Thetownend.com

Well everyone.....here is victim number one.

Vic Morgan has agreed to be my first guest speaker :D

As well as working for the BBC he is well known around Swindon for his columns in the local press and his radio work.

He can be found on Twitter....@swindonred.

As i have indicated i aim to get a ten question interview with 50 Swindon People....people that MYSELF thinks contribute to making the Swindon community tick today.


So thanks to Vic...and here we go.

1,WHERE WERE YOU BORN AND YOUR FIRST RECOLLECTION OF SWINDON?

I was born in Swindon but lived at Water Eaton about ten miles away near Castle Eaton,my first passion was Speedway being a huge fan of the Swindon Robins and in particular the late great Bob Kilby.
Football was always up there and i was soon getting the bus to the County Ground to watch the Town.....Feb 1st 1968 was the first match resulting in a 3-0 win v Walsall with Don Rogers scoring....YES THE DON!

2,WHAT IS YOUR FEELINGS ON THE TOWN OF SWINDON IN THE PAST AND NOW?

I feel Swindon has always had a bit of an inferiority complex..i am not sure why.
It was in the forefront of car engineering and technology and has always has had a great cultural heritage.
It is surrounded by wonderfull countryside though the centre needs rebooting...though in the present financial climate i am not sure it is possible.

3,WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE EVER SWINDON FC MATCH?

It has to be Wembley 69,i can still see it now,one of the proudest days of my life...i was level with Don Rogers as he rounded Bob Wilson and slotted the ball into an empty net.
Pure poetry and elation...i loved that day.
The ticket cost ten shillings(50p)..i will treasure it for ever.

4,
WOULD YOU RATHER THE CLUB STAY AT THE COUNTY GROUND OR MOVE TO ANOTHER SITE?

It looks like the club are staying where they are but i would favor a move close to the M4.
Great road links..restaurants shops and a cinema,give fans the whole package.

5,

WHO IS THE BEST TOWN PLAYER YOU HAVE WATCHED...AND WHO WAS YOUR FAVOURITE?

Don Rogers has to be the best,a magnificent player who would be worth many millions today.
My favourite player i would say is Will Dixon..a great fullback with a great moustache!
A terrific whole hearted player in an entertaining Swindon team.

6,

WHO DID YOU VOTE FOR IN THE LAST GENERAL ELECTION?

I work for the BBC so no comment!

7,

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE TO FOOTBALL IN TODAY'S WORLD?

I would like to penalize cheating more harshly,i think in the light of the UK''s recent sporting triumphs football has a hard battle on its hands.
The perception of highly paid prima donnas is not helped by diving,deliberate handball and abuse to officials.
Stamp on it hard and the same goes for the idiots in the crowd.
It is sport..and should be enjoyed.

8,

WHO HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE MANAGER AT SWINDON.

That is a difficult one but i have to go for Danny Williams,i still havn't got over him leaving us for Sheffield Wednesday.
He achieved absolute miracles with a third division team.

9,

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY READING AND WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CHEESE?

I am a big fan of Lee Childs books,i really enjoy them,i suppose the best book i have read is Pappillon which was made into a book staring Steve McQeen...all about the horrors in French Guiana.
Terrific book.
As for my favourite cheese that is easy....Extra Mature English Cheddar :D

10,

IT IS YOUR LAST DAY ON EARTH,WHAT WOULD BE YOUR LAST MEAL AND WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO EAT IT IN THE WORLD?

Apart from seat H63 at the County Ground it would have to be sitting next to the Exe Estuary in Devon.
I live five mins from there and i love walking and cycling and just being anywhere near it.
Take a trip to the Turf Hotel if you are in this area as it is a glorious place..as for my meal it would have to be Cheese and Onion pasty mashed spuds and beans...I LOVE IT.
Failing that then Central Park in New York would do nively though i doubt the yanks would know what a pasty is.

Thanks for your interest and feel free to give me some stick on the Town End,it wont be the first time!

Are your questions meant to sound like they were written by someone with no grasp of grammar, or is that accidental? Comes off a bit primary school-ish is all.

Good apart from that. This should be interesting.

I presume Vic's seat is in the Arkells?

:no:

Oh yeah manc red, that rankled with me too. Let's stay at the CG please.

The town centre being shite is only going to get worse if the club moves towards the m4 and there's a great big industrial park to go with it.

