At the end of last week, you may have seen a number of children dressed up as characters from their favourite books as part of the celebrations of World Book Day.

I was delighted to see the sheer range of interests as reflected in the wide range of costumes. We are following this next Thursday, March 19, with the launch of the programme of this year’s Swindon Festival of Literature that will run from May 4-16.

This will be the festival’s 22nd year and the organisers have excelled themselves yet again with the range of authors due to appear covering almost the entire alphabet of interest from athleticism (the model and runner Nell McAndrew) to the wit of some our leading comedians (Rory Bremner, Tony Hawkes, Helen Lederer, and Sandi Toksvig).

For those of you who think of reading as a somewhat sedentary activity, in Lydiard Park, on the very first day of the Festival, there will be a health and stories walk and a gentle 5km run.

This will be followed by talks from authors who know about the benefits and beauty of running and walking – so please save some breath for the question and answer sessions.

Although we play only a small role in promoting reading, in this year’s budget, the council has continued to support our libraries. Not only have we not made any proposals to close buildings, but we approved additional money for self-issuing machines to make it easy for people to borrow books.

We are also upgrading the computers in the libraries. While we are attracting national and internationally-acclaimed talent to our Festival, we should not overlook our local writers. At the moment, I am reading a book by Dr Mike Pringle entitled Swindon: Remembering 1914-18. As we mark the centenary of that conflict this book and other events are a good opportunity to remind ourselves of our links to the past, especially those who fought and fell.

For example, how many of us recall that Warneford School in Highworth derives its name from a fighter pilot – Reginald Warneford – who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions and who died after barely a month of combat? Not all Swindon’s past is as solemn as the First World War and Dr Pringle’s book. I am also reading the latest edition of the Swindon Heritage magazine that sheds more light on our borough’s past. Please buy a copy.