Western Daily Press (Bristol UK) back issues from April 2008:
Do not forget the real heroes
Apr 01, 2008 ... In some ways I agree with David Thomas (Your Say, March 18) -there is far too much mention of the word "heroes" in present times. In my generation, the word "hero" was associated with someone whohad done something dangerous at the risk of their own life. Todenigrate it by using ...
Losing his way?
Apr 01, 2008 ... Watching the BBC evening news recently, I could not believe thearrogance and stupidity of David Cameron - first he was seen cyclingwith his helmet swinging from his handlebars, then breaking the lawby jumping red lights ...
Nobody can beat this egghead ; Famous for the blouses she wears and a faultless ability to answer any question you ask, Daphne Fowler from TV's Eggheads is now on the brink of becoming a student cult figure, writes Tim Davey
Apr 01, 2008 ... Famous for the blouses she wears and a faultless ability toanswer any question you ask, Daphne Fowler from TV's Eggheads isnow on the brink of becoming a student cult figure, writes TimDavey She is very neatly turned out. Daphne Fowler never lets you downon that score, as ...
True angels of health service
Apr 01, 2008 ... Through the columns of the Western Daily Press perhaps the widerpublic could discover what is Taunton and Wellington Pensioners'Forum and how it is constituted. Its spokesman C J Stephens (Your Say, March 21) states that heagrees with Lord Mancroft (who is not an MP) in ...
Helping war on hospital bugs
Apr 01, 2008 ... In response to your misleading article of March 15 aboutGloucestershire Royal Hospital considering spending money on"masking tape" in its drive towards better hygiene, it is clear someperspective is needed. Gloucestershire Royal has trialled - at no cost to the hospitalor ...
Minister deals a body blow to PM
Apr 01, 2008 ... Poor Gordon Brown must be feeling as though he has been at thereceiving end of a powerful blow to the solar plexus. Labour are trailing dismally in the opinion polls, David Cameroninvariably gets the better of him during their weekly House ofCommons exchanges, and there are reports ...
Coroner right to defy attempt to gag him
Apr 01, 2008 ... I Am glad that the Oxfordshire coroner Andrew Walker has defiedthe shameful attempts of the Defence Secretary Des Browne to gaghim. Browne was talking about putting a legal muzzle on this andpresumably other coroners to prevent them from accusing the Ministryof Defence of neglect or ...
Budget buried Euro billions
Apr 01, 2008 ... You needed a fine-tooth comb and a high-powered magnifying glassto discover the real news in Alistair Darling's Budget, deliveredsomething like a fortnight ago. But Budget sleuths have now disclosed that, buried in the darkestrecesses of that speech and the welter of documents that ...
Outrageous secrecy over MPs' expenses
Apr 01, 2008 ... While the House of Commons authorities are doing their best (orworst?) to prevent us from knowing the details of the astronomicalexpenses enjoyed by MPs, the Tory backbencher Ann Widdecombe comesup with the astonishing claim that this is all a media witch-hunt. Per..lease, Miss ...
Turn on the tap
Apr 01, 2008 ... The House of Lords is apparently planning to bottle tap water,put a fancy label on the bottles and sell it - yes, sell it - intheir bars and restaurants, according to reports. This is said to be the latest move to make the Palace ofWestminster a "greener" place. Perhaps I am ...
Gurkhas deserve to stay in this country
Apr 01, 2008 ... Congratulations Mr Readman on yet another excellent letter! I,too, am absolutely disgusted by the way this Government has treatedour friends, the Gurkhas. They fought side by side with our men for many years. My ex-husband fought in the army in World War II alongside the Gurkhas ....
Cull is vital to beat Bovine TB
Apr 01, 2008 ... I Understand that, at the recent National Farmers Union AGM, arepresentative of Defra sought to justify its failure to tackle thebovine TB problem by stating that only nine per cent of UK cattleherds were under TB restriction. By the same criteria, it would mean that only nine per ...
