The Bath Chronicle

Win Tickets to Hit-Filled Musical, That's Amore

The musical That's Amore - which opens at the Bristol Hippodrome on September 9 - is the perfect night out. It offers melody, style, glamour, humour and that overall good time feeling that made Dean Martin such a major star.

Let's Truly Honour This Great Bathonian ... ; Chronicle Comment

The remarkable outpouring of respect and love for Bathonian Harry Patch, who died at the weekend, is an example of the best of British reactions to the best of British people. The former Combe Down soldier - who was the oldest man in Britain until his sad passing - was a man whose humility and generosity of spirit touched millions throughout the world.

Chef Admits Robbing Boy

BATH: A kitchen worker has been remanded in custody after admitting robbing a 17-year-old boy in the city on New Year's Eve. Lucasz Tuczynski, of Milsom Street, a 21-year-old second chef at a Bath restaurant, appeared in the dock at Bristol Crown Court on Monday and admitted a charge of robbery.

Presentations Honour Child Carers

Child care workers and groups from across the Bath area came together at the city's Guildhall for a celebration of their work. The evening marked the achievements of those working with children and families in a range of settings, including nurseries, playgroups, childminders' homes, foster carers' homes, schools, and out-of-school and holiday clubs.

No Stopping the Top Two

NSL SATURDAY Bath 3rds and Dyrham & Hinton remain level on points at the Surridge North Somerset League Saturday Conference Division 1 summit after comprehensive victories over sides at the foot of the table. Bath maintained their unbeaten start to the season with an 82- run home win over Backwell Flax Bourton after again compiling a big score batting first.

Larks Draw with Young City Side

It has been a busy few days for Larkhall Athletic, culminating in a 1-1 draw with a youthful Bristol City XI at Plain Ham on Tuesday. The Larks fell behind to an offside-looking goal but deservedly got back on level terms when Jamie Mines prodded the ball home during a goalmouth scramble, just moments after the City keeper had somehow saved Jamie Lyons' penalty.

Traffic Hit by Sewer Work

Traffic in Bath's Prior Park Road will be disrupted for four weeks from Monday for the building of a new sewer. Temporary traffic lights will be in place along the road, which will be shut completely to through traffic for four days starting next Thursday.

Good to See Council's Animal Compassion

I was pleased to read in the Chronicle that B& NES catering department has been given a 'Good Egg Award' from Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), for their commitment not to use eggs from caged hens. In 2012, the small battery cages will be banned from use throughout Europe because of their tight confinement and many other councils and retailers (and some supermarket chains) have also taken battery eggs off the menu and off the shelves.

Housing Policy Anger

The Conservatives on B& NES Council are once again showing off their 'nimby' credentials in an increasingly desperate attempt to account for their failure to build badly-needed affordable housing across the district. Tory Cllr Marie Longstaff, in a recent letter I saw, ignored the fact that within the past 12 months the Audit Commission slammed B& NES for falling well short of its affordable home building targets and instead chose to focus on working on infrastructure.

Nspcc Praises Bath People for Their Backing ; Letters

The NSPCC charity collection held at Morrisons in Bath on Saturday, July 25, raised the sum of Pounds 523.89. The collectors would like to express their thanks to the supermarket staff for their warmth and support, and to the shoppers for their friendliness and generosity.

Karmarkar Is the Difference ; Bristol & Somerset Division

Lansdown's miserable month continued as they slipped to a 76-run home defeat against second-placed Ashcott & Shapwick on Saturday. Nayan Karmarkar proved to be their nemesis, scoring an inningssteadying 49 before taking 7-33 as Lansdown were bowled out for just 120 in reply.

Opening-Day Clash Switched

Bath Rugby's fixture list for the first half of the 2009-10 campaign has been finalised. Heineken Cup organisers ERC announced the schedule for the pool matches last week while Sky revealed the first batch of Guinness Premiership games to be covered live on Tuesday.

Pounds 750k Invested in Efficiency

More than Pounds 750,000 has been invested in making more than 1,000 homes in the West more energy efficient. A joint project between Southern Electric and social landlord Somer has seen the replacement of nearly 450 boilers and work on 1,000 loft insulation schemes.

Ex-Rugby Star's Cafe Granted Alcohol Licence

Councillors have granted permission for former Bath Rugby player Matt Stevens to serve alcohol in his new coffee bar in the city. Jika Jika in George Street, which is to open on Monday, will now be allowed to sell alcohol with meals.

Crowd Turns Up for Walkies

More than 1,000 people turned up to support a fundraising walk, despite bad weather. The Paw Trek event at Corsham Park saw dogs and their owners put their best feet forward to raise money for the Guide Dogs charity.

Evening Parking Fee Hike Is 'Another Kick in Teeth'

Entertainment venues in Bath have voiced concerns over a council decision to increase evening car parking charges by 50 per cent. Fees to park at Avon Street and Charlotte Street will go up from Pounds 1 to Pounds 1.50 from September as part of a shake-up by Conservative-run Bath and North East Somerset Council.

Councillors Seek Balance in Bedsit Land

Councillors in Oldfield Park are urging residents to have their say on plans to allow tighter control on the development of student bedsits. The area has become increasingly dominated by homes which are let to students in recent years as the city's two universities have expanded.

Team Up with Ashes Hero Flintoff in Bath ; Competition

The Bath Chronicle has teamed up with The Co-operative food to offer five lucky youngsters the chance to attend the Andrew Flintoff Cricket Academy at King Edward's School, Bath. The academy, running from August 10-14, will help children develop their cricketing skills while having fun and enjoyment at the same time.

Wilts Teams Into Quarters

WILTSHIRE The county's age group teams continue to fly the flag in the National Cup, reaching at least the quarter-finals of the under-13, 14 and 15 competitions. That means Wiltshire are one of only four counties - first-class trio Surrey, Hampshire and Yorkshire being the others - to have representatives in the last eight of all three sections.

Please Reduce the '999' Sirens

I am very concerned that our illustrious emergency services appear to show such callous disregard for the quality of life for the Bath residents who have to endure the ever-increasing use of police and ambulance sirens currently plaguing our city at night. Did you know that these sirens are set at 140 decibels? Yes, that's right - and with no fixed upper limit. This is because there are no Government regulations in place to control their use. This means the police and ambulance crews are at l...