Poetry at the Oasis So yesterday’s rally organised by theSave Oasis Swindon campaign, produced two perfectly poetic outpourings.
The first one I’ll mention is from the pen of Swindon community poet Tony Hillier – that’s his hat you see above. Tony did a fantastic job at the event whipping us all into shape! It was down to him that, in no small part, the whole thing was the success that it turned out to be. His energy and enthusiasm are infectious – and Lord only knows where he finds it all! Anyway – here is Tony’s Oasis-related orating:
SOS Domebusters
Slip inside the eye of your mind Don’t look back in anger Look forward with fight
Start a Revolution from your bed Write the Adver, get it said Renard, take that look from off your face Council sham a big disgrace
Slip inside the eye of your mind Imagine again children slipping down that slide Face piles of trials with smiles Don’t look back in anger Look forward with fight
Tony Hillier, Swindon’s Community Poet at Oasis Protest 19 2021 poemogram@hotmail.com
Now we come to Owen Collins from Witney for more poetry at the Oasis.
Owen is a performance poet with long and fond memories of the Oasis. He follows the campaign on Twitter and drove across to the rally yesterday to perform his poem.
SAVE SWINDON OASIS
Come with me, here, to Swindon Oasis, The last survivor of those long-lost places Of the glory days of the middle of last century, Where memories were made, and which now, are only memories. Built from aspiration, centre of leisure, A dome full of dreams, a palace of pleasure, A steamy lagoon, a racquet sports hall, A place to unwind that was open to all.
It’s where parties were held, where affections were forged, Where you could stay for hours and never get bored, Cover over your wristband for an extra few minutes, Not ready to leave, still transfixed within its Ancient Egyptian, tropical themes Where we’d swim amongst palm trees, and splash, slide and dream, Or on a brave day, ride the Great White, and scream Or just bob along on the crest of a wave machine.
It’s where we corkscrewed beneath the monsoon precipitation. It’s where two lads from Manchester found Inspiral inspiration, It’s where Madness topped the bill, It’s where Morrissey took ill, It’s where people came to hear the music, and could come to hear it still. So, listen to the echo of all of those tunes And climb the tower to the top of the flumes, Watch these winding pipes, through which we would race Hold this whole place in their embrace And weave throughout the Swindon sky To swell the heart and draw the eye Over magic rounds and County Grounds And the swirling smoke of Brunel’s ghosts To then, and there, and here, and now.
And then look down, as if from heaven, To this iconic dome, this home and haven, This sceptred pool, this shimmering jewel, This escape, this greatness, This perfect Oasis.
And here is Owen at the event performing his poem:
So yesterday we had aSave the Oasis rally in front of the Oasis itself. In this post I want to share the Oasis reflections from the 1970s that I spoke of at the rally. But first, some comments about stuff said on Twitter by a certain Conservative councillor and Cabinet member. And I’m saying this as me, a Swindonian, looking at things from the outside in.
This particular Cabinet member put out a tweet yesterday afternoon. He used a photograph taken either as people were just arriving or after they’d left – so it looked like not many attended. There were in fact about around 70 present. -A good number but not so many that we couldn’t spread out.
In this tweet, the said public servant, used language that belittled and criticised Swindonians – families with children attending the rally. He drew a comparison with the Palestine protest the other week that many more attended. And noted that some of the people at the SOS event yesterday were also at that event.
In both of those points: so what?
He even used the term ‘professional lefties’.
Political capital and political alignment
It’s clear that said Cabinet member is trying to make political capital out of this. But it’s clear too, that the SOS campaign must take care over showing political alignment. A sensible point much easier said than done. And here’s why:
From the earliest days of this campaign, way before I got involved myself, they tried – hard – to get the Conservative cabinet to engage with them. With little to no success. Likewise they tried – hard – to get Seven Capital to engage and to get a contact point from them. This time – NO success at all.
The Labour group and Swindon Lib Dems were largely the only political groups engaging with them.
The connection with the community union Acorn, is a vital one to help the SOS campaign get a letter to Seven Capital’s CEO in London. And how else do they do that without help from Acorn? Rock/hard place huh?
I’ve joined Acorn myself but not because I’m a professional leftie. If anyone really wants to know I’m somewhere in the middle/left. I joined because they fight for community issues and I think that”s a good thing.
But i’ll leave that there as something for you to think about should you hear the SOS campaign as being politically aligned.
Now – my words from the rally
Photo credit Elmar Rubio
Architect’s drawing of the Oasis
When the Oasis was built in the 1970s, Swindon was a town with visionaries at its helm. David Murray John, the town clerk, had a clear grasp on the fact that the town had to look to the future – witness the tower that bears his name. Whether you love it or you hate it – it makes a statement about Swindon. As was Murray John’s intent.
And the same is true of the Oasis. Iconic is an over-used word – yet it fits the Oasis in every sense. Something that became evident when the campaign team visited the Swindon & Wilts history centre in Chippenham and unearthed a heap of wonderful documents and drawings relating to the Oasis.
Chippenham findings
They found detailed documents written by council officers at the time. Here’s a couple of small extracts:
‘In the long term, when the arts and recreation committee comes to consider a multi sports centre the demand is immediate and, with the expansion of Swindon and in particular the arrival of major office developments, this demand will rise rapidly.’
IF THAT WAS TRUE BACK THEN, THEN IT’S SURELY EVEN MORE TRUE NOW!?
And further – these documents observe: ‘the fact that other major pools in the region are, or are going to be, standard 33 metre pools seems to me an added reason why Swindon should be quite different and, therefore, have a special appeal to a wide catchment area outside the district.’
And indeed, the campaign knows how extensive that appeal to a wider catchment area still is. People from as far away as Cardiff have contacted them to say they travelled to Swindon to use the Oasis.
And in keeping with all of that, I want to read to you an email from a chap called John Stevens who just so happened to be involved in the whole Oasis thing back in the day. He wrote:
Email from John Stevens
‘I had the pleasure and privilege of opening the Oasis, on New Year’s Day 1976, but never thought that I would see the day it could be closed – a very sad day indeed.
It was back in 1968 when the Borough Council discussed that, with the rapid expansion of the Town and the surrounding areas, we consider the building of a state-of-the-art leisure centre.
I had the good fortune of being on the Arts and Recreation Committee where we discussed and debated as to whether we could afford this kind of building and design.
We were aware that we were opening a very fine building, one of the best in the country, with this type of pleasure dome and provide the finest leisure activities in the country. Despite the financial restraints of the times we were committed to the people of Swindon and the surrounding area, to provide a fine and exciting building for the use and enjoyment of the community.
Let us not lose what was achieved for the people of Swindon, which is still enjoyed today by many of our residents, who look to the opportunities to keep fit and also relax. ‘
Fine words
They are fine words befitting a fine building. Without this dome and this facility Swindon will be a little bit sadder in many ways. It will culturally poorer and architecturally blander. It will have lost the very last building of its kind – and let’s be clear – demolishing the dome WILL be an act of cultural vandalism.
They describe it as ‘an amazing ‘flying saucer’ of a fantasy structure, an architectural gem, and a rare and important survivor of a group of municipal leisure centres built from the 1960s-1980s.’
So, as the eminent John Stevens said: 1. Let’s not lose what was achieved for the people of Swindon in 1976 2. Let’s honour those visionary councillors who blessed this town with this unique and special facility. 3. And Swindonians: let’s SAVE THE OASIS!!!!
MANAGER OF SWINDON NIGHT SHELTER LOOKS FORWARD TO A NEW ‘NORMAL’ SUPPORTING THE HOMELESS
New Swindon Night Shelter Manager IAN McCarthy, Swindon Night Shelter’s new manager, is looking forward to getting opened up. He’s keen to get going to support those who are homeless, sleeping rough or vulnerably housed across the town.
The 49-year-old, who lives with his family in North Swindon, took on the role of manager of the charity in the middle of the pandemic this year. At that time staff, volunteers and supporters had to ‘flex’ their services to support the vulnerable in the community. In the main through the delivery of donated fresh food produce. But also allowing a reduced number of homeless guests into the day centre, The Haven.
Now Swindon Night Shelter, and in particular, its premises The Haven on Queen’s Drive, is looking forward to supporting more people as restrictions ease.
Exciting times ahead
This is an exciting time for me, staff and our volunteers as we look to offer more support to those who need us in Swindon. We’re hoping to reconnect with guests who we’ve been unable to see during lockdown. And also to support those who we have yet to meet or who are in housing difficulty now,’ Ian said.
We’ve already started classes in cookery, woodworking and gardening. And we want to offer more of these activities this summer supporting more people. These activities also help with the maintenance of our buildings as well as offering skills to our guests. It’s amazing what comes from these classes. Often guests rediscover a former passion for cookery for example. Or they start to gain confidence from something as simple as gardening.
We’re also busy rebuilding our acquaintance with other organisations and agencies who supported our guests before the pandemic. We are hoping to reopen our Friday Night Shelter at St Mary’s Church – in September we hope. There, rough sleepers can come along for a bed for the night. They can also have a hot meal and pick up some clothes in an atmosphere of respect.’
A new challenge for Ian
In early 2020, After a 30-year career working in the training division for Nat West, Ian took redundancy. He then went in search of a new challenge. A committed Christian, he volunteered for the Swindon Night Shelter whilst looking for his next role.