Liked that, although 'Lat day' sounds like something some knobhead would say at the gym. "Hey nah brah, gunna take it easy have a bit of a lat day".

Had to skip my lat day because all the steroids are giving me major back pumps brah

where was you born?

1. Were
2. Are
3. Was

Leefer has dyslexia so cut him some slack. It's not an English exam.

Enjoyed that Lee. No need for the idiotic comments lads

Idiotic? If you're going to publish something, on as pedantic a stage as an Internet forum, you've got to expect some light hearted ribbing if it contains errors.

I enjoyed it, and look forward to reading the other 49. But I can't promise I won't make sarky comments again in the future.

Cheers Lee. Vic seems a decent guy and true town fan. Can't agree with the out of town stadium idea either though. How is giving us a cinema giving us the whole package I can't help wondering?

Didn't know that, (seeing as to me, you're all anonymous and look like your avatars). Apologies if I caused offence Leefer. Just picking up on it because it makes the whole thing a bit more porfessional-looking is all. It's a great idea and I'll be following it all the way.


Perhaps Vic's a fan of French Cinema.

So glad that others picked up on Vic's 'full package' quote.  A cinema and branches of KFC and Matalan next to a motorway junction...or a selection of pubs, newsagents and chippies all within walking distance of the ground?  You choose.  I'm not arrogant enough to assume that everyone should agree with me on this one - but I'm happy to see that Vic seems to be in a minority on this one.

I like Vic, by the way.  He's Swindon through & through.  Just disagree with him on this.

Well done leefer. Agree with Ardiles.

Enjoyed that Lee, looking forward to reading the others. Always had time for Vic & fair play to him for taking part.

County Ground is the absolute ideal locale... for me anyway :)

Mr. Morgan loves his 1968-1969 Swindon Town doesn't he... and probably rightly so.

Saying that, all-time favourites of Swindon Town belong to the era of my adolescence.

Agree with this. Given his answers, he's also much older than I had assumed. How old is he?

Vic is 58.

I enjoyed reading that. Like Vic, I was drawn to speedway with Bob Kilby being my favourite rider.

Away working today till late but Swindon People will be back tommorow evening with interview number two 8)

Vic's choice of favourite Town player is a surprise. Will Dixon wasn't a bad full back but when you consider the quality of others of that era David Moss, Kenny Stroud, Trevor Anderson, Peter Eastoe etc I would have to say that he wouldn't be near the top of my list.   

VIC will always be big in my heart as he sent back his reports from many an away match in the Macari era.

Charlie Henry scored and VIC exploded!

Oh yeah....fuck off Graammer Nazis!

You dont like German Grandmothers? :D

So interview number two is with former Labour MP for Swindon Anne Snelgrove.

I believe she is set to stand for Labour again in 2015 and get her Swindon seat back.

She lives in Swindon and has been on the political scene locally for a good few years now,i thank her for the time she has given in doing this interview.

Question one

CAN YOU TELL US ON THE FORUM A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF AND HOW YOU CAME TO LIVE IN SWINDON?

I was born in Bracknell,Berkshire and lived on the Priestwood Estate which is identical to the Parks Estate in Swindon.
I trained as a teacher and returned to live near  my parents when i started teaching.
My dad was keen that i continue with my education as his finished when he was fourteen,as did my mothers.
I come from a large extended family and i have forty five cousins at the last count!
We live across the country now but we used to live within twenty miles of each other that made Christmas time a noisy time but great fun.
I moved to Swindon in 2004 prior to being selected as Labour Parliamentery Candidate to succeed Julia Drown MP.
However i moved from Bracknell a few years prior to take up a job with BNFL as there Community Relations Officer.

2

DO YOU WATCH SWINDON TOWN,AND IF SO HOW OFTEN?

I have to confess that football is not a great passion of mine,and my time on Saturdays is usually taken up with constituency engagements so do not get to the County Ground very often.
I am glad to say that they usually win when i do attend.
On match days i can hear the roar from the Town fans from my house in Eastcott,and always hear a goal going in from the sound of the chanting.

3

WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT THE TOWN OF SWINDON ,GIVEN THE CHANCE?

