Page 44 - link magazine

36 The Link Magazine • March 2004
Free neutering Insulating houses is cheaper than you think
Swindon Cats Protection will pay When it's cold outside we all like to wrap up warmly to escape the chill, so why don't we do the same with
for the neutering of cats during our homes?, asks Jo Badham of the Wiltshire Energy Efficiency Advice Centre.
March, if their owners are on ben-
The cold snap in February and count scheme and other grants shire Wildlife Trust. It works in
efit. Just make an appointment the arrival of winter fuel bills in available call the Energy Efficiency partnership with Swindon Bor-
with a vet and fill in the appropri- March is a good reason to consider Advice Centre on 0800 512012. ough Council and is supported by
ate forms there.
how those bills can be reduced in The Energy Efficiency Advice the Energy Saving Trust to help
the future. Centre is managed by the Wilt- reduce energy use in the town.
Up to 33`0 of heat is lost through
an uninsulated cavity wall and 25% Swindon is getting warmer and... wetter
is lost through the loft. By making
Local weather statistics are confirming what we all realised: 2003 was
sure these areas are well insulated a very dry year.
V NCAN the average household can reduce
its fuel bills by up to £200 a year Only 582mm of rain fell lastyear, too, getting heavier rain storms
SELF DRIVE HIRE whilst keeping warmer. just over 23 inches - for those of us which is not good for plants."
The Lyneham figures confirm
The cost of insulating your home who were taught in the 1950s that
^au¢ .^oeae ^er2taQ eovrr^ia pry Swindon's annual rainfall aver- that in the thirty years up to 1980,
might be cheaper than you think.
Vehicles for Hire at Competitive Rates aged 28 inches. One third of it came Swindon's average rainfall was
Householders in Wiltshire and
Cars • Vans • Luton Tail-Lifts in November and December. about 28 inches (711mm). Martin's
Swindon can benefit from a spe-
272 Ermin Street August and September were figures show that over the most
cial discount scheme with funding
Stratton St. Margaret. Swindon marked by a combined total of less recent twenty years the average
from Scottish Power so that the has risen to 817mm, whilst over
Tel: 822193 cost for cavity wall insulation is than an inch of rain. July had two the last five years an average of
from as little as £150. You'll not inches (twice as much as'fill-dyke'
Radio de-coding while you wait February). This was the lowest an- 907mm has fallen. 2002 was al-
only save up to 50% of the cost
FREE PARKING nual rainfall figure for more than most twice as wet as 2003 and in
now but save later through re-
Open daily 8.30am - 5.30pm 20 years, but it bucks the trend: the 2000 the Town Gardens in Old
VISA duced fuel bills.
Sundays 8.30am - 9.30am weather in Swindon is getting Town registered its highest level
To find out more about this dis-
wetter, it would appear. (40ins or 1034mm) since records
This detail has been gathered by started in 1951. Four of the past six
DYNAMIC www.dy-namic.co.uk Martin Hambidge in his garden in years have exceeded 1000mm, a
the Lawns. The trends for both
figure not reached once in the pre-
CONSERVATORIES Ltd precipitation and temperature are vious twenty years.
important to him in his hobby, gar- Comparing temperatures before
For the more discerning customer dening, as well as in his job as and after the early 1980s, suggest
Swindon Council's Parks Manager. that mean average daily maxima
Design the conservatory
"I have been keeping records have risen by more than half a
you have always dreamed of
since 1988 and I have obtained degree. In April, an important
- in the comfort of your own
some information from the month for gardeners, mean daily
home - using our latest y
weather station at Lyneham co - minimum temperatures have risen
technology. ering the previous 35 years," he by more than one degree.
Once we were just another explained. "These suggest that Martin is not claiming that he
conservatory company .. now we both rainfall and temperature have has proved the existence of global
truly live up to our name of Dynamic
been increasing over the period warming in Swindon, but he does
Also specialising in the installation Tel: 01793 727297 and this can have an impact on appreciate theirnprovementtohis
of windows and doors horticulture and wildlife. We are, greenhouse heating bill.
FENSA
10 year insurance backed guarantee
Registered Company
Vet welcomes 10,000th customer
Gill Collett from Haydon Wick was taken aback when she visited
Thameswood Vet and Small Animal Hospital with her rabbit Muffin
in mid-February, to be told that she was the ten thousandth customer
since the practice opened on 26 February 1986.
On that day Giovanna Hartley "It's been a pleasure to meet so
said she had no idea if there would many wonderful pet owners over
be any patients, but when the doors the years," said Mrs Hartley.
opened Mrs Juliette Stone from
Woodhall Park was there with
her poodle Bruno, the first of a
long line of pets she has brought
to the practice for care and atten-
tion.
Mrs Hartley had been in the
fashion trade in London but
moved with her vet husband
Nicholas to open the practice in
the house at Purton Road, ad-
joining the wooden hut which
was once a convenience store for
workers at the old power station
where Pembroke Park is now.
Three years ago the house was
completely remodelled to i n-
crease the floor area by four time,
so that the practice could pre-
y
pare for the expansion in busi- iUr Hailh°y, crntrc, with Juliette Stone,
ness as North Swindon grows. left, and Gill Collett