MP Risks Losing Youth Tag With Graffiti Dismissal

It seems strange that an MP (and before that a councillor) who champions many policies that impact young people should be so dismissive of a small-scale Parish decision on graffiti walls.

In his Swindon Advertiser column of the 21st of October (yes, I'm a little behind!) Mr. Tomlinson dismisses the idea of legal graffiti walls since they didn't work at Mannington in 2001.

Feedback to Swindon Centric from someone who used them was that the structures weren't the best to use as a canvas, being slatted and at an angle. The site itself, immediately to the South West of where the John Lewis at Home store is now, between the Mannington Retail Park and railway line, allowed people to joyride onto it, resulting in a car being burnt out, not helping anyone.

The majority of legal graffiti sites tend to be in urban areas, where people will actually see the work produced. If you're going to add criminal connotations to an activity, shove it away where no-one will see it and you're halfway there.

Funny how in his column Mr. Tomlinson did not mention his once frequently-lauded achievement whilst in council office, that the free graffiti removal service offered by Swindon Borough Council was his idea (diverting money from a non-needed I.T budget if memory serves).

Swindon Centric Says ; How much of that money could be saved by having even a small amount of tags diverted to a legal graffiti wall? This is the same MP who is lobbying for children to be taught sound financial management. Oh dear.

The Writing Remains On The Wall - For Some

A clean-up of Old Town has highlighted the poor uptake of the free Swindon Borough Council graffiti removal service.

Despite efforts to highlight the service, many people still didn't take up the offer to make the area cleaner. This is a real shame as Swindon Centric has experience of the service and can't fault it. Often, private property not facing roadways never get cleaned unlike those facing into streets.

Personally, having seen less than three quarters of of the residents of our street walk in or out of the area, they probably never literally look over their garden fence. If they did they would see the side of privately owned walls, fences and garden sheds covered in graffiti. Whereas council owned subways, fences, walls and street furniture are repainted or jet cleaned once every fortnight.

Swindon Centric Says ; We're all quick to criticise the Council, but this service, which is free, is excellent and should be taken up by all residents who need it. It's possibly the easiest thing any resident can do to improve their area, you can ask for the service by phone and do it via email, it's that easy.

Parents March Kids To Police Station, This Is Not A Made Up Headline

Two teenagers spotted by CCTV repeatedly defacing a wall in Rodbourne with graffiti have been marched down to Gablecross Police Station, by their parents.

As utterly satisfying as this headline and story is, it doesn't happen very often, so allow Swindon Centric to wallow in it.

Swindon Centric Says ; Aaah, justice is sweet, especially when it's done in such an embarassing manner involving your parents. If we can just work on getting the head of the Wiltshire Constabulary to be the character Rowan Atkinson plays in The Thin Blue Line...

Graffiti Artists Could Lose Hands In Strong Cleansing Trial

Swindon continues the never-ending (it seems) War On Terror, (we apologise, our budget has been cut on sub-editors), War On Graffiti today with a new weapon in the battle to stop the taggers spraying everywhere.

Swindon Contractors have unveiled a brand new mixture for removing solvent paint from aerosols and marker pens from one-hundred and sixty-three different surfaces. '' We were searching for a more effective remover that we could get for a reasonable price and we stumbled on XClean2000. After testing a small amount at a controlled location, we bought a joblot from ebay.'' That comment from Alf Stanley, 56, from the Borough Council Cleansing Department.

The cleaner is being introduced this week to all hotspots effected.

Rumours that the remover is too dangerous to use have been denied after a report of a bottle being spilt near Eldene and twenty minutes later half the wall they were cleaning had dissolved have been strongly dilluted (as has the XClean2000).

Discussion has taken place by several people overheard on a number 18 bus this lunchtime that the XClean2000 should be used on the hands of taggers who break the law then the blighters wouldn't have half as much fun. Additional comments, which are unrepeatable on this site, included rounding off with the words, ''Hitler had the right idea''.

Swindon Centric Says ; We Bet It Still Doesn't Get Magic Marker Off Your Hands!