I guess that i would like the Town Centre improvements finished and the Mechanics fully restored and open to the public again and also a better road system.
But one thing i would love to change is people's attitude towards the Town of Swindon.
Too many have the same stereotype of the town and its people,so far from the truth there should be a law banning it!
There are great things in the town including good communities,excellent shopping and some great places to eat.
There are also lots of open spaces and really we should blow our trumpet a little bit more.

4

IF YOU WAS NOT A POLITICIAN,WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD BE DOING CAREER WISE?

I am sure i would be in education.I'd become an Education Advisor for a local authority before i left teaching,so i would probably be in adult education and training by now.
But now what i wish i had done was Garden Design!
Sadly this was not considered a good career when i left school and did not get interested in gardening until i was in my twenties.

5

DO YOU THINK THERE WILL BE ANOTHER WOMAN PRIME MINISTER?

Yes,there are some excellent woman MP'S in all parties and it is only a matter of time before one is selected to lead them.

6

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK...AND ALSO YOUR FAVOURITE CHEESE?

It is hard to choose so true to form i have given you more info than you have asked for.
My favourite childrens book was Alice in Wonderland,this is probably the reason i feel so at home in Parliament!
The best adult books are Middlemarch by George Elliot,South Riding by Winifred Holtby and Great Expectations by Dickens.
Mt favourite cheese is Stilton,the one from Colston Bassett is fantastic.
I also like goats cheese with a really good one with black pepper sold in Swindon at the Sunday Market.

7

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES WHEN NOT WORKING?

I love gardening and have been know to garden by torchlight if i am busy in the daylight hours.
I also like to read the newspapers,play Sudoku and go to the cinema.

8

HOW CAN LABOUR WIN THE NEXT ELECTION,AND WHAT WOULD YOUR OWN PERSONAL MESSAGE BE TO US?

This government is making the wrong decisions.Tax breaks for millionaires while increasing taxation on hard working families.
Ignoring one million young people out of work and the 50% who cannot go to University while at the same time imposing a wasteful and expensive top down restructure of our HHS Staff that has cost us the jobs of over 4000 nurses.
We want to take people with us and change Swindon for the better,to build a country where everone has a stake and can play a part.
People should vote for me and vote for the Labour Party if they want a say in decisions being made and see a reversal in damaging changes to the NHS.
If they want here children to have a choice of direction once leaving school,if they want banks that serve he country,not a country that serves the banks,also that the people that work Monday to Friday have some money in there pockets still.

9

WHO IS/WAS YOUR  HERO/HEROINE?

I liked to read about Queen Elizabeth 1 as a child and i think she must have been an amazing woman to have survived and ruled for 45 years at such a turbulent time.
She brought the country together and with it stability.
Another hero is William Tyndale who first published and translated the First Testament and was burnt at the stake for doing so.
My other hero's are a group of people The Tolpuddle Martyrs who were farm workers and formed one of the first unions that protested about wage cuts.
They were transported to Australia on trumped up charges but were returned after a public outcry.
The principle of workers fighting for there rights were thus born.

10

FINALY,IT IS YOUR LAST DAY ON EARTH WHAT WOULD YOUR LAST MEAL BE...AND WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO EAT I?

Ideally my last meal would be cooked at home by both me and my husband Mike.
I would make the starter and pudding while he would do the main course,my starter would be Salad with pear,stilton and walnuts.
The main course would be chicken thighs with lettuce and peas complete with Royal Jersey potatoes.
Pudding would be my famous(amongst friends) lemon meringue pie with home made pastry and filling.
I could then go to a better place happy and very full!

Where is colston Bassett? Please attend more games  :)

mmmmmmmmmmmmm Stilton - Stilton and Cauli sooooop tomorrow

Next up.....ex player.....very good ex player.

And as i talk an ex manager has come on board for future viewing.

A final meal of chicken thighs, new potatoes, lettuce and peas.

Surely you can do better than that?

Leefer has gone to a great deal of trouble on his thread, and it's a shame for him to spoil this work without proof-reading his posts.

It's OK for the rest of you to write any way you want, that's what helps make the TEF fun.

And of course, the cheese question (and answer) is singularly lacking in profundity.

But I did enjoy reading both posts, and look forward to the rest of them.

Thanks for That Lee, It's interesting reading even though apart from the CG I know very little about The places mentioned. It's good that Part one and two are so different, A local radio man and Town supporter and a lady MP who names gardening as her hobby. Looking forward to hearing from the ex Town player in part three.

