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Author Topic: How Wiltshire are you??  (Read 21319 times)
skin_im_buzzer

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« Reply #135 on: Tuesday, October 18, 2011, 20:13:12 »

All this Wiltshire talk has reminded me of one of my bugbears...the way politicians (and the Royal Mail, for that matter) keep buggering about with counties and ancient sub-divisions.  Because, of course, in a political sense Swindon hasn't even been in Wiltshire since 1997.

No other country seems to do this.  In France, the départements are sacrosanct.  In the US, it doesn't matter whether you're in a sprawling city or a rural heartland, you'll know exactly which state you're in - and you'll probably be proud of it too.

But here, you're sort of in Wiltshire if you're in Swindon (if there was a 'ducks for cover' smiley, I'd add it here) and sort of not; Bournemouth folk used to be Hampshire, but they're now Dorset; if you're in Kingston on Thames, you're Surrey (to the Royal Mail) or London (if you'd like to vote in a Mayoral election); and Berkshire no longer exists at all in the political sense...which just compounds the insult of the 1970s when half of it got nicked by Oxfordshire.

It's all wrong.  And it matters (I think, anyway) because if local boundaries get blurred, then so do local identities.  A sense of place is important.

End of rant.  I think I feel better.


You need to get out more, bruv
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Reg Smeeton
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« Reply #136 on: Tuesday, October 18, 2011, 20:17:07 »

All this Wiltshire talk has reminded me of one of my bugbears...the way politicians (and the Royal Mail, for that matter) keep buggering about with counties and ancient sub-divisions.  Because, of course, in a political sense Swindon hasn't even been in Wiltshire since 1997.

No other country seems to do this.  In France, the départements are sacrosanct.  In the US, it doesn't matter whether you're in a sprawling city or a rural heartland, you'll know exactly which state you're in - and you'll probably be proud of it too.

But here, you're sort of in Wiltshire if you're in Swindon (if there was a 'ducks for cover' smiley, I'd add it here) and sort of not; Bournemouth folk used to be Hampshire, but they're now Dorset; if you're in Kingston on Thames, you're Surrey (to the Royal Mail) or London (if you'd like to vote in a Mayoral election); and Berkshire no longer exists at all in the political sense...which just compounds the insult of the 1970s when half of it got nicked by Oxfordshire.

It's all wrong.  And it matters (I think, anyway) because if local boundaries get blurred, then so do local identities.  A sense of place is important.

End of rant.  I think I feel better.

Last time I looked Swindon was in Wiltshire....the way that geography shapes these things can be shown by looking at Roman Swindon.....namely the Roman town. now mostly under Covingham, which is just in Britannia Prima, the Roman administrative unit for the South West and part of the Midlands, based in Corinium.  Swindon has always been border land, before the Romans it was the Atrebates and Dobunni.
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leefer

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« Reply #137 on: Tuesday, October 18, 2011, 20:35:06 »

Not overlooking the massive dwelling unearthed in Abbey Meads and North Swindon and quickly hushed up by the bigwigs in Cirencester not wanting to lose there claim to fame of Roman Capital of the South Cheesy
There are about Twenty Strattons in England...all Roman including our one joined to Swindon.
Swindon in Medieval times was a few thatched cottages and dwellings in old Town surrounded by many farms including Groundwell,Nythe(still there)Walcott,Eastcott and dozens more ....Rodbourne Cheney was a much more bigger place and more important than Swindon up untill the railway was built.
In fact  Mannington you will find that it was an important part of the Lydiard Estate and would have been more than an equal in relation to Swindon also............that darned little man named Brunel and his idea of building an iron track from London to Bristol changed all that.
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Bogus Dave
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« Reply #138 on: Tuesday, October 18, 2011, 20:44:28 »

Brunel wanted to build the lines going through marlbrough didn't he originally?? But the big man there said no, so instead he went to swindon and then it all kicked off.

Funny how little things change history
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Bogus Dave
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« Reply #139 on: Tuesday, October 18, 2011, 20:51:44 »

Brunel wanted to build the lines going through marlbrough didn't he originally?? But the big man there said no, so instead he went to swindon and then it all kicked off.

Funny how little things change history

Edit - It may not have been marlborough thinking about it. I definitley remember being told in GCSE history swindon wasn't meant to be the original hub though.
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Ardiles

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« Reply #140 on: Tuesday, October 18, 2011, 21:18:14 »

You need to get out more, bruv

You're not wrong.
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4D
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« Reply #141 on: Tuesday, October 18, 2011, 23:13:11 »

Marshall's Bakery in Pewsey.

How can you not mention Devizes wigster?  Had some good lardy from there. Centre of Wiltshire too!
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wiggy
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« Reply #142 on: Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 06:55:54 »

How can you not mention Devizes wigster?  Had some good lardy from there. Centre of Wiltshire too!

Not since the old Pie Shop closed - the stuff from high street chains like Reeves and Greggs is pretty ordinary.
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« Reply #143 on: Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 07:09:59 »

Ah, the pie shop! I remember their cheese twists. The place I got the Lardy from was in the narrow bit from the brittox to the market place, next to the butcher s.
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wiggy
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« Reply #144 on: Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 07:20:22 »

That pie shop was an institution - everyone old enough to remember it wishes it hadn't closed.

Their lamb and mashed potato pasties were the mutts nuts. Everything was made right out in site of the customers.

When I was a teenager I did a milk round for a couple of years, and we used to stop in there about 3am to load up with bread for delivering. The doughnuts would just be coming out of the fryer, and we were allowed to jam and sugar a bagful to eat on our way round.
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nevillew
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« Reply #145 on: Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 08:27:45 »

Ah, the pie shop! I remember their cheese twists. The place I got the Lardy from was in the narrow bit from the brittox to the market place, next to the butcher s.

AKA  The Little Brittox.

Pie shop ruled - remember the queues for hot cross buns ?
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Paolo Di Canio, it's Paolo Di Canio
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« Reply #146 on: Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 08:34:28 »

I used to work opposite the pie shop, remember it well.
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Posh Red
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« Reply #147 on: Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 09:11:38 »

I remember the pie shop too.

As a kid I used to go to Town on a Saturday with my Gran & we always used to go in to buy stuff.

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Baggins

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« Reply #148 on: Thursday, October 20, 2011, 13:57:09 »

Agreed Ardiles.  I work in a borough that appeared out of thin air in 1974.  It spans two towns, one on either side of a river.  One firmly belongs in one historic county, one in another.  For nearly forty years the authorities (for whom I work) have tried to create a sense of identity for the "place" - and failed miserably.
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Reg Smeeton
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« Reply #149 on: Wednesday, November 22, 2017, 17:41:35 »

Where the fuck is Mladic when you need him eh?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/22/ratko-mladic-convicted-of-genocide-and-war-crimes-at-un-tribunal

Banged up for the long term in some Euro prison, Ironside.
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