Born Again Swindonian

A personal celebration of Swindon

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Born Again Swindonian

I moved to Swindon back in the 1990s from a part of the country that had been devastated by the 1980s pit closures. So coming here to Swindon was truly like coming to the land of milk and honey. I was afforded opportunities and facilities that were not easily obtainable back in my part of Derbyshire / Nottinghamshire. And that’s partly, but not entirely, what lays behind my fondness for, and advocacy of, Swindon and the decision to build this Swindon-centric blog. Don’t get me wrong: I’m as aware as anyone of what could be different and better. I simply try to look beyond that and see what’s beyond that – and there’s lots. As this blog can testify.

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Latest Swindon Ramblings

I’m always looking for new and interesting angles to share when out and about in Swindon.

Hall & Woodhouse at Wichelstowe

Eating, Eating, drinking, coffee etc, Guest Bloggers

At the heart of the recently-opened Hall & Woodhouse bar-restaurant on the north bank of the Wilts & Berks Canal, in the as-yet-mostly-unbuilt ‘Canalside’ area of Wichelstowe, South Swindon, sits a barge. We’ll get to the inside later, but from the outside, its prow pointing proudly to the north, it looks like nothing so much as one of those RNLI collection boxes you used to see in pubs and sub-post offices. You half-expect a celestial hand to emerge from the clouds, clutching a giant 10p piece which, when dropped through a slot in the pub’s roof, will cause the narrowboat to shoot forth, launching itself into the car park.

Zapp Active bringing festival alive

Swindon in Business

A Gloucestershire father of two is using his new tech platform, Zapp Active, to live stream activities and behind the scenes moments from the popular Lechlade festival. The festival runs from Friday May 24 to Sunday May 26.

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A word about our sponsors

When I’m not being Born again Swindonian and writing Swindon-related books I offer proofreading, editing and writing services as AA Editorial Services.

Food, drink and cafe culture

Swindon has a burgeoning independent eating and coffee scene. You’ll find write-ups on just some of them here.

Heritage, culture and the arts

Swindon is so much more than its rich and varied industrial history. It’s been described as a surprising creative hotspot. And it is. Read some of the posts in this section and you’ll see for yourself. I’ve lumped heritage together with arts and creativity because so often they are intertwined. The image shows the front cover of an issue of the very splendid Swindon Heritage magazine. Always worth a read

Swindon in business

A departure here from the rest of the site. Here are posts about Swindon businesses – many of them start ups like my own AA Editorial Services. Some, but not all, are paid advertorials. I have to earn a crust. That said, I know all of them personally, I’ve met them in some business capacity. I do business with many of them & trust in the rest.

AA Editorial Services

Things to celebrate in Swindon

Find out more about the starting point of this blog. My non-definitive list of ten things to celebrate about Swindon.

Swindon's sons & daughters

A whole host of writers, actors, musicians and other notable people have connections with, or roots in, Swindon. Read about some of them here. The sculpture in the photo is of the Swindon-born actress Diana Dors. It’s located outside the Shaw Ridge cinema complex in West Swindon.

Born Again Swindonian