Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales) back issues from November 2008:
Tory council the worst in Wales for paying bills.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Tomos Livingstone Political Editor A WELSH council was yesterday accused of damaging small businesses by paying less than 40% of its invoices on time. Monmouthshire council is adrift at the bottom of a league table of authorities, with the next-worst council, ...
Diverted journeys to London won't get any faster after all; Funding cut hits plan to ease Tunnel diversion.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: David James PLANS to speed up the London to South Wales train line when the Severn Tunnel is shut have been shelved amid a cut in public funding for the railways. Nineteen schemes across the UK have been put on hold after the Office of Rail Regulation gave ...
Only Men Aloud! in battle for Xmas No 1.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... WELSH male voice choir Only Men Aloud! today launch a bid to beat the X Factor winner to this year's Christmas number one. The 18-strong Cardiff based group, who won BBC competition Last Choir Standing, are joint second favourites to reach the top spot with their charity single ....
Thieves target rugby fans' cars in Cardiff.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... RUGBY fans' cars are being targeted by thieves during games at the Millennium Stadium, police revealed yesterday. Thefts from vehicles trebled during the autumn rugby internationals last year in areas of Cardiff where fans attending the games leave their cars. Police ...
'Hospitals hit by free car park policy'.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... HOSPITALS in Wales are paying the price for providing free car parking, running up a bill of thousands of pounds a year to prevent abuse, the Conservatives claimed yesterday. Jonathan Morgan, the party's health spokesman, said NHS figures showed that so far hospital trusts had ...
I want to win it for Senna - Hamilton.(Sport)
Nov 01, 2008 ... LEWIS Hamilton's intention is to make his hero Ayrton Senna proud this weekend. Hamilton missed out on his initial chance in last year's Brazilian Grand Prix after cracking under the pressure brought to bear at the end of a tumultuous season. Now he has a second ...
Halloween treat as Blues seal semi place.(Sport)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Blair Wood at Cardiff Arms Park CARDIFF BLUES survived a Halloween thriller as they overcame a spirited Bath fight back to ensure Wales has at least one region in the EDF Cup semi-finals. Dai Young's men rode their luck at times against an under strength side ...
Wales want to talk after big England threat.(Sport)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: gareth griffiths WALES plan high-level talks to prevent England from scuppering a possible joint bid to host the 2015 World Cup. RFU chief executive Francis Baron has warned England may withdraw their bid to stage the tournament unless the International Rugby ...
Traffic sign points to a gap in communication; Automated reply causes council message mix-up.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Robin Turner A BLUNDER by officials has led to a council erecting a road sign asking drivers to e-mail in any translation work instead of its intended message of banning lorries from a street. The sign in English read: "No entry for heavy goods vehicles. ...
Me in a Bond movie! It was a dream come true, says rally driver Mark; Quantum stunt double role revealed.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Robin Turner THE sensational opening carchase scenes in the latest James Bond blockbuster Quantum of Solace were made possible thanks to Welsh-based rally ace Mark Higgins, it emerged yesterday. The 37-year-old three times British rally champion, who lives in ...
Behaving like a child can be good for your health, says uni; Short sharp sprints could be better for you than week of long sessions.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Madeleine Brindley Health Editor EXERCISING more like a child could be more beneficial to your health than traditionally adult activities like jogging, new research has revealed. Experts at the University of Glamorgan have found that short sharp sprints ...
Two care home assistants are cleared of wilfully neglecting dementia sufferer.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Lauren Turner TWO care home workers accused of wilfully neglecting a 52-year-old resident have been cleared of all charges. Dementia sufferer Alan Sayers died at the Mountleigh Care Home in Newbridge on September 27, 2004. Paramedics called to the home just ...
Police appeal over death of 'Ghostbuster' a year ago, traces new witnesses.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Lauren Turner POLICE appealing again for information about the death of a man killed on a fancy dress night out, have traced new witnesses, they said last night. Mortgage adviser Gareth Davies, 26, was dressed as a Ghostbuster when he was attacked in a car ...
