Wayand Thames Avenue for three weeks starting on Monday 17 August weather permitting.

The works will take place between 8am and 6pm from Monday to Friday. Some weekend work may be necessary.

There will be disruption to access to side roads and also on-street parking. The work will be managed in three phases with diversions in place to assist vehicle movements.

Access to Morrisons will be main-

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tained thoughout the three weeks.

Residents are requested not to park their vehicles on the roads during the above times. Traffic marshals will be available to assist members of the public.

Access will be maintained to residential properties where possible, with pedestrian and emergency access maintained at all times.

Letters of explanation with a drawing have been delivered to all residents in the area. A larger plan can be viewed in Haydon Wick Parish Council offices on Thames Avenue.

Vauxhall Corsa: new and much improved The Corsa has long been a touchscreen with Vauxhall’s popular choice in the UK but IntelliLink system, on more the old model was getting a expensive versions. bit long in the tooth and fallOur air-conditioned car - in ing behind the competition.

SRi trim - was well equipped.

Now though the 2015/6 Bluetooth et al are all confourth generation Corsa trolled by the screen which might reclaim the favour of a can support functions such fickle public. as controlling the sat-nav on The test Corsa featured your smartphone. what I reckon is the best The seats are supportive and choice of engine for this the cloth trim seemed robust car. It’s a 1.0L 3-cylinder but every single person who ECOTEC Direct Injection rode in the car said that they Turbo petrol unit that meets were overly firm. I had to the latest Euro-6 emissions agree although a comfortable regulations. Vauxhall say Geoff Maxted of Drivewrite.co.uk is much impressed by an enduring favourite driving position was easily that right now this engine achieved thanks to plenty is a class benchmark for reduced say the company, an official fuel rior handling and my only complaint of reach, rake and steering column noise, vibration and harshness and adjustment. consumption figure of 65.7mpg here is that some might find the is one of the quietest three-cylinder with CO² emissions as low as 100g/ new speed-sensitive steering too The latest Vauxhall Corsa is a very powerplants of its type. On the likeable car and I enjoyed my week km although I only saw an average light. The improved gear change road I can certainly agree with the driving it. The bonus is that despite around 47mpg – still good though. delivers surprising driving pleasure added bonus of good performance It has a longer front end similar plus, for once, a car maker has seen being a much improved vehicle it - 11.9 seconds for our 90PS version to the smaller Adam, with stylish the sense of giving a small engine a has actually come down in price (there’s also a more powerful 115PS headlamps, a wider grille and and the range now starts as low as proper six-speed gearbox. alternative). Torque is a healthy £9,175. It’s roomy, cheap to run and chrome detailing. The design is With the earlier car the interior 125lb/ft at 1,800rpm. offers some cracking new engines. refreshed with sharper lines and was looking jaded; but it now has There are other petrol engines and detailing. a well executed and well appointed There’s plenty of kit as standard too a frugal diesel available too and making the package a genuinely The good news is just how much cabin largely based on the sibling Start/Stop technology is standard, better it is to drive. The engine is Adam. Quality has taken a leap for- attractive choice. which can be switched on and off The car can be test driven via quiet yet delivers nimble perforward with more soft touch plastic by way of an ECO button on the West Swindon based dealer Skurmance. A lower centre of gravity and a compact central dashboard dash. The 1.0L petrol achieves, and stiffer subframe delivers supearray with a new seven-inch colour rays Vauxhall, off Mead Way. www.skurrays.co.uk

New Generation i20 Premium SE 1.2

0% APR

Representative

£99

per month

£6,279 deposit. £6,885 optional final payment.

and admiring glances wherever you go. We make it possible.

Pebley Beach Hyundai

01793 816800

West Swindon Motor Park, Paddington Drive, Bridgemead, Swindon SN5 7SB www.pebleybeachhyundai.co.uk Pebley Beach Ltd, trading as Pebley Beach Hyundai.

The recent winner of a prestigious Red Dot award for design excellence, the stylish i20 Premium SE is impressive inside and out. The well-equipped, spacious interior offers outstanding legroom, whilst the opening panoramic sunroof and front and rear parking sensors make driving a joy. All made possible for just £99 per month.

For more information visit our website or pop into our showroom.

Personal Contract Purchase. 25 month term. 10,000 miles p.a. Minimum 30% deposit required.

Fuel consumption in MPG (l/100km) for New Generation i20 range: Urban 30.7 (9.2) - 80.7 (3.5), Extra Urban 53.3 (5.3) - 94.2 (3.0), Combined 42.2 (6.7) - 88.3 (3.2), CO2 Emissions 155-84g/km. These official EU test figures are to be used as a guide for comparative purposes and may not reflect all driving results.

YOU WILL NOT OWN THE VEHICLE UNTIL ALL PAYMENTS ARE MADE. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS FINANCIAL PROMOTION, WE ARE A CREDIT BROKER (NOT A LENDER). WE CAN INTRODUCE YOU TO A LIMITED NUMBER OF CAREFULLY SELECTED FINANCE PROVIDERS. WE MAY RECEIVE A COMMISSION FROM THEM FOR THE INTRODUCTION. Offer available on Hyundai i20 between 1st July and 30th September 2015 inclusive over 25 month term. At the end of the agreement there are 3 options: (i) Renew: Part exchange the vehicle, (ii) Retain: Pay the Optional Final Payment to own the vehicle or (iii) Return the vehicle. Further charges may be made subject to mileage and condition of the vehicle. Excess mileage charge 14.9p per mile. Finance subject to status. T&Cs apply. 18s and over. Guarantee/Indemnity may be required. HyundaiMotor Finance RH1 1SR. Model shown: i20 Premium SE 1.2 at £15,540 OTR including Sleek Silver metallic paint at £515. Offer not available for customers under the Hyundai Affinity Programme.