Branching out makes sense
Apr 01, 2008 ... More than half of Britain's farms now depend on outside sourcesof income to survive. Experts say at least six out of 10 family farms have diversifiedto avoid being squeezed by falling commodity prices and risingcosts. In some cases, the new business is delivering more income ...
Dairy giant offers new deal to its suppliers
Apr 01, 2008 ... Milk market giant Dairy Crest has announced a new flexiblecontract system to make life easier - and, with luck, moreprofitable - for its suppliers. The group, which buys more than two billion litres of milk fromBritish farmers every year, says the new regime has been ...
Club campaigns against village school closures
Apr 01, 2008 ... A Young Farmers group which has campaigned to save villageschools from closure has now been nominated for a top regionalaward. Craswall Young Farmers, from Herefordshire, have entered therunning for the pounds500 top prize in the Western Daily Pressannual Young Farmers ...
New red tape threat to West's last abattoirs
Apr 01, 2008 ... Farmers are preparing to fight Government proposals for massiveincreases in meat inspection charges which could see dozens of smallabattoirs forced out of business. They say plans to switch all the costs of running the state-runMeat Hygiene Service to the slaughterhouses, where ...
The whiteresponse to the current milk crisis
Apr 01, 2008 ... Last week, Sainsbury's boasted an above-target 6.7 per centgrowth in sales to pounds2.7 billion for the last quarter of itstrading year to March. Justin King, company chief executive, said the market remained "challenging", but the supermarket was "well-positioned to meet consumer ...
British meat is back on menu
Apr 01, 2008 ... Work to rebuild Britain's meat trade links with the rest of theworld has got off to an encouraging start. Ten countries have agreed to re-open trade following the issuingof an all-clear notice in the wake of last August's foot-and-mouthoutbreak. The announcement will come as ...
Praise for heart care
Apr 01, 2008 ... A New cardiology unit has been praised by local politicians. Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, recently opened the unitdedicated to heart patients which has a complete set of secondarycare and treatment options and specialist nurses who can help withpost- op ...
OAP fleeced of pounds230,000
Apr 01, 2008 ... A Trading standards chief has sent out a warning after a pensioner was tricked into buying pounds230,000 of worthless shares. Thieves in Germany tricked the man from Shaftesbury, Dorset,into handing over the cash for shares in a non-existent company. The man, in his 90s, was ...
Threat appeal
Apr 01, 2008 ... Police are looking for a woman and a taxi-driver who saw a mandrive a car towards a 21-year-old man in ...
MP Dan champions half-price bus ticket promotion
Apr 01, 2008 ... People in Keynsham and Saltford can get return bus tickets toBristol and Bath for the price of a single fare from this week. Bus company First has halved the cost of travel for adults andchildren in the neighbouring communities after a similar promotionin Saltford last year led to ...
Rotary club raising cash to help win cancer fight
Apr 01, 2008 ... A Rotary club is leading the drive to raise money for a team ofscientists as they strive towards a major breakthrough in cancertreatment. Bath Rotary recently joined forces with the city's ruby club tomuster funds for the Cancer Research Bath charity. Following a collection ...
Time is on the march
Apr 01, 2008 ... For those of us still feeling the effect of an hour's lost sleepat the weekend, you may be surprised to learn of plans to put theclocks forward by two hours in the summer. But that's exactly what the South West Local GovernmentAssociation (LGA) is proposing in order to give us ...
Hammer gang strike
Apr 01, 2008 ... A Couple have been robbed while sitting in a car in a layby. The three robbers smashed the windows with a hammer and crowbarand demanded the couple hand over their cash. The victims, a 21-year-old man and his girlfriend were in aPeugeot 106 off Lower Strode Road, Clevedon, ...
Cheltenham go for another big scalp
Apr 01, 2008; ... Cheltenham Town are targeting a unique double on Saturday - awin at Nottingham Forest to go alongside their victory at LeedsUnited three weeks ago. No side has managed to turn over both League One giants awayfrom home this season. Goals from David Bird and Alex Russell ...
