Photography Competition 2019: The Winners

Posted on October 20, 2019 by martha.parry

20th October 2019

Photography Competition 2019

Photography Competition 2019: The Winners: At this year’s Civic Day we launched the inaugural Swindon Civic Voice photography competition. The purpose of this post is to share some of the winning photographs.

For a review of our 2019 Civic Day activities read here: https://www.swindoncivicvoice.org.uk/2019/06/civic-day-2019-review/

Our idea behind the competition was to engage people with the town and with our organization. Swindon Civic Voice ce strives to be a positive organization. We will challenge when we think it’s right to do that – but we’re also keen to work with others where we can to promote Swindon’s rich history.

We chose as this year’s theme, Swindon’s architectural landscape. We do intend to run the competition again next year but probably with a different theme. We had two age groups – one for juniors and one for adults.

Richard Wintle of the Calyx Picture Agency was kind enough to judge the entries for us.

The Presentation

We held a low-key presentation ceremony in the Baker’s Community Cafe in the award-winning  GWR Railway Village –  now an Historic England Heritage Action Zone.

Photography Competition 2019: The Winners

Photography Competition 2019: The Winners with chair of Swindon Civic Voice, Angela Atkinson

The winner in the adult category is Matt Jones – here he is with his winning photograph:

chair of swindon civiv voice presenting photograph to adult winner

You can’t see it too well from that shot so here it is:

Flyover over the M4 taken by Matt Jones

Flyover over the M4

Here’s the junior winner, Kelsey Ward, with her photograph of the GWR Hotel:

Chair of SCV presenting prize to junior winner

The runner-up in the junior category is Megan Gibson with a photograph of St Peter’s church in Penhill

chair SCV presenting prize to runner up in photography competition 2019

And now we have the SCV Chair’s highly commended for Jodie Hackett. It must be pointed out that Jodie didn’t actually follow the brief of Swindon’s architectural landscape – and submitted the photograph below entitled: WWII’s Secrets – Location: Falmouth, Cornwall. But we all thought it was a fab photograph and wanting to encourage rather than discourage we decided on a highly commended award. Thank you for entering Jodie.

So thanks to all our entrants and winners. Follow our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/swindoncivicvoice/ and tell your friends!

 

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Talk: John Stooke – Last Orders

Posted on October 12, 2019 by martha.parry

12th October 2019

Talk: John Stooke – Last Orders

Join us on November 7th at Central Community Centre to hear from local CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) stalwart and author, John Stooke – Last Orders. 

Cost – to cover venue hire and refreshments:

£5 for non Swindon Civic Voice members
£3 for members of Swindon Civic Voice

Join Swindon Civic Voice on the night and pay the lower entry.

John Stooke on his bike

Come along and hear about John’s mammoth, 4-year-long  research project.

You will get to hear about the Old Red Cow in Cow Lane – eventually incorporated into Bill Tydeman’s building yard … but what role did it play for Tydeman Brothers?

NEW RED COW PRINCESS STREET 1907

NEW RED COW PRINCESS STREET 1907

He will touch on stories about the iconic Golden Lion Pub in Bridge Street. The old lion on the parapet was moved downstairs onto the front lawn in the 1930s as every time a tram went past, the old boy trembled. The landlord at the time was worried about dropping one ton of stone lion on the head of departing customers. Discover what eventually happened to him.

Hear about famed cricketer, the good Dr William Gilbert Grace – said to have delivered a ‘six’ straight through the window of the Grapes Hotel on the other side of Faringdon Road! Read more about that story in this article by the Swindon Advertiser. 

WG Grace

WG Grace

It promises to be an informative and interesting talk.

There’ll be an opportunity FOR SWINDON CIVIC VOICE MEMBERS ONLY to buy the book at the event at a discounted price.

For every book John sells he gives a £3 donation to Swindon Women’s Aid and Swindon Women’s Refuge.

last orders by John Stooke

See also this post over on Born again Swindonian about the book.

