School can be museum (From Swindon Advertiser)

School can be museum

12:26pm Friday 17th August 2012 in Letters

Regarding Swindon’s new art gallery and museum venue.

Reading your letters page on August 15, the one about the museum being moved, I began thinking what a great place my old school, Sanford Street, would make for such a venue.

Turned to page 19 and there is a picture of the school saying it would be vacant by November. So what is the problem? The building is ideally suited for such a venture.

The imposing facade lends itself to such a venue, whilst the staircase inside would make a grand statement about Swindon as you walk in. The classrooms are just the right size to display items and there are a myriad of small rooms for the staff. The location is perfect, being in the centre of town and the building must be preserved at all costs.

So how would we pay for the work to be done in these austere financial times? Well here are a few points we could start with.

Think about sponsorship of each room by Swindon based firms (the Honda art gallery) that would go a long way to paying for the work to be done.

Then ask the old boys of Sanford who are retired to give a couple of months work in the middle of winter to the project. They have every skill you could ever want and most would be proud to say they helped the school to be revitalised.

Work experience for younger unemployed youth would be a great thing to have on your CV and something to tell your children about in 20 year’s time as you take them around the museum.

How do you run it once it’s open? Ask our friends at the National Trust how they get members of the public to give up one day a week, plus we would have the staff already in Bath Road to do the professional day to day running of the new enterprise.

Finally, sell off the Bath Road house to help pay the bill. Result, a magnificent new addition to Swindon at virtually no cost.

Come on councillors, you got it right with the library now take the next step and put Swindon on the cultural map of Britain.

R Cartwright Pinnegar Way Swindon

Frank challenged

I feel that I must correct the assertion made by Mr Bill Williams, in relation to his defence of Frank Avenell.

While I do not want to undermine the contribution Frank made during the Second World War, I do however oppose Mr Williams’ view that due to his distinguished service we should respect his views.

No matter how grateful we maybe as a nation for the deeds of fellow citizens whether in the past or today, it does not allow them to go unchallenged when they are wrong.

Mr Avenell has made many contributions to your letters page over his immigration concerns.

But his recent contributions have failed to maintain previous cogent arguments and have been based on what seems personal assumptions, which have verged on being racist and quiet rightly should be challenged as unacceptable.

Robert Barnard Rodbourne Road Swindon

Red tape ruin

The EU made 1660 changes to business regulations in 2011.

British business cannot prosper under this deluge of EU Directives that constantly emanate from Brussels.

Industry has to comply with a similar number of new EU laws every year. British business is drowning in EU red tape.

Steve Halden Beaufort Green Swindon

WI are thriving

I was interested to read your article regarding the WI on July 30. How true your headline was, “WI isn’t just for oldies”.

Charlotte Smith and her two friends are to be congratulated for starting a WI in Wichelstowe and to have 34 members already. Well done.

I have been a member of Shrivenham WI for over 40 years. We are a thriving club with over 50 members, aged from late 20s to me at 95!

We have good and interesting speakers every month and in between poetry, reading, Scrabble and craft groups, there are theatre outings, walks and visits to other group meetings. Our members are a jolly and caring lot so I feel I’ve always got a friend.

Keep the flag flying Christine and if you can arrange a visit to us we will be delighted. We meet every third Thursday of the month at 7pm with either a speaker or entertainment at 7.30 in the Memorial Hall.

Joyce Walters Stainsuick Lane Shrivenham