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Will art be a lure?

COUN Renard is quite right to be proud of Swindon’s internationally renowned art works, including its ceramics collection, and I am sure he was thrilled to be able to see some of the most exciting pieces on display at a private gallery in London.

The Osborne Samuel Gallery, situated in Bruton Street, Mayfair is well worth a visit.

However, one is entitled to ask why the council considers it okay to place a limited collection on view in London but doesn’t consider a similar showing for the people of Swindon.

Coun Renard in response may well suggest we don’t have an art gallery capable of displaying such treasures, to which I would respond that 23A Bruton Street is hardly the Tate and there are various building within the borough which could easily and inexpensively have been adapted to provide equally acceptable facilities to those of the Osbourne Samuel Gallery.

Although I doubt the highbrow visitors to Mayfair would be similarly attracted to Swindon to browse a shopping centre which even Coun Renard refers to as “disappointing.”

For Coun Renard and his colleagues their big hope is that a new ‘futuristic’ looking building, which incidentally is a confusion of style and whimsical wishful artistic license (will it ever have trees/shrubs growing on the roof?) will bring thousands of people to Swindon.

I believe Coun Renard is hoping 90,000 visitors a year will flow through the doors which is ambitious if the reality of Steam Museum is anything to go by where the visitor numbers stubbornly remain at circa 140,000 a figure which, incidentally, was supposed to be reached in the museum’s second year of operation and not its 14th.

Coun Renard suggests that the economic benefits of a new museum and art gallery cannot be underestimated.

What I suspect many will say in response to the Leader of the council is that the supposed economic and social benefits can be overestimated or exaggerated. Something for which his administration has an outstanding track record.

DES MORGAN

Caraway Drive, Swindon

....

Leavers deceived us

I HAVE to say that I am not surprised that Mr Des Morgan (EA letters dated 10th January) has responded to my letter of January 5.

When considering his response we should not forget that this is the same individual who twisted my words out of all recognition in a series of letters last year in an attempt to disguise and defend his own disingenuity regarding the EU and the referendum.

And who berated people for failing to heed warnings concerning the risks of leaving the EU while at the same time accusing others of scaremongering for making such warnings, and attempted to conflate telling lies with warning of risk in an attempt to disguise the deceit and dishonesty of the leave campaign, which is something he continues to attempt to do in his latest letter.

Given this track record, Mr Morgan personifies the deceit and dishonesty of the leave campaign.

Indeed, it is very noticeable that in his letter Mr Morgan does not deny that the leave campaign were dishonest on an industrial scale.

Whilst the legitimacy of the result is seriously eroded by the fact that only 37 per cent of the eligible voters actually voted to leave the EU and 3.8 million people were excluded, it is is this dishonesty that totally undermines the result and means that it must not and will not ever be accepted.

The leave campaign lied day after day, week after week, not just during the campaign but for several years beforehand. They lied about the EU itself calling it corrupt and undemocratic, when it is neither, they lied about the effect the EU has on our law, they lied about both levels of immigration and the effect it has on our public services such as the NHS, wages and employment, they lied about the cost of our EU memebership.

They even tried to lie about the EU being responsible for the closure of the railworks in Swindon in 1984.

They created a totally false narrative about the EU in a very deliberate and planned way. In short, the Leave campaign deliberately set out to deceive the British people.

What Mr Morgan refers to as my ‘grief’ is nothing of the sort. It is a quiet determination to ensure that the deceit and dishonesty of the likes of Mr Morgan and other Leave campaigners does not prevail.

What happened on the 23rd June last year might have been considered democracy in 1930s Germany, but it should never be considered democratic in the 21st century.

We can only speculate at what the result might have been if the Leave campaign had told the truth but one thing is certain, they would not have obtained anywhere near the number of votes they did!

ADAM POOLE

Savill Crescent, Wroughton

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We’ve lost an asset

I READ in the SA on Jan 9 a piece concerning the Agricultural Museum at Coate Water, noting that Coun Perkins said “ it appears that the building will now have to be demolished.” So ends the life of this developer-funded building.

But there is one consolation, Coun Perkins will be rid of an embarrassment for SBC, and will be able to increase parking revenue at Coate when the space is cleared.

I do hope that the eventual insurance payout (allegedly due to an electrical fault), will be shared out among our other museums.

The museum was put up to bring together the borough’s collection of agricultural and related items in exchange (with a developer) for building consent on farm land and buildings in West Swindon, and as such is now an asset loss to the people of Swindon.

The museum closed in the early 1990s due to the sudden and suspicious decision that the roof could not support a snow loading.

Coun Renard in his column SA Jan 5stated he was “saddened to see a headline in the aftermath of the fire which claimed historical assets in the town faced years of neglect.”

Well there’s no denying that, the museum was used as a store for SBC, and there is no existing inventory for the items.

He also continues, “we approved a Heritage Strategy which aims to use our historical assets to drive the economic and social regeneration of Swindon.”

Well, from what I have seen lately that sounds like banish the agricultural exhibits to a council lock-up, and convert most of Milton Road Baths into flats.

COLIN HATCH

Warneage Green

Wanborough

....

Town centre abandoned

RE inSwindon bids for new five-year term ( Adver. 11/1/17). The McDonald’s/Argos Wharf area of the town centre seems to be a permanent skateboard park.

Indeed the practice has been going on for so long I’m sure squatters rights can be claimed by the lads who seem to have nothing else going for them, so why not have fun and why worry about visitors to the town?

The constant banging noise from the skateboards doesn’t bother the ever-increasing pigeon numbers so why worry about visitors? After all this is only Swindon keeping up with its perceived reputation. And, of course, it’s free entertainment, albeit monotonous, for McDonald’s munchers.

Cyclists choose any gear they wish as they zoom about the town centre weaving precariously (I’ve seen some near misses!) among shoppers, well aware they now have the status of ‘untouchables.’

Down the years several Adver correspondents have complained, in vain, about them.

Warning notices scattered about the town centre threatening £50 fines for law-breaking cyclists should be dismantled: What’s the point? One less sign for a pigeon to christen.

I’ve seen police officers (years back, mind you) merely yards away from the culprits, turn the proverbial blind eye. If a police officer strolled along the town centre these days a child might ask:

‘Mummy, who is that man, what does he do?’

‘A policeman, darling.’

‘What’s a policeman, mummy?’

Is the Designer Outlet more popular than the town centre because at least its security guards are on the ball and ACT?

It’s what the town centre strives to be, but is unable. We have grubby closed down shop doorways where the unfortunates huddle, blankets spread out and spent beer cans strewn across.

At least the railway station is well policed and tidy enabling the diminishing numbers of visitors here at least a quick, safe getaway. It appears whoever remains responsible for the town centre has lost the will to act.

Never mind, at least we have the bus station...

JEFF ADAMS

Bloomsbury, Swindon

....

All Tories to blame

MARK Webb makes an excellent point in his letter (11/1/17) about the current state of the NHS and the austerity misery the Tory Government is inflicting on us.

Each and every person who voted Conservative is partly responsible for the cuts to services and for crippling our magnificent NHS.

The doctor’s surgeries and hospitals are inundated with patients and the A&E departments are at breaking point.

Despite this all the staff continue to give magnificent care and show complete professionalism in high pressure situations.

In my eyes they are the heroes and heroines in our society and do not deserve the working conditions bestowed upon them due to the lack of funding.

I hope that people remember these terrible times when the elections are here.

KELLY COLLINS

Lyndhurst Crescent, Swindon