‘I was keen to explore new areas of employment and a new challenge. My preference was something supporting the local community and Swindon Night Shelter offered all this and so much more. I started volunteering at the beginning of 2020 and so enjoyed the challenge of working with our guests. It’s wonderful hearing their life stories and then being able to try and offer some practical support to move them forward.
‘Part way through lockdown in 2020 an opportunity came about to become a full-time member of staff. And I can say that I have enjoyed it. ‘I’m excited, optimistic and realistic about the difference we can make to those in Swindon who find themselves homeless or under threat of homelessness.’
At present, Swindon Night Shelter runs The Haven Day Centre on Queen’s Drive. It’s open daily for the homeless and those whose housing places them in a vulnerable position. It’s a place where they can relax and spend some time off the streets in a welcoming and safe environment. They are also supported with job searches, benefit queries and access to other professional agencies. Not to mention enjoying a hot meal and access to shower facilities and washer drier machines for their clothes. We also supply surplus food to over 200 people each week.
The work of Swindon Night Shelter
The work of Swindon Night Shelter is reliant on raising funds from several sources. This includes its charity shop ‘The Hub’ on Clive Parade along with a temporary pop-up shop run from Freshbrook Church.
Other services coming onstream during 2021 include table-top sales. For more information about Swindon Night Shelter visit https://www.swindonnightshelter.uk
Helping Old Friends provides new companionship service
For many elderly people, living alone is an isolating experience. One which can have a detrimental effect on their mental and physical health. But help is at hand, thanks to a new organisation – Helping Old Friends.
Based in West Swindon and covering the whole of the surrounding Swindon area, Helping Old Friends offers friendship and companionship to older people living alone. And practical help too.
‘We realised there was a need for a service providing, above all, companionship to people who, find themselves living alone and isolated,’ said founder Katrina Simms. Katrina has more than 25 years’ experience working in the elderly care sector.
Katrina Simms
Meeting a need
We realised there was a need for a service providing, above all, companionship to people who, find themselves living alone and isolated,’ said founder Katrina Simms. Katrina has more than 25 years’ experience working in the elderly care sector.
Helping Old Friends also gives peace of mind to families who may not be able to visit as often as they would like. As well as providing home visits, the company can install equipment, with different levels of monitoring.
‘The equipment is Internet of Things enabled and reports to a dashboard, flagging up any out-of-the-ordinary events, so we can step in to help fast’.
Katrina is now looking for more companions to join. They need no experience and they don’t deliver any personal care or assist with medication. They do though need their own vehicle.
‘We’re looking for caring and compassionate people with a wealth of life experiences and skills to join us, who can relate to the ageing process. No experience necessary but lots of heart required.’
To find out more
For more information about Helping Old Friends – whether you are an elderly person, or a family member looking for help, or you’re interested in becoming a companion – call 01793 550895.
Absinthe – La fée Verte Known often in literature as la fée verte (the green fairy), this most potent of libations has associations with the French post impressionist artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. And The Tuppenny in Swindon’s Old Town it seems.
Absinthe fountain in The Tuppenny in Old Town in Swindon
What is Absinthe?
Absinthe is a grain alcohol of Swiss origin. It’s made by macerating many herbs and spices, including fennel, anise, and wormwood. The first two give absinthe its characteristic licorice taste. While the wormwood makes it bitter in taste. It’s also what gives the spirit its famed mystique and jade-green hue.
The stuff of legend
Asthis article from Liquor.Comstates, hovering between the legends of hallucinations and madness associated with the green fairy, there is an important and historic spirit. One that suffered a 100 year ban!
Banned?! How so?
Enjoying huge popularity in the 19th century, both America and chunks of Europe banned it until not that long back. It’s a complex story and this article gives the whole story but it’s one with more relation to history than science. Almost everyone in the cool gang between 1850 and 1900 drank the stuff. It was quite the latest thing and had a very high alcohol content. Thus it often got the blame for the frequent bouts of drunkenness and the intermittent bouts of delirium and even death.
The drink became more popular and with it the abuse of it increased. At length the association grew in the minds of society between absinthe and general alcoholism and degeneracy. It even got the blame, from a French psychiatrist, Dr Valentin Magnan, for the collapse of French culture. Magnan gave wormwood to a dog and watched it bark at a brick wall for thirty minutes. And thus lay the root of the myth that the green fairy causes hallucinations.
Cutting short a very long story, the Temperance movement added Mangan’s evidence to their narrative and advocated banning absinthe. Thus the early 1900s saw the start of a ban on the drink that lasted over 100 years.
In short, it involves a slow drip of water into a stemmed glass holding the spirit – often over a sugar cube held on a special perforated spoon. During this process the spirit becomes louche – cloudy and opaque.