5 Year Unlimited Mileage Warranty terms and exclusions apply. Visit www.hyundai.co.uk/owning or ask your local dealer.

swindonlink.com n August 2015

35

A & S

FREE

ESTIM

ATES

A garden for making memories

TREE & LANDSCAPING

• All Traditonal Fencing • Decking •Gates •Sheds • Pergolas & Planters • Timber supplies • Insurance Repairs

Call today for a free quote

01793 850457 or 07809075792 www.lindenfencing.co.uk

ALL TYPES OF GARDENING, LANDSCAPING AND FENCING WORK UNDERTAKEN Garden Clearance, Turfing Tree Pruning, Maintenance Fencing & Decking, Block Paving Patios, Paths, Drives Please call for a FREE, No obligation estimate Customers are entitled to a 14 day cooling off period

AandSbowers@live.co.uk www.aandslandscapingservices.com

Earthmoving Services • Garden/site shaping, levelling, clearance • Footings, trenches & ditches excavated • Hardcore sub-bases & roadways/tracks • Concrete, tarmac, hedge & stump removal • Soil screening/debris removal • Micro excavator, minimum access width required: 29” (730mm) C.P.C.S Licensed • Fully Insured Call Steve to discuss your needs and receive a free estimate Tel: 01793 848708 or 07967 341567 www.earthmovingservices.co.uk

01793 238 267 07747 721 281

Unit 6, Calcut Park, Cricklade SN6 6JR

Memory Maker children with from left, charity co-founder Lyn Hartman, parish councillor Linda Brown and Clare Armagan One of the many pleasures of gardening is the therapy of creating a nice space and the memories it gives for a long time afterwards.

Now Swindon children will soon have the opportunity to experience gardening for the first time thanks to Haydon Wick Parish Council.

The council has donated a previously unused area of an allotment plot to a year old charity Memory Makers, an offshoot of North Swindon based children and young people’s charity, SMASH. The Memory Makers Programme matches adult volunteers with children aged 9 to 12 years to meet regularly on a one-to-one basis with the aim of helping them create life-long positive memories.

Memory Makers manager Clare Armagan explained: “Most of us take happy childhood memories for granted but for some childhood can be a time of turmoil and stress,

Gardens open in aid of Prospect Hospice Sunday 2 August, 2pm to 6pm 66 Beaufort Road, Wroughton, SN4 9HE Entry £2 per adult. A small garden but full of interest. Flowers, the River Ray and a whimsical beach scene to enjoy. Refreshments.

Sunday 9 August, 11am to 4pm 10 The Quarries, Old Town, Swindon, SN1 4EX Entry to this traditional garden fete with a Wild West theme in a secluded spot in Old Town is by donation. Refreshments.

Sunday 23 August, 2pm to 5pm 4 Oak Drive, Highworth, SN6 7BP £3 per adult A well planned and well stocked garden is located in the former kitchen garden of Westrop House.

There will be plenty of horticultural interest in the varied planting schemes. Refreshments.

36

swindonlink.com n August 2015

and the opportunity to experience simple, fun activities can be limited.

“Memory Makers would like to thank Haydon Wick Parish Council for their invaluable support in giving us a safe and tranquil space for children to dig for worms and plant sunflowers. It will provide a unique opportunity for children like Grace (not her real name) who lives in a flat with no garden with her mum and her severely disabled little sister. Although she is 10 years old and has lived in Swindon all her life before she met her Memory Maker Sarah, Grace had never visited Lydiard Park or Coate Water.

“I hope that helping to develop and maintain the Memory Makers garden will be another new experience for Grace, and will give her the opportunity to learn some useful skills as well as have lots of fun making great memories.”

If you think you’ve got what it takes to change the life of a child like Grace and you are interested in becoming a volunteer Memory Maker contact Clare on 01793 729748 or email: memory.makers@ smashyouthproject.co.uk A new training course starts in September. www.smashyouthproject.co.uk/ memory-makers

Lawn & Hedge Cutting Maintenance General Garden Tidy Turfing Give your garden a makeover Call John Dowell on 07892 436198 or 01793 421651 j.dowell@live.co.uk

CLIFF WHITEWAY SERVICES For all your home & garden needs Patios Decking Paths Turfing Walling Fencing Driveways For a free quote call Cliff on

Tel: 01793 731418 Mobile: 07808 355487

Established locally for over 8 years References available

FREETH FENCING & GARDEN SERVICES LTD Est. 1990 35 Spencer Close, West Swindon ❖ Fences, gates & sheds supplied and erected ❖ Landscaping ❖ Trees pruned and felled ❖ Rubbish removed ❖ Patios and shingle laid ❖ Wood chip & compost supplied ❖ Turfing and grass cutting ❖ And all aspects of garden maintenance

Comprehensive service Qualified staff Fully insured • Pruning and Shaping • Felling and Removal • Hedge Cutting • Stump Grinding • Tree Planting

Free quotations and advice Call Ian Walding (N.C.Hort N.D.Arb)

01793 790210 07971 566880

Email: treeman@iwalding.freeserve.co.uk

and weeding

• Planting, clearance and much more

www.freethfencingandgardenservicesltd.com

Email: gardencareswindon@hotmail.com

D.A. DRIVEWAYS & PATIOS

GENERAL GARDEN MAINTENANCE & CONSTRUCTION ESTABLISHED 1992

PROFESSIONAL TREE SURGEONS

maintenance service

• Hedgecutting, pruning

For a free no obligation quote call Cliff on 01793 703986 or 07973 391 668

GAZEBO

HERITAGE TREE CARE

mowing

• Full garden

Tel: 01793 875451 or 07940 247152

LANDSCAPING

• Fencing - closeboard, panels etc.

• Drives & patios - slabs, concrete, shingle • Patio cleaning, grass cutting, gardens tidied up • Turfing, grass seeding • Ponds & pergolas

Hard & Soft Landscaper

Tel: 07711 253508

stevebrander@hotmail.co.uk 01793 874403 / 07949 896349 www.brandnewgardens.co.uk

freshwind@blackberry.orange.co.uk

• Regular lawn

Patios & Decking Panelled & Close Board Fencing Hedge & Shrub Pruning Regular Lawn Cuttings & Maintenance Free Quotes & Advice

❐ Block Paving ❐ Landscaping ❐ Fencing ❐ Decorative Stone ❐ General Maintenance For a professional and affordable service, free consultation and written quotation

Tel: 01793 878062 or 07866 523898

LANDSERVE

Garden Maintenance & Landscaping

Professional care `````` for your garden Grass cutting - regular maintenance Landscaping - Patios & Paving - repairs & cleaning Decking and Fencing Hedge cutting & pruning No Job Too Small. All works insured

Call Martin Emery MI Hort.

for free quotation on 01793 703306 or Mobile 07771 956294

BUILDING & PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

All aspects of building, landscaping and property maintenance

• Landscaping • Brickwork • Patios • Block paving • Decking • Turfing • Fencing • Guttering • Roofing (flat/tiled) • Storm damage • Pointing/chimney repairs • Painting/decorating • Carpentry • Extensions • Garage conversions Use the professional builder, call for a free no obligation quote Tel: 01793 737666 Mobile: 07799 176514 eddiemat@hotmail.co.uk

swindonlink.com n August 2015

37

FOSSE DOGOTEL & CATTERY CRICKLADE ROAD, CIRENCESTER

NOW OFFERS DOGGY DAY CARE !!

