In my lifetime, Swindon has changed. In fact, everyone who reads this will have memories of our Town that are just that, memories. I remember the shop on Manchester Road, a time warp and a hat tip to bygone days. When the husband died, his widow just locked the shop, never to enter it again. Whilst elsewhere the passage of time saw shops come and go, products change, this shop saw only its 1970s cereal boxes faded by sunlight. Sadly, it has gone.
I feel like Swindon is a phoenix, constantly reinventing itself to return different, but every bit a glorious as it was. We were a railway town, at the heart of Brunel's Great Western Railway, a cornerstone of the Industrial Revolution. Now, the industrial has given way to the technological and Swindon sings once again. I have visited entrepreneurs across the town, developing green energy, military wiring systems and harnessing the power of our waste. Not long ago we were lined up at the UK's first open access hydrogen refuelling station, proudly here in Swindon, with hydrogen cars from across the world. In the whole of the UK, they came to our Town.
As old gives way to new, one of Swindon's strengths is that we grasp new opportunities, but do not forget our roots. Yes we have the popular Outlet Village, but out of the old railway works has also come the excellent STEAM museum, immortalising our railway heritage for future generations. Shortly it will also be home to the new University Technical College, a fitting tribute for a Town built on engineering, passing on these vocational skills to Swindon's young people.
I have particularly enjoyed looking at this transformation through the old photos of Swindon in the new look Adver, as they show the same place and how it has changed through the ages. I would love to know if anyone has any photos of the old shop on Manchester Road, documenting its constancy as the street around it changed.
I have also been out on the Swindon Advertiser roadshow, joining them on Monday in Stratton. It was fantastic to talk to fellow local residents, both about their memories of Swindon, but also about what they are looking forward to this summer in our Town.
The Advertiser too is changing. It has to in order to keep up with our changing habits. More and more people are switching to reading news online rather than buying a paper. Whilst the nationals have the money to quickly adapt, it is harder for our loved local paper. I know the price rise is controversial, but as a daily record of Swindon life documented in print for generations to come, it is worth every penny.
