Page 3 - link magazine

swindonlink.com • July 2009 3
Swindon's centre for the heart and soul
wins top ethical award FREE collection

At the fourth Observer ethical awards held on 3 June Nigerian poet and awards' judge Ben Okri described & delivery from
Lower Shaw Farm as 'an oasis in the credit crunch.' ^. home or work
The event organised in associa- Old Town Ob- t ) BIKE * Servicing & repairs
tion with Ecover recognised ethical server reader Diana DOCTOR
achievements in a range of catego- Eddy, who nomi- O,,,25y,s * New cycles
experience
ries. Andrea Hirsch and Matt Hol- nated the farm for * Parts & accessories
land have lived at Lower Shaw Farm the award, said, SAFETY ALERT
for over thirty years, apart from a "it's a wonderful, _
short break in the early 1990s. The well deserved win. Bikes bought on the internet
former dairy farm is ]eased from Lower Shaw Farm or mail order must be checked
Swindon Borough Council which has done so much ` before being ridden. CALL NOW
purchased the property and sur- for Swindon; it has FOR FAST, FRIENDLY SERVICE
rounding land in 1974, just before beenbecomeaheart
the 11,000 home westward expan- and soul centre for Andrea and :V lilt t with Observer ethical colunmist
sion commenced. the many people Lucie Siegal and Colin Firth. Photo: Alicia Canter
In 2006 the council conceived a who want a more ethical way of
plan to 'rn_cnnhicOcnfn' i-hn farm_ livino and Carina fnr nnr nlanpt
The Accident Sp

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[ A - S.I E2 EY.,SO LICITO S -'I
accident/injured?
road? At work?
Slip? Trip? Clinical negligence?
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And is also a: Member Law Society Personal Injury Panel
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421 234 (24 hours)
Jay, Swindon www.sjedney.co.uk
that there was no r. -
dispute amongst r
the judges that we ,.
were worthy win ^^
ners. We want to '
thank all the thou-
sands of people
who have visited
the farm over so
many years, from
Swindon and all Ethical garden award winners, Lower Shaw Farm tenants
over the world, for Andrea Hirsch and Matt Holland, with volunteers in resi-
their support and dence, Daniela Novak from Austria, Melissa McBride from
their encourage- Canada, Rachel Clark from Newcastle
ment for what we do here. And services, congratulated Matt and
the hug from Colin Firth made the Andrea. "Lower Shaw Farm makes
occasion even more special." a significant cultural contribution to
Matt added, "this award is defi- Swindon. This well deserved award
nitely one for Swindon and its peo- is national recognition for the hard
ple; it puts the town on the ethical work they have been putting in over
eco-map. Lower Shaw is all about many years."
giving people the chance to work • Trophies were presented to green
together for the good of all." politicians, community campaign-
Commenting on the foresight of ers, local retailers and for work with
Swindon Council in the mid-1970s, children. Naturalist and visitor to
he said, "all those years ago the May's Swindon Festival of Literature
planners ensured there were riv- Sir David Attenborough received a
ers of open, green space running lifeti me achievement award. The
through the housing development ceremony was the culmination of
which we are part of. The late a voting and judging process that
Andrew Hake, the council's com- launched in January and attracted
munity development officer, saw thousands of votes and nomina-
the potential for the farm when tions.
Dick Kitto of the Foundation for • See The Link's coverage of the
Alternatives approached the au- Lower Shaw Farm award and also
thority about leasing a place to the battle to save the farm in 2006
start an education centre based on at: www.swindonlink.com
sustainable principles which we • Eco delivery service launched -
have continued ever since." see page 38