AS WELL AS OUR USUAL FACILITIES

Janet’s Puppy Skool

Casualties wanted for rescue mission

Have fun teaching your dog good manners and behaviour at one of our friendly classes

3 Playskool class for puppies 3 Adult beginners/improvers 3 Senior Skool/advanced classes 3 One to one advice & training 3 Fun agility workshops

www.janetspuppyskool.co.uk APDT Member (01066)

01285 860200

info@fossedogotelandcattery.co.uk www.fossedogotelandcattery.co.uk

Janet Garrett DipCABT (QCF-Level 4)

Tel: 01793 727158

janet@janetspuppyskool.co.uk

The lake at Cotswold Water Park will be much calmer Newfound Friends are holding a rescue day on Saturday 19 September, 10am to 5pm, where sponsored volunteers Take the Plunge at the Cotswold Outdoor Education Centre, South Cerney.

The interesting part comes once in the water when a powerful hairy Newfoundland Dog dives in wearing a special harness for the volunteer ‘casualty’ to hold on to whilst being pulled to safety.

The day is organised by Wagging Tails in aid of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. There will lots of attractions for supporters on the banks of the lake.

To register for this spectacular fundraising opportunity, find out more at www.waggingtailsuk.co.uk/ rescue-day or call Hilary Coates on 01793 874777 or mail: sn@ waggingtailsuk.co.uk with ‘Take the Plunge’ in the subject line.

Guide Dog puppy walkers needed

Thameswood Veterinary Clinics

Making Life Better

Health Club Very Important Puppy ONLY THE VERY BEST FOR YOUR NEW PUP Just £45.18 • • • • •

Complete vet check and vaccination course Worming, flea & tick treatment Puppy chat and 3 puppy parties 4 weeks free insurance Dedicated nurse for our unique youth club Just £45.18 when your puppy becomes a Thameswood VIP. Click on our website for your welcome package

62-64 Purton Road Swindon SN2 2LZ (end of Akers Way) Tel: 01793 526780

www.thameswoodvets.co.uk 38

swindonlink.com n August 2015

People willing to provide full-time care and training for a puppy in the early stages of becoming a guide dog are needed.

Puppy walking is a crucial volunteering role which prepares young dogs for their working life by familiarising them with every environment which a blind person might encounter, such as walking in towns and country, visiting public places, taking public transport.

Puppies come to the home from seven weeks of age until they are 12

to 14 months old. There are training requirements and procedures that need to be followed and volunteers meet regularly with a guide dog supervisor where they look at the development of the puppy.

After completing their time with their puppy walkers, puppies move on to a training school where they begin their formal guide dog training.

Find details call 0845 371 7771 or www.guidedogs.org.uk/supportus/ volunteering

Great British Classics Charity Night at The Crown, Stratton for Swindon Guide Dogs Wednesday 26 August, 7pm, last orders at 9.30pm On the menu: ham, egg & chips, fish & chips, pie & mash, liver & onions. The cost is £7.95, £5 of which goes to the charity To book a table call 01793 827530 or mail: thecrownstratton@gmail.com

Pet Boarding, Dog Day Care and shop supplying Quality Food, Toys and Equipment

We at Barkimber have a strong passion for the welfare and happiness of all our guests and we believe that their holiday should be at least as much fun as yours!

Barkimber Pet Care, 7 Packhorse Lane, Purton, Swindon, Wiltshire SN5 4HU Tel: 01793 771285 • E:mail: enquiries@barkimberpetcare.com

Mudbath in aid of diabetes research

ECOTEMP ENVIRONMENTAL LTD

Marie Wilkes and three friends who live in North Swindon are in training to take on the Tough Mudder course in Cirencester on 22 August to raise £2,000 for JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation).

Marie’s 9 year old son Nick Wilkes was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in February and the following months have been particularly hard for him as well as his whole family.

Nick now has to be careful with Nick gets a lift from Emma Cannell, Marie Wilkes, Geraldine Stars, everything he eats to keep his blood Natalie King. Taking part, but not pictured: Jo Keyes sugar in the correct range and give himself at least four injections daily need to raise as much money as we to maintain stable levels of insulin can for JDRF; please help us with in his body. sponsorship.”

Marie said: “Tough Mudder is a Read more about Marie’s appeal: 10 to 12 mile obstacle race through www.justgiving.com/Marie-Wilkes challenging conditions which frightwww.jdrf.org.uk ens the life out of all of us. But we

Heating & Air Conditioning Systems Air conditioning heat pumps are a low cost and environmentally friendly solution to heating or cooling rooms in your home, shop or workplace, providing year round comfort.

They are especially good to make conservatories usable in the height of summer or the depths of winter.

Very little installation work required with most single systems being installed in a day.

For a free quotation, repairs to existing equipment or any other enquiry, Contact enquiries@ecotempenvironmental.co.uk or call: 01793 847484

Nepal school earthquake appeal hits target A crowdfunding appeal by Swindon woman Dr Christine Tipper to help put Glory English School back on its feet raised £500 in July. But she would welcome further donations to buy text books and educational materials to replace what was lost in the earthquakes in April Christine has been helping the school in Bhaktapur, north east of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, for four years. But progress has been halted until equipment can be replaced and traumatised children helped.

Glory School deputy headteacher She said: “Many of the pupils lost Karna Shankar rescuing a child their homes and with them all their from the rubble belongings, including books, pencils give them a purpose and focus for and paper. They are surviving in the future.” tents and are living in desperate To make further donations mail: circumstances. The recent monsoons christine@christinetipper.com have caused even more damage in See more pictures at: Bhaktapur. www.bit.ly/TipperGS “Being able to go to school will

Fun place with animals The summer holiday adventures at Studley Grange Butterfly World isn’t just about butterflies.

There is an absolute menagerie of mammals and birds of all kinds including a barn owl and cute baby ferrets. Come face-to-face with them as well as goats, pigs, cows and rabbits. In good weather you can give the pigs a bath, but be prepared to get wet.

George, the Sulcata tortoise, is a bit harder to spot and even then there may not be much movement if he’s not in the mood.

