Great Western Hospital gets some warnings of winter squalls to come

Written by Tony Millett on 11 July 2017.

It seems we have reached the point in the NHS' continuing woes when we have to resort to the Anglo-French writer Hilaire Belloc. He wrote prolifically in the early part of the twentieth century and provides an appropriate text for today's NHS:

And always keep a-hold of Nurse
For fear of finding something worse

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Police appeal for information on criminal damage caused by Crop Circles (Aliens excepted)

Written by Neil Goodwin on 11 July 2017.

Police are urging all farmers and landowners to report any crop circles that appear on their land.

They argue that the crop circles might seem harmless but they actually have a huge negative impact on the hardworking landowners and farmers whose crops are damaged. Creating a crop circle is criminal damage and an offence.

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Charity contest: Wayne's Jockeys win the honours in Barbury's JCB Champions Challenge against Zara's Eventers

Written by Tony Millett on 09 July 2017.

After some very hectic racing through Barbury's main arena by the teams in the Inter Hunt Relay finals, came even more hectic racing as a team of eventers challenged a team of jockeys in the charity relay the JCB Champions Challenge - run to support the Injured Jockeys Fund (July 8).

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Marlborough Cricket Club see off the Mayor's team in evening charity fixture

Written by Ed Puddick on 06 July 2017.

Marlborough Cricket Club XI (134-3) beat Marlborough Mayor's XI (79-10) by 55 runs.

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Celebrating the River Kennet’s safer future

Written by A Correspondent on 05 July 2017.

Action for the River Kennet (ARK) and Thames Water have celebrated the completion of Thames Water's £30 million pipeline project to reduce water abstraction from the Rivers Kennet and Og.

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The search for the real Wolf Hall (or Wolfhall) - concert launches Friends' appeal

Written by A Correspondent on 04 July 2017.

Archaeological work at Wolf Hall, near Burbage, is revealing hidden pieces of the old Wolf Hall puzzle - how much of the house at which King Henry VIII wooed Jane Seymour still exists as part of the present Wolf Hall Manor?

A Friends of Wolf Hall organisation has been set up to raise funds to restore the Manor and a Lottery grant is being sought to continue archaeological work.

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Recreating Jane Austen’s World - Aldbourne couple feature in BBC Documentary

Written by Sue Round on 09 July 2017.

2017 marks the two hundredth anniversary of Jane Austen’s death. However, her world is very much alive today.

Aldbourne couple Ros and Chris Oswald love all things Jane Austen and are featured in a BBC documentary – “My Friend Jane” - which will be shown on BBC One South on Monday July 17 at 7pm.

This is the eve of the anniversary Jane Austen’s death (July 18th 1871).

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Fun parade with giant puppets opens Marlborough's tribute festival to Pelham Puppets on their seventieth birthday

Written by Tony Millett on 08 July 2017.

The were plenty of strings attached in Marlborough High Street on Saturday morning (July 8) - it was the opening parade of the town's puppetry festival to mark the seventieth anniversary of the start of one of Marlborough's major industries: Pelham Puppets.

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Toyah wows MantonFest's biggest ever crowd

Written by A Correspondent on 06 July 2017.

Roger Grant, the organiser of Saturday's (July 1) MantonFest 2017, is emphatic: "How did it go?", we asked. "MantonFest 2017 was the most successful yet.”

"We had twice as many people as last year, the weather was good and the atmosphere was electric. It was a complete family occasion with adults and children playing and enjoying themselves, listening to music and relaxing in the fine summer weather in amazing surroundings."

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New primary school gets a helping hand from the Lions, the Lottery and others

Written by Tony Millett on 04 July 2017.

Marlborough's new primary school - Marlborough St Mary's Primary - is taking shape very speedily - outside and inside. It needs to. The builders - Keir Construction - will be handing over the keys to the governors on August 14.

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Matt Prior - Marlborough Downs' "Mr Tree Sparrow" - keeps tabs on another new generation of chicks

Written by Tony Millett on 03 July 2017.

During a very hot late afternoon and evening - one of June's record breakers - I watched Matt Prior ring 73 tree sparrow chicks from sixteen broods. A five-hour shift after his day's work.

His conservation work on the Marlborough Downs centres on the tree sparrow, which is on the Red List of endangered birds and was almost extinct in North Wiltshire when he began taking an interest in them.