Swindonaut Pete Martin reporting in with the first part of an ongoing transmission.
I should point out that this is being posted onto The Swindonaut facebook group, my livejournal (Which in turn gets put onto my facebook profile with the notes application) and anywhere else I can think to put it. I strongly suggest others do the same.
The one thing I've noticed about Winchester above that of Swindon is the sheer amount of art that pretty much lying about. A case in point is the Bollard Awareness Clinic. A simple idea of painting bollards in a wraparound style of famous artists.
(Side note: This ties in nicely to Japanese manhole covers I recently discovered.)
Can you imagine such projects in Swindon? If every manhole cover, bollard, electric box in the town centre was given to an artist to play with? You can see the beginnings of this idea with the Artsmad funded project on the shelter in Queen's Park, but I feel its not showing enough innovation. I would have demolished the damn thing. That would stop graffiti.
I'm not seeing a culture of "graffiti" here in Winchester. And by that I mean Tagging. Here, I see stickers, posters, some stencil work, bits of worthwhile things to look at. Tags seem to keep to their place. Now, is this endemic of a city with several degree-level academic institutes including one Art school all within walking distance of the town centre? When compared to Swindon's mass of pubs, overabundance of manual labour or basic administration jobs and the weird obsession with vocational courses, I say yes.
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Has anyone discovered if cafe culture ever really succeeded in Swindon? There seems to be plenty of places that sells coffee but now I know what wrong with them all. Marks and Spencers cafe, Cafe Roma (which has sold it soul), Starbucks, Nero, those places in the middle of the shopping centres (is one of them Boswells?) have all failed on one important factor...
Case in point: The two nicest cafes in Winchester, Cafe Monde and the Forte Tearooms, are both away from main road traffic, automobile and pedestrian. Thats pretty much it. Costa, Starbucks, Nero, all on the high street and the do their thing. Monde and Forte are places AWAY from all that running and shopping and children. Cafe culture is supposed to be places of relaxation and reflection because they are in relaxing and reflective places. Two little side streets, and thats it. Monde is next to the leafy park in front of cathedral and a few other lazy lunchtime eateries. It has outside seating as well as upstairs seating to avoid the passing trade. Forte is entirely upstairs with no chance of intrusive glances to make you feel like animals at feeding time.
Probably why I've said Bex Coffee off Havelock Square is the best place in Swindon...
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A river runs though Winchester, The River Itchen. It forms part of several green spots. I don't know what it is about running water, it just works.
Did I hear that Swindon will try the same but with the canals? Or did I dream it up?
No, it was real. Can't say I understand it.
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