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I have previously commented on others’ experiences of the student-run restaurant at Swindon College. Last Thursday I sampled their offerings for myself. Whoever devised the menu clearly had an obsession with orange. That apart, the chicken and bacon salad starter with chive dressing was a succulent start. The dressing in particular was a pleasant change from the vinegar or oil based dressings in which salads are often drowned. The main course of gammon steak was good but nothing exceptional. The dessert of apple and ginger crumble in caramel cream was a delight, with just the merest hint of ginger, the only disappointment being a less than generous covering of caramel cream. These three dishes were rounded off with a pot of tea.

At just £5 for a midday meal, the restaurant appears popular with the local pensioners. I recommend not waiting quite so long.

The assistant chief constable of Wiltshire Police seems to think that the state of local policing is good.

The present position is a good news story for Wiltshire which remains not just a beautiful County but one of the very safest places in which to live and work, with a police service that continues to improve and, in a number of areas is viewed as being at the cutting edge of modern policing.

Apparently ‘cutting edge’ means being incapable enforcing a dispersal order, and not having adequate back-up support for police-on-the-cheap (a.k.a. PCSOs). Let us hope it never descends to less than cutting edge. To quote the first recommendation of the report on Wiltshire Police by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary.

That the force continues to build capability among its Neighbourhood Policing teams, including a clear vision of how the teams can ensure that their work – while maintaining focus on neighbourhood priorities – is closely integrated with the force strategy for the reduction and detection of volume crime.

The force clearly has a long way yet to go.

It’s nice to see that Mr Montaut hasn’t lost the ability to grab every photo opportunity that presents itself. Admittedly, it’s also nice that he actually makes his presence known within the ward, which is more than can be said for some of our representatives, who seem to be following an established tradition of showing more interest in places elsewhere. It’s just a pity that whenever he chooses to talk, so much hypocritical garbage pours out.

Central ward councillor Derique Montaut said that the clean-up was a step closer to a happier community. He said: “This kind of activity is essential to promote good feeling in the community and the work that’s been done over the recent months in other parts of the town has been superb.”

Hmm… I could have sworn he put a leaflet through my door when campaigning for election just six months ago claiming

But we need an active Council that will use its anti social behaviour powers to curb yobbish behaviour, vandalism and graffiti. The Tories have failed to do this…. Since taking control of Swindon the Tories have regularly cut and under invested in the important issue of street cleaning.

I wonder how long it will be before his party is suggesting that this was all down to his personal effort and money from central government, and nothing to do with the current council administration. Nor the local community.

Jean, the director of children and families at Swindon Council, said: “I am not denying there has been any litter but it’s been a lot lower than we had expected, which is great news…. It’s something that residents should take real pride in and if they have helped clear the streets themselves, they have made an investment in the community.”

I’ve no idea who Ms Laura Pulham of St Leonards on Sea is. I very much doubt that she reads this website. However, I do know that she has at some point bought from Hughes Direct (who also trade as HomeCinemaTV) a pink Sony MP3 player. I also know that she recently returned said item to the suppliers for repair. Unfortunately, someone at Hughes Direct appears to have mistaken her name with mine and to have misread ‘St Leonards on Sea’ as ‘Swindon’, not to mention confusing a rather small package that could contain a portable MP3 player with a more bulky one that could contain a hifi tuner. I Hope Ms Pulham finds a bulky tuner a convenient item to strap around her waist for a seafront stroll, as an alternative to a small, light MP3 player. However, I suspect she may not find it to be the fashion accessory that she wished for. Alas, until Messrs Hughes Direct return my call and correct their erroneous delivery, the little pink MP3 player will remain in my possession and not hers.

It would be easy to dismiss the protests of residents in the Tennyson Street area of central Swindon against a possible new drug user’s drop-in centre as NIMBYism. It is after all logical that the centre be located close to an area with a large number of drug addicts. However the proposed site is, as the residents say, close to a children’s play area which already has a reputation for being a location for drug deals and placing it quite so close to that play area is unlikely to improve the situation. It’s also not as though there aren’t a large number of vacant units nearby (and indeed closer to the centre of the drugs problem), many of them having been empty ever since they were built over a year ago.