Tory council the worst at paying its bills within 30 days by a long way; Contrast with party's call for 10-day target.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Tomos Livingstone Political Editor A FLAGSHIP Conservative council has been criticised for paying less than 40% of its bills on time. Monmouthshire Council, one of two Welsh authorities controlled by the Conservatives, has a record twice as bad as the Welsh ...
MP condemns Wales-backed film as 'IRA propaganda'.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Gavin O'Connor MONEY given by the Welsh Assembly Government to help make a controversial film about IRA terrorist Bobby Sands was yesterday labelled a "disgrace". Hunger, which has just been nominated in various categories of the British Independent Film ...
Rediscovered - the myths, legends and family dramas in the history of Charles' Welsh home; Book traces story of estate's original owners.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Robin Turner IT GAINED a new lease of life when the Prince of Wales moved in this summer, but Charles' first Welsh royal residence is steeped in myth and legend, a historian has revealed. The streams and vales which surround Llwynywermod, near the hamlet of ...
Slow rail journeys to London won't get any faster after all; Funding cut hits plan to speed up diversion.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: David James PLANS to speed up the London to South Wales train line when the Severn Tunnel is shut have been shelved amid a cut in public funding for the railways. Nineteen schemes across the UK have been put on hold after the Office of Rail Regulation gave ...
uk news bulletin: Setback for Victoria in magazine battle.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... VICTORIA BECKHAM has lost a bid to get an immediate judgement in a lawsuit against a British publication - meaning the case is now set to go to trial. The former Spice Girl launched legal action against Grazia magazine earlier this year, seeking damages for "hurt feelings and ...
uk news bulletin: Couple supplied drugs to celebrities.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... ACOUPLE are facing jail after admitting supplying drugs to a "hit list" of celebrities including Amy Winehouse. The charges against Johnny Blagrove, 34, and his 22-year-old girlfriend Cara Burton were triggered by a video secretly shot of the troubled Grammy award singer ...
uk news bulletin: OAP foils raid by ripping off balaclava.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... A PENSIONER foiled a daylight raid on a jeweller's shop by pulling off one of the attackers' balaclavas, it was revealed yesterday. The unnamed man, believed to be in his late 70s, intervened as two men tried to smash their way through the reinforced windows of Ernest Jones ...
world news bulletin: Libya compensates Lockerbie victims.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... LIBYA has paid EUR1.5bn into a compensation fund for relatives of US victims of terror attacks blamed on Tripoli, the US state department said last night. The attacks include the 1988 Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people and the 1986 bombing of a Berlin disco. ...
world news bulletin: French trader lost bank pounds 474m.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... A PARIS judge has filed preliminary charges against a trader suspected of losing more than 600 million euros (pounds 474m) in complex derivative trades at French mutual bank Caisse d'Epargne. A French judicial official said Boris Picano-Nacci was placed under judicial ...
world news bulletin: Japan to sack air chief over his war views.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... THE head of the Japanese air force is to be sacked after saying the country was not an aggressor in World War Two, Japan's defence minister said last night. Yasukazu Hamada said Gen Toshio Tamogami's views, written in an essay, ran counter to the Government's position on the ...
Britain and France push for end to Congo fighting; Aid agencies warn of humanitarian crisis as 250,000 flee their homes.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Gavin Cordon FOREIGN Secretary David Miliband and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner headed for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last night amid intense diplomatic efforts to end the latest fighting between rebels and government forces. Aid ...
'Binge Britain staggers towards dementia epidemic'.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... BRITAIN may be heading for a dementia epidemic caused by binge drinking, experts warn. Alcohol-fuelled young and middle-aged revellers could be racking up brain damage which will affect their mental faculties in later years, it is claimed. Research has shown that ...
Veteran DJ says Brand was a timebomb set to explode; Gambaccini claims presenter was Radio 2 controller's 'pet'.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Western Mail reporter VETERAN Radio 2 disc jockey Paul Gambaccini yesterday launched a scathing attack on shamed presenter Russell Brand. Gambaccini, who has a weekly show on the station, said he always thought Brand was a "timebomb" waiting to explode. ...