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Mechanics’ Institution: Public Consultation

Posted on October 1, 2019 by martha.parry

1st October 2019

Mechanics’ Institution: Public Consultation

Public meeting at 6pm on Monday 14th October at The Platform in the Railway Village

The Mechanics’ Institution Trust has been fortunate in securing two grants from the Theatre’s Trust and the Architectural Heritage Fund to commission a new Viability Study for the Mechanics Institute.

Mechanics' Institution trust logo - Mechanics institution public consultation

Working with the Heritage Action Zone, Swindon Borough Council and Historic England, we have commissioned the specialist consultants Fourth Street to undertake this study, which will be finished by the end of the year.

The Mechanics' Institution Swindon - Mechanics institution public consultation

We have arranged for an open public consultation to be held in the Central community Centre on Monday 14th October at 6.00 pm , when the Consultants will explain their work and seek your views.

Please come along on Monday 14th October at 6.00pm for the Mechanics’ Institution public consultation and contribute to the future of the Mechanics’.

Mechanics institution public consultation

From the Theatre’s Trust website:

Built as a social and community centre for Swindon’s Victorian railway workers, it is hoped that this building can once again serve the local community as a cultural hub.

Significance

Built in the Tudor Gothic style, the Mechanics’ Institute is a grand, Grade II* listed building, and a fine example of its kind. It was built as a social and community centre for staff of the Great Western Railway, providing them with facilities they would otherwise have had little access to. It opened in 1855 with a library, coffee room and reading room. In 1930 the centre of the building was badly damaged by fire and the first floor hall was rebuilt as a theatre, with an enlarged stage. It was a pretty theatre with an elaborate proscenium and (unusually for its kind) a fly tower. It is located at the heart of the Railway Village, the community it once served.

Update May 2019

We were delighted to support the theatre with a grant as part of our Theatres at Risk Capacity Building Programme. 

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Event: A Talk by Richard Wintle

Posted on August 18, 2019 by martha.parry

August 2019

Event: A Talk by Richard Wintle

Event:A talk by Richard Wintle: It’s the middle of August and here at Swindon Civic Voice we’re putting together a programme of autumn events.

We’re totally thrilled that Richard Wintle – perhaps better known as Calyx Picture Agency – has agreed to do a talk for us.

A Journey through the Four Million Images in 

the

Calyx Picture Agency Archive

a talk by Richard Wintle

When: Thursday 12th September

Where: Central Community Centre, in the GWR Railway Village

Time: 7pm

Cost – to cover venue hire and refreshments:

£5 for non Swindon Civic Voice members
£3 for members of Swindon Civic Voice

Join Swindon Civic Voice on the night and pay the lower entry.

Where: Central Community Centre, Emlyn Square – in the heart of Swindon’s favourite conservation area. Last year voted England’s favourite – here’s the trophy to prove it! Read more about that here. https://www.swindoncivicvoice.org.uk/2018/10/the-railway-village-swindon-englands-favourite-conservation-area-2018/

Richard’s camera lenses have been present at Swindon events for what seems like forever!

Come to Central Community Centre on Thursday 12th September to:

‘Take a ride through a selection of the 2 million negatives, 2 million digital images and hours of local news video that Richard Wintle and his team have amassed over 50 years of media photography, mostly in the Swindon area.

Travel through a time warp as news events link up in a chain of coincidences that will show a picture is only the start of the story.’

A PDF Poster of the Richard Wintle talk is available here

A talk by richard wintle

From the About Us section of the Calyx website:

Calyx Multimedia is a Picture and TV agency based in Swindon in the south-west of England with a specilist archive on the British Royal Family.

Besides that they specialise in Press, PR and feature photography for national newspapers and agencies. We have freelance feature writers and PR professionals who can undertake commissions.

Locally we supply stories and photographs to four main news sites in Swindon: Swindon Link, Swindonweb.com/ Total Swindon and input to broadcasts on Swindon 105.5

Calyx Multimedia also:

  •  supplies the regional business press with stories and pictures
  •  covers Swindon’s sport scene with www.sportswindon.com
  • has an archive of over 30 years of local news photos.
  •  is a member of NAPA – National Association of Press Agencies

Support the Neuroendocrine Cancer community

https://www.netpatientfoundation.org/

And, talking of time Warps: https://youtu.be/vBHONx9vTtI – Let’s do the time warp again! 