Wincanton has eye on buyouts
Apr 01, 2008 ... Logistics company Wincanton said it is looking to make furtheracquisitions in both the UK and Europe after enjoying a healthyyear. The Chippenham-based firm - which took over container operatorHanbury Davies in January and hi-tech German company HeBo earlierthis month - is ...
Swindon bid to complete semi-final win
Apr 01, 2008 ... Swindon Town will bid to seal their place in the WiltshirePremier Shield final when they face Chippenham Town in the semi-final second leg at the County Ground tonight. The Robins lead 2-0 from the first leg and have named a strong squad, which includes Sofianne Zaaboub, Blair ...
Let's just enjoy being top of the pile - Lansdown
Apr 01, 2008; ... Bristol City chairman Steve Lansdown is urging the club'splayers, management and supporters to enjoy being top of theChampionship. Victory over Norwich saw the Robins regain top spot on Saturdayand, with five games remaining, automatic promotion to the PremierLeague is a real ...
Friends spurns flowers' pounds3.5bn ; Offer from US private equity group rejected out of hand, raising hopes of new approach
Apr 01, 2008; ... Offer from US private equity group rejected out of hand, raisinghopes of new approach Friends Provident came out fighting yesterday after the lifeinsurance firm rejected a new pounds3.5 billion takeover offer. The insurance giant - which employs around 1,600 people atoffices ...
Nicholls closing in on pounds3 million
Apr 01, 2008; ... The Ditcheat team of Paul Nicholls continued in sparkling form atWincanton. The champion trainer sent out three winners and two seconds tomove closer to earning pounds3 million in prize money in a seasonfor the first time. Walking the course before racing paid dividends for ...
900 police patrols in 3 months, no, it's not the bronx, but downtown Shepton
Apr 01, 2008; ... This street in a Somerset market town, which lies in a protectedconservation area, has been so afflicted with anti-social behaviourthat police have made 900 extra patrols in the past three months. Mounted police alone have dedicated more than 200 extra hours toCowl Street in ...
Mangotsfield miss out on new signing
Apr 01, 2008; ... Mangotsfield United have failed to strengthen their squad aheadof tonight's clash with fellow Premier Division strugglers CorbyTown. Joint caretaker-manager Paul Milsom spent many hours on thetelephone over the weekend, in a bid to bring in a couple of players, with no ...
Coup for City as the environment agency moves in
Apr 01, 2008 ... This is the first glimpse of a new pounds10 million HQ for theEnvironment Agency which is set to transform a Bristol city centreeyesore. The agency is leave offices in Westbury-on-Trym and Aztec Westfor a new headquarters in Bristol. The move involves around 1,000 staff but ...
Gcap beats probe to agree takeover
Apr 01, 2008 ... Radio group GCap confirmed yesterday it is to be bought by rivalGlobal Radio in a pounds375 million deal. The 225p-a-share takeover brings to an end months of speculationin which a series of offers by Global were rejected by GCap, ownerof the West's GWR stations and Classic ...
Nobody safe from the axe - woodgate
Apr 01, 2008 ... Tottenham players are running the risk of getting left behind asJuande Ramos' reign takes shape, according to Jonathan Woodgate. Ramos ended the club's trophy drought with the Carling Cup inFebruary but Spurs have been erratic since, losing four games,including the 4-1 thrashing ...
Pals reunited by the press
Apr 01, 2008 ... For many years now I have enjoyed your newspaper in preference tothe nationals.I have also enjoyed writing to Your Say. Writing about my experiences as a Territorial Army paratrooper inthe 1950s, up in Lincolnshire, saw a response from a man in SouthWiltshire. A gentleman ...
Capello legal team refutes trial claims
Apr 01, 2008 ... Fabio Capello's lawyers insist the England manager will becleared of claims he withheld information in a corruption trial. Capello has given evidence in the trial in Italy of six menaccused of using threats or violence to intimidate players intosigning up for the GEA World sports ...
