Arts/Culture/Heritage Archives - Page 39 of 82

Swindon Arts Centre: The Bradford Hall

May 14, 2014 | Arts/Culture/Heritage

Last night I was in the Arts Centre for the first time in ages for a Swindon Festival of Literature event. And I haven’t attended anything in that for 3 years as it’s always clashed with summer exam time. But having sat my final, final exam the previous day I was up there! As ever, when I visit either of the theatres in Swindon, the Wyvern or the Arts Centre I have cause to reflect on how fortunate we are in Swindon to have two such fabulous theatre venues.

Artiste and the Postmodern

Apr 5, 2014 | Arts/Culture/Heritage, Artsite and the Post Modern

“Artsite is an artist led group and has studios and a gallery complex in Theatre Square Swindon. They are developing a creative hub in Number Nine, with a variety of workshops, events and Handmade Swindon.”

For more information see their website.

The Seven Wonders of Swindon

Mar 7, 2014 | Arts/Culture/Heritage, Sons & Daughters of Swindon

We are most of us familiar with the 7 wonders of the ancient world:

1.The great pyramid of Egypt
2. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
3. The statue of Zeus at Olympia
4. That well-known temple of Artemis at Ephesus
5. One mausoleum at Halicarnassus
6. Rhode’s Colossus …
7. .. and the lighthouse of Alexandria.

Only one of which – the pyramid – still remains.

Portrait Bench South Marston Cycle Path

Jan 11, 2014 | Arts/Culture/Heritage, General Interest, Public art-sculpture, Walks and cycle paths

I just love social media! One of my Twitter and blog followers sent me this photo,which is great, as being a non-driver and bogged down in studies I don’t get to all four corners of our town.

What you are looking at is piece of public art that is also a handy bench: a perfect marriage of form and function indeed! But not just any old bench.

This here is a Portrait Bench. So now, not only do I know about this lovely bench, I also know about the concept of portrait benches and a little bit more about Swindon’s history. And it started with a Tweet!

A Mini Adventure in Public Art

Jan 4, 2014 | Arts/Culture/Heritage, General Interest, Public art-sculpture

A Mini Adventure in Public Art – Alexander House Minis public art

Coate Water diving platform Swindon

Nov 30, 2013 | Architecture in Swindon, Arts/Culture/Heritage, Parks and open spaces

The now-defunct 1935 Art Deco style diving platform at Coate Water invokes a fair amount of nostalgia in me. As a child I was sometimes taken to Langold Lake (5 miles the ‘other’ side of Worksop). This was a large country park thing – my memories are hazy as it was MANY years ago now. But I recall a swimming lake with a diving platform in it.

Swindon Town FC: Come on you reds!

Nov 1, 2013 | Arts/Culture/Heritage, General Interest, Guest Bloggers, This sporting life

Swindon Town FC: Come on you reds! “My name is Lee (@Leefer3 on twitter)…and I have been watching Swindon Town since 1975, so it’s close to forty years now.

Retro Swindon Roadsigns

Oct 27, 2013 | Arts/Culture/Heritage, General Interest

A largely pictorial post featuring various Retro Swindon roadsigns. Some are in Swindon and some are somewhat further afield.

I’ve featured them here for not much other reason than that they have lasted this long and it feels like a nice thing to have some pictures of them here. Seems like a good enough excuse to me.

Swindon’s Jubilee clock

Oct 24, 2013 | Arts/Culture/Heritage, Public art-sculpture

A wee post about Swindon’s Jubilee clock. Moved from its original town centre home, it now resides outside Swindon’s railway station.

The Magic Roundabout: a guide book entry

Oct 22, 2013 | Arts/Culture/Heritage, General Interest, The Magic Roundabout

The Magic Roundabout: a guide book entryI wrote this guide book entry in the final year of my English/Eng Lang studies at UWE. The piece formed part of a travel writing module.For my coursework portfolio I wrote, amongst other things, some stuff about Swindon:* a...

Swindon Designer Outlet Centre

Oct 22, 2013 | Arts/Culture/Heritage, General Interest

A weekend visit to the Swindon designer outlet centre or whatever it is we are calling it, has prompted me to write a view lines about it. Cos I think it’s really rather cool – and I don’t only mean for the shopping.

Richard Jefferies Victorian Nature Writer

Sep 26, 2013 | Arts/Culture/Heritage, Literature in Swindon, Richard Jefferies, Sons & Daughters of Swindon

John Richard Jefferies (1848-1887): is best known for his prolific and sensitive writing on natural history, rural life and agriculture in late Victorian England.