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Swindon Civic Voice needs YOU!

Posted on August 10, 2019 by martha.parry

August 2019

Swindon Civic Voice needs YOU!

‘Citizens who care are the best guardians

 of the settlements in which they live’

Barbara Ward

Swindon Civic Voice is a registered charity, run by volunteers, that works under the umbrella of the national civic voice organization. And Swindon Civic Voice needs you!

Civic Voice groups up and down the land seek to make the places they live in more attractive, enjoyable and distinctive. And Swindon Civic Voice is no exception. They and we promote civic pride and celebrate what’s great in our community.

In 2108, the GWR railway village conservation area won a competition organised through Civic Voice to find the nation’s favourite conservation area. In this post you can learn more about that.

Group with the conservation area award

Presentation of the conservation area award at Central Community Centre

In winning that competition, thanks to a groundswell of public support, the railway village beat such conservation areas as Lichfield and Port Sunlight.

This stunning victory for Swindon Civic Voice and the Railway Village played a key role in helping Swindon Borough council to obtain funding from Historic England to designate this conservation area a Heritage Action Zone. 

See: https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/heritage-action-zones/swindon/

And here’s an interesting guest blog from Martin Newman about Swindon’s listed buildings list.

Aims of the HAZ

The aim of the HAZ is to promote economic growth and improve the quality of life in the area with an overall investment of £7.6m over the next five years. Crucially, it also includes plans to restore the Mechanics’ Institute. The HAZ is Swindon’s best – probably last chance to address this particular issue. One that is dear to many a Swindonian heart.

We’ve achieved a lot – but we’d like to do more … 

… and that’s where you come in.

We trust you’ve got the idea by now that we’re an active and positive organization.

There’s so much going on in the town that a strong civic society, standing apart from party politics, is vital if we are to have any chance of influencing planning proposals and helping to shape the town’s future. Can you support us? 

support-2355701__340 - swindon civic voice needs you

For other examples of what we’ve been doing in recent years, see also our Civic Day 2018 review: https://www.swindoncivicvoice.org.uk/2019/06/civic-day-2019-review/

and the Swindon Civic Voice circulation study.

Can you help us? 

Can you volunteer a few hours a month to work with us? We could really use someone to help organise events. And some admin support would be good. Amongst other things.

Can you be a member?

Okay. So you’d like to support us but you really, really, really don’t have any spare time for active involvement. We get it! We know – we do know.

But you can still help us. How? By being a member that’s how. Your membership support is crucial in helping us to keep going. 

membership-685021__340 - swindon civic voice needs you

Running organisations cost money. We apply for grants where we can. Some we get – some we don’t. But it’s grants, volunteer time and membership subscriptions that keeps us going.

So – if you’re time poor but can spare £6 a year we’d love to hear from you!

Find out how to become a member of Swindon Civic Voice here: https://www.swindoncivicvoice.org.uk/membership-2/

Thank you! 

 

 

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A Good Man and a Brave Man

Posted on July 21, 2019 by martha.parry

July 2019

A Good Man and a Brave Man

We’re a bit of a literary lot in Swindon Civic Voice it seems. Our chair Angela Atkinson, aka Born again Swindonian, is now the author of three Swindon related books – the second of which – Swindon in 50 Buildings is out now. But she’s not on her own! Oh no. We discovered, almost by chance, that one of our trustees, Alan Gaunt, can also claim authorship as a a thing with his book, A Good Man and a Brave Man.

A good man and a brave man by Alan Gaunt

THE STORY OF A GLOUCESTERSHIRE SOLDIER – CECIL THOMAS PACKER, 1885 – 191

BY ALAN GAUNT

ISBN: 978 1 86151 5308 Paperback 136 pages RRP: £12.99 April 2017

Mereo Books is an imprint of Memoirs Publishing:  www.memoirspublishing.com

Mereo books are available through: all good bookshops and internet booksellers.

(Also available as an ebook)

“This is not the story of a traditional hero in the mould of Nelson or Wellington but that of a village shepherd, a local man who did not come from the nobility or the ranks of the nation’s leaders but simply loved his family and died in the service of his country.”