Meerkats and otters feeding time is a big draw at 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm daily. During school holidays and at weekends children over five can handle a reptile at

12.30pm and there’s a chance to meet a guinea pig, goat or pig at 2.30pm.

Enter the tropical greenhouse and marvel as butterflies flutter freely around you. Turn nature detective to find caterpillars hiding in the shrubs and watch butterflies hatching from chrysalis. There are talks daily at 11am and 2pm.

Studley Grange Craft Village next-door to the butterfly centre has an eclectic selection of shops, a soft play area, Lego exhibition and a cafe - all undercover if it is wet.

Studley Grange can be found off Hay Lane, south of junction 16 of the M4.

Find out more at: www.studleygrange.co.uk

Blinds to compliment your home Pleated Blinds | Blackout Blinds | Honey Comb Blinds Non Velux Roof Blinds | Velux Roof Blinds | Vertical Blinds Venetian Blinds | Roman Blinds | Roller Blinds We offer a huge range of styles and colors. We fit with minimal disruption and take down existing blinds.

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Take a peak at our unbeatable prices!

10% OFF Call 01793 338056 your first order with this advert

www.nothingbutblinds.co.uk swindonlink.com n August 2015

39

SERVICE SECTOR

GET SOMEONE IN, REPAIR AND IMPROVE: YOUR GUIDE TO HOME MAINTENANCE

Semi-retired Plumber

ACP

Home Improvements & Building Services • General building maintenance • Garage conversions • Bathrooms and Kitchens • Carpentry • Wall & floor tiling • Plastering/Plaster boarding/Coving • UPVC doors, windows & repairs • Fascias, soffits, guttering • Patios and fencing Insurance work undertaken For a prompt professional service contact Andy: 07969350160 /01793 435513 www.acphomeimprovements.co.uk

Chrome sockets and switches Home extensions/rewire Replacement fuse boards Kitchen & bathroom electrics Data cabling/office conversions Garage/garden power Decorative lights Fault finding/repairs Fully insured to £2m Free, no obligation quotes and advice for the Swindon area

Call Dan: 07791 791513 Email: dan@boylectrical.co.uk Visit: www.boylectrical.co.uk

24hr emergency call out • Leaks & burst pipes • Blocked drains, sinks & toilets • Immersions & hot water cylinders • Tap washers & ball valves • Complete bathrooms refitted • Dishwashers & washing machines plumbed in • Radiators changed

Tel: 01793 324116 Mob: 07788 621772

30 years experience Friendly, reliable service OAP discount on request Tel: 01793 271185 Mobile: 07813 950899

MILESTONE Building Services

Complete Property Renovations & Alterations Kitchens / Bathroom Tiling / Flooring Brickwork / Blockwork Paving / Patios Fencing / Decking & Ground Works Carpentry / Plumbing All Building Works Undertaken No job too small • Free estimates Contact: Dean Scanlon Telephone: 01793 422032 Mobile: 077 8968 1536

Affordable luxury fitted wardrobes, measured, manufactured and fitted from only £495 Made to measure, floor to ceiling, a wide range of traditional and modern designs in various finishes For a free brochure and no obligation quote Call 01793 827188 www.mryprojects.co.uk

SWINDON GAS SERVICES www.swindongasservices.co.uk

01793 847517 ★ boiler changes ★ boiler breakdown ★ full central heating systems ★ heating system upgrades ★ power flushing ★ bathroom suites ★ all types of plumbing work undertaken ★ no call out charge ★ 15 years experience 550065

DJR General Builders Ltd Extension & Garage Conversion Specialists • • • •

Project Management Alterations / Renovations Garden walls / Patios / Decking Conservatory bases No job too big or small!

Fully insured. 18 years experience Call Neil now for a free, competitive quote on

0800 1357063 or 07967 155502 or email:

info@benchmarkconstructionswindon.co.uk benchmarkconstructionswindon.co.uk

40

swindonlink.com n August 2015

DOUBLE GLAZING REPAIRS ● Repairs to all upvc doors and windows ● 24 hr boarding up service and lock change ● Hinges, Window/Door Locks and Handles etc.

Call Jamie for free advice and quote on all aspects of upvc

01793 940089 or 07526 647673

upvc-swindon@hotmail.co.uk

J’s Electrical

J&R Plumbing Providing plumbing services to clients throughout Swindon

Misted or Broken Windows?

Competent, reliable and fully insured.

All aspects of building and maintenance work carried out to private and public properties.

Please call for a free quotation.

01793 871660 (Office) Mob: 075151 25060 derek.richardson5@virginmedia.com 24 The Elms, Nine Elms Swindon SN5 5XA

• Extensions • Driveways • Conservatories • Patios • Garden Walls • Fencing All general building and landscaping projects undertaken NO JOB TOO SMALL Call Stewart on

01793 670115 or 0784 182 6390 for a Free Estimate

✭ Extra sockets and lights ✭ Shower and cooker installation ✭ Fuse board replacement ✭ Complete re-wiring ✭ Security lighting ✭ P.A.T. testing ✭ 24 hours

NO JOB TOO SMALL Mobile: 07985 195893 Tel: 01793 320447 Also general plumbing, tiling & plastering

WARMSHIELD SERVICES LTD

• Boiler breakdowns and maintenance contracts from £15/month • Boiler servicing from £59 + VAT • Landlords Gas Safety and PAT testing • Boiler and heating systems upgrades • Full central heating designs and installation • Power flushing / Descaling Combi • General plumbing boilers from from tap washers to £1,350 full bathroom suites + VAT • Free no obligation quotes u 10% discount with this advert (quote ref WL 2714) u £500 off any new boiler installed

559105

Tel: 01793 753341

www.heatingswindon.com

Approved Electrician Approved Electrician Part P Registered Part P Registered

• Extra Sockets/lights Extra Sockets/lights • • Fuse Board Upgrade • Fuse Board Upgrade

• • Testing andInspection Inspection Testing and Complete Rewires • • Complete Rewires No job too small!

• • No job too small!

