On Thursday the 18th of June, I attended the Park Club AGM as their president. It was good to catch up with those who run the park club; it is a great resource for the town and, in my opinion, something we could all make more use of. It is available for hire at very reasonable rates, and I expect a lot of people do not realise it has a stage inside! Thank you to all the volunteers who help keep it running, but more volunteers are really needed, as with all the volunteer-run groups in Trowbridge.
On the evening of Wednesday the 24th, with my consort, I attended the 150th Anniversary Mass at St John’s Catholic Church. This was one very hot service! But it was still very well attended (and streamed online for those who found the heat too much). It was great to see how the building has been updated and to hear a little about the history and learn that before the church was built the Catholics in Trowbridge used to meet in rooms above the Anchor and Hope Pub on Frome Road. The Bosco Bishop McDonald gave an excellent sermon, and there was a lovely buffet in St John’s Parish Centre, where they also have an exhibition on the History of the Church; do pop in sometime and take a look.
On Friday, June the 26th, I had the privilege of opening the Trowbridge Integrated Care Centre. What a great facility for the town this is! I will recycle the very short speech I gave there:
“I am so pleased to be here for the opening of the Trobridge Integrated Care Centre. This centre will play an important role in the health provision for the people of Trowbridge and the surrounding parishes. I believe it is a major improvement over what was previously available in the old Trowbridge Hospital building, and it will be appreciated by all in the local community who require its services; I have already heard several positive appraisals from local residents (even from one who is normally critical of any new developments).
The whole project has been a well-run project with NHS Property Services, Wiltshire Council, the Integrated Care Board and Tilbury Douglas, the construction company, all working together, ensuring the project was expertly defined and executed. The public were also kept in the picture throughout the project with consultations and a regular flow of information about the project as it developed, and now it is finished. I have been impressed with how close to the artists’ impressions of the project the completed building is. It is important to remember, though, that this is not simply the completion of a well-run building project but the start of a new chapter for health care in, and around, Trowbridge. So, a massive thank you to all involved from the good people of Trowbridge.
I will finish by saying that Trowbridge has seen significant investments in the town over the last few years. With the future high streets fund improvements in the town centre, including the reopening of The old town hall, this integrated care centre is now opening, and the new leisure centre will open at the end of the year. All of this is helping make Trowbridge a town we can all be proud of.
So, thank you again to all involved in the project, and I am very happy to unveil this opening plaque and declare the building open.”
Then on Saturday the 27th of June, I attended the Carnivals Country Fayre in the Town Park. This was a really great event raising money for the Carnival (and my wife did her best to spend our cash there, while I looked at the fantastic stationary engines on display). I was interviewed by the very excellent West Wiltshire Radio and also enjoyed the Vegan food market on Fore Street and the art exhibition in the old Kavanagh’s estate agents on Fore Street. It was so good to see the town so active and nice; it was sunny but at a lower temperature than the preceding days