Osborne accuses Brown of 'a spending splurge'.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Andrew Woodcock SHADOW Chancellor George Osborne yesterday accused Gordon Brown of deepening the economic downturn by trying to "spend his way out of recession". Mr Osborne claimed Government plans to stimulate demand would result in a burden of debt which ...
'After decades of broken politics, we are four days from bringing change' Obama claims moral high road as he widens advertising campaign.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Wesley Johnson BARACK OBAMA called for a "new politics for a new time" yesterday as the battle for the White House entered its final weekend. The Democratic presidential nominee, who leads Republican rival John McCain in national polls, said America was four ...
Britain should push to influence fresh US team; As the race for the White House enters its final weekend, Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrats' foreign affairs spokesman, cautions against expecting radical change too soon.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Ed Davey IF BARACK OBAMA wins the US presidential election, many of his British and European supporters assume that transatlantic relations will rapidly recover from the damage inflicted by the Bush administration. Once the euphoria subsides, however, the same ...
Tally ho! Protesters scent start of hunting season; Thirty meets expected in Wales today.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Darren Devine HUNTSMEN will gather all over Wales today as the season begins amidst warnings from animal rights activists that they will be closely monitored for breaches of laws banning the use of dogs. At least 30 groups will gather around Wales with all ...
Interest shown in buying McLean's homes division.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... ADMINISTRATORS are hoping part of a major Welsh construction firm that went bust earlier this week can be saved. Deeside-based construction group David McLean went into administration after running into problems caused by the credit crunch and the housing market downturn. ...
'Early release is an insult to our Cerys' Driver who left toddler paralysed free with tagging.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Ben Glaze THE father of a toddler left paralysed by a speeding teenage driver last night spoke of his anger after the motorist walked free from prison. Cerys Edwards was 11 months old when Antonio Singh Boparan's pounds 57,000 Range Rover smashed into her ...
Gren fan's creation a fitting tribute to icon; William to unveil sculpture by Welsh artist Nia Wyn Jones at official opening of Media Wales new offices.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Sarah Miloudi METAL artist Nia Wyn Jones combined classic Gren cartoons through the ages to create a stunning memorial to the celebrated Welshman. The 34-year-old artist, of Llandaff, Cardiff, is more used to crafting delicate sheet-metal sculptures inspired ...
Antigua tries to arrest its image as an island of crime; Caribbean island joins the Crimestoppers international network to encourage witnesses.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Robin Turner ANTIGUA has joined the world Crimestoppers network after suffering a dramatic downturn in tourism after the double murder of Welsh honeymooners Ben and Catherine Mullany. The move is part of a programme to repair the tarnished image of the ...
Biker in police crash named.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... AMOTORCYCLIST killed in a crash with a police car has been named. Kevin Evans, 39, from Tirydail, Ammanford, died after a collision with a Dyfed-Powys Police vehicle travelling in the opposite direction, a force spokeswoman said. He was ...
Frankly Howard; Take That are back on the road and heading for Wales. The Western Mail's Karen Price spoke to Howard Donald about fame a second time around.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Karen Price TAKE That's new album The Circus is apparently packed with cracking tracks. How do I know? Robbie Williams told me. Well actually, that's a bit of a fib. But it's a fact that Robbie is a fan of the soon-to-be-released ...
Police car fuel errors add up to pounds 3,000.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... A WELSH police force put 26 of its cars out of action by filling up with the wrong fuel. Officers working for North Wales Police cost the taxpayer nearly pounds 3,000 in the past 12 months by pumping gallons of petrol into their diesel engines. In 2006, the force ...
Unveiled, the climate-change computer whose ancestor beat a chess genius; Blue Ice will help to predict sea-level rise.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Robin Turner IT IS a descendant of IBM's Deep Blue supercomputer which famously defeated world champion and chess genius Garry Kasparov. Now Blue Ice, Swansea University's ultra-powerful but considerably slimmed down "new generation" IBM supercomputer, is ...