I’m not sure whether being described as ‘an enjoyable though at times a arsely read’ by the current deputy mayor is a compliment. Quite a unique accolade though.

Update: Apparently, he meant ‘prickly’ but a quirk of internet forum programming converted it to ‘arsely’.

I’m not sure which I find more ridiculous: the leader of the New Mechanics Preservation Trust, bewailing the loss of some sarsen stones at Wharf Green, that were barely noticeable to most shoppers. (She does seem to have a fixation with large stones in parks.)

In trying to create new Swindon they are trashing old Swindon. I feel quite sad and disappointed this has happened. Apparently they were too heavy to move. They are a local material and they had tremendous presence. They could have been used in a car park or put in a park.

Or our council leader, eulogising on the return of the facade of the Baptist Tabernacle that will be nothing more than an out-of-place token gesture to the past in a modern development.

It is nice to see the stone back. I did see the stones all jumbled up in Northampton. But to see them here, sorted, in boxes, and being put into slots, has been quite a moment for me. Of course now it’s just a gigantic jigsaw puzzle for someone to start putting back together. I wanted to get the stone back because I thought it could be an important symbol in the regeneration of Swindon, but all along I have thought that to bring this off would be nothing short of a miracle.

Between them, they illustrate why the preservation of Swindon’s industrial past has fared so badly.

With a big fanfare (okay, just a press release — ‘Plans for a major university in Swindon have moved a step closer’ — a news article and a short leader article), Swindon Borough Council has announced that The University of the West of England has firmed up its interest in opening a branch in Swindon. We are told that it will be ‘a unique learning institution in the town centre.’ We are also told that it will offer about 3000 places, probably in North Star, primarily for vocational training.

It is intended that the new university will focus on the strengths of the Swindon economy, such as advanced engineering, financial services, ICT, health and social care and the heritage industry.

We will deliver teaching to employees while they work. The courses will be bespoke to the individual needs of employers like Honda and Intel. We are also looking at delivering heritage courses, which aren’t available elsewhere.

That’s about a third of the size of the existing University of Bath in Swindon and covering a very similar range of subjects. It is difficult to see what will be unique about the new campus apart from its minute size. It is quite a feat of exaggeration to describe it as ‘a major university in Swindon’.
Presumably this should mean that the Gateway plans are now dead… unless someone can be persuaded to provide a proper university for Swindon.

It’s strange the approach Swindon Borough Council is taking to regeneration of the town centre. Its latest proposal seems aimed at closing all town centre public toilets that it maintains and paying retailers, pubs and restaurants a £500 subsidy per year to open their customer toilets to the general public. The idea is to be trialled in Old Town, where the council also propose to close the public toilets. Now, I haven’t done an in-depth study, but as far as I am aware, very few of the shops in Old Town have customer toilets. Which means that outside of the times that the local pubs and restaurants are open, there would be no facilities available. And with a subsidy of just £500 per year for allowing anyone to wander through their premises, I can’t see many retailers or restaurants taking up the offer. If this inconvenient approach spreads, shopping for the weak bladdered could be limited to afternoons and evenings only.

Komadori has just sampled the offerings of the new restaurant on Westcott Place, La Carbonara. Thoroughly enjoyable it was too. The starter of Zuppa Di Minestrone was a subtantial and tasty soup, with the vegetable definitely outweighing the liquid. The butter for the bread was rather too cold, but then it is early days for them yet and komadori was the only customer for them this lunchtime. For the main course, their Vitelo Romano was substantial and nicely seasoned, and accompanied with lightly cooked vegetables and potatoes. All this washed down with draft Peroni Nastro Azzurro beer followed by a fine coffee. The total cost came in at just £22 for one person (komadori is a lonely soul).
La Carbonara does not have a website yet but, whilst komadori was there, a web designer was visiting and photographing the restaurant and staff (all of whom have, to some extent, Italian accents, with the exception of the chef’s partner who is clearly the local influence). As there is no website yet, I have put a copy of the menu here. In addition to the food on the menu, there are also blackboards with daily specials (including some English fare), desserts and the eponymous house speciality.