The Drifters

I went to watch The Drifters as part of the Diamond Dynasty Tour at The Wyvern Theatre in Swindon which was a treat. The group has had 65 members over the 60 years they have been around. Whilst watching the latest line up perform,you get a slide show history lesson of The Drifters story. Learning about who was in the band and over what period of time was actually pretty interesting and the fact people are still singing their songs today is a credit to them. With classics like 'Saturday Night at the Movies', Sweet for my Sweet and 'Up on the Roof' the whole audience was happy. A little extract of another familiar hit is below...

I always associate The Drifters with sixties 'doo wop' so it was slightly strange seeing four men reincarnate the group to appeal to a new audience. There was a moment when I thought one of the group members was going to start singing an R Kelly song or something by Usher. But nonetheless all of them sang their hearts out, did the retro all in one dance moves and got 70 year old men and women up on their feet. Job Done.

If the band have been around for 60 years and are still going, who knows I may be watching them when I'm in my seventies which is good 40 years away from now!

Behind the scenes at the GWH

Last year two 'never' events occurred at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon. They included putting a tube in the wrong kidney and putting the wrong implant in during a cataract operation. The hospital was advised to make sure the World Health Organisations surgical checklist should be done more thoroughly. In a nutshell it's a checklist that should be carried out before surgery to make sure everything is in order for the operation to go ahead. At GWH this wasn't being done on a consistent basis resulting in mistakes.

A Care Quality Commission Report on the GWH came out in January 2012. It showed that whilst things had improved more could be done to make sure the WHO surgical checklist was being done properly. So now, the Great Western Hospital have decided that the surgeon should be ultimately responsible for completing the checklist properly.

I was granted behind the scenes access to the hospital and observed a hip replacement. Everything was in order, the checks were carried out properly and the operation was a success...

John Barrowman Magic

I went to watch John Barrowman in concert at the Oasis in Swindon. It was a bit random as I have never watched Torchwood and I've only seen one episode of Tonight's the Night. What did I expect from a Barrowman concert? A very camp night. What did I get? A very camp night!

The Oasis hall was packed full, I was say about four thousand people in all. The majority of the audience were women in their 60s or 30 something women accompanied by a very embarrassed other half. It's a shame John Barrowman is gay because he is certainly one for the ladies. The audience were beside themselves every time there was a wiggle of he bum or a cheeky look their way. Apart from all the jumping about on stage, the continuous gay jokes, Barrowman certainly does have a set of pipes on him. He filled the room with his powerful voice which could cope with the cheesiest of pop songs to a soft meaningful ballad.

What was also overwhelming was how much he involved his family in the performance. The big screen behind the band had selections of holiday pictures, family moments and prized memories caught on camera. It may be all part of the show but Barrowman seemed to open up his child hood and his dreams to all of us. Mum and Dad Barrowman were actually in the audience and got on stage for a little part of the show!

I have to hand it to Barrowman, love him or hate him, he is good at what he does. He entertained from the minute he stepped on stage until his closing song. John ended with Gloria Gaynor's classic 'I am What I am' which sums up his character completely. Most of the audience were on their feet by this point joining in with the lyrics. What seemed like half of Swindon came to watch him and they all left smiling.

Swindon's Hooter

The Great Western Railway works has brought many things to Swindon. Industry, wealth, people and probably the most important thing, memories. For those who used to work on the railways, the sound of the hooter is something they will never forget. This hooter used to blast across Swindon as a call to work. The sound used to cut across the town and the countryside to ensure employees of the works were ready to get into work.

The hooter blasted at several other points during the day, letting people know it was time to start lunch, finish lunch, stop work and so forth. It was the sound of the town right up until 1986 when the twin brass hooters blew for the last time.

Graham Mack is a presenter on BBC Wiltshire. With the help of local people he is on a mission to get the hooter blowing again. Graham isn't from Swindon but just wants to learn more about what made the town what it is today. When it comes to the hooter it's all about local knowledge. Many of Swindonions have been on the case to help track down the whereabouts of the hooter and the possibility of rekindling the sound of the railways.

My family have lived in Swindon for generations. My Grampy worked on the Railways and my Grandma worked at Wills Cigarettes. They both remember the hooter so I thought I'd pay them a visit to find out more...

Swindon GWR Hooter by bribriwilliam

I think there are many people,not just in Swindon, like my Grandparents Colin (91) and Sybil (86) Humphries, that would like to hear the hooter again. It will bring the memories of the railway back to those who worked in Swindon decades ago. But it will also bring a sense of appreciation and identity to a younger generation that know little about Swindon's industrial past.

I'll keep you updated as to whether Graham ever gets the hooter blowing again.

It's a Dog's Life

The weekend reunited me with one of God’s greatest creatures, the dog. How did it happen? Well a series of zig zags, jumps and cartwheels…It all started when I had to go and talk to a man at Swindon and District Animal Haven about the new “enriched cages” that are replacing conventional “battery cages” for chickens next year. I met John Warwick on a muddy January day at his farm just outside Wootton Bassett near Swindon.

We discussed the EU legislation that is coming in next year. Chickens that are cage farmed for eggs will have a bigger area to live. The worry is that Europe will be flooded with cheap eggs from outside the EU and run British farmers out of business. No one can predict the future so we’ll jus have to wait and see what happens.

So John and I talked it over for a few minutes and then my mum and I bought some chickens from him, which was all very nice. Then I noticed the dog kennels and innocently asked whether I could come and walk some of them one day…to which he replied “you can have one for the weekend if you like”. To which I said yes immediately and thus my love affair with Bruno the black Labrador begun. Bruno is in the rescue centre because his owner is a homeless man who is trying to become free from drugs. In order to do this he is spending some time in a kind of halfway house to try and clean. Unfortunately no dogs allowed, so Bruno goes into care himself.

Bruno is a lively 6 year old dog with a wonderful temperament. Bruno will sit, lie and give you his paw on command. I took him to Savernake forest and he was quite happy running around in the fresh crisp air without a care in the world. I gave him a good old clean and brush and he was as good as gold. I couldn’t believe how lovely this dog was. From how he led his head on my lap whilst I was driving him places to how he snuggled up on my chair with me as we watched television…bliss.

True love never runs smoothly or goes according to plan and I of course I had to give Bruno back because he already has an owner. Most of the dogs at the rescue centre don’t so Bruno is one of the lucky ones. But it was I who was the lucky one, picking up Bruno to get my dog fix and having a wonderful weekend.