Archive
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I have not got a SAD problem
I WANT to put the record straight and tell my fans that Joe Calzaghe is not suffering from a depressive illness as suggested in some national newspapers this week. The only people who suffer from depression are my opponents after they've had the stuffing
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Welsh get a good rapping
THE English-speaking Welsh will only catch two words on the opener of MC Saizmundo's debut album - ghetto and Wales. But by then even the most ardent anti-Welsh language Welshman should have got the message. You can't miss it - 'Wales is crap - the Welsh
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Shelter for those who need it most
BY accident the photographer calls it a hotel, and it's easy to see why. Huge kitchens, trendy wooden floors, bedrooms with fridges and new furniture, and comfy lounge areas with TV. Cleaners patrol the corridors and there's talk of adding a small gym
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High export hopes for pollutant detector
A NEW device for detecting major pollutants in UK rivers is being developed by Pontypool-based biotech company, Applied Enzyme Technology (AET). Based on a handheld sensor, the system is designed to detect the presence of the contaminant ammonia, which
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Fishing first for Blunsdon
HAD it not been for his love of fishing, New-bridge second row Craig Blunsdon might have become a Welsh rugby international. But, to coin a fishing phrase, he has no regrets about the one that got away - a possible Welsh cap - because his real love lay
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Polo without horses
IF you are looking for a fun way to get fit and shed those extra pounds head on down to your local pool for a game of water polo. Less boring than swimming lengths and cleaner than a game of hockey, water polo is the perfect pastime. Gary Edwards of the
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Thomas 'ready and raring to go'
I AM ready for the challenge, says 21-year-old Newport Gwent Dragons prop Rhys Thomas, who is thrown into the deep end tonight for their final Heineken Cup pool match against Ulster at Ravenhill. Thomas has got plenty of potential and has already earned
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I'm no racist
NEWPORT County midfielder Gareth Phillips was yesterday hit with a three-game ban after making an abusive remark to a mixed race player - but the 24-year-old responded by saying: "I know I'm not a racist." Phillips was sent off in the Dr Martens League
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Whimpering Dogs lack real bite
DOGS Die In Hot Cars went for a Clashy strut but ended up sounding like The Proclaimers. The very chanty, but not so enchanting, lead title track of EP Man Bites Man, is the most affected of four. Queen of the Pumpkin Plukes, is gentler but it sounds
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Air force is flying
AIR have exceeded even their own high standards with the beauty of their latest album, Talkie Walkie, released this week. Run could be their oddest yet most blissed-out moment to date with its quirky voices, jittery rhythms and washes of choirs. And tracks
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Handcuffs halt road work
WORK on Blackwood's controversial Sirhowy Enterprise Way was halted yesterday when protesters taking direct action handcuffed themselves to a bulldozer. And opponents of the planned road are pledging to do "all it takes" to disrupt the scheme, which officially
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Blueskins warm up
THE Blueskins have recorded their first album in the snowy peaks of Snowdonia - and it shows. The as yet unnamed album has a warming raucousness which can also be enjoyed on the band's live date in Wales next month. And new single, Change My Mind, is
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Ready to cook up help for Rosie
A CHEPSTOW gran cooked up a treat on a hit television cookery show to help her granddaughter who suffers from a rare genetic disease. Four-year-old Rosie Doddridge has Shwachman's Diamond Syndrome, a disease affecting the pancreas, bone marrow and skeleton
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About as cool as it gets
IT'S still a month until Amp Fiddler plays Fiddlers in Bristol but don't despair - the new master of funk released his debut album, Waltz of the Ghetto Fly, this week. A perfect mix of classic 70s sounds and contemporary electronics, it's as cool as the
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Councillors take swipe at top critic
NEWPORT councillors hit back at stinging criticism from leader Sir Harry Jones about slack attendance at meetings. Many said those with jobs found it hard to attend and the council should change its practices. The Argus reported a fortnight ago how Sir
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A satisfying charm
THE Kings Arms on Belmont Hill, Caerleon, is a quaint archetypal British pub full of olde worlde charm and the service was equally pleasant. The fare was typical 'pub grub' offering no surprises, but it was plentiful and freshly made. My companion started
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House raid motive was 'act of spite'
BURGLARS who raided a woman's home splashed paint over her lounge suite in an "act of spite" - causing £5,000 worth of damage. "It was wanton and cruel damage," said Judge David Wynn Morgan at Cardiff crown court. Nicholas Garwood, 34, of Mill Heath,
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What's it all about, Alfie?
