What I found is a shopping centre that acts as a wind tunnel, a fact somehow accentuated by Bedouin-like tent structures hanging over various open areas.
It was shortly after Christmas last year. He had been inspired by the Angels cards produced by Christian Enquiry Agency, which invite people to explore faith through the links to angels in the Bible. Steve Hollinghurst, of the Church Army and Yvonne Richmond, responsible for developing evangelism at Coventry Cathedral also helped Luke in his quest. They were working with the Group for Evangelisation to develop this and other spiritual links for The Spirit of Life Fair which was held at Coventry Cathedral on 1st May. Luke was struck by how Christmas decorations lack a connection for people with the story of Christmas. He saw town centre decorations as in some ways an altar to an unknown God; in other places the 'unknown' was replaced by an altar to 'Winterval' & 'Happy holidays'.
In Swindon, however, he noticed how the wind gave a sense of movement (something lacking from Christmas lights). There was also a sense of urgency in those moving down the street that day as Luke walked on and so he could easily imagine angels passing through, intent on delivering their message to all who would listen, 'do not be afraid, I have good news'.
So when an invitation to participate with art at Christmas came from Swindon Town Centre Management to Bible Society, Luke was off, looking for a way to host the angels in Swindon for Christmas 2006.
The first challenge was to discover a design which would be traditional enough to say to ordinary shoppers, 'angels' but would also be intriguing enough to move their imaginations away from Victorian cherubs! Luke's solution was to call on Carl Robertshaw, renowned international kite related designer (think Balrog in Lord of the Rings on Broadway) and twice world champion kite flier. Between them they came up with a six winged angel kite that would appear to fly in the Christmas night sky in Swindon (in fact given enough wind they will fly away!). They are ethereal, beautiful and evocative.
The next challenge was to persuade Swindon Town Council that using angels was acceptable in a multicultural environment. They can't afford to offend anyone (apart perhaps from committed Christians!). Luke approached leaders of other faiths. When the perceived risk of causing offence to other religious groups was presented to the Swindon interfaith group, their response was unanimously supportive of Luke's idea.
Armed with this assurance, he then set about persuading companies and other groups to back this venture with money. This was tough but in the end the results were well worth it. Through sponsorship and partnership with local shops - the Rainbow bookshop for instance and firms - the New Swindon Company, the Christmas angels idea started to fly. One of Swindon's main shopping centres - The Brunel - actually sponsored an entire 'host of angels' to form a part of their Christmas decorations.
But it didn't stop there. A partnership between the Early Learning Centre and the Great Western Hospital was struck. Patients from the paediatric education unit decorated two angels, one for the town centre and one to hang at the hospital in the wonderful 5 storey high atrium at the entrance. This work was extended by match funding from Swindon Cultural partnership to allow for the installation of a further flight of angels leaving the hospital and on into the town centre.