Man versus machine.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... On May 11, 1997, Deep Blue, which once appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno in the USA, won a six-game match by two wins to one with three draws against the then world champion Garry Kasparov. Outraged Kasparov accused IBM of cheating and demanded a rematch, but IBM ...
'As Wales is struggling to make ends meet, end free prescriptions' As recession looms, Welsh Conservatives leader Nick Bourne says a return to 1970s conditions requires a new look at Wales' budget. He writes...(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Nick Bourne SIXTEEN years of continual growth in our economy have come to an abrupt end. The word recession is now openly being bandied about by politicians around the world. It is a harsh reality but we now find ourselves at the beginning of an ...
Darling will need to be a pinball wizard to tackle these fast balls; real politik.(News)
Nov 01, 2008 ... POLITICIANS could be forgiven for feeling as if they've been in a pinball machine for the past few weeks. The breakneck ups and downs on the financial markets have left politics struggling to catch up, and some old certainties are gone forever. Alistair Darling isn't ...
Wales needs this shelved rail upgrade to go ahead; Western Mail COMMENT.(Leaders)
Nov 01, 2008 ... THE economic downturn has the potential to jeopardise many grand projects that were due to go ahead and, despite the Government's promises that its public spending plans are still on track, the axe is already starting to fall. Perhaps it's no great surprise that the Office of ...
Letter: Nuclear is clearly not the right answer.(Letters)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: DR DAVID LOWRY SIR - Jack Harris (Letters, October 25) lets his endless enthusiasm for nuclear power cloud clear thinking. He joins the West Wales Business Forum ("Rebalanced economy at heart of revival proposals", October 15) in supporting a new reactor ...
Letter: What about waste?(Letters)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: SUE DAVIES SIR - In his letter extolling the virtues of nuclear power (October 25), Jack Harris cites some recent accidents with wind turbines but fails to mention nuclear power's very long record of scary accidents, including recent major mishaps at the Asco plant in ...
Letter: Cash flows to Wales.(Letters)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: JOHN GERAINT SIR - Further to the letters from KM Downes and Denver Thomas about our series following the world's great rivers, currently showing on S4C, readers may be interested in how Yr Afon was funded. The licence which S4C paid was well within their ...
A POSTCARD FROM WALES.(Features)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Send your pictures together with contact details to Saffron Jenkins at wmreaderpics@mediawales.co.uk ...
Letter: It's victim blaming.(Letters)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: LEANNE WOOD AM SIR - I was disappointed to read the comments of Patrick Minford, Professor of Applied Economics at Cardiff Business School, blaming the unemployed for unemployment (October 24). "A lot of this has to do with the fact that they are in receipt ...
Letter: Is one worth 12?(Letters)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: S BEHR SIR - Last week (October 23) four new civil service posts in Cardiff Bay were advertised in the Western Mail. Each director of this additional government tier is to receive "around" pounds 130,000 plus bonuses. Is not pounds 130,000 ...
Letter: Put lorries in a lane.(Letters)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: GWYNETH HARDING SIR - The awful accident on the M6 which killed a family of six is terrible - I sat in my armchair and cried. I don't know these people, but it's an awful heartache for their families. What hope has a small car got on the motorway with these ...
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY.(Features)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Jesus said: "It is meat and drink for me to do the will of him ...
Bequest sends Rhondda pupils on holiday; RETRO REPORT November, 2005 How we covered...(Features)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Edited by Tony Woolway A SCHOOL in one of Wales' most deprived areas has been left more than pounds 250,000 in the will of a millionaire American benefactor. Maerdy Junior School, in the Rhondda, will get the money thanks to one of its former pupils who moved ...
A CULTURAL WEEKEND... How I'll spend the next 48 hours.(Features)
Nov 01, 2008 ... I'D love to say that I'll be having a fun weekend, out and about, taking in various forms of culture. However, I'm working on the Swn Festival, a three-day music event taking place in Cardiff this month. I'm editing the programme so, sadly, most of my weekend will be taken up ...
