BORN AGAIN SWINDONIAN: Hooter reflections

AN ARTICLE from the Western Daily Press recently appeared on my Twitter stream that prompted me to reflect, as I do from time to time, on Swindon, my Born again Swindonian blog and Life the Universe and Everything. And I still can’t remember if the answer to the ultimate question is 42 or 47. Anyway, I digress. The article in question listed 11 facts about Swindon’s GWR hooter. It was an interesting article which I duly shared on Born again Swindonian. But it was number 5 on the list that particularly stuck a chord. I quote: “The hooter’s two rooftop brass domes that generated such a powerful sound are still in place, and usually missed by the thousands of people walking into the entrance to the Designer Outlet Shopping Village the works have now become.” This point resonated because not only did I too miss seeing the hooter until late in 2013 when I took a visitor to Swindon around some of the town’s heritage spots – shameful I know – I’ve missed properly ‘seeing’ an awful lot of other things too. A point I’ve made several times on the blog, the writing of which is training me to be better at opening my eyes and ears to the many points of interest and yes – pleasure – that are to be found in Swindon and its people. The now sadly deceased English broadcaster Ray Gosling specialized in “the sideways look at such eclectic and quintessentially British institutions as the working classes… and faded seaside towns, the minutiae of life.”  And I think it was he that said something about looking up – when visiting a new place make the effort to look up because that’s where the interesting things are. It’s certainly true of Swindon. As dispiriting as the place admittedly is in some areas, raise your eyes and there are interesting building frontages, ghost advertising signs and even public art such as the Minis climbing a building waiting to surprise and delight. So while I’m not deigning to put myself in such illustrious company as he I do try to notice and to celebrate the minutiae of Swindon in the blog. In a similar vein, an American writer, Henry Miller, said:  “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” He was referring chiefly to travelling but I think it’s somewhat appropriate in this context too – a new way of seeing familiar surroundings. To return to the GWR hooter and the article. When my visiting friend saw it she commented that she thought it would be really fab if it were sounded again – perhaps for special events. It could become something that people would gather for – a tourist attraction if you like. The article mentioned that 2015 marks the 160^th anniversary of the hooter. Though I’m sure there are all sorts of reasons why it’s not feasible to sound it again I do think it’s a neat idea. And more achievable than reinstating the canal?

Angela Atkinson swindonian.me