Corsham Shows How it’s Done
Corsham Civic Society played its part in entertaining the good people of Jargeau when they made their bi-annual visit to Corsham last week end. The event had been organised by the Corsham Twinning Association. The yearly visits have become a regular feature of Corsham life since the Twinning Agreement with the French town situated on the River Loire was signed in 1981.
Each year has a theme. This year it was to be Active Citizens in Europe. As Peter Tapscott, Publicity Officer for the Corsham Civic Society observed, “Confronted with the need to develop a programme which reflected this theme – and extended over the Bastille Day weekend – it is no wonder that the Twinning Association reached for the local Civic Society to assist it. The civic society movement channels the efforts of volunteers to achieve things for the benefit of the whole community, which otherwise might never be undertaken, let alone concluded successfully. It was interesting to note that France appears to have nothing quite like it.”
“The Society chose to convey its message with the aid of an exhibition and a talk and presentation, the latter delivered by its outgoing Chairman, Wyndham Thomas, ably assisted by his wife, Kathy. The venue was Corsham’s Community Centre, the time, the Sunday afternoon,” Peter continued.
Mr Thomas’s talk evidently covered the complete spectrum of the Society’s activities: Monthly (Public) Meetings with Talks on Subjects related to the Society’s Aims, Projects (with an emphasis on the current Mayo memorial Restoration Project), Organising Heritage Open Days, Campaigns, Reviewing Planning Applications, Maintaining Archives of Historic Photographs and Documents, Publishing a Newsletter (and occasional Books, Calendars and Greetings Cards), Awarding an Annual Building Prize, Education (School Prizes for Art and Poetry), Reaching the Wider Audience via an extremely active website, Supporting the Corsham Tourist Information and Heritage Centre – all rounded-off with Visits, Outings and Social Gatherings.
“Wyndham had really put his heart and soul into this,” said Peter. “All his written material was presented in French. His performance was masterly – even the Question and Answer session at the conclusion was tackled with aplomb, albeit with some highly valued assistance from the bi-lingual lady leading the visiting delegation.”
“Our friends from Jargeau were certainly given a lot to think about. They appeared to appreciate our efforts. We can only guess at what they made of our Houses of Parliament when they visited the Palace of Westminster the next day.” he concluded.
Notes for Editors: