Fighting social media stereotypes of ageing
Members of the public from Swindon and Wiltshire are being asked to post their own photos of everyday life. Why? To help challenge negative stereotypes of ageing and biased social media algorithms. All as part of the town’s online Festival of Tomorrow.
Here we are with a Swindon festival update. The spring festival of the last two years has had to revert to being the Swindon Festival of Literature. Swindon celebrated that most marvellous annual event for over twenty-five years.
Two teachers from Swindon’s Revolution Performing Arts, have caused a social media sensation with their version of the dance routine for pop star Harry Styles’ new single Treat People With Kindness.
Purton Road Bridge Swindon – something I’ve seen often but have never thought too much about until Roger Ogle posted the photograph below on Facebook. That prompted me to ask him for more information about it.
Last Orders gets gold. This monster compendium of lost locals written by John Stooke has scooped the top prize at the annual awards held by the Guild of British Beer Writers. John's gold award is for the best 'not for profit' piece of writing in 2020.The substantial...
The Wiltshire Mummers’ Play: Mummers plays are an old Christmas tradition in many parts of the country. A group of friends would dress up, and go round the neighbourhood performing a little play. This had a set script. But, thanks to oral transmission, this would have varied from district to district. In return they received money and food, and, no doubt, drink.
I’ve heard it said, more than once, that just about anything you can think of will have some connection somewhere to Swindon. Well, the briefest of trawls through Another Picture – Another Story, demonstrates how true that is. Swindon IS the centre of the universe!
We call it Celtic. Though it’s also Pictish, Viking, or Anglo Saxon. We call it Interlaced though it can be freeform, zoomorphic, spirals or tessellated. What am I talking about? I’m referring to the genre known as Insular art. (Some of which comes from the Mainland…) (Bain 1977).
The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust has a grand ambition. And that’s the restoration of the Wilts & Berks canal to link the English northern and southern waterway systems. But a cloud of uncertainty has, for many years, cast a shadow over this dream. The cause of this uncertainty? The obtaining of a crossing across the M4. But rejoice! The cloud is on the verge of lifting. For the canal trust is awarded feasibility funding.
So a week or so ago I watched a super talk, via the ubiquitous Zoom, arranged by the Friends of the Museum and Art Gallery. The speaker was a sculptor by the name of Joseph Ingleby. His name might not mean anything to you but a piece of his work will. For Joseph is the creator of the Turtle Storm sculpture that resides in Queen’s Park.
Wiltshire’s Sarsen Stones
A Canadian friend came to stay and, since they were a Neo-pagan, I decided to show them Avebury stone circle, a favourite place of mine. This didn’t go exactly to plan. For a start they were most upset because some Early Medieval people had decided to build their village on a sacred site.
Great news for children in North Swindon who love singing, dancing and acting with a new performing arts class for North Swindon. The class will start at the Great Western Academy on Thursday November 5th.
