With rain looming on the horizon I was pleased to see a bright sunny morning. Since my first task of the day was another visit to the programme centre, I decided to take advantage of the good weather and take a stroll up the alleyway rather than down the hill.

By this time of year the undergrowth should be starting to bulge along the fence marking the boundary of the old college site. So far there's precious little of it, and instead it looks as if the alleyway has been cleared of foliage. Nonetheless, I did see one spot where the tarmac has burst open as a stalk of 'horsetail' pushes upward to find sunlight.

How incredible is that? A vulnerable green shoot of vegetation has lliterally forced its way through half an inch of asphalt like it wasn't there. How on earth did it sprout there? Sadly it won't survive, because it's emerging right in the path of cars turning into the yard, but what a demonstration of the tenacity and power of nature.

The trouble is that whilst the alleyway is free of foliage and relatively passable, it also looks bare - a muddy pathway lined with all sorts of discarded material - clothes, bedding, scraps of damp wood, rusty springs, and the skeletal remains of consumer goods.

Ahead of me two people were energetically cutting up branches with heavyweight shears. They didn't see me approach and after politely asking to go by, we got talking. Apparently this couple have just bought one of the houses backing onto the alleyway.and being public spirited types, they've already contacted the council about the waste clogging the path.

That's nothing, I told them, you should see some of the alleyways further west. Some of those are blocked completely by abandoned furniture. They looked a bit shocked by the scale of Swindons rubbish culture.

Not Quite Completed

The olympic stadium in London is on the news as I type. It looks more like a Nascar track at the moment because the running oval isn't going to be installed until the assets for the opening ceremony have gone in first. But let's not be finnicky about this - I have been proved wrong - they have finished it on time. Almost.