Tower and Town, August 2022 (view the full edition)Changes - A View From St John's Close
Buildings are an obvious sign of change. St John's school, on two sites in 1983, is now on one. I felt there were benefits to the two smaller sites: particularly Savernake which was less daunting for children from small village schools. But being on one site is a good change. Children going to the one-site school seem to adapt well to it; things that worry us don't worry children! Many buildings have changed use: Waitrose was once a cinema while the new cinema, now in The Parade, used to be a church and then the Antiques Centre. The Police Station in the car park was a children's centre and before that the tourist information office. Prospect charity shop has moved to the other side of the road leaving the premises empty and the previous Susie Watson sign showing. Before that it was Gerald Smith the greengrocer. Some amenities have been lost altogether. The Job Centre is now in Devizes. Citizen's Advice once had outreach sessions in the town. We now have to go to Devizes for that too. Organisations have to decide how to use their money for the best. Rural services are expensive to run but closure of offices makes it difficult for people to access them. Few of us readily welcome change, particularly when we don't know the reasoning behind it. We need explanations and although we may not agree, we at least have an understanding. What do we hang onto? Why? Would we still want thick smoke coming out of chimneys rather than the red kites and buzzards which now fly overhead? Bettu Dobson |
On moving to Marlborough (in 1983), I felt welcome - a sentiment echoed by the contributors to the June edition of T&T. Gratifyingly, it's good to know some things do not change. It might seem little has changed in St John's Close where I live, from the time when the houses were first built. Whilst exteriors may look the same, closer inspection reveals extensions; front gardens are often gravel drives; the allotments in the middle, formerly full length, have now been halved; where once families of 6 or 7 lived there is now often a single occupant.