Melksham Probus Club’s 38th Annual General meeting was held at the Kings Arms Melksham on Tuesday March 7th.
The afternoon started with a very good roast pork and vegetables main course followed by fruit dessert. A big thank you to the new management and staff.
After the previous minutes were read and accepted, the voting for new officers took place. Unfortunately Colin Edwards, our previous Chairman, was ill and unable to attend, but thanks were given to him for his work in previous years.
A new Chairman, Kevin Hayes, was voted in and the remainder of the previous committee were re-elected.
Kevin was fast out of the blocks and came up with a proposal for the summer outing. A coach trip to Oxford, lunch at the Seacourt Bridge followed by a boat trip on the River Thames and then back to Melksham.
Numerous other points were raised including the Christmas dinner.
Jeff Grant has also been to a meeting, near Malmesbury and has arranged, for the fourth year, monthly talks by various people.
As there was no other business the meeting was closed.
The club held its monthly lunch at the Kings Arms Hotel on Tuesday 4th April.
The after lunch speaker was Mr Andrew Douglas of Andrew Douglas and Awdry, who gave a most informative talk on forward planning for care and support in old age. He stressed the importance of planning ahead and the difficulty arising if specialist care is required, and moving into a care home is the only option. Mr Douglas went into great detail about the funding of living in a care home and what could be done to safeguard assets.
There were plenty of questions asked after his talk and he answered them well, but as each individual has different circumstances, it was difficult to give a general view. A vote of thanks was given by Brian Jennings and all members retired with a lot of food for thought.
The next Probus lunch will be held on May 2nd at the Kings Arms Hotel and the after lunch speaker will be Mr Martin Evans who will be talking about The Blood Hound Project.
New members are always welcome. Please contact the secretary Keith Gibbons on 01225 705641.
![Melksham Times Past
A column about days gone by in Melksham by local historian Lisa Ellis
The Independent Chapel and Women’s Rights in the 1840s
A document I recently transcribed lists the baptisms performed at the Independent Chapel. This record is especially helpful in that, along with baptisms, a lot of them include birth dates - one of the ways I discover which day someone was born.
The following is taken from a Wiltshire Times article published on 9th November 1878 which reports a speech given during the 100-year services and to celebrate their renovations (what we now know to be the Rachel Fowler Centre).
One speaker, Rev. T. Mann, minister in Trowbridge, talked about the Chapel’s origins when he related how Rev. Honywill came to Melksham and how he’d gone on to remain as the minister for the Independent Chapel for almost 60 years. [Honywill and his family lived on King Street in what we now call “Legion House”.]
Read more on our website, the link is in our bio.](https://scontent-lhr6-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.75761-15/505444438_18038424887647822_3264519508333556874_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=110&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=18de74&_nc_ohc=gXZQJoHTNiEQ7kNvwHezuPI&_nc_oc=AdlrJvMDapuork_EjycPOcegNeMnCA37GEIudkxkTeCfTgvB5iijE05ojpwlYCd5gN8&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-lhr6-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=2ejTZ6D9dPXIFkdtQ-bGfg&oh=00_AfMePUYDK6PXDzeUYs-aKY4wfMPOaURY8Z6OwO7o8TXJSA&oe=685718CA "Melksham Times Past
A column about days gone by in Melksham by local historian Lisa Ellis
The Independent Chapel and Women’s Rights in the 1840s
A document I recently transcribed lists the baptisms performed at the Independent Chapel. This record is especially helpful in that, along with baptisms, a lot of them include birth dates - one of the ways I discover which day someone was born.
The following is taken from a Wiltshire Times article published on 9th November 1878 which reports a speech given during the 100-year services and to celebrate their renovations (what we now know to be the Rachel Fowler Centre).
One speaker, Rev. T. Mann, minister in Trowbridge, talked about the Chapel’s origins when he related how Rev. Honywill came to Melksham and how he’d gone on to remain as the minister for the Independent Chapel for almost 60 years. [Honywill and his family lived on King Street in what we now call “Legion House”.]
Read more on our website, the link is in our bio.")