Connected Connected Electrical Electrical && Property Services Property Services Call Geoff : 07824 314080 or Tel: 07824 314080 or 01793 703308 01793 703308 Email: connectedelectrical01@gmail.com

Email: connectedelectrical01@gmail.com

217129

24 YEARS EXPERIENCE Installation & Servicing NG & LPG ✓ Boiler & System Upgrades ✓ Breakdown & Maintenance ✓ Bathrooms, Showers & Wet Rooms ✓ Power Flushing / Descaling ✓ For ALL your plumbing, heating & gas requirements call Assured on

07845 90 80 60 or 01793 700 820

www.assured-plumbing.co.uk

SERVICE SECTOR

41

GET SOMEONE IN, REPAIR AND IMPROVE: YOUR GUIDE TO HOME MAINTENANCE

ASHDOWN Building/Groundworks & Hard Landscaping Extensions, Garage & Loft Conversions Driveways & Patios All building work undertaken All work guaranteed, FREE quote and advice Mob: 07956 301957 Tel: 01793 348597

BATHROOMS & KITCHENS

Design to Installation All Work Guaranteed Quality Finish And Attention To Detail Is Assured FREE CONSULTATIONS & ESTIMATES

Call Mark: 01793 887766 Mob: 07979 267757

www.ashdownbk.co.uk

Alison J Hook

A&J DEVELOPMENTS LTD

Painter, Decorator & General Handywoman • • • •

Free no obligation quotes Fully insured Interior/exterior work Gardening services grass cutting and hedge trimming • No job too small • Reliable, honest, friendly service

t: 01793 692149 m: 07780 915446 e: ajh.decor@gmail.com

www.haynesconstruction.org.uk

• • • • •

Home Improvements General Building Extension & Renovations Kitchens & Bathrooms Plastering & Decorating

• • • •

Gas Safe Registered 190354 Plumbing & Heating Boilers Electrical Installations

• Fencing & Sheds • Decking & Patios

Call Andy on 07779 300121 or 01793 825005 aecampbell6@googlemail.com

D E Carpentry

The Plumber you’ll Recommend!

For all your carpentry needs

DLS Property Services Ltd

k Door hanging

Kitchens & bathrooms supplied & installed from start to finish Plastering • Floor & wall tiling Plumbing • Electrics Facias, soffits & guttering Part/full house refurbishments For a free estimate from a Home Improvement Specialist please call David on

Tel: 01793 338275 Mob: 07796262942 Email: info@dlspropertyservices.com

Web: www.dlspropertyservices.com

Haydon Wick Heating Services

RepaiRs, installation, Maintenance FRee FREE Quotes!

QUOTES! EXCELLENT seRvice!

SERVICE! excellent Call Call Justin: Justin:

Tel: 593 Tel:01793 01793 871 826322 Mob: 07503 210 748 Mob: 07503 210748

justinhallplumbing@gmail.com justinhallplumbing@gmail.com

k Kitchen fitting

All heating and plumbing works undertaken

k Real wood and laminate flooring

• Full central heating systems • Boiler changes / services and repairs • Power flushing • Full bathroom / ensuite installations • General plumbing works • Free quotes and realistic prices

k Fitted wardrobes k 15 years experience

Call 01793 514069 or 07885 972172

Tel: 01793 748333 Mob: 07733897039

e: ellisj10@sky.com www.delliscarpentry.co.uk

hwheating@googlemail.com

ELECTRICIAN

GASTECH THE INDEPENDENT GAS SPECIALISTS

• Servicing, Repairs, Installation • Central Heating (including Combination boilers and Warm Air) • Landlord Safety Checks • Cookers, Fires, Water Heaters

142573

Fitted Kitchens Bathrooms & Bedrooms Tiling & Worktops Laminate Flooring Skirtings & Architraves Dados & Coving Doors & Decking And much more

SERVICE CONTRACT SPECIALISTS

FOR GAS SERVICE CALL 01793 848800 6 Templars Way Industrial Est, Marlborough Rd, W. Bassett SN4 7SR

For a FREE no obligation quote call now on 07874 021004 or 01793 701797

www.gastechwilts.co.uk

• Electrical installations • Modifications • Fault finding • Inspection & Testing • Domestic & Commercial • 24/7 Emergency call-out • Part P & IET Certified

Call Darren on 01793 629 629 www.crannistech.co.uk

24/7 Emergency Call Out • All Works Guaranteed • Reliable & Affordable

Swindon’s Heating & Plumbing Specialists • Full Central Heating Installations • Boiler Replacement, Servicing & Repair • All Plumbing & Maintenance Services • Full Bathroom Installations • Landlord & Letting Agent Services • Renewable Energy Installations

01793 878636

T.

523887

Power Flus hing Agent

www.CentraHeat.co.uk

CentraHeat.co.uk

www.

All types of electrical work undertaken • House extensions, alterations & rewires • Fault finding & repairs • Fuse board repairs & replacements • Testing & certification • Kitchen installations - cookers & appliances • Intruder alarm systems • Bathroom installations • Supplies to garages & out-houses • Lighting & socket outlets • Exterior lighting & power • 24 hour emergency call out

Fully qualified, NAPIT & Part P Approved Electricians

01793 847575

www.wired-electrical.co.uk

info@wired-electrical.co.uk

07739 357617

M.

swindonlink.com n August 2015

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SERVICE SECTOR

GET SOMEONE IN, REPAIR AND IMPROVE: YOUR GUIDE TO HOME MAINTENANCE

BATHROOMS

BATHROOMS

BATHROOMS & KITCHENS

Plumbing

& Heating MJP Home Creations

❉ Quality bathroom suites

fitted - tiling, electrics, flooring all taken care of ❉ All types of plumbing undertaken - leaking taps, pumps, tanks, burst pipes, 302877 machines installed

Free estimates

01793 876600 07748 964433

Creation Born Of Perfection Specialists in kitchens bathrooms and wetrooms Design and installation, plastering, plumbing, electrics, underfloor heating and tiling

Contact Matthew Pollard: 07779 318717 info@mjphomecreations.com See our customer testimonials: www.mjphomecreations.com

Approved Plumber

mjplumbing64@gmail.com

DECORATOR

&D eco rat or

FREE ESTIMATES

ain

REDUCTIONS FOR OAPs

ter

INTERIOR & EXTERIOR

PR

ID

EP

Call 01793 334823 or 07788 572043

DOUBLE GLAZING

Doctor Glass

repairs & replaces cracked, broken or misted double glazed windows Also hinges and locks

Call: 01793 854448 or 07976 219671

Do better business!

