17th December 2017 [jetpack_subscription_form] A Community Library Launches at the Swindon Hindu Temple To be fair, 'A community library LUNCHES at the Swindon Hindu Temple' would have been an appropriate heading being as how this event was celebrated with a food...
26th November 2017 Eastcott community book launch: Legacy of a rag and bone man Well listeners! Yesterday was what I call a good Swindon day. The being cold, yet bright and sunny I walked into town from Grange Park. My first stop when I do that is always Paolo's...
4th November 2017 [jetpack_subscription_form] A poppy cloak for Brunel Swindon Stitch and Bitch - a Swindon based knitting group, have been busy knitting and crocheting poppies to raise funds and awareness for The Royal British Legion. Last year they made a six-foot...
Last night I had the privilege of attending a memorial event for Lord Joffe – or Joel as everyone knew him.
I knew of Joel and his connections with many Swindon organisations of course way before I met him. His patronship of Swindon 105.5, involvement and interest in the Harbour Project and Swindon City of Sanctuary to name but a few.
6th September 2017 [jetpack_subscription_form] Hello listeners. Simply a quick share of a press release from the good people at Swindon City of Sanctuary who are a year old! Here's their Facebook page - which just happens to have me in a picture on the front. Gosh, I...
Idly scrolling through Facebook as you do, I came across a video. It’s made by CREATE studios and features Swindon Community poet, Tony Hillier and his poem ‘Swindon Diamonds’. I somehow managed to miss it – never mind, I’ve found it now.
9th July 2107 [jetpack_subscription_form] The Children's Fete 2017: a few photographs Hello listeners. I hope you've been enjoying the sunny weather. I certainly have. I LIVE for this time of year. It was great though that it was such a lovely day yesterday for the...
01/07/2017 [jetpack_subscription_form] The children's Fete Saturday 8th July from 12pm to 8pm As it says on the Mechanics' Institute Trust website: 'The Children's Fete is Swindon’s oldest summer event, dating back to 1866. Organised by the Mechanics’ Institution, it...
7 reasons & five places to shop local.
In the midst of the Covid19 pandemic there’s much talk fo supporting local businesses – whether they’re online or bricks and mortar. It’s a topic I’ve banged on about a lot over the years. I first put this post together in 2016.
So here are 7 reasons why you should shop locally and 5 places to do it in Swindon.
The railway worker’s cottage, in the heart of the GWR Railway Village Conservation area, is run by the Mechanics’ Institution Trust.
It’s only a few days since Martin Parry’s pièce de résistance ‘Railway Town Film’ was premiered at the Wyvern Theatre to a sell out crowd. I was privileged to be 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.
The Civic Society Movement & Swindon. Okay! If you’ve been paying attention at all you’ll know by now that here in Swindon we have an organisation by the name of Swindon Civic Voice. But what you might not know – and I didn’t until relatively recently – is that the civic society movement is a national one and there’s civic voices and civic societies all over the shop.
