Archive
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Fast and dark music from Mr Maggs
RISCA'S Mr Maggs are taking drum'n'bass infused metal to a new frenetic level. The four-piece play fast, loud and darkly and hold no prisoners with their uncompromising sound. They recently supported Skindred and Trip with whom they have similarities,
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Lock up your daughters!
LOCK UP your daughters and hide your valuables! And keep your eyes peeled, for The Pirates of Penzance, are coming to Cwmbran. That's the message from Gwent's Lyric Musical Society which stages this popular Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera at the Congress
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Perfect dream dining
WHEN there's Bang Bang Duck and Paris Breast on the menu, you know you're in for a treat. Tucked away on the road to Ponthir, the Roman Lodge Hotel, in Caerleon, serves up giant portions that left us carrying our bellies into the car. We were sat by an
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Get your tickets for the big names!
YOU CAN'T live in Newport without being nostalgic for a classic Newport Centre gig. It could be the 1995 occasion of the Stone Roses visit, when Ian Brown foolishly donned a Cardiff City shirt that had been thrown on stage and sparked a brawl in the crowd
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Hours of banging sounds
THE best dance happening in South Wales this weekend is Funktuate in Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff. Welcoming Radioactive Man and Space DJz among many, it has something for everyone. Six hours of intelligent banging fun is promised across three floors featuring
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I'm lucky to be alive, says stab victim
THE VICTIM of a brutal knife attack at the hands of a dangerous schizophrenic believes he is lucky to be alive. Robert Healy had a serrated kitchen knife plunged into his ribcage by 25-year-old Christopher Garrett, of Woodbine Road, Blackwood, following
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Read your way to Hay
THERE'S more to life than books, you know, but in Hay-on-Wye the divide between the printed word and the real world has largely been erased. The little town in the Brecon Beacons has become Wales' largest repository of literature, with more than 30 bookshops
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Blood shed for liberty
THE re-publication of two historic books is set to re-ignite Gwent interest in the Spanish Civil War. Mike Buckingham reports No other conflict, with the exception of the two world wars, has had such an impact upon the Welsh consciousness. Sixty-five
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Supergrass ten years on
BRITPOP survivors Supergrass are celebrating ten years in the field this month with a UK tour. The band still has enough fans to play Bristol and Cardiff, in the Academy and Cardiff Uni on Wednesday, May 12, and Sunday, May 16 respectively. They'll follow
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Idyllic setting, great food
NESTLING in an idyllic wooded gorge between the Trellick ridge and the River Wye, The Crown at Whitebrook is one of those hidden gems you read about but seldom find. Recently purchased by Jonathan Davies and his South African wife Nicola, the "restaurant
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Join John on musical journey
JOHN Martyn has a big voice and his band stomp like they were playing into the apocalypse. He croaks a little like Tom Waits while the group mixes blues and folk traditions in arrangements that are distinctly their own. The old timer came back this week
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Comedy club takes laughter to 'Stute
THERE'S comedy in the home of the Manic Street Preachers next week when comedy club Jongleurs visits Blackwood Miners' Institute. The club was first established in 1983 and now owns a chain of 17 clubs around the UK. And they're bringing some of the best
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Price rests up for the majors
Newport's Ryder Cup hero Philip Price has chosen not to play the British Masters this week after a hectic flag flying trip to the Orient left him exhausted. Price 37, flew to China last week along with two other Ryder Cup legends, Ian Woosnam and Nick
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Ebbw Vale WRU plea
EBBW Vale Rugby Club today urged the Welsh Rugby Union to make an early decision on whether they are going to enforce relegation from the Premier Division. The Union, under threat of legal action, have said they will review the situation at the end of
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Pair arrested over blackmail claim
TWO Gwent men were arrested on suspicion of conspiring to blackmail a businessman from a Cotswold village. The man claims he was assaulted outside his home in Great Orchard, Thrupp, near Stroud, early last month, and alleges that he has received threats
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Webb and Webber tell their poignant tale
THE STORY of a musical - whether a conventional favourite like Grease, or an outlandish fantasy like the Rocky Horror Show - should always revolve around a quest for love. In Andrew Lloyd Webber's early years, this eternal quest was refracted through
