Swindon

Swindon is a large town of Wiltshire, England, located in the South West of the United Kingdom (between Bristol and London). Swindon lies on the M4 Corridor — Sunrise Strip — part of the UK. The town is easily accessible from either junction 15 or 16 of the M4 motorway, or by rail (Swindon Station). With a population of 180,000, Swindon is often cited as a "boom town" and new housing continues to be built. It is one of the fastest growing towns in the UK (along with Milton Keynes) and has a very low unemployment rate. It is in the borough of Swindon, which has been a unitary authority since 1998.

Facts

• Swindon the name possibly comes from its original name Swine Town, from when the town was a pig market.
• A well-known rock band, XTC, come from Swindon. They are considered the forefathers of the Britpop movement.
• Noel Gallagher, the lead singer of the rock 'n' roll band Oasis chose the name of his band after visiting the Oasis swimming pool in Swindon, whilst working as a roadie for the band Inspiral Carpets, who themselves held a concert at the leisure centre in 1993.
• The actress (and former pop singer) Billie Piper (once married to Chris Evans) who played Rose in the 2005 BBC Sci-Fi TV programme Doctor Who), also comes from Swindon.
• Anthropologist Desmond Morris was born there as was his former girlfriend actress Diana Dors.
• Busty minor celebrity Melinda Messenger hails from the area.
• Comedians Mark Lamarr and Julian Clary have Swindon connections, but do not publicise it widely.
• The British television comedy series The Office contains many references to Swindon.
• Swindon is referred to in singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock's song Ride.
• A well known world record breaking explorer, David Hempleman-Adams, comes from Swindon.
• Ryder Cup golfer David Howell comes from Swindon.
• The Motorola factory in Abbey Meads was used for a setting in the James Bond Movie The World Is Not Enough.
• Swindon is twinned with Ocotal, Nicaragua and Salzgitter, Germany.
• Swindon also has close ties with Torun, Poland, which it started a friendship and co-operation agreement with on May 13, 2003.
• The world record for the longest wait on a hospital trolley after spending 77 hours and 30 minutes stuck outside the toilets was set in Swindon's Princess Margaret Hospital (now demolished), between February 24th and 27th, 2001.
• James Bond author Ian Fleming is buried at Sevenhampton.
• More people have joined the Hare Krishna movement in Swindon than in any other English town.