I'm breaking from my more regular role of persistent lurker to actually make a post to say Cheers Leefer, looking forward to the rest.

Hi all,so victim number three this week is Sally Carter....SAS Sal to most,has been doing a good job with her other half for over ten years now with away travel to the Town matches.
Must say after many years not doing coach travel i went a couple of times last year with SAS and would urge you all to give it a go if you fancy a change from packed trains or maybe you want a break from driving.
So many thanks Sally for taking part in Swindon People.


Question...

1...CAN YOU TELL US YOUR FIRST AWAY MATCH WITH SAS TRAVEL, AND HOW MANY AWAY TRIPS HAVE YOU ORGANISED TO DATE?

I first traveled with SAS in 2002 and became co organizer in 2005.
To date we have organized travel to 214 away games.

2..ARE YOU FROM SWINDON AND WHEN DID YOU START SUPPORTING SWINDON TOWN FC.?

I was born and bred in Swindon and started supporting Swindon just after i started college in Swindon in 1983.

3..IN YOUR TIME INVOLVED WITH SAS WHAT MATCHES HAVE INVOLVED TAKING THE MOST COACHES TO AN AWAY MATCH?

In my time with SAS we took 62 coaches v Millwall in the Wembley playoff Final and 54 coaches for the JPT Final.
We also took 20 coaches to Fulham in the FA Cup and 14 coaches to Millwall in that playoff season.

4..WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT THE CLUB AT PRESENT,GOOD OR BAD?

In my opinion it is important to get behind the club regardless of who is in charge.
As we are all aware managers and players come and go while us the fan base remains permanent.

5..CAN YOU TELL US WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CHEESE,AND THE BEST BOOK YOU HAVE EVER READ?

My favorite book is The Godfather and my favorite cheese is Dairylee Triangles!

6..ON A PERSONAL LEVEL WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE TOWN PLAYER,AND MANAGER?

My favorite player has to Stefani Miglioranzi,and my favorite manager is Glenn Hoddle.

7..DO YOU LIKE SWINDON AS A PLACE TO LIVE OR IS IT JUST THE TEAM YOU LIKE?

I have ever only lived in Swindon so must like the Town,the football is very much an added bonus.

8..WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR SAS TRAVEL IN THE COMING YEARS?

The vision is simple,to take as many fans away and keep it as cheap as possible.

9..HAVE YOU A MEMORY,GOOD OR BAD THAT YOU REMEMBER AS AN AWAY DAY FIASCO?

The only time we have missed a match was away to Carlisle last year,after a fatal accident on the motorway meant traffic was at a standstill.
We missed the first 30 minutes and listened to it on local radio.

10..IT IS YOUR LAST DAY ON EARTH,WHAT WOULD BE YOUR FAVORITE FINAL MEAL AND WHERE IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU LIKE TO EAT IT?

My last meal would be fish and chips in the wrapper with plenty of salt and vinegar,and i would love to be sat on a beach in Hawaii to eat them.

Is that an Oxford cheese? (3 sides)

Like it,just to add that the ex Town player scheduled for this week is away on his hols at present i believe....plenty of different people in and out of footy coming up anyway.

In my opinion it is important to get behind the club regardless of who is in charge.
As we are all aware managers and players come and go while us the fan base remains permanent.

Happy clapper!! Amen to this though!! :)

How long have SAS been sole providers?  Back in the day there were two competing with each other as I remember it.  One lot had Barnes the other Silver Knight.

Think SAS use Barnes still...then use others if needed on big awaydays.

Not sure if they are sole providers....though i think they are these days.

I remember getting the bus with mates on an evening from west Swindon to go to the ground to book for away games. This was before sas but I think sal was involved with it.
Office used to be in the arkells where the programme shop was. I'm sure most will remember it and used to do as I did.

Dairylea triangles. Sal, where did it all go wrong!

Remember years ago going on Rimes coaches - they were the one the town used - circa mid 70s

I had no idea Sally Carter was a very good ex player.

Don't suppose anyone knows much about the old Rimes coach firm do they. I have memories of a Mrs Rimes that lived a few doors up from us in Ciren, whose son Malcolm was involved in coaches in the 80s.

Now its probable the they have absolutely no connection whatsover,but thought I'd ask.

Had an office on Commercial Road in the 70's. Went bankrupt,. In their day they pretty much had the local market sewn up.