PR Expert at London Expo. Public relations expert, journalist and sought-after presenter Fiona Scott is taking to the stage next month. She’ll be delivering a keynote speech at the London Expo.
Fiona, Managing Director of Swindon-based Scott Media, will talk about:
the art of storytelling in PR
and her entrepreneurial journey …
… at the London Expo in Windsor on Thursday, June 12.
PR Expert at London Expo -Fiona Scott of Scott Media
Event organisers
The Great British Expos are the event organisers. They’re a leading business networking and educational opportunity for small business owners and entrepreneurs.
The Great British Expos are the event organisers. They’re a leading business networking and educational opportunity for small business owners and entrepreneurs.
Fiona, who runs her own platform for speakers – Scott Media Speakers – is passionate about inspiring SME owners to make PR central to their marketing activity.
‘It’s a privilege, getting asked to present at the London Expo’ said Fiona. ‘I’m looking forward to the opportunity to share my journey as a business owner. Along with how I’ve used PR in my business and how we deploy storytelling to enhance the profile and reputation of our Scott Media clients.’
Fiona has written a book on her experiences as a business owner. Entitled the Hard Yards, it details her journey in the first ten years of running her own business. Her second – Tales of a Backwater Journalist – is coming at the end of the year.
I’ve been in journalism now for over 38 years. A lot has happened, a lot has changed, and I’ve enjoyed getting some of my stories into print. And print, is where I started off in newspapers!’
Fiona’s presentation, called ‘The Art of Storytelling: The Entrepreneurial Journey’, will be at 10.15am.
Not only but also
Also presenting at the London Expo will be Swindon-based Rob Curtis. Rob is a digital marketer and founder of The Pursuit Agency and a member of Scott Media Speakers platform. His presentation will be on ‘Scaling for Success’.
Buckhurst Sport’s Pavilion Renovated. With great pleasure, South Swindon Parish Council announces he successful completion of the Buckhurst sports pavilion renovation . This renovation forms part of the Buckhust field improvement plan.
Buckhurst Sport’s Pavilion Renovated – waving the golden scissors aloft are Heidi Alexander MP and Paul Wainwrigt with Deputy Mayor Neil Hopkins
The work
The former changing rooms have undergone remodelling. They now better suit the requirements of junior sports and community needs.
Modernisation of the facilities has seen the introduction of a kitchen area and social space. Together, they’ll provide junior football club, Swindon Robins FC, with a brand-new clubhouse. South Swindon parish council are also using part of the building as an extra depot for council services staff. The building boasts brand new solar panels which it’s hoped will provide enough energy for the building.
Swindon Borough Council and South Swindon Parish Council between them have funded the renovation at a total cost of £180,000. Of that, £82,000 came from the Oakfield Community Fund and Swindon Borough Council and the rest from South Swindon Parish Council.
This is one of many projects South Swindon Parish Council has undertaken as part of the ambitious Buckhurst Field Improvement Plan. It follows the official opening of the Buckhurst Skatepark completed in May 2025.
Buckhurst Youth Fest was the first youth festival organised by South Swindon Parish Council on Buckhurst field, featuring arts, creativity and sport activities aimed at young people.
What they said
Paul Wainwright, Chair of Swindon Robins FC said:
‘We’re delighted to have this partnership with South Swindon Parish Council, and I’m so looking forward to a new chapter for Robins FC. We’re proud to be in Walcot. And we hope Walcot will be proud of the Robins. We look forward to making a difference in the community as much as we can.’
Cllr Neil Hopkins, Chair of South Swindon Parish Council said:
‘We’re proud to be investing in more facilities for young people. Robins FC is a fantastic club, who aim to work closely with the local community. The neighbours have been very positive. And we hope that the new pavilion, along with the various other Buckhurst Field improvements, will create even more opportunities for local children and families to get involved in football and sport.’
And Cllr Emma Bushnell, deputy leader of the Council posited:
‘The sports pavilion is a great example of partnership working between Swindon Borough Council and South Swindon Parish Council. The pavilion is looking amazing. And I’m glad that the Robins now have a home at Buckhurst. It’s great to hear about their plans to further engage with the local community.’
For more information about the Parish Council and their initiatives, please visit www.southswindon-pc.gov.uk
Exterior murals tend to be, by their very nature, transient things. They’re often commissioned to disguise something unattractive on a temporary basis. Think of the hoardings around the Mechanics’ Institute and the Kimmerfields area – and can we stop calling it that? What was wrong with Whalebridge? Or even Queenstown?
Anyway … transient or not, it remains sad that all, with this one exception, of Ken’s exterior Swindon murals disappeared. Of particular poignancy, one might argue, is that this one comprised Ken’s first mural for Swindon and the one that played a huge role in putting him in front of one Richard Branson.
Golden Lion Bridge Mural Refreshed – Ken White, in 1976, in front of the mural on an end terrace wall on the junction of Princes Street and Fleming Way. Extract shown here from my book about Ken – see bottom of page.Golden Lion Bridge Mural Refreshed by Tim Carroll
Note that the refreshed mural now has an extra figure in it: Ken himself. And that’s not the first time Ken’s found himself placed in a mural. There’s a nod to him in the Cambria Bridge mural – because he himself once had a mural there.
It’s fair to say that Tim Carroll has done a fantastic job on it. Isn’t it lovely to see it looking so vibrant once again? And big thanks to Artsite and to SBC for doing what was necessary to make this happen.
The scene
What you’re looking at on this mural, is a street scene centred on the GLB. Until its demolition in 1918, the bridge stood in Regent Street and spanned the Wilts and Berks canal. On the photograph that Ken used when painting it, there are around thirty children, in their Sunday-best clothes posing on and around the bridge.
The Golden Lion bridge itself – seen in a book in Swindon’s Local Studies
In Ken’s version he replaced some of the children with some of Swindon’s long-gone worthies – in particular Alfred Williams (see Secret Swindon) to commemorate the 1877 centenary of his birth.
Ken White signing the mural – mahl stick at work
A career launching mural
Back in 1977, chemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer, used a picture of this mural in an advertising campaign for paint. That campaign got noticed by an employee of Richard Branson. Thus – at length – a long-standing business relationship and friendship developed.
There is of course much more to that story but … buy the bloody book!
See also – the book is chock full of great images of Ken’s work, in Swindon, other parts of the UK and abroad.
Intelligent Dialogue Wins Major Contract. Wiltshire training consultancy Intelligent Dialogue has won a major contract. It’s with UK-wide plant hire company Sunbelt Rentals UK & Ireland. It’s aimed at supporting a new leadership development programme for its depot and branch managers. One that will help them to provide exceptional customer service. It’s all part of its five-year strategy: Sunbelt 4.0.
Sunbelt Rentals, with a HQ in Warrington and over 190 depots across the country, rents and sells equipment to a wide range of sectors. They include:
Construction
Events
Government
Facilities management and film and TV.
Intelligent Dialogue, based in Royal Wootton Bassett, is working alongside Sunbelt Rentals to design and deliver this new leadership development programme. It”ll form a core element of their new management academy for operational managers. This reflects their commitment to developing their people and recognising the importance of customer experience.
Focus
The development will focus on:
Action centred leadership – the art of balancing the team, the individual and the task.
The difference between doing, managing and leading.
· How DiSC profiling can help understand preferences for managing people and teams’ management preferences.
How to give direction and delegate to people based on your preferences and theirs.
Developing an action plan for teams to motivate and improve performance.
Intelligent dialogue
Intelligent Dialogue specialises in designing and delivering transformational training programmes. All tailored to individual businesses. And focusing on areas including sales, customer service, and leadership development.
‘We’re delighted Sunbelt Rentals asked us to work with them on this vital part of their people strategy,’ said Intelligent Dialogue’s MD, Diane Banister. With that we can tailor our training to their culture and business.’
The face-to-face training, spread across the year, is for 160 managers around the country in the first instance. DiSC profiling will underpin the training. That’ll be alongside the Intelligent Dialogue BUILD leadership roadmap framework. That’s developed for fast-paced and operationally led organisations.
Jenny Parry, head of talent at Sunbelt Rentals, commented: ‘We’re delighted to have secured funding from the CITB. With it we can introduce this leadership development programme for our operational managers. We’re excited to be working with Diane and her team at Intelligent Dialogue. Together we’ll develop and deliver a course which will support our depot and branch managers. One that will improve their effectiveness in leading themselves and their teams. This programme has two aims:
To drive exceptional service for our customers
And create a culture in which our teammates feel engaged, empowered and can evolve to be their best.’
Post training
After completing the training, the managers will take away some practical tools and knowledge. That will ensure that they have the right skills, tool and capabilities to develop their teams in an effective manner. Strengthening the capabilities of the depot and branch managers will enhance the performance of everyone. And enable them to be more engaged and empowered to lead their teams. The training is being funded by the CITB – Construction Industry Training Board. It supports the development of Britain’s construction sector.
Diane said: ‘Depot and branch managers have demanding roles and daily challenges, dealing with people, machinery, unexpected scenarios. In fact, they make miracles happen on a daily basis!
‘Our training is about helping each person to understand their natural style of leadership. Where it will work for them, and where it will work against them. Our aim is to broaden their skills and approach. To get them to work with confidence and effectiveness in a wider range of situations and with a wider range of people. Our emphasis is on delivering practical applications that will help in their day-to-day work.’
Athelstan Museum Volunteer Call. The Athelstan Museum in Malmesbury is appealing for more volunteers to come forward during Volunteer Week (Monday June 2 to Sunday June 8). The museum is the central hub for local history in the town. All with exhibitions about Athelstan and Malmesbury’s history. It has on permanent display, an original watercolour of Malmesbury Abbey painted by the celebrated artist J. M. W. Turner.
It’s run through volunteer hours and support. Without the volunteers, exhibitions wouldn’t exist, and local knowledge would be lost. The team also needs volunteers to join the museum management team to help behind the scenes.
Publicity manager Sian Kuropatwa said : ‘We need volunteers to act as museum hosts. To interact with visitors and run the shop, as well as people to join the management team. That oversees the running of the museum. These volunteers ensure that our town’s history remains a living legacy relevant to the people of the town and Wiltshire today.
Being a volunteer
‘Being a volunteer is not only giving back to the community. It’s preserving history, sharing stories, making friends and combating loneliness.’
The museum has been operating for many years. And, as part of Volunteer Week 2025, they’re honouring the volunteers who keep the museum open to the public and preserve Malmesbury’s history. The theme for this year’s week is ‘volunteers make waves’ and in Malmesbury they do!
Harri Rawlings, aged 21, joined as a volunteer for The Athelstan Museum in October 2024 after graduating from university. He’s one of the museum’s youngest volunteers.
Athelstan Museum Volunteer Call – volunteer Harri Rawlings, at The Athelstan Museum, one of the museum’s youngest volunteers. Picture taken by Richard Harris.
‘I live near Malmesbury and have known about the museum since childhood. I wanted to get involved before I returned to university – so I found out the museum was volunteer run and contacted them. It fulfilled a need to give my time to something important and give back to somewhere I care about.
When I first joined, I said I liked exhibitions and research and the process of a museum acquiring artefacts. Since then, I’ve had invitations to meetings and done research for the museum as part of my volunteering. They’ve looked after me and my own interests.
‘One of the nice things about volunteering is getting to meet people from all over the world and to talk about my town. Children are the best, the history comes alive when you talk to them about it. One of my favourite pieces of Malmesbury history is the story of Hannah Twynnoy, the first person on record killed by a ‘tyger’. We have an activity throughout the museum to engage visitors. It’s such fun.
Kim
Kim Davies, aged 65, has been volunteering at the Athelstan Museum for five years.
‘I moved to Malmesbury in August 2019 after retiring from being a teacher. Before I moved, I didn’t know about the town, so I went into Malmesbury library and saw the volunteer folder. I found the museum as part of a volunteer option. I emailed and haven’t looked back since.
‘My first time volunteering, a lady visited the exhibition and listened to the voices narrating the history. She confided it was her mum on the recording and that she goes back to listen to her mum’s voice. I’ll never forget that first day.
‘I live on my own and having conversations and meeting new people is a big reason I volunteer. It also feels like giving back to a town and feeling part of a community. I’ve made many friends whilst doing this.
‘I don’t know how many people realise how much you get back yourself from volunteering. They’re a friendly group of people around the museum and it’s interesting work. Don’t feel put off if you aren’t aware of the history, you can talk to other people and can pick things up over time.’
The Athelstan Museum is volunteer run and is open six days a week for the public. If you’d like to learn more about the museum or enquire about volunteering or joining its proactive museum management team, visit https://www.athelstanmuseum.org.uk/.