Flo and Cecil Packer in 1915

Flo and Cecil Packer in 1915

Cecil Packer was a farm labourer, a factory worker, a shepherd and a devoted family man. Like so many others he went to France to fight for his country in the First World War and never returned.

Cecil survived both the Gallipoli and Somme campaigns. So for his descendants, his death on the Western Front when his battalion was far from the front line was a mystery as well as a tragedy.

Alan Gaunt, whose wife Shirley is Cecil’s great-granddaughter, set about researching Cecil’s humble but interesting life and finally established the tragic circumstances of his accidental death in December 1916, aged 31.

Cecil Thomas Packer was born in 1885 in Minty, Wiltshire and grew up in Poole Keynes, Gloucestershire. He enlisted in 1915 in Cirencester and served with the 8thService Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment. He died on 13thDecember 1916 in Flanders.

The book is a moving account of a humble man who fought for King and Country, and will appeal to all those with an interest in military and social history; local historians (in Gloucestershire/Wiltshire) as well as anyone who wishes to research their own family history.

About the author

Author, Alan Gaunt was born in Salisbury (Wiltshire) and grew up in South Cerney(Gloucestershire). He was educated in Cirencester and, later, in Bushey (Herts). He is a retired Civil Servant. Alan is married (with two grown-up children) and lives in Swindon.

By the same author:

A QUIET AUTHORITY – George Gaunt: A life (2013 Mereo Books).

George Gaunt was a quiet and gentle man who served with honour in the Coldstream Guards. George became a respected publican in a Gloucestershire village, and the entire community mourned his early passing. Thirty years later, his son Alan learned that George had been married before and had two other children. Alan set off on a trail of enquiry to piece together a comprehensive and fascinating account of the father he had lost when he was only 13 years old. This book is the result of Alan’s research and tells the story of his father and how Alan learned about his half-brother.

 

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Civic Day 2019 Review

Posted on June 30, 2019 by martha.parry

30th June 2019

Civic Day 2019 Review

Civic Day 2019 Review

On Saturday 22nd June we welcomed visitors to our annual Civic Day event. Here’s our Civic Day 2019 review.

We were also excited to launch our new photography competition. Entries are arriving via info@swindoncivicvoice.org.uk Find the rules and info on the photography competition here. 

As part of the event we ran a small opinion poll to gauge responses and comments. 

Below are the results.

Graph We provided five statements as follows. With these we encouraged our visitors to review and prioritise their agreement with the statements, and to supply comments if necessary.

  1. Empty Shops and offices in Swindon should be converted to flats
  2. Historic buildings in the town centre should be demolished
  3. The Civic Offices should be kept for public use
  4. We want more Eateries in Canal Walk.
  5. We like Swindon

It was no surprise Statement 2 drew a big, fat “zero” in support of destroying our heritage buildings.  The comments reflected their distaste. Although it would seem there was some support for reuse and retention in some way – even if not for the original purpose.  Some people suggested that we need more definition on what “historic” really means.

  1. Are all old buildings worthy of keeping? What makes them historical/heritage, age or provenance?

The big winner of the day was Statement 5.  Most people thought Swindon might have its flaws but in general we wouldn’t stay here if we didn’t have some affection for the old gal.  We have to admit though, the answer might have been self-fulfilling. We were after all targeting people who had an interest in Swindon’s history and potential for the future.

Swindon Civic Voice has a commitment to looking to the future. We want to help Swindon by challenging, supporting and consulting future planning decisions.

Next in level of support was Statement 3 – although the comments reflected a bit of conflict. Yes, we like this building but what should we do with it when it is empty?  The idea of flats wasn’t popular, so how can it used to benefit the town? Swindon Civic Voice would advocate getting it listed so there is some protection. But as we all know this has no guarantees.

Finally, Statements 1 and 4 both had some support but were well down the list. A reasonable reflection of the complexity of the inner town issues over recent years.

Statement 4 about further eateries provoked some diverse comments. Some thought we’ve got enough and more would cause others to close through lack of demand.  Conversely others thought this might work so long as they are diverse. And that there’s suitable addressing of night-time security.

