Mark Keen
MARK Keen has put together a number of videos capturing the days of Swindon
Cable, which broadcast to 2000.
The station began life in 1973 as Swindon Viewpoint, an experiment in community cable television which gave the chance for people to train and use TV production equipment.
The studios were based at 14 Victoria Road (now the Jewel in the Crown). This experiment ended in 1980.
Over the years, the service underwent numerous changes and had a series of owners. When NTL took over, it planned to introduce 'video on demand' though it did not materialise. NTL closed Swindon Cable in 2000.
Mark, a 37-year-old graphic designer, began his long-running love affair
with the TV station in 1982 when he was staying with friends in Rodbourne.
"At that time I had never seen anything quite like it," explained Mark.
"Coming from a small village some 16 miles out of Swindon, I was only used
to the three terrestrial channels that were available back then. We
especially enjoyed watching the movies on the Cinematel channel.
"I was sad that eventually NTL closed down the station on June 30th 2000. I was lucky
that I was able to record a lot of material from the channel's last week of
programming.
"What you see here is a selection of some of my favourite moments from those
tapes. I feel it is a shame that Swindon no longer has its own television
channel, as Swindon Cable paved the way for a lot of the services we see
today."
Mark would be interested in hearing from anybody who has tapes or recordings
made from the Local Channel, Swindon Cable etc. Click this email link if you have anything of interest.
Click on the links below to see the videos:
