Marlborough Town Council
February 2018
On Tuesday 6th, following a working party meeting to discuss work on the Town Hall basement, I went up to the function room, where Mencap were doing a fund raiser, for a bit of light relief. What I found was a room full of people thoroughly enjoying themselves at a movie singalong. I had never seen one of these before, they were showing Mamma Mia with the words at the bottom of the screen, karaoke style and singing along to the songs. It was a great event and gave Mencap’s funds a welcome boost.
On the 19th I helped to launch the campaign to persuade dog owners to pick up dog mess, which is a big problem in the town’s open spaces, at times making them virtually unusable by small children. We did the launch up on the common and I had to borrow my Granddaughter’s dog, Pepper, for the occasion, not being a dog owner myself. Talking to people about this problem it seems that there are a lot of “old school” dog owners who still think that it is OK not to clear up on grassed areas. This is simply not true as it makes it very unpleasant for people who then use sports pitches or picnic areas which have been fouled and there is also a significant health risk, particularly for small children.
Friday 24th February turned out to be a very busy day which started with the Showman’s Guild luncheon in Swindon. We always maintain a good relationship with the Guild, who put on the Mop Fairs in Marlborough and also help us in many other ways as well. Following the luncheon there was just time to get home, change and go out again for the Civic Dinner in honour of our adopted army unit, 4MI Battalion. This was a very enjoyable event and we were very well entertained by the Adjutant General’s band and our own Community Choir. There was one note of sadness in that Vanessa Lafaye, who conducted the choir at the dinner, passed away a few days later. She had been seriously ill for some time and it was immensely brave of her to come and conduct what was to be her last concert, we will always remember her.
Finally, on the 26th, I had the pleasure of dining with a group of travel agents from Germany and Austria, who were visiting potential tourist destinations along the Great West Way, otherwise known as the A4. It was a good opportunity to sell the town as a place to visit and hopefully, give a welcome boost to our businesses.