ALFIE are back with more lounge-friendly pop and a tour of the UK. The Mancunians are in concert in Bristol and Cardiff on Thursday, January 29 and Friday 30. And new single, No Need, is out on Monday, February 16, taken from their third album, Do You
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The Bronx stick to safe territory
IT'S debatable how much attention one should pay to a bunch of white, seemingly middle-class former students who've named their band after a black ghetto. But Lostprophets like The Bronx enough to bring them all the way from LA to support them in Cardiff
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Thug's sentence angers victim
A FISHERMAN who was scarred for life in a brutal attack by a 13-year-old who hit him with a plank says he is disgusted after the boy was locked up for three months. Yesterday, thug Alex Crowley received a six-month detention and training order for attacking
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Simple Kid's country tour
SIMPLE Kid's own tour might be skipping Wales but he can be found supporting Travis here in March. The duffle-coated one, who's been plodding a slow path to rock-super-stardom for years, is in the CIA on Monday, March 22. He'll be promoting his new country-style
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Police merger?
A SENOR Assembly minister says the Home Office should consider merging Gwent Police with the South Wales force. Social justice minister Edwina Hart has suggested such a merger - which fits in with Home Office strategy - would be more efficient. But Gwent
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Plan to close rural pub fails
A BID to close another rural pub failed, after planners refused to agree it could be turned into a house. The Red Hart Inn at Llanfapley was set to join a line of country pubs which have been converted into houses in recent years. Others include the Old
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Handcuff protest halts road work
WORK on Blackwood's controversial Sirhowy Enterprise Way was halted yesterday when protesters taking direct action handcuffed themselves to a bulldozer. And opponents of the planned road are pledging to do "all it takes" to disrupt the scheme, which officially
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Strong bonds for Von Bondies
THE Von Bondies have joined the NME Awards tour which finishes at Cardiff Uni on Sunday, February 8. The dynamic garage rockers are set to preview their upcoming third album and Reprise/Sire Records debut, Pawn Shoppe Heart, out on Monday, February 9.
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Thug's sentence angers victim
A FISHERMAN who was scarred for life in a brutal attack by a 13-year-old who hit him with a plank says he is disgusted after the boy was locked up for three months. Yesterday, thug Alex Crowley received a six-month detention and training order for attacking
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Darren adds pops to pots
SINGING snooker ace Darren Thompson is racking up success at the microphone as well as on the green baize. The Newport crooner won the Welsh European championship qualifying final while his singing act is booked up for months. The hot-potting 36-year-old
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Fresh wind for HMS Pinafore
HMS PINAFORE is the operetta that turned Gilbert and Sullivan into household names. And a new production coming to Bath next week hopes to cast a new light on a mainstay of British theatre. The Carl Rosa Company has built its reputation on remaining faithful
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Dragons eyeing a treble
NEWPORT Gwent Dragons are out to avoid losing three times in a row for the first time when they face Ulster in the Heineken Cup at Ravenhill tonight. They have lost their last two matches against Stade Francais and Leicester, but even if they go down
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Scary Movie
MUCH as Gazza fell from the love of this footballing nation to a backwater team in China, so it's been depressing watching Charlie Sheen flush away the talent promised in the mid 80s. His inspired portrayal of a young soldier in the Nam classic Platoon
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Paradise not so lost
"OF MAN'S first disobedience, and the fruit, Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste, Brought death into the World, and all our woe..." John Milton's Paradise Lost is widely recognised as the first great original work of English literature. But though
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Body in stream is a woman's
A BODY found in a stream in Newport is that of a woman, police revealed yesterday. But examinations are continuing today as experts try to establish the woman's identity. The body, which was partially submerged in a stream on private farmland in Malpas
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Euro windfall funds facelift
TORFAEN is to get a £5 million environmental facelift, im-proving rivers, canals and parks - thanks to the European Union. The council has been awarded seven million Euros under the EU's INTERREG programme, which will be spent on seven different programmes
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Alex is unfazed by fame
ALEX Parks could be the exception that proves the rule that talent-TV shows are a bad, bad thing - a rule to which even the young singer herself adheres to. "I don't think much of them, really," Alex told Mono this week. "Pop music is really, really dry
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Sumptuous Indian meal
THERE is a distinctively wooden feel to Harvey's, the new Indian restaurant inHigh Street, Newport. Sanded wooden floors, solid wood tables and even the faint smell of sawdust mixed with Indian cuisine greeted us as we climbed up to the first floor restaurant
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Spring bounty at Beaufort
THE Beaufort Theatre's spring season is varied and exciting, with acts ranging from a stage adaptation of Bill Bryson's best-seller "Down Under" (March 3) to Jongleurs' renowned comedy club tour (April 8), and from Blunstone and Argent of 60s pop legends
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Ornate wall of china
SOME OBJECTS, like comics, can become more valuable because they were considered worthless in their heyday. Some, like coins, are hoarded for their rarity value. And some are prized for the exquisite workmanship that went into their creation. The collectibility
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Balsamo's horror story
WELSH star of the West End Steve Balsamo is back with a new band and lead role in Eric Woolfson's POE - More Tales of Mystery and Imagination. Steve Balsamo is known to many as Jesus Christ Superstar and the quilted vocalist behind hits such as Sugar