Tax can't cure binge drinking ; Hospitals are being swamped with alcohol-related emergencies since 24-hour drinking was introduced. But millions of other people drink responsibly - and they are being punished for the sins of the few, argues JEREMY BEADLES, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association
Apr 01, 2008 ... Hospitals are being swamped with alcohol-related emergenciessince 24-hour drinking was introduced. But millions of other peopledrink responsibly - and they are being punished for the sins of thefew, argues JEREMY BEADLES, chief executive of the Wine and SpiritTrade ...
New link forservicemen
Apr 01, 2008 ... A New branch of the Royal Gloucestershire Berkshire and Wiltshire(RGBW) Regimental Association, now affiliated to The Rifles has beenestablished in Somerset for the benefit of the many former soldiersof our antecedent regiments resident in the county.We also welcomeex- service personnel ...
Riddle of that exotic Nene gosling and those extra feet
Apr 01, 2008 ... With reference to your photograph and story of the nene goslingrecently hatched at Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (Western Daily Press, March 19). I think this little bird is quite remarkable and not just forits ...
EU hand-out is not a gift
Apr 01, 2008 ... How nice that Gloucester MP Parmjit Dhanda is so pleased andgrateful that the EU Solidarity Fund is to give pounds110 million toGloucestershire to help with flood relief (Western Daily Press,March 17). But hold on, the taxpayers of Gloucestershire have paid manytimes that amount ...
Army friends
Apr 01, 2008 ... I Am trying to locate the whereabouts of Dave Cook, whose homewas in Bristol. Dave served with the Royal Dorsets in Hong Kong ...
Zimbabwe stands on a precipice
Apr 01, 2008; ... The main opposition party to Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabeyesterday claimed it was winning the country's election by a hugemargin. With an unexplained delay in official returns from the vote onSaturday, the Movement for Democratic Change issued its own figuressaying it had ...
Inquiry must get answers
Apr 01, 2008 ... Three years is a long time to wait to find out how and why yourloved one died. So it is understandable that Sarah Chapman, the sister of one of10 servicemen killed when an RAF Hercules crashed in Iraq, wants acoroner to conduct a full inquiry into the incident. Ms Chapman ...
Kind, generous John was top businessman
Apr 01, 2008 ... War veteran and businessman John Cornish has died, aged 84. Mr Cornish, of Leigh Woods, Bristol, served as a gunnery officerin the "Forgotten" 14th Army in Burma during World War II. He was a captain in the Royal Artillery and spent a short timeas a staff officer at Burma ...
Nolan and jarvis take advantage
Apr 01, 2008 ... Motocrossby Mick Perry WITH resident British sidecar trial champions Jon Tuck and MattSparks away basking in warmer climes, Hampshire crew Kevin Nolan andCarl Jarvis scooped the main award in the BSSA's Phil Sparks Cusidecar trial. In two laps of 10 sections at Elmington ...
Your chance to win a pair of top tickets
Apr 01, 2008 ... The Daily Press has teamed up with tournament sponsor Heineken tooffer you the chance to win one of the last pairs of tickets toSaturday's big match. The Kingsholm quarter-final between Gloucester and Munster hasbeen sold out since the day tickets went on general sale - but ...
Meehan waits on camera three
Apr 01, 2008; ... Steve Meehan is hoping the third and final camera angle fromFriday night's defeat at Sale will show the incident where ShaunBerne had three teeth knocked out. Two of the three cameras at the match did not pick up theincident - and Bath head coach Meehan hopes the third will prove ...
I just felt flat, admits pidgeon
Apr 01, 2008 ... Athleticsby Kevin Fahey EMILY PIDGEON'S hopes of a grandstand finale to her career as ajunior in the World Cross Country Championships ended in a crushingdisappointment. The 18-year-old Cheltenham international admitted she was not inpeak shape due to recent illnesses, but ...
Weale can push on to Olympics says bartu
Apr 01, 2008; ... Sam Weale can now push on and make a determined bid to qualifyfor the Olympic Games in Beijing. That is the verdict of Jan Bartu, Great Britain's performancedirector in modern pentathlon, after Weale's bronze medal in theWorld Cup staged at Millfield School over the ...
