Love Melksham: A resident’s love letters to her town

Melksham Riverside Centre

A few steps down from the town bridge in Melksham, nestled between trees and the gently flowing river, you will find the bright and welcoming space of Melksham Riverside Centre.

If you have passed the neat white building on your way to the park, you may have seen people gathering in the hall or heard cheerful singing drifting from the windows and wondered what goes on in this community space beneath the trees. It turns out quite a lot goes on here!

The Riverside Centre is one of those precious community resources that is kept alive entirely by the hard work and dedication of volunteers. Since it was built in 1969, it has been a valuable space for socialising and bringing people together through gatherings, games, meals, music and much more. The initial focus of the hall was older people’s groups and the current calendar of events has expanded to include regular weekly sessions of Magical Music (four months to four years), Melksham Country Dancers, Rainbow Club, the Good News Church, U3A exercise and two different singing groups, as well as other monthly events.

There are still a few spaces in the diary though, so if you want a brilliant community hall for £15 per hour, get on the Melksham Riverside Centre website and book a place.

Chris Pickett, who took over as chair of the organisation ten years ago, and his wife Sheila are passionate about continuing the legacy of the building as a crucial place for the community. After an initial development of the kitchen by Meals on Wheels many years ago, Chris and Sheila have managed more modernisation, including sparkly new toilets, improved kitchen equipment and plans for a new floor, all supported with grants from Melksham Area Board, the Brian Sunley Foundation and Garfield Weston Foundation, Friends of Melksham Hospital and The ‘Buffs’. Music now works beautifully in the centre due to the recent introduction of acoustic ceiling tiles and a new PA system, and there is plenty of space to create a great music atmosphere.

Chris is especially pleased with the success of the regular open mic nights which they started a year ago. These uplifting musical evenings have become a highlight of the Riverside calendar, which many people – including my parents – are especially fond of.

Armed with guitars and tambourines and a love of folk music, my mum and dad love to strum and sing through a few classics – ‘The Wellerman’ goes down well – before making way for the next performer. Every style of music and every level of experience is welcome, so it’s a great opportunity to try out a tune or two on a small stage with a warm and appreciative audience, who are only too happy to be invited to join in for the chorus of ‘Country Roads’.

The next open mic night at Melksham Riverside Centre (which is part of the brilliant Sham Jam Festival) will be on Friday 18th September at 7.30pm, and whether you want to sing or simply enjoy the music, you are very welcome to grab a drink, take a seat and discover another wonderful reason to Love Melksham!

Miriam Zaccarelli