Havelock Square Goes Further Downhill - The Apartment To Close

Swindon Centric has been told that The Apartment, the bar and restaurant venue in Havelock Square, is to close imminently.

The news comes with further unclear details that it may be bought by someone else.

The venue was the first example of a fight back against the Fleet Street/Regent Street pubs and bars about ten years ago, by adding a quality drinking and eating place to the centre of town. Swindon Centric can remember in the summer months that lunch would be served on tables and under parasols in the square, adding a touch of 'cafe culture' that all town planners wish to excel to. That's a far cry from the uneven, chewing gum-caked mess that the square is now, along with the aroma of doughnuts and sugar floating on the air.

Jamie Cullum played The Apartment just over five years, with tickets at £10, all 300 were sold within 20 minutes, the venue has held dance classes and comedy nights.

Swindon Centric Says ; Shame to see such a quality venue come to an end in a part of town where quality is sliding down. With the (hopefully) imminent redevelopment work, this is the type of venue that needs to be retained and encouraged once the work is finished.

Crazy Paving Reporting From One Day To The Next

Standards, as written about here, are wide and varying at the Adver with yesterday's story comparing Sheffield's regeneration with Swindon's showing the other end of the spectrum.

Stephanie Tye's report was knowledgeable, well balanced and had a positive tone, much like Mark Easton's, which focussed on some similar issues.

Swindon Centric Says ; Swindon needs a reporting consistency like well beaten egg whites, rather than the gravy-like consistency it has currently, thick and lumpy.

Swindon's Flimsy Reporting Backbone "Going Nowhere Fast"

Once again, the mention of Swindon in the national media has raised mostly unfounded "uproar" from who exactly?

Just the Adver.

The Adver used the headline "BBC jibe at town causes uproar" in response to a detailed and well balanced report by the BBC's Mark Easton on the effect of the recession on the town.

They hooked onto one line in the report, that Swindon was a town "going nowhere, fast", which was in the wider context of Swindon's historically fast growth and used it to justify another piece about Swindon bashing.

Swindon Centric Says ; People in this town have far more backbone and sense than the Adver assumes in it's reporting and no "uproar" has been evident in the streets of the town, on the buses (for further details, see the post below) or in the pages of the newspaper (apart from councillors and MPs, who were probably asked to comment).

They missed the entire point of the report, which showed a former Honda worker retraining at college and the far better position the town is in compared to other places to cope with the recession.

The Adver's reporting policy needs to grow some backbone, stop focussing on pettiness and fully understand a story before publishing it.

Top Ten Things Heard On Swindon's Buses Last Week ; 85

Click here for the original and still the best at this brilliant idea, here's our own version for Swindon's buses from last week.

10. He's under the thumb like a fish under a frozen lake.

9. Oh, pre-washed spinach, how middle class.

8. You can't say that unless you're willing to suffer the consequences.

7. It goes black, black, white, black, white, black.

6. She kissed a girl and she liked it.

5. I have your payment confirmation right here.

4. When they said we were in recession, the entire department let out a cheer.

3. He holds so much change, when he runs for the bus most of it flies out his trousers.

2. I can hear a beautiful noise, listen.

And the number one overheard phrase on Swindon's buses from last week is...

1. Change has come to America, the world and the 1A between Covingham and Fleming Way.

Overheard something we've missed? Then let us know.

News Is Put On Ice, With Ice Fall Council Sue Fluff 'Story'

Yes, the headline says it all.

A woman from Upper Stratton fell in Old Town during the cold weather and is blaming the council for it. It includes legal action for not salting the pavement.

Swindon Centric Says ; Mrs Ireson seems to think it is directly the council's fault for the fall by saying, "I want to show them I wouldn’t be suffering if it wasn’t for them".

Well, no, the cold weather caused you to fall. If it had been salted and you'd still fallen, would you still have blamed the council?

Meanwhile, a duck held up traffic somewhere, it sounds more interesting, we'll get you the details.

Passport To Pimlico St Helena...Via Swindon?

This story surprised Swindon Centric, not least that it's rather nice that some communities don't feel the need to be more connected than they deem is necessary in the current age.

But, according to the BBC, a large number of St Helena island expats live in Swindon. But there's no explanation given as to why a small island in the Atlantic has a large expatriate number in Swindon.

Top Ten Things Heard On Swindon's Buses Last Week ; 84

Click here for the original and still the best at this brilliant idea, here's our own version for Swindon's buses from last week.

10. They're going to call it the ASBO theatre company.

9. I just ran out of things to say.

8. Desperation got the better of me, I picked up my coat, a banana and ran off.

7. Here comes 2009, like a lorry packed with dangerous goods, speeding too fast around a corner.

6. He'll win the recount by about 250 votes.

5. It wasn't so much the smell, but the taste that put me off.

4. Why is there a volleyball book in the geography section?

3. He had his hair cut because now he can be seen on the webcam.

2. There are no oranges anywhere, I even checked under the seat.

And the number one overheard phrase on Swindon's buses from last week is...

1. I'm Lionel, I'll be your driver today, we'll be traveling at a level of one and a half feet.

Overheard something we've missed? Then let us know.