It seems at the moment, that time is flying by quicker than ever. The year comes and goes as quick as the months and days! This year’s summer has been no different.
This creation is a little different as it wasn’t inspired by travel or lack of, like, the Belfast creation, but this time was, inspired by a town that’s become home for the past 5 years. A town in Wiltshire that finds itself, usually, at the butt of jokes and is called upon as a negative reflection of the county. A town with a football club that once played in the top-flight league, a town that has been in James Bond films, a town that could easily be a city. The town is Swindon.
Having lived here for 5 years, in the grand scale of things, it’s not that long – but even in the short time, there have been changes in the town. Some for the good, some not so much so – but it is still a working town in the West Country (just!), and it’s still Swindon.
During the summer, Swindon Independent Film Festival took place, in the last week of July. A film festival that showcased brilliant independent film, talent, and culture. Bringing stories, moments, and ideas, from all around the world right here, to a town in Wiltshire.
It’s the first year I have been involved with the film festival and it has been and continues to be, a real privilege to be part of a team that brings independent cinema to the town for all to see. Cinema and films that don’t make the cinema screenings in places like Cineworld, Odeon or Vue. I also enjoyed being involved in the judging panel, primarily focussing on documentaries. We had some incredibly powerful and moving films, documenting real-life experiences, troubles, and issues.
It really is impressive to see the creativity and passion that goes into filmmaking come alive on the big screen.
Okay, so enough plugging of the film festival, as it is great as it is, it’s not the sole purpose of this creation. The town I’ve called home for the past 5 years is. Swindon is very well-known for the number of roundabouts the town has, including the mesmerising Magic Roundabout located in the centre of the town. Some may say it’s madness, others say it’s practical. Either way, everyone seems to have an opinion on one of the craziest road interchanges that’s on the planet!
So for the reason of having this craziness at the centre of Swindon, it was placed at the centre of this creation.
Alongside the roundabout, also in the creation are iconic buildings from across the town, though it’s worth noting that many of the buildings in the creation are now no longer in use, sadly.
The Tented Market, located in the Town Centre, was Swindon’s former indoor trading market with stallholders selling a range of products to the town’s population. However, in 2017 the tented market closed its doors for the final time. There’s been much debate about what has happened with the site since its closure including proposals for housing – however, at the time of writing this, the tented market still stands without an active purpose or use.
Also in the creation is the David Murray John (DMJ) Tower, often noted as the Brunel Tower as a nod to Brunel’s industrial impact on the town. Swindon’s only ‘skyscraper’, though not a skyscraper in the traditional sense, the DMJ towers over the town centre as a mixed-use building of apartments and offices. The history and background of the DMJ can be read in this brilliant article from Born Again Swindonian, Angela Atkinson.
Also in the creation is Christ Church and its iconic spire, located in Old Town and at the top of the hill in central Swindon, Christ Church’s spire is well known to residents from around the town.
Now, you can’t write a piece about this creation of Swindon without acknowledging the Oasis Leisure Centre and its iconic dome – something which has been dominating local news since 2020 owing to the closure of the centre. There is an active campaign to get the Oasis open again for public use, including the swimming pool, slides, and leisure facilities such as a sports hall and gym.
The Oasis is stooped in local history with its dome being architecturally significant, so much so that it was been given a Grade II listing in 2021.
More about the campaign can be found on the Save Oasis Swindon campaign website.
This post only goes into some of the iconic parts of Swindon, with many more that aren’t covered. A town in the north-west corner of Wiltshire is a town with potential and character, though often it takes those that live here a little while to realise it.
The process video is below. Thanks for reading and hopefully, it won’t be too long before the next one.
Artwork in Progress 