IN THE GALLERY.(Features)
Nov 01, 2008 ... WITH his new series of paintings, artist Glyn Pooley turns his attention towards the sky. The sky may be something which we take for granted - after all, it's always with us. But Pooley says it is "a compelling presence, awesome in scale, profound and timeless in ...
Building the stage for future success; Bryn Terfel will launch the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama's pounds 3.5m fundraising drive next week. Karen Price finds out more about it.(Features)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Karen Price COULD there be a better patron for the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama's new pounds 3.5m fundraising campaign than Bryn Terfel? The international bass baritone - and fiercely proud Welshman - may have a diary jam-packed with concert ...
Morning Serial; The Death of Justice.(Features)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: by Michael O'Brien ELLIS was alleged to have said: "You are trying to say we mugged a guy and then tried to steal a car. It's not true." Ellis later said Hall was "protecting someone who could have done it". Under cross-examination by my barrister the officer then ...
Film-makers and actors get taste of TV celebrity.(Features)
Nov 01, 2008 ... YOUNG Welsh film-makers and actors are to have their work screened on ITV Wales over the next two months. The It's My Shout trainees have produced eight new films, ranging from 10 to 23 minutes in length. The films were premiered last weekend at the fifth annual It's ...
Holidays leave artist longing to paint landscapes of home; A lifetime's fascination with Anglesey informs Wilf Roberts' atmospheric paintings. He tells Jenny White about his very personal approach to art Box Office arts & entertainment.(Features)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Jenny White SINCE he was a child, there have been two constants in Wilf Roberts' life: painting, and Anglesey. He was born on the west side of the island in 1941 but grew up mostly on Mynydd Bodafon, an ancient quartzite outcrop from which you can see to the ...
arts news bulletin: Shrek creators at animated event.(Features)
Nov 01, 2008 ... DREAMWORKS, the creators of animated classics such as Shrek and Kung Fu Panda, will be in Wales this month. They will be part of the Sand event, organised by Swansea Metropolitan University's ...
arts news bulletin: Artists find a PO posting in village.(Features)
Nov 01, 2008 ... AN old post office has been transformed into a gallery. Ten local artists have been displaying their work as part of the first exhibition at Llangrannog's new visual arts venue. The ...
arts news bulletin: New songs to celebrate pairing.(Features)
Nov 01, 2008 ... PIANIST Llyr Williams and opera singer Paul Carey Jones are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their artistic partnership with a recital in Cardiff. The concert at Cardiff University on November 11 ...
arts news bulletin: Theatre's part of folk band's tour.(Features)
Nov 01, 2008 ... FOLK band State of Undress bring their music to Wales next week. The band, who started the year by supporting Dave Cousins of The Strawbs, will be at the Beaufort Theatre in Ebbw Vale on Friday. ...
my secret boutique.(Features)
Nov 01, 2008 ... Byline: Edited by: Charlotte Laing Hamptons, Ludlow Lane, Penarth. CF64 1EA. 029 2070 5391, www.hamptons-design.co.uk "THE exception and not the rule" is the mantra at Hamptons, and the gorgeous selection of girly gifts and innovative pieces that fill every corner ...
Putting on the razzle dazzle.(Features)
Nov 01, 2008 ... We're head over heels for this gorgeous yolk dress with sequined bib. Long sleeves to cover not-so-in-shape autumn upper arms and such a glorious, cheerful colour, it can be ...
Cooing over the cuties in our lives.(Features)
Nov 01, 2008 ... And buying everyone little we know these cute as a button shoes from Start-rite's autumn/winter 2008 collection. These are the Leo, pounds 15, but there is also Babe, which are girlie pink pigs with a sound chip embedded in ...
Luxury lingerie.(Features)
Nov 01, 2008 ... So what if we're all bundled up in swathes of layers and unflattering old cardies; we can retain a touch of glamour underneath all that by investing in this gorgeous Odille set from Figleaves. ...