Diving Stage at Coate Water

A unforgettable landmark around Coate Water this concrete structure seems to have an air of sinister mystery now almost derelict it was once used.

Postcard c. 1959

Postcard c. 1960

Painting; The Polluted Lake by George Reason, 1969

at Swindon Museum and Art Gallery

Painting; I didn't mean to hit her but I did, 1988

Photograph 29 July 2011

PARADISE STREET, WILTSHIRE

HOW DO YOU GET TO PARADISE STREET?

Paradise Street can be wherever you want it to be

and many people know how to get there

for directions go to the 'PARADISE WILTSHIRE' page on the right.

SWINDON STORIES 01

01

What makes you happy?  Do you think you know only to be disappointed when that thing you craved comes along?  For true happiness does there have to be some disappointment then an element of surprise once you have given up all hope to experience.

To read more go to the SWINDON STORIES page on the right.

Shopping Lists Part 01

A stray bit of paper found in the bottom of a supermarket trolley, bag, on the street or crumpled up in the bottom of your pocket can be very revealing.  

To see the Wiltshire Pop Up collection 
go to the SHOPPING LIST page on the right.

The Psion organiser and London Underground

Anyone remember the Psion Organiser 3a series?  It came on the market in 1993 and was a great way of helping with work when on the move.  

It had many features one of which was this 800 x 480 pixel map of London Underground, designed by curator of Swindon Museum of Computing Simon Webb.  As well as the 2400 lines of code needed to make the map Simon had to redesign for the black and white screen, a difficult task if you consider how many colours are on the original map.  The map was bigger than the display so you had to scroll left to right if you were traveling from Uxbridge to Theydon Bois, there was also the option to double up in size for close up.

To see more fascinating technology old and new visit the Swindon Museum of Computing.  For details go to www.museumofcomputing.org.uk

The Belgian Lamp-post visits Savernake Forest

Not everyone had the same experience as E. C. Large (see previous post) 80 years earlier Richard Jefferies called 'The Belgian Lamp-Post' and 'Self Appointed Inspector of Snowstorms and Rainstorms' by locals who did not appreciate his interest in the natural world visited Savernake Forest.  Reginald Arkell, not related to the Swindon brewer but the wriiter of '1066 and all that' and also a biography of Jefferies writes of a walk across The Downs and quotes from Jefferies from which the following is taken.

The postcards date from the 1940 - 60s.

PICNIC at Savernake

(thanks go to volcano-club.blogspot.com for telling us about E C Large)

10 miles south of Swindon Savernake Forest is a favourite picnic site on a Sunday afternoon the place is full of people enjoying themselves.  

Yet there is a more sinister side to the forest, it was the catalyst for the Hungerford massacre in 1987, has been the final resting place of

those committing suicide and was recently the scene of a mass search for a missing Swindon woman. During the war it served as an ammunition dump used by Home and US forces, roads were closed and the whole area was a no go, although secret at the time chemical weapons are said to have been tested there.

It is also the haunt for people foraging for funghi maybe E. C. Large, the English chemist and plant scientist was researching for his book 'The Advance of The Funghi' when he visited Savernake in 1939.  Whatever he may have been doing he did not enjoy the experience, read on.

BUS NAMES

A 1955 Daimler CV6G coming into Regent Circus in about 1967.

Not sure if the buses were given individual names then, according to the Thamesdown website these are the names of buses currently in service.  Various themes are associated with the names such as Swindon built locomotives.

Pelican  Penguin  Seagull  Skylark  Vanguard  Formidable  Caradoc

Centaur  Champion  Cockade  Daring  Despatch  Diadem  Dragon

Druid  Glory  Magnificent  Cambrian  Foxhound  Goliath  Salzgitter Ocotal

Pontorson  Grenville  Greyhound  Hercules  Hermes  Highflyer  

Intrepid  Jupiter  Torun – City of Copernicus  Kelly  

Magpie  Majestic  Swindon  Earl of Mount Edgcumbe  Earl of Dunraven  

Earl of Dudley  Earl Cawdor  Earl of Dartmouth  Earl of Devon  

Earl of Plymouth  Earl of St Germans  Queen Elizabeth  King George VI  

King Edward VIII  King George V  King Edward VII  Queen Victoria  

King William IV  King George IV  Brunel  Iron Duke  Great Britain  

Lightning  Emperor  Sultan  Lord of the Isles  Royal Sovereign  

Tornado  Great Western  Pasha  Courier  Tartar  Warlock

Wizard  Rougemont  Hirondelle  Swallow  Timour  Prometheus  

Perseus  Estaffete  Rover  Amazon  Alma  Balaklava  Inkermann  

Kertch

Thamesdown Buses

Returning to the Bus theme (see post 24.05.11) Here is a short wheeled base 8.5m Plaxton Pointer Denis Dart.  Not sure why it is called 'Flamingo', it would be interesting to know how the Thamesdown fleet was named and know of any of the other names.

Buses used to be a great identifier in a town, deregulation has changed things but it may have made it more interesting for the bus spotter.