West Swindon Library Reading Group

Meet the ladies from the West Swindon Library Reading Group, minus Brenda and Joy. The group meets on the first Thursday of the month and during their five year history the numbers have ebbed and flowed. Today Val keeps in touch from her home in Australia while October's meeting saw new member Dee join the group, a cross pollination from Swindon's Big Sing Thing.

The group leader is former library assistant Lesley whose job it is to find a general consensus when choosing books, not always an easy task. Reading tastes vary from Anthea who can down a good book in two days to Glenys who is a stickler for reading the group choice whether you like it or not.

"Sometimes the blurb makes them sound better than they turn out to be," said Audrey. The Radleys by Matt Haig, a tale of an everyday vampire family, received a thumbs down while The Help by Kathryn Stockett was a big success and led to a trip to the cinema to see the film version. Another memorable read was the harrowing story of Mariam in A Thousand Splendid Suns by Kahled Hosseini.

"And I did enjoy Rhubarb and Custard," said Glennis B to everyone's bewilderment.

This month the ladies usual seating arrangement in the library was occupied and they were relocated to the computer area.

"I just followed the noise," explained late arrival Jill.

After a short summer break the ladies returned to discuss Before I Go To Bed by S.J. Watson, which received a general vote of approval, although Di was a bit picky about some construction issues.

"It is a story," reminded Audrey who in Lesley's absence tried to maintain some semblance of order.

The meeting closed with a discussion about the Christmas outing. The group voted to return to last year's venue - The Blunsdon House Hotel, although this year Glennis B will bring her own gravy!

Christmas celebrations 2011

Members of Swindon's Big Sing Thing.

Comments

My neck of the woods

Did you know that our neck of the woods was once just that - part of a wood, a very big wood? And not just any old wood but a Royal forest no less - Braydon Forest. The origins of Braydon Forest date back to the 9th century and a belt of woodland stretching from the Thame Valley to the Vale of Blackmore and known to the Saxons as Sealwudu. The Saxon lords were pretty easy going, it would appear, and then along came the Normans with their system of forest law, courts and officialdom. Braydon became a royal forest by 1135 and in the 13th century it contained an area of some 46 square miles. The forest bounds included not only woodland but fields of arable, meadow and pasture and even villages such as those of Lydiard Tregoze, Lydiard Millicent and Purton. In 1256, during the reign of Henry III the king gave Robert Tregoze 3 bucks and 8 does from Braydon to restock his park at Lydiard Tregoze and in 1270 John Tregoze obtained a royal licence to 'inclose and impark' his woo...

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again ...

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again … Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Actually, it was the rooms of the Mechanics’ Institute Trust once based at No 1, Milton Road, Swindon, where Mark Sutton, Graham Carter and I first produced the blue print for the Swindon Heritage magazine in 2011. In my dream I was attending a shambolic meeting that roamed across the spacious office accommodation. There I met some of the key characters of this story, although not all of them. Paul Gregory, or was it Noel Beauchamp, it could have been either, Julie Carter and a hot dog vendor (so vivid was the illusion that when I awoke, I had the taste of onions in my mouth). Then there was an on-going, ambulatory talk about saving the Mechanics’ Institute reminiscent of the famous ‘Save the Clock Tower’ scene in the 80s film Back to the Future. This account is rather rambling, isn’t it, but isn’t that the nature of a dream – making perfect sense when you are in it and none at all when you wake up? ...

Edith New - Swindon Suffragette

In 1906 the suffragette campaign entered its most violent phase. Over 500 women had been imprisoned by 1909 and right up there among the militant activists was a Swindon schoolteacher. Edith Bessie New was born 17th March, 1877 at 24 North Street, Swindon, the fourth of Frederic and Isabelle New's five children. Frederic worked as a railway clerk at the GWR Works and Isabelle was a music teacher. An assistant mistress at Queenstown Infant School from 1899-1901, Edith subsequently left her Swindon home to teach in the deprived areas of Deptford and Lewisham. It was after hearing the charismatic Emmeline Pankhurst speak at a meeting in Trafalgar Square that Edith joined the Women's Social and Political Union. In February 1907 a deputation of suffragettes marched on the House of Commons in protest at the omission of votes for women from the King's speech. What had begun as a peaceful demonstration ended in a violent confrontation with police. Edith was among those arr...

Swindon in the Past Lane

Search This Blog