Promote what you do on paper and online @ swindonlink.com Call Sue Roberts to discuss our combined advertising packages

01793 602540 42

swindonlink.com n August 2015

DECORATOR

DECORATOR INSIDE AND OUT • High class painting and decorating • 30 years experience • Competitive rates • Interior & exterior • References available • Reliable friendly service, all work undertaken For free quotation call Paul on

01793 321981 07775 840236

ELECTRICIAN SAFE & SHAW

ELECTRICAL SERVICES ✓ EXTRA SOCKETS / LIGHTS ✓ SECURITY LIGHTING/FIRE ALARMS ✓ GARDEN LIGHTING & OUTDOOR SOCKETS ✓ SHOWERS/COOKERS INSTALLED ✓ FUSE BOARD REPLACEMENT ✓ COMPLETE RE-WIRING FREE QUOTATIONS, NO OBLIGATION

Please call Paul Eastham on 07769 883717

DECORATOR Quality painting and decorating at an affordable price 40 years experience No VAT Free estimates For professional, reliable and friendly service call

GBD Services 01793 979282 or 07453 966627

DECORATOR

DECORATING & CARPENTRY • Interior/exterior painting and decorating • Wallpaper • Tiling • Coving • Laminate flooring • Doors & skirting replacement • Kitchen & bathroom refits • Internal alterations No job too small • Rooms left tidy daily Free no obligation 24 hour quotations

Call Andy: 01793 729354 or 07900 835116

HEATING & PLUMBING

RJ PeaRce Plumbing & Heating ltd Over 20 years experience in plumbing & heating work • Central heating • Bathrooms & showers • Competitive rates

7 YEAR GUARANTEE

on Worcester Bosch Ri Si and Cdi boilers

• All work guaranteed • No job too small

Accredited Installer

For further details call Richard on 01793 879156 or 07747 723606

203455

HOME MAINTENANCE

PLANS DRAWN

PLASTERING

G R SERVICES

Loft conversion & extension specialist. Complete house design and commercial work undertaken.

BSJ PLASTERING & DECORATING SERVICES

Painting and decorating Carpentry services Grounds maintenance Turfing, fencing, patios Kitchen & bathroom installations Wall tiling Fascias & guttering Roof repairs Friendly, reliable & competitive

Call Glen on: 01793 487450 07774 841879 email: grservices@hotmail.co.uk

www.grservicesswindon.co.uk

From initial concept to full working drawings my service includes: • written specifications; • contractor tender documents; • all forms and paperwork carried out; • liaison with relevant authorities; • Party Wall Act paperwork and advice given.

7 DAY DESIGN SERVICE for most domestic work Established 1980. All areas covered

Call Bob on 07778 324228

All areas of Plastering, Decorating and Refurbishment undertaken

• Ceilings and Walls Plastered • Coving • Rendering • Painting & Decorating - Internal & External • Complete Home Improvements undertaken • Free quotations

Please contact Brian Jones

Mobile: 07976 572905 Home: 01793 725834

Professional, reliable and friendly service www.swindonplasterer.com

SERVICE SECTOR CARPENTRY

Paul Rhind

J S Property Services

Bathroom suites and kitchens fitted

UPVC windows & doors Conservatories, fascias and guttering Roofing & building maintenance

Home & Garden Improvements General General carpentry carpentry Fitted Fitted kitchens kitchens // bedrooms bedrooms Laminate Laminate and and solid solid flooring flooring Replacement Replacement doors doors Skirtings Skirtings // architraves architraves Decking Decking and and patios patios General General building building maintenance maintenance

Telephone/fax: 01793 874807

Free Free estimates estimates Call Call Jamie Jamie on on 704309 704309 or or 0777 0777 594 594 8833 8833 www.jspropertyservices.co.uk www.jspropertyservices.co.uk

DECORATOR

DECORATOR

TREVOR TREVORWYSE WYSE

TREVOR WYSE

Painting, decorating, ceramic tiling

Professional ProfessionalPainter Painter &&Decorator Decorator Wallpaper WallpaperSpecialist Specialist Coving Coving••Dado DadoRails Rails••Tiling Tiling

Call Call01793 01793721455 721455oror 07976 07976885203 885203

Doctor Glass INTERIOR EXTERIOR

Professional Painter & Decorator H

H

repairs & replaces cracked, H Wallpaper Specialist H WALLPAPERING COVING broken or Coving •double Dado Rails • Tiling • 20 years experience misted • Competitive glazed Call windows 01793rates 721455 or • No job too small

07976 885203 Also hinges • Reliable & friendly service and locks • Free estimates

www.trevorwyse.com www.trevorwyse.com

01793 854448 CallCall: Stuart on 01793 727659 www.trevorwyse.com or 07976 07809 368051 or 219671

HEATING & PLUMBING

HOME MAINTENANCE

Quality Plumbing & Heating Est. 30 years • Central heating installation • Boiler servicing & repairs • Replacement boilers • Bathrooms & tiling • Power showers • Outside taps Reg: 128966 All plumbing work undertaken Reliable service, realistic prices

Kevin Rolfe Tel: 01793 881905 Mobile: 07973 663367 www.swindonheating.co.uk

TILING

PA I N T I N G A N D D E C O R AT I N G

BUILDING SERVICES

A C h a n g e o f Co l o u r

GET SOMEONE IN, REPAIR AND IMPROVE: YOUR GUIDE TO HOME MAINTENANCE

43

Experienced in all aspects of interior and exterior decorating ✓ Domestic, commercial & letting

UNITS 19-20 KENDRICK INDUSTRIAL ESTATE ✓ Specialist in insurance claims & DIY 'rescues’ SWINDON WILTS SN2 2DU ✓ Competitive rates (no VAT)

TEL: 01793 536784

✓ Excellent references

✓ Registered & recommended by the Painting & Decorating Association

SANSUM SAND & GRAVEL SUPPLY TO THE ✓ Age UK Registered ✓ Full public liability insurance AND TRADE CUSTOMERS GENERAL PUBLIC Free advice and quotations

contact Darryl Bevan on BRICKS, 01793 497461 or 07919 671307

CONCRETE BLOCKS, CELCON BLOCKS,

Doctor Glass GRAVEL, TOP SOIL, BARK, BLOCK PAVING,

PATIO SLABS, SAND,

repairs & replaces cracked, CANTABURY SPAR, broken or

LANDSCAPE misted double FABRIC, glazed windows DRAINAGE CHANNELS, Also hingesCHEMICALS, BUILDING and locks

ROCK SALT AND CEMENT Call: 01793 854448 www.sansums.co.uk or 07976 219671

Services

(Household Maintenance) Handyman

• Plastering • Carpentry • Garden Maintenance • Decorating, Coving • Groundwork • Tiling • Bathroom & Kitchen Installation • Fencing & Patios • Power Jetting • Building, installing partition walls, loft boarding & repairs Competitive Rates, Flexible Hours, Reliable, No job too small