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The best in Merrie England
THE MYSTERIOUS folk who inhabit Britain's rural communities are responsible for some strange stories, whether they be of big cats or alien abductions. But the end of this month should see confirmation that one terrifying event, reputed to be held annually
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Spring collection's smart confections
FORGET London, Paris and New York, this is Newport Fashion Week - innovative, eye-catching and, sometimes, startling. Models paraded down the catwalk wearing clothes that ranged from the outrageous to eminently wearable, but rarely ordinary. It was the
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'College cuts are a disgrace'
POLITICIANS in the Gwent valleys say they are furious that a cash crisis at Coleg Gwent is set to lead to the closure of the engineering department at the Ebbw Vale campus. They say they were kept in the dark about the £661,000 funding shortfall until
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Wookey wonders
GOING UNDERGROUND? That's entertainment, as the Jam famously sung, so get yourself down a hole this weekend. Wookey Hole houses some of the most spectacular caves in Europe and is the home of the legendary Witch of Wookey. In Somerset, on the very edge
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Marinos home farewell
NEWPORT Gwent Dragons captain Andy Marinos admits tonight's crucial Celtic League game against Borders at Rodney Parade will be an emotional occasion. For it will be his final appearance at Rodney Parade and the last but one in a 13-year career at the
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Let a llama take the load
SOMEWHERE between taking the dog for a walk and riding a horse, there is the exotic world of llama trekking. And there's no need to go to South America to meet these fascinating and beautiful creatures - a large herd of them live near Chepstow. Saddled
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Davies joy at Wales call-up
NEWPORT County midfielder Nathan Davies and Cwmbran striker Chris Summers have been called up for the Wales semi-professional squad travelling to Scotland to compete in the Four Nations Tournament at the end of May. The pair were not in coach Andrew Beattie's
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Grief for gentle giant
THE family of a Newport man who died after a car crash have spoken movingly of the devoted father of two. Gareth Evans, 34, lost his fight for life at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, on Monday after being involved in a collision in Newport
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Techniquest plus the Gen Game
VISITORS to Techniquest in Cardiff will be able to give their grey matter a thorough work out this week when they take part in the Brain Drain Science Theatre. Every weekend and weekdays during the summer half-term the show will take a look at the human
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Munster Man
DECLAN Kidney aims to bring the Munster factor to Newport Gwent Dragons when he officially takes over as coach this summer. Kidney admits it's unusual an Irishman coming to coach in Wales after guiding the mighty Munster team to two Heineken Cup finals
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Carers threaten to strike over pay cut
NEWPORT home carers are threatening to strike if the council cuts weekend pay rates. Today, carers picketed the civic centre as cabinet members met to discuss the changes. Dominic MacAskill, regional organiser for trade union Unison, said the council
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Rescue dogs to show what they're made of
THE life-saving work of rescue dogs will be on show this weekend at Cwmcarn Forest Drive. The Search and Rescue Dog Association of South Wales will set up a reconstruction of how they sniff out people who've gone missing. Collies and Alsatians will be
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Jonah opens for Funeral
AT the request of Funeral For A Friend Jonah Matranga's Onelinedrawing will be opening for the Bridgend rockers in Newport City Live Arena next month. The night before, theyre playing a headline date to warm up, on Friday, May 7. The venue for this has
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Great entertainment
A CHORUS of approval is hopefully waiting to greet the musical quartet at the heart of this month's offering from Newport Playgoers Society. At the Dolman Theatre in the city centre from May 17-22, Quartet, by Ronald Harwood, is by turns funny and poignant
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Funeral For A Friend, loud, Live and kicking
IT was unheard of for a Welsh band to get signed before they'd played Newport city, but that's exactly what happened to Bridgend's Funeral For A Friend. Before they'd played any gigs, in fact, a record company whisked them away to London on the strength
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Spouting about trout and fishing for laughs
UNDISPUTABLY Montana's best comedian, Rich Hall settled in Britain less than five years ago and is already sick of it. But that's not surprising - the laconic Perrier award winner has spent much of his life complaining bitterly about the hand fate dealt