Long life is in the blood
Apr 01, 2008 ... Lowering blood pressure among elderly patients could cut deathrates by a fifth and heart problems by a third, a new studyrevealed. A trial co-ordinated by a team from Imperial College Londonshowed that giving over-80s medication to decrease blood pressurereduced the mortality ...
They haven't wiped me out
Apr 01, 2008; ... Adrug dealer who had property worth more than pounds650,000seized by authorities says he is living a life of luxury in the WestCountry and insists his heroin-trafficking past was simply an "errorof judgment". David Tomkins, who last week had pounds665,000 worth of assetstaken ...
Cows removed
Apr 01, 2008 ... Rspca inspectors removed 100 cows from a farm after concerns wereraised over the animals' welfare, staff said last night. A spokeswoman said inspectors had ...
OAPs get permit to roam
Apr 01, 2008 ... Pensioners from the region can travel wherever they want forfree on local buses as a new bus pass scheme comes into effect today. About 11 million people across England can benefit from thescheme which allows anyone aged 60 or over, as well as eligibledisabled people, to use ...
Coroner tells jury: No plot to kill Diana
Apr 01, 2008; ... There is no evidence the Duke of Edinburgh ordered, or MI6 wereinvolved in, the execution of Princess Diana, the coroner in theinquest into the former Royal's death has said. Lord Justice Baker, speaking yesterday on the first day ofsumming up at the inquest, said there were five ...
Appeal launched to find identity of Exmoor man
Apr 01, 2008 ... A Fresh appeal has been launched to solve the six-year riddlesurrounding the death of a mystery man whose body was found onExmoor. UK charity Missing People, which works with the police, coronersand hospitals to help solve unresolved cases, is urging anyone withinformation about ...
Fire chiefs show support for staff
Apr 01, 2008 ... Fire chiefs have joined the body which would run a new 999control centre for the South West - even though they have pledged tofight its creation. Avon Fire Authority has set its face against the new complexplanned for Taunton, which would replace its own emergency controlcentre ...
Will the stones finally reveal their secrets?
Apr 01, 2008; ... It remains prehistoric Britain's most enduring mystery and twoeminent archaeologists yesterday embarked on a once-in-a-lifetimechance to unravel some of the long-lost secrets of Stonehenge. They hope to pinpoint when the very first stone was laid on theblustery, sloping site at ...
Chat with jodi
Apr 01, 2008 ... The UK's best-selling female author, Jodi Picoult, will visitBristol Grammar School to discuss her latest novel Change of Heart. Her visit ...
Eggstra sales
Apr 01, 2008 ... Shoppers are buying more free-range eggs than battery eggs forthe first time. Sales of free range eggs have shot up since Jamie Oliver's FowlDinners programme on animal ...
Village halls going online
Apr 01, 2008 ... A Groundbreaking initiative to provide online access to peopleliving in rural areas who do not have the internet has been launchedin Dorset. Connecting Dorset is the first project of its kind in Britain. The pounds600,000 scheme is offering everything needed to getvillage and ...
Marines killed in afghan blast
Apr 01, 2008 ... An explosion in southern Afghanistan has claimed the lives of twoRoyal Marines serving with Taunton-based 40 Commando, three weeksbefore they were due to return home. The pair were on patrol near Kajaki in the notorious HelmandProvince shortly before 5pm local time on Sunday when ...
Property developer fined pounds5k
Apr 01, 2008 ... A Property developer has been fined pounds5,000 for failing toremove an unauthorised building from one of its sites. Temple Park Homes Ltd had been ordered to tear down anunauthorised paint spray booth at land in Keynsham by Bath and NorthEast Somerset Council. At a hearing ...
Three years after 10 died these planes could still be flying fire hazards...
Apr 01, 2008; ... Hercules transport planes may still be flying over war zoneswithout the essential safety equipment that could have prevented acrash that killed 10 servicemen. That was the disputed claim from lawyers representing two of thefamilies of those killed as the inquest into the deaths got ...