Stroud | Archive | 2004 | February
SLEAK curves, gleaming bodywork and a style seemingly-forgotten by today's designers marked the arrival of classic cars on a country-wide relay in Stroud this week. more...
THE MAGIC of the circus has lured two talented youngsters to try work experience under the big top. more...
When bird expert Neil Forbes built his nest in Stroud 20 years ago, he had no idea his career would take him all over the world. more...
MORE than 200 boats - long, short, narrow and broad - turned up at Saul Lock last week for the three-day boat festival. more...
A STONEHOUSE mother who lost her 22-year-old son in an horrific car crash has spoken of her support for a charity which helps those affected by road accidents. more...
Early next month celebrated conductor Martyn Brabbins will be going through all nine of Beethoven's symphonies in one sitting to raise money for his children's school. Sam Bond speaks to the Ruscombe-based conductor about the musical marathon and his journey from humble roots to international accolade.... more...
Memories of school geography trips traditionally involve soggy sandwiches and counting pebbles on a rainy beach in Wales. more...
ONE sure way to get people in the Stroud Valleys scurrying from shops and offices and heading for their cars is for Jayne Fellowes to walk down the street. more...
A RETIRED school teacher with a lifelong aversion to racism is the driving force behind Stroud's forthcoming One Nation festival. more...
BUILDERS' hats blooming in steel poles like yellow buttercups and a telly-tubby mound with a fuchsia pink wall inside... the second International Festival of Gardens at Westonbirt has just opened... more...
A CONTROVERSIAL plan to move Minchinhampton out of the Stroud Constituency in time for the next General Election was debated in Gloucester last week. In 2002 the Parliamentary Boundary Commission announced a Gloucestershire reshuffle and proposed transferring Minchinhampton to the Cotswold area. more...
SHE writes national anthems, teaches children, gives stunning guitar performances, composes fantastic music and even fits in a surf or two - is there no stopping Hayley Savage? more...
IN NOVEMBER thousands of tenants will vote to decide the future of Stroud District Council housing. more...
AS A YOUNG ambitious writer not long out of Cambridge University, Stephen Davis was summoned to Hollywood by actress Jane Fonda to write a movie. more...
NO matter how carefully you follow the recipe, the curry you make at home never seems to live up to the one from the restaurant. more...
UMBRELLAS were essential but it didn't stop the crowds enjoying the Randwick Wap festival on Saturday. more...
AT THE battle of Solferino in 1859, thousands of troops clashed as the French and Piedmontese drove the Austrians out of northern Italy. After the short and bloody battle, more than 40,000 men lay dead or wounded. more...
IS MORRIS dancing a pagan ritual sanitised by the straight-laced Victorians or simply a folk tradition to celebrate rural life and the changing of the seasons? more...
When Lee James came over from Australia 12 years ago he thought he was just here for a holiday. more...
MOST of us complain about having to get up in the mornings to go to work. But what if we had nothing to get up for? Hundreds of people across the county are desperate to start a regular job, but cannot do so because of injury or illness. more...
IN a scene eerily reminiscent of Hollywood blockbuster Outbreak, two figures clad in bulbous yellow chemical suits carry the body of a boy up a hill. more...
AS THE controversy over Stroud's Bus Station continues the author of a new book Stroud's Buses by N P Daniels reflects that the town centre bus terminus has never been a stranger to controversy... more...
British Waterways is spear heading ambitious plans to restore the Cotswold Canals - bringing two of England's most beautiful inland waterways back to life, making them accessible to the community and providing widespread public benefits. more...
THIS autumn MPs will vote on a new water bill which would give strategic health authorities the power in law to force water companies to fluoridate our water supplies. more...
THE SUN shone, the villagers thronged and the band played on as Bisley celebrated Ascension Day with the Dressing of the Well. more...
A Stonehouse construction company has recently undertaken the third stage of the Woodchester Mansion restoration project. Tom Shepherd went along to find out how the work is progressing on the 19th century gothic building which stands in one of the most beautiful valleys in the Stroud district more...
TOURETTES Syndrome can be frightening both for the sufferer and the observer. more...
FROM next month, the Government will start to change the way pensioners pick up their state pensions. By 2005 it is likely all pensions will be paid direct into bank accounts but the knock-on effect from this is catastrophic for village life as small post offices close. more...
