THE SCOUTS will deliver festive cheer in Melksham this Christmas, as they have now set up special postboxes to help deliver your Christmas cards and greetings.
Following on from the success of last year, Melksham Scout Group will be again running their own Christmas post service. The Scouts will help deliver your festive cards to any address within the Melksham, Bowerhill or Berryfield areas.
All you have to do is write the address, clearly, on the envelope and drop it into one of the special postboxes that are in shops all across the town. There is no need to attach a stamp but you are asked to donate at least 20p per card – that’s less than half the price of a second class stamp. The last posting date is Thursday 11th December.
You can find a Scouts’ postbox at the following Melksham locations; Art House Café, Costa Coffee, Flowers in Focus, Melksham Town Hall, Tops Hair Salon, Scissors Hairdressers, Cobblers Bench, Tourist Information Centre, Card and News Centre, Candy Jax and the Scout Hut near Waitrose.
Then, on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th of December, the Scout hut near Waitrose will be turned into a mini postal sorting office and your cards will be delivered by Scouts, Beavers and Cubs also on that weekend.
If you are not sure of the address on the front of the envelope, please put a return address on the back.
Andy Strange, chairman of Melksham Scout Group said, “We decided to do the post again as we had such a fantastic response last year and we hope to be able to raise £1,200 this time round.
“The service is a good, cost effective service as at 20p, it’s less than 1/3 of the price of a 1st class stamp. It’s good for those less mobile as the Scout group deliver all the cards on their behalf. It is a great community effort, and we hope that people will also spend in the shops that are providing homes for the post boxes.
“Last year the money went on replacing doors and windows in the hall. The building is now secure, water tight and much safer with replacement, well fitting fire doors and windows. We also have a wider entrance and can accommodate wheelchairs and pushchairs now. This year the money will go on tents for future camping trips.
“In the first year, 800 cards were delivered, with 1,300 cards last year. Melksham Scouts Group is hoping for even more deliveries to make this year, and the boxes are filling up already. The group would like to extend its thanks to all the local shops and offices that have the special post boxes available for the public to post their cards.”
The Scout Christmas Fayre will take place on Saturday 22nd November from 11.00am-3.00pm at the Scout Hut (opposite Riverside Club, entrance to Waitrose car park). There will be lots of things to buy and things to do; plenty of refreshments and includes a visit from Father Christmas.
Melksham Scouts group is looking for more adult volunteers to come forward. If you are interested then email GSL@melksham-scouts. org.uk or visit www.melksham-scouts.org.uk
![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=aLBu4qWxSc8Q7kNvwHaVKlW&_nc_oc=AdlPbhxQewT_cSiTru31F-5KIjiDsVWMpCZRRI9rD6F5r9thoch559YVoStjbAgUtcg&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-lhr6-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=LXEyVdf4JnNeYoQ52WXzVA&oh=00_AfNKFktSzThG--xszpxiOTO4LXiH0FfuQLjmBatZSq5t_A&oe=68586A4A "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.")
