Chippenham is a small town just outside Bath, in the U.K. It has the perfect amenities for young people to grow up in, safety, swimming pools, stations galore, shops and some great views on hot summer’s days. However, it isn’t what someone would call ‘inspiring’. It’s sleepy, calm, and hardly anything exciting happens here, at least as far as I know.
When I was younger, I would always walk in fields around the top of our town and usually, if it was clear enough, you could see all the way across the county. While it does remain a beautiful view, I always felt Chippenham was the typical small town that everybody deals with at sometime or another in their lives. I had always wanted to see the world, and as a Kid, its normal to have that ambition. Yet, what isn’t is actually going to these far away places we dream of when we’re kids and experiencing them with the same wonder we had.
In going to some truly wonderful places from a younger age than most, I gained valuable insight and cultural awareness that for the most part, we all have when we’re adults. But, what sets my experience apart from others is the detail you experience things with and the odd things that caught my attention when I was younger. Today, in a society dominated by discourse of equality, justice and representation, these odd things have become greater and more provocative to me than ever.
As I report on issues, culture and social experiences as viscerally as possible, I aim to show both the good and the bad, subvert your expectation, and highlight that while we should always keep an open but interrogating mind.
For better or worse, Chippenham is still home for me. But living in London has opened my eyes and encouraged me to show people the world as it really is, both wonderous and the crazy alongside the issues and injustices.
Getting out of your comfort zone and enjoy what life has to offer is one thing, using it to bring people’s attention to problems, is another. I aim to do the latter.
72° from Chippenham 