MARCHERS turned up in their thousands to take part at a demonstration at Fairford airbase on Saturday, March 22. more...
AMONG the countless unsung heroes of World War II, Wing Commander Adrian Warburton stands tall. more...
PAINSWICK thespians will be taking their audience on a whistle-stop tour of their greatest hits next month when they raid their back catalogue for some of the most dramatic moments from the society's long history. more...
STROUD College has been dogged with less-than-positive news in recent months, with the controversial resignation of the former principal and the running battle over plans for its Nailsworth campus grabbing the headlines. more...
THE sight of a bunch of men running around in tights is really too good to miss - so when the staff from the Stroud News & Journal were invited to take part in an evening of archery, the answer, especially from the female staff, was a resounding yes. more...
THIS week is National Allergy Week. more...
IT IS election time again - one third of district council seats are up for election at the end of this month. The 17 district council seats across the region will be decided after telephone and internet voting next week as well as at the traditional polling booths on May 1. more...
FORMER Marling student Andrew Pollard has every reason to be feeling on top of the world. more...
AS 2004 approaches and with it the 700th anniversary of the first documentary reference to Stroud as a place of habitation, the question of where it gets its name will once again assume prominence. more...
THE people of the Five Valleys will have a say on the future use of Standish Hospital as a public consultation period gets underway. more...
THE fear of flying is a common one but is usually associated with powered aeroplanes. Gliders, with their large slender wings and small fuselage, are altogether another matter, designed to remain aloft for hours by gliding from one hot-air current (thermal) to another. more...
There is a room in Gloucestershire Royal Hospital that contains 30 kidney dialysis machines. Every four hours 30 patients leave and another 30 arrive for their four-hour life-saving treatment. It takes four hours for the blood of a single patient to pass through a machine and be cleansed of the toxins normally eliminated naturally by the kidneys. Two days later the same patients return for another four hours. The process is not painful but it is exhausting and leaves the patient feeling less well than before the start of the treatment. One Stroud woman was so moved by the suffering of her 23-year-old niece who had to endure this apparently endless cycle of treatment that two years ago she decided to make the tremendous gesture of donating one of her own healthy kidneys so that her niece could live a normal life again. Niece and aunt are now both well on the road to recovery and they talked to Skip Walker about their experiences) more...
Tim Powles' rodent-tracking senses are so finely tuned he can quite literally smell a rat and his karate-honed reflexes give him an edge when it comes to catching his four-legged foes. Yet the district council's rat man is fascinated by his favourite quarry and even keeps pet rats at home. more...
Stroud Maternity Hospital was opened 50 years ago this week. more...
AS the world adjusts to life without Concorde, the first, only and possibly last supersonic passenger aircraft, Nailsworth resident and retired design engineer Bryan Saunders reflects on the part he played in aviation's great adventure. more...
The age old tradition of giving out Maundy money by the monarch to deserving members of the community took place in Gloucestershire this year. Gloucester Cathedral played host to The Queen who carried out the ceremony for people from all walks throughout the county including many people from the Five Valleys. more...
THEY have been trundling along the highways and byways of Gloucestershire come rain or shine for decades. But the mobile library is more than just a book bus. more...
FOR any newcomer to the five valleys keen to discover the hidden delights of the countryside a guide is always helpful. more...
A PARISH priest, a top ranking public sector chief executive, a model family man and the newly appointed chairman of Gloucestershire's economic development. more...
IF Chelsea flower show has inspired the gardener in you then a trip to Chalford and France Lynch is a must this weekend as villagers proudly show their gardens. more...
A CRYING baby can drive a parent to distraction and often there is no way of knowing what is wrong without going through a checklist of basic needs. more...
It has been held up as the Holy Grail of public transport in Stroud, but do the people who are expected to use it really want it? Reporter Sam Bond took to the streets to find out what people thought about the long-awaited transport interchange... more...
TOM Herbert would seem to have it all. more...
In days of yore, a leafy rural churchyard was the ideal resting place for members of the local community. more...
NEWS that Stroud District Council has decided not to give any grants to churches this year has been greeted with ripples of discontent. more...
LOTS of people have a pet project to keep themselves occupied and enjoy a bit of DIY. more...
ARTIST Leo Baxendale is preparing for a year long tour of Britain to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his famous Beano comic creations - Minnie the Minx and the Bash Street Kids. more...
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