For a free no obligation quote call Gary on

Mobile: 07764 511933 or Tel: 01793 879069

TILING

GILES BROS

TILING WALL & FLOOR SPECIALIST Please call Leon for a free quote

TEL: 01793 330975 MOB: 07919 255673 Email: leon.jack@hotmail.co.uk Kitchens, Bathrooms and Conservatories

FLOOR & WALL TILING SPECIALISTS Free Quotes Call Lee on 0771 8102 921 Call Mike on 0778 8444 084 or 01793 520526

swindonlink.com n August 2015

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SERVICE SECTOR

GET SOMEONE IN, REPAIR AND IMPROVE: YOUR GUIDE TO HOME MAINTENANCE

ACCOUNTANCY

AERIAL SERVICES

CJD

Aerial Solutions

ACCOUNTANCY LTD

Craig Dell FCCA

Chartered Certified Accountant Over 20 year’s experience for all your accountancy & taxation needs including: • Self Assessments • Sole Traders • Partnerships • Limited Companies • Available evenings and weekends • Fixed fee quotes • No VAT • First consultation free

• Does your picture freeze and break up?

• Would you like TV points in other rooms?

• Do you want Freesat or Sky installed?

Then contact your local VAT free aerial and satellite installers

01793 744957

50% off digital aerials

Tel: 01793 343255 M: 07557 399987 Email: cjd.accountancy@virginmedia.com

www.cjd-accountancy.co.uk

BOOK-KEEPING

CARPETS

AERIAL SERVICES

Chris Payne

aerials & satellite systems ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭

Freeview & Sky installations TV & radio aerials Home cinema Extra TV & telephone points NO VAT

Tel: 01793 700078 Mobile: 07904 330724

CARPET CLEANING

AERIAL SERVICES

Shaun Guard

TV AERIAL SERVICES Poor Reception Solved Aerials repaired & supplied TVs - Hung on your wall and tuned Extra TV Points - For aerial and Sky (In HD!) Sky TV - Also Foreign Language TV

Call Swindon 01793 474720 CARPET CLEANING

Abacus Cleaning Services

Can’t face doing the books after a hard day’s work?

Carpets, Rugs and Fabric Upholstery

Hard Floors Cleaned & Sealed

Call Leonard Fuller, A.I.C.B, qualified bookkeeper with over 20 years’ experience.

Tel: 01793 700637 or 07963 637748 www.bookkeepingswindon.co.uk

We bring the showroom to you!

Carpet, Vinyl, Wood & Laminate

01793 200071

www.jcarpets.co.uk Great personal service with great prices!

CLEARANCE

Carpet & Upholstery Protection Treatments Insecticide & Anti-Static Treatments Spot & Stain Removal Fully Insured, NCCA member Independently owned & operated To arrange for a free estimate call

The Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Specialist

• Carpets, rugs, curtains, suites etc • Emergency call out available • Hard floors cleaned and sealed • Stain removal • Protection treatment • Fully insured

• Quickly usable

01793 421802

You’ll be amazed how affordable it is ....call for your free estimate from your local independent on 01793 731418 or mobile: 07808 355487

COMPUTER SUPPORT

COMPUTER SUPPORT

www.abacuscleaningswindon.co.uk

Email: cliff.whiteway@btinternet.com

Computer problems?

Let us help

We provide a range of computer services for both home and business including: • PC repairs and maintenance • System upgrades, networking • Custom built computers • Windows home server installs • Virus removal • Data recovery • Internet solutions • Web design With over 15 years experience, you can rely on us

Tel: 01793 325685

LOCKS

Local locksmith Reasonable rates • New locks fitted • Gain entry • Problem uPVC doors and windows • Fitting of all wooden doors and hardware For a competitive quote call Matt on 07734253189 or email oakhurstlocks@aol.com Checkatrade registered & insured

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swindonlink.com n August 2015

OVEN CLEANING

Ovens, ranges, agas, hobs extractors and microwaves

Fixed pricing examples Single Oven £40 - Range £60 No hidden extras, includes racks, doors, glass 20 years experience No toxic chemicals in your home Reliable & Friendly Free Quotation To book your oven clean call

01793 877677 or email:

office@enlan.co.uk

PEST CONTROL

PEST CONTROL

ASW Pest Control

Cost Effective Pest Prevention and Control

Daily service in Swindon and surrounding areas covering all pests including rats, mice, moles, rabbits, pigeons, ants, fleas, bedbugs, wasps and bees

Prompt professional service 07966 527538 07973 767582 www.aswpestcontrol.co.uk

Highly competitive pricing Swindon based Fully qualified Specialists in all pest removal Bird proofing Wasp Specialists 7 Day - No call out charge

Call 07818 550347

russell@whelanpest.co.uk

SERVICE SECTOR

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GET SOMEONE IN, REPAIR AND IMPROVE: YOUR GUIDE TO HOME MAINTENANCE

APPLIANCE REPAIRS

APPLIANCE REPAIRS

APPLIANCE REPAIRS

HALE SKILLS • Washing Machines • Cookers

Guaranteed repairs to all makes of domestic appliances Same day/next day service

Tel: 01793 469300 CLEANING THE CLEANING & IRONING SERVICE House cleans from £16 per house.

Around £26 for a 4 bed.

Weekly, fortnightly or monthly cleans.

One-off Spring cleans Ironing £17 per basket, collected and returned the next day

Call 01793 875665 07780625244

COMPUTER SUPPORT

Est 2002 For all your computing needs

• • • • •

Hardware & Software Installs & Upgrades Repairs • Maintenance • PC Security Home or Business Networking Wireless Setup On Site Service, Home or Business

For a dedicated local service with a Microsoft Certified Professional, with over 21 years experience, call 01793 320 439 or 07799 337 918 E: info@compucareuk.com www.compucareuk.com

CLEANING

CLEANING

Homes That Sparkle From People Who Shine Affordable & reliable cleaning programmes, tailored to meet your needs and budget Regular cleans, Spring cleans, Moving in or out cleans Trained and insured staff Equipment and supplies provided Quality Service Guarantee

Call us now for free, no obligation quotation Tel: 01793 511885

Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Natural Stone Restoration

h Domestic and Commercial h End of Tenancy Cleaning h Stain Removal h Tile & Grout Colour Sealing h Driveway/Patio Cleaning h Stone Cleaning & Sealing h Free Competitive Quote h Fully Insured

Mobile: 07506 740921

www.procleancleaningservices.co.uk

GARAGE DOORS

Installation & Repairs New Doors • Automation No Obligation Quotes Est. 1981

• Dryers • Vacuum Cleaners Over 30 year’s experience

Call 07963 131429 e.mail: haleskills@gmail.com

Make an impact!

Promote your business on paper and online @ swindonlink.com Call Sue Roberts to discuss our combined advertising packages

01793 602540 GARAGE DOORS

Electrical Automation • Up & Over • Roller • Sectional • Repairs •

Showroom:

Maxwell House, Maxwell Street, Swindon SN1 5DR Tel: (01793) 618499 or 513796 swindondoorservices@ btinternet.com

• Dishwashers

Unit 8, Central Trading Estate, Signal Way, Swindon SN3 1PD

www.garagedoorsupplies.co.uk

Tel 01793 847545 Email enquiries@dimensions.org.uk www.dimensions.org.uk

REMOVALS

SCRAP METAL

TV REPAIRS

UPHOLSTERY

WHITE VAN MAN

RODDERS SCRAP METAL

Gogglebox

M & J Upholsterers

SINGLE ITEMS MOVED ANYWHERE IN SWINDON FOR ONLY £35

• Full house removal • House clearance • Disposal of unwanted items • Any distance long/short • Fully insured NEW: Licensed to remove fridges

Call for a FREE quote Mobile: 07796 236436

All metals removed FREE of charge Washing machines, cookers, microwaves etc.

Sorry no fridges or freezers Scrap cars collected FREE of charge

01793 613396 07899 018167 Registered waste carrier

New TV tuning & system set-up In house TV repairs In house estimates

Call Darryl Pace on 01793 812738

RE-UPHOLSTERY & ALL SUITE REPAIRS Re-upholstery of 3 piece suites, dining & fireside chairs etc.

Also new seat interiors Seams - Zips - Springs

LEATHER CLEANING Repairs carried out in situ Established 1972

Call 07709 453949 emanjayupholstery@gmail.com swindonlink.com n August 2015

45

VIEWPOINT: Jamie Hill

Will Swindon soon not be able to move for movies?

In a couple of years you won’t be able to move for multi-screen cinemas in the town.

Popping down the shops to get a paper? Oops there’s a new cinema in your way.

Trying to traverse the Magic Roundabout? Oh no, you’ve become stuck behind a brand new multiplex showing the latest instalment of Fast and Furious.

Okay, I might be exaggerating but there does seem to be a proliferation of film venues.

We’ve had Shaw Ridge’s Cineworld and Greenbridge’s Empire jostling for control of our film fixations for years. But recently Cineworld opened their multiplex at the new very nice Regent Circus development.

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Ocelot magazine editor and film columnist Jamie Hill looks into whether the proliferation of cinemas in Swindon is good for the town or not. Is four multiplexes too many? Will they play all the same things at the same time as is the case right now, or might they give Swindon cinema aficionados the variety they so desperately want?

Now another cinema is to be built as part of the Morai North Star development next to the Oasis.

Four multiple screen centres in different locations, that’s a good thing, right?

The population of Swindon currently stands at just over 210,000 with up 20,000 houses due to be built over the next few years. If you add to that another 100,000 people within a ten mile radius, there’s definitely the market. But will these cinemas all in competition with each other be able to attract the spending public?

In the last few years the Empire at

Greenbridge has been winning the battle for bums on seats with Shaw Ridge sometimes ghostly in comparison. Many is the time I’ve gone to Greenbridge to find the screening full before traipsing across to West Swindon to find Shaw Ridge has room to spare.

But times, they are a-changing.

Will Shaw Ridge be the first casualty in this war? Or will Cineworld do a revamp to back up its Regent Circus offer as the cinema du jour?

There’s a huge population to the west of the town to upset if Shaw Ridge were to close.

I miss the Odeon on Regent Street.

I loved that cinema and used to queue round the block in the late eighties and early nineties. There was no choice then and it was great.

I’m hoping that with more competition, the cinemas will change their offering to give audiences a more diverse range of entertainment and not just more of the same.

Just having a quick glance at the current listings you can see that the variety is simply not there. At the time of writing in mid-July the choice is pretty spare with all three cinemas playing the latest instalment of the Terminator franchise,

as well as Jurassic World, Minions and Ted 2.

The only variety is for morning kids’ films - the screaming screenings if you will. These tend to pick a kids’ film from the past year and play it at 10am for many a befuddled parent who simply wants to get their children out of the house for a few hours and might be able to get a quick shut-eye whilst their child is transfixed by Shaun the Sheep, or runs amok up the aisles throwing popcorn with abandon.

There was only one showing of anything a bit more cerebral in the town and that was Mr Holmes hidden in a 7.45pm Wednesday slot at Greenbridge and at some very odd times at Shaw Ridge.

I understand why cinemas have to have the Terminator dinosaur minion-chomping teddy bear fare.

They bring in the money. But why do the programmers not recognise the possibilities of making each cinema complex slightly different.

We need more thoughtful films in Swindon, the ones that only receive limited nationwide release. We’re not thick, honest! Give us some variation.

At the moment you have to travel out of town to get anything different. There are very good town hall showings in places such as Marlborough or Faringdon, or you can travel to Oxford, Newbury, Bath or Bristol where they have fully

functioning arts cinemas which are not afraid of subtitles and thoughtprovoking content. And they are flourishing.

At the moment it is only Swindon Arts Centre which offers anything like that with two Swindon Film Society’s screenings a month - but only in the colder seasons.

Personally, I would like to see the arts centre do more or even a fully-functioning arts cinema in the borough. But is this realistic or sustainable?

Okay, sometimes these multiplexes come good. They have played a magnificent role in the upsurge of live and encore theatre screenings that have had increasing popularity in the last few years.

To be honest I like popcorn blockbusting mayhem as much as anyone. I love a bit of Michael Bay with his heroes walking away nonplussed from explosions in every film. I love the antics of those pesky Minions and give me a superhero film any day of the week.

But I don’t think I’m on my own when I ask: can we have a bit more intelligent cinema?

If we’re going to have this much cinematic venue choice, the chains also need to give us more choice of what films we can see.

Otherwise it’s just more of the same. It is only with choice that these four multi-screen complexes will thrive.

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