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Next Tuesday I have been asked to give a short talk about my book Swindon Orbital at the Postmodern Gallery in Swindon. As we are in the midst of an election, here’s how I have decided to pitch it:

Although Swindon has grown a hundredfold in the past 200 years immigration remains a hot topic, particularly at election time.

Drawing on research conducted for his book Swindon Orbital, author Richard Willis will use Swindon’s history of migrations to argue that immigration is a force for good. If you are interested in politics, history and/or literature you should enjoy the discussion.

The talk is free. Here’s the flyer for the event. If you are in Swindon on Tuesday 4th May please do come along.

Let me tell you a story, a story that illustrates why you shouldn’t vote for the Tories.

I was once picked up in my student hitchhiking days by a lorry driving ex-marine. A friendly, talkative chap, he had phenomenal physical strength. After about half an hour of chatting, during which he told me of his time in the army, he invited me to reach underneath my passenger seat and pick up what I found there. Rummaging around I discovered a cold, hard cylinder, which was too heavy for me to pick up, even with both hands. Leaning over, he reached under my seat with his left arm and picked the object up. It was large, metal bar.

‘That,’ he said, grinning slightly maniacally ‘is for Maggie, if I ever meet her.’

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I’ve just been looking at the stats for the Brighton Kemptown constituency for 2005 here:

In total 39,719 votes cast, 15,858 for the winner Dr. Des Turner (Lab), less than 40% of the vote. That means that at least 60% of the people in said constituency are unrepresented, including me.

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