One person spoke of this project in Bristol as something they’d like to see in Swindon: http://wappingwharf.co.uk/bars-restaurants-cafe

What do you think?

Statement 1 likewise split opinions. Do we need more shops? Do we need more flats/population in town? The majority seemed to be saying a good mix would be best to energise the town centre.  Bring in new businesses by making it more cost effective for small operations to survive.

Other comments expressed in conversations ranged from having a good market restored to the centre to bringing back waterways into the town.

We welcome any further comments. We’ll collate them to influence our responses to Swindon Borough Council and other parties.

We appreciate you will have many strong views and we are keen to hear from you. But please – constructive comments only. What we don’t want is council-bashing and general moaning. That doesn’t get us anywhere. Send your contributions to: info@swindoncivicvoice.org.uk

Looking to the future, it’s our intention to be active in seeking involvement in consultations. We want to present well thought through challenges or, indeed support, as our town centre plans are released for consultation.

To that end we need to increase our membership and get out into the wider community to hear your views on Swindon.

If you think you can help then please become a member – information on how to do that here.

 And, if you want to help in a more hands on way then we’d love to hear from you!

A FEW PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE DAY

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SCV Photography Competition 2019

Posted on June 14, 2019 by martha.parry

June 2019

Swindon Civic Voice Photography Competition

SCV photography competition 2019

At our 2019 Civic Day – see at the bottom of the page – we’re launching a photography competition.

The Competition Rules

About This Competition

** You can download all the competition info here.photo competition ver3

Swindon Civic Voice are holding this competition to engage communities and to increase awareness about the architecture we have around us.

Entry is free and photographers compete for age-related awards.  You can take images anywhere in Swindon from Saturday 22ndJune 2019 and 23rdAugust 2019.

To register for the competition, simply come to the Swindon Civic Voice, Civic Day display in the Argos store front on Wharf Green in the town centre.

The competition is open to all photographers of any age or ability.

We’ll announce the results on the Swindon Civic Voice website and social media platforms.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swindoncivicvoice/

Twitter: @SwindonV

We will display the photographs taken by the winners and runners up at the Baker’s Community café in Emlyn Square, in the heart of our GWR railway village conservation area.

Competition Theme and Categories

There is one theme for the competition: Swindon’s Architectural Landscape. There are two categories determined by the age of the photographer on 22ndJune 2019:

  • Up to and including 16yrs
  • 17yrs and older

General Guidance

The judge(s) will look for images taken by any device (standard camera, phone, GoPro, drone, etc), which display a clear image. The winner will produce a powerful image that demonstrates an eye for detail, the unusual design or a different perspective.

The competition is not merely a hunt for pictures that show famous or well-known images. Rather novel, previously hidden or revealing new views.

Give free rein to your imagination, creativity and artistic skills!

Competition Rules

  • Competitors must have landowner permissions for the photography location.
  • If using a drone, competitors must fly responsibly and abide by Civil Aviation Authorityguidance.
  • Images must be taken within the competition geographic boundaries between 22ndJune 2019 and 23rdAugust 2019.
  • There are no absolute limits on image processing post capture, but this is not a Photoshop skills competition. Changes made post image capture should not distort the image beyond what was essentially observed when the picture was taken.
  • Competitors can enter up to 2 images
  • Competitors should submit a caption for each image, up to a maximum of two sentences and a total of 50 words.

Ethical Standards

You should never do anything to injure or distress any human or animal during your photography.

Applicants are responsible for complying with any legislation and securing any relevant permits that are required, e.g. when entering buildings or locations.

Image Entry

Email images no later than 17.00 on 23rd August 2109 as attachments to: info@swindoncivicvoice.org.uk Include your name, age (at 22/6/19) and image captions (title and location) in the email.

Re-sizing and naming images

1.Competitors should submit medium resolution JPEG or TIFF files, but please retain your original, unprocessed images. Images should have NO WATERMARKS.

  1. Entrants should rename their images to include their name, e.g. John_Smith_1 (add a suffix of 1 or 2 if submitting 2 images).

Photographers’ Image Rights

Swindon Civic Voice reserves the right to publish winning images on social media, but with due credit given to the photographer.

Images may also be used royalty free in media coverage of the event and materials to promote Swindon Civic Voice, but not for income generation.  Copyright will always remain with the photographer, who will be consulted for any other use of images not declared here.

The judges’ decision on any matters arising from these guidelines shall be final.

Prize and Awards

A first place winner of each category will receive a £25 gift voucher, second place £15 and £10 for third place.

Other category runner ups may have their images published on line or displayed and receive a certificate

Timetable 2019

Saturday 22ndJune – Competition opens for submissions.

Friday 23rd August – Competition closes for submissions.

Photos will be judged by an independent panel.

Results will be announced on Social Media and prize winners informed by 3rdOctober 2019.

Prizegiving details will be announced after the results are announced.

Organisers’ contact details

Before the event, please direct any competition queries to: info@swindoncivicvoice.org.uk

Swindon civic day 2019

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Conservation Area Award Official Presentation

Posted on June 11, 2019 by martha.parry

11th June 2019

Conservation Area Award Official Presentation

Who we are

‘Civic Voice is the national charity for the civic movement in England. We make places more attractive, enjoyable and distinctive. We promote civic pride.’ http://www.civicvoice.org.uk/about/

So today, at long last, we had the long-awaited official presentation of the conservation area award. The lovely glass trophy that Swindon Civic Voice brought home last autumn. You can read more of that here in this post about the railway village becoming England’s favourite conservation area 2018.

We had visitations from Joan Humble and David Evans of the national Civic Voice.

Group with the conservation area award - Conservation Area Award Official Presentation

Conservation Area Award Official Presentation in Central Community Centre June 2019

From left to right: John Stooke, June Beveridge, Andrea Christmas, Roystson Cartwright and Martha Paary. Holding the trophy: Joan Humble and Angela Atkinson – current chair of SCV.

And a couple more photos:

I’ve written and posted on social media at length about how Swindonians rose to the social media challenge to help get the message of the vote out there. But I want to take this opportunity to point out that a lot of hard work by a lot of people went into organising our civic days of 2017 and 2018. And they laid the foundation. It was those days – and our submission – that helped Civic Voice to shortlist our railway village. And that had to happen before it got as far as the public vote.

brochures for civic days 2017 and 2018

brochures for civic days 2017 and 2018

On the back of those civic days and winning this conservation area award, Swindon Civic Voice has made great strides. And we’re hoping to do more. But it would be easier with help – either passive membership or being active on the committee. There’s more about membership here: https://www.swindoncivicvoice.org.uk/membership-2/

Civic Day 2019

Civic Day 2019

For this year’s civic day fun we’re planning something different to what we’ve done for the past two years, with something in the town centre. More details coming very soon. Watch this space!

 

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Event: A talk by Graham Carter on Alfred Williams

Posted on May 10, 2019 by martha.parry

May 2019

Swindon Civic Voice presents a talk about Alfred Williams

Alfred Williams bust - a talk about Alfred Williams

This bust of Alfred Williams is in Swindon’s Museum and Art Gallery

View a short film of the bust being conserved here: https://youtu.be/OOaTKZGjZWU

Alfred Williams: Our Forgotten Local Hero

An Illustrated talk

by

Graham Carter of the Alfred Williams Heritage Society

about the remarkable life an works of the South-Marston born ‘Hammerman Poet’

1877-1930

When: Thursday 30th May 2019 at 7.15pm

Cost – to cover venue hire and refreshments:

£5 for non Swindon Civic Voice members
£3 for members of Swindon Civic Voice

Join Swindon Civic Voice on the night and pay the lower entry.

Where: Central Community Centre, Emlyn Square – in the heart of Swindon’s favourite conservation area. Last year voted England’s favourite – here’s the trophy to prove it! Read more about that here. https://www.swindoncivicvoice.org.uk/2018/10/the-railway-village-swindon-englands-favourite-conservation-area-2018/

The Civic Voice Trophy - The Railway Village Swindon: England's Favourite Conservation Area 2018

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