Arthritis Research

Fourteen teams who competed in an entertaining quiz at the Civic Centre on Friday evening raised £200 for the Arthritis Research Campaign.

The event was organised by branch committee member Cath Moules and her husband Chris, who devised and posed the questions. A pot luck round launched an evening of fun which tested the teams' knowledge of numbers, Wales, the 1990s, music, books, TV and events of the past fortnight.

At half time, trustees held the lead, closely followed by Know Nothings and TG and J. But by the final round, Mac's Gang, comprising Mac and Jackie Pile and David and Veronica Barnes, had amassed 77 points to gain a clear victory.

Runners-up were The Retired Civics ARC branch president David Magill, a former Mayor of Wootton Bassett, his niece Anne Weedon, Joy Brunt ex-Mayor of Swindon and her son Tim Brunt.

They were one point ahead of their closest rivals, Anne Hill, Val Walker, Katrina Prangley and Elaine Harris, whose team was The Doghouse.

There were prizes for the three teams and booby prizes for The Old Fogies, in 14th place.

Mr Magill, who drew the raffle, thanked Mr and Mrs Moules, the ARC committee and all who made this popular annual event so successful.

ARC's next big attraction will be a Christmas concert by the Clarendon Players and young musicians of the Four Winds Concert Band, on December 12.

This ticket only event will be at the Memorial Hall, 7.30pm.

Tickets at £3.50 include coffee and mince pie and are available in advance only, from committee members or call (01793) 853202.

Biting the Big Apple

Wootton Bassett Sports Development Officer Chris Kirkland is back from a charity fundraising run in the USA. Chris was one of 30,000 runners in the New York Marathon, in which he was placed 11,895th, with a time of 4 hours 6 mins, 38 seconds:

"It was a cold, dry day, and there was fantastic support from communities on the course, and from the police, fire and armed forces," said Chris.

"There was constant encouragement from the crowds of spectators. Everyone was so supportive and with so many runners taking part it was more for enjoyment than time. It wouldn't have been possible to make a race time."

Chris warmed up on the day before the marathon, when he took part in an international fun run from the United Nations building. The fun run ended at Central Park, where every finisher was given a packed breakfast to enjoy as a picnic.

Chris first visited New York when his daughter was working there as an au pair.

"The Marathon certainly helps you to appreciate the sheer size of the city," he said.

"I'm grateful to everyone here, particularly the Sixth Form and staff at Wootton Bassett School, who have helped me to raise over £1,500 for Get Kids Going, a charity which promotes sport and mobility for disabled children."

Flower power

A full coach party of 57 flower arranging enthusiasts from Wootton Bassett Flower Club ventured through flooded Border country to enjoy the festive delights of Hay House, near Bridgnorth, home of national demonstrator Eileen Paradise.

Valerie Pearce reported that they were lucky to get through the floods: "We saw mobile homes sites where only the rooftops were visible, and cars with only their radio aerials above water," she said.

After a coffee break at Worcester, the party reached Hay House in time for an excellent lunch, after which there was opportunity to explore the house, which was beautifully decorated for Christmas.

Many attractive flower arranging goods were available in a large sales room. After an excellent festive flower arranging demonstration by Eileen Paradise and a coffee break, the raffle winners loaded beautiful blooms into the coach for the journey home.

Last week the club welcomed many guests at an open evening in the Memorial Hall where Christine Peer, a national demonstrator from Worcester, created seven superb designs on the theme Images of Christmas.

An amazing array of glorious blooms and attractive accessories including geese, a glass angel, Father Christmas, golden cherubs and masks won enthusiastic applause from a large audience.

A traditional red and green arrangement opened the evening, which went on to feature modern designs in glittering artificial plant material, exotic blooms, fantasy and a wassail bowl filled with glycerined material, baubles, pomanders and hops.

The stage was filled with a wonderful panoply of colour and scent before the flowers were taken away as raffle prizes.

Refreshments included mulled wine and mince pies. For those who missed the evening, two more local Christmas demonstrations are scheduled.

St Bartholomew's Flower Guild has organised Christmas Old and New, by Margaret Bayliss, at the Civic Centre on November 24, 7.30pm, admission £4.

The Flower Club will welcome Norman Hewitt, with A Time for Christmas, at the Memorial Hall on December 5, 7.30pm. Visitors pay £3 at the door.

Wootton Bassett GNVQ

A survey of leisure attractions for tourists in and around the Peak District of Derbyshire has been undertaken by a party of 17 Year 10 students from Wootton Bassett School.

The youngsters, led by teachers Ita Blower and Simon Pike, were based for three days at a youth hostel in a beautiful rural setting near Ashbourne.

They toured the National Trust's Sudbury Hall, a magnificent house built in the reign of Charles II, and were interested to hear that part of Pride and Prejudice was filmed there. The Museum of Childhood, in the former servants' wing of the house, proved particularly intriguing.

As well as learning of the harsh working conditions endured by children in former centuries, the students visited a Victorian classroom.

Other displays featured toys through the ages, including some which would have entertained early-Egyptian children.

The scenic delights of Dovedale were experienced on a hill walk through that lovely area. Further contrasts were offered on a visit to the theme park at Alton Towers, a popular tourist attraction just across the county boundary in Staffordshire.

Finally, the students explored the many attractions of Warwick Castle, one of England's premier tourist spots.

They are now assessing the merits and potential of the places they visited as part of their GNVQ Leisure and Tourism course work.

Otters break new records

Wootton Bassett Swimming Club, the Otters, enjoyed a successful gala which set new club records last week.

Robin Snell took three first places and broke three new records in men's events and Sarah Taylor achieved similar success in women's events. Both are certain to gain the Masters Trophy this year.

This is the first year in which the Masters' records have been separated into age groups, each covering a decade.

Robin's records were in the 45-54 age group and Sarah, in her first event with the Otters, set records in the 35-44 group.

There were good performances also from Les Higgins, in his first senior event with the club, Helen White and Carole Williams.

Competition was keen in the junior events, with many young swimmers vying for honours. The Otters accept members from the age of five, but currently have no vacancies for children who are still learning to swim.

Sessions for members over the age of 25 are on Sundays, 8-9am.

Prospective new members will be welcome to turn up or may phone (01793) 855059 for more details. The first swim is free. Thereafter members pay £8 a month, which includes admission fees.

Handing on Assets

The final formalities to suspend the activities of Wootton Bