Swindon [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon] is in Goa's newspapers today, by way of some large-sized adverts in the Herald. Abel Pires of "Agassaim, Swindon" (as is the fashion for two-or-more affiliation names for people who are part of the Goan diaspora) has been elected president of the All Goa Swindon Association. He gets wishes from ex-MPT player and Agassaim Sports Club president Tony Fernandes, Agassaim panch James Afonso, and a whole lot of others from Mercurim-Agassaim, Goa Velha, Batim, Malvara, Sulabate, Dandi Agassaim, Nuria, Conlatim-London, Siridao, daxibatt-agassaim, Nuvem, Panjim, Vasco and elsewhere).
Could any Goanetter paint a word-picture of Goan migration to Swindon, of which one has heard a lot over recent years? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon#Demographics Swindon (pronunciation (help·info)) is a large town in Wiltshire in the South West of England. The town is midway between Bristol (64 km / 40 miles west) and Reading (64 km / 40 miles east). London is 130 km / 81 miles east. Swindon is on the main rail line between London and Bristol, and has one train station. It is in the borough of Swindon, which has been a unitary authority independent of Wiltshire since 1998. A resident of Swindon is known as a Swindonian. Swindon's motto is "Salubritas et Industria" (Health and Industry). Swindon was named an Expanded Town under the Town Development Act 1952 and this led to a major increase in its population.[1] In the 2001 census the population of the Swindon urban area was 155,432, whilst around 184,000 lived in the Borough, which includes the satellite towns of Highworth and Wroughton.... It has been forecast that there will be a 70,000 (38.9%) increase in Swindon's population by 2026; from the current 180,000, to 250,000.... Religious communities include Church of England, Catholic, Mormon, and one of the largest Sikh temples in the UK. More people have joined the Hare Krishna movement in Swindon than in any other English town....In May 2007, 65.3% of households in Swindon had broadband Internet access, the highest in the UK – and up 5.5% from June 2006....After the end of World War II a significant – unspecified – number of Polish refugees were put up temporarily in barracks at the Fairford RAF base about 25 km (roughly 15 miles) north of Swindon. In about 1950, some of them settled in Scotland and others in Swindon[18] rather than stay in the barracks or hostels they were offered -- Frederick Noronha http://fn.goa-india.org Ph +91-832-2409490