Railway Town and other video footage
2nd May 2016
It’s only a few days since Martin Parry’s pièce de résistance ‘Railway Town Film’ premiered at the Wyvern Theatre to a sell out crowd. I had the privilege of being on the Q&A panel after the film – and what a great film it was. SUCH a wonderful testament to its maker and its subject matter: Swindon and its people.
It really was very moving and inspirational. It drove home just how much Swindon has to be proud of in its history and makes clear just how VERY special the Mechanics’ Institute is – make no mistake – that place is about SO much more than the building. It’s about the very heart and soul of New Swindon.
Here’s an article in the Swindon Advertiser: http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/14459071.Film_maker_overwhelmed_at_response_to_Railway_Town_screening/ and the DVD of the Railway Town film is available here: https://viewpointcommunitymedia.org.uk/shop/
All of which makes a neat enough segue into other video footage about Swindon’s railway workers collected together by a chap I’ve come into contact with via Instagram.
His name is Mark Keen – known on Instagram as Sharpbluepix. Mark has YouTube and Vimeo channels that are worth taking a look at.
Mark was the first person in Swindon to get Instragramming I believe. He beta tested the app in 2010 before it got sold to Facebook and when it was only on Apple devices. So scrolling back through the #Swindon hashtag his are the first pictures.
He’s got some films online form the now defunct Swindon Cable (see below) – many featuring the GWR works.
Swindon Cable Channel on YouTube
Swindon Cable channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNzjx-HdKydKj3W6M_D0FmD9q0NE3LyyT
And here‘s Mark’s Channel dedicated to Swindon Cable on Vimeo – https://vimeo.com/channels/swindon
Then there’s this one – God’s Wonderful Railway – 27 mins long
For Swindon Viewpoint: http://www.swindonviewpoint.com
I’ve posted recently about the Mechanic’s Institute Trust and Swindon Civic Voice.
