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Blowing our trumpet about Melksham

Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2011-11-28 17:59:58 - Graham Ellis

"Isn't it great to be back in Melksham?" ... "Yes - I enjoy a good blow of my trumpet about this town!"

Saturday was the Christmas Fayre in Melksham, with Santa arriving at 2 O'clock and seeing children in his grotto in the Town Hall, and the turning on of the Melksham Lights at 5 p.m.


We started in the King's Street Car Park but all the marked bays were full, and we had been warned that people are being given penalty tickets for parking in the unmarked part that use to be used for HGVs. So we drove round to Church Street Car park. That was pretty busy, as you can see, but we did find a space. All of which is rather interesting bearing in mind the comments about high parking charges, pictures in the Wiltshire Times of empty car parks in a neighboring town, and reductions in parking fees there next week, but no Melksham reductions. Really - we should be moving on from complaining about the cost of parking and working to filling the car parks every day and not just some days.


Where one shop closes, another opens. We do have a handful of empty shops, but only that. The Chinese Medicine Centre has been replaced by Appletons - seasonal I believe, but a great addition. The Halifax is being replaced by a health food store, and so on.


In the market place, a number of outside stalls were busy selling their wears, Melksham Radio was recording, and the band of the Salvation Army were playing. And it was busy.


And inside the Assembly Hall, it was packed with stands... and packed with people between the stands too. What a great afternoon


I... missed... the turning on of the lights. Lisa and I had accepted a formal invitation to a similar event in Trowbridge before we were aware that it clashed with Melksham. And we met up there with our friends Sue and Neil who work at a major business of whom we're customers. Not our town, really - and good to meet our friends. But it helped to reinforce our love of Melksham.

Melksham's a great town. And today - walking round the Market Square there were again plenty of people around. Fancied a cooked lunch... went to Melksham House. Could have eaten - radically different choices - at the Refa, the Art House, the Cornerstone, the Tavern or the King's Arms.