July was another busy month across Calne, packed with local events, community milestones, and essential town council work. Here are a few highlights from the past few weeks:
Celebrating Our Community & Local Youth
Calne Choral Society Summer Concert: Lucy and I had a wonderful evening at St Mary's Church for the Calne Choral Society's summer concert, "An Evening at the Opera"
. It was fantastic to celebrate their 140th anniversary year with them . The choir, soloists, pianist, and conductor James Green (also a town councillor) put on a brilliant performance, ranging from classical opera choruses like the Anvil Chorus to highlights from Les Misérables and West Side Story . A real credit to our local arts scene and definitely a highlight of the month.
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| Presenting at the 1st Calne Boys' Brigade & Girls' Association Annual Awards. Captain Esther Reeves left of photo. |
1st Calne Boys' Brigade & Girls' Association Annual Awards: I joined Kate Tompkins from the Rotary Club of Chippenham & Calne to hand out certificates, badges, medals, and trophies to a brilliant group of young people.
We presented new member badges, 1-year service awards, moving-up badges, and core activity badges across both the Anchors and Juniors sections.
Huge congratulations to everyone who picked up Best Attendance, Most Stars of the Week, and Jungle Parc awards, as well as the Anchor and Junior of the Year winners.
Special shoutout to team Saturn, who held onto their Team of the Year title for the second year in a row by just 7 points!
Chaplain Wayne gave a memorable talk dressed as the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz. My thanks to all the leaders, helpers, parents, Calne Baptist Church, the Free Church, Rotary, and Calne Lions for supporting this group week in, week out.
Rotary Handover & President's Night: Joined the Rotary Club of Chippenham & Calne to mark their annual handover and thank them for everything they do for our town.
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| Preparing to draw the winning raffle ticket at the Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum Annual Show |
Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum Annual Show: I stopped by the annual show and was treated to a tour of this fantastic museum by some of the passionate volunteers, and helped draw the winning tickets for their Grand Draw.
King’s Award for Voluntary Service: Toured the Wiltshire Scrapstore & Resource Centre to celebrate their King’s Award for Voluntary Service. This is a fantastic achievement for a brilliant local charity.
Marden Vale End of School Year Service: Joined students and staff at St Mary's to mark the end of the school term at St Mary's Church with fellow Trustees of Calne Town Charity.
Council Updates & Local Improvements
Green Flag Status: Took a trip up to Castlefield Park to celebrate Green Flag status. Massive thanks to Rob Mercer, our grounds team and Castlefields CARP, who keep our green spaces looking great.
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| Celebrating 140th Anniversary of Calne Town Hall. L-R: Noah, Lucy and Ellie, Cllr King, myself, Deputy Town Mayor Cllr Boore, Mace Bearer Kev O'Daly, Cllr Percy, Cllr Seymour. |
Town Hall 140th Anniversary: Led a small gathering to mark 140 years of our Town Hall, which is still very much at the heart of civic life in Calne.
Beach Terrace Upgrades: Checked out the new interpretation board and bike maintenance station now installed at Beach Terrace.
High Street Pedestrian Safety: Met with Wiltshire Council, alongside some fellow councillors, to push for a proper pedestrian crossing on the re-opened High Street so residents can cross safely.
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| With Town Crier, Mark Wylie |
Full Council: Awarded King Charles III patches to our Town Crier, recognised Calne Fair Trade, and worked through council business including play area transfers, toilet facilities, and local grants.
Calneval
Extraordinary Full Council Meeting: We held an Extraordinary Full Council meeting following a minute of silence, giving residents a chance to share their thoughts on the cancellation of Calneval. We’re continuing discussions with the organisers and fellow councillors to see how we can best support future community events.
Thanks to all the volunteers, local groups, and council staff who worked hard throughout July. If you have any questions or local issues you'd like to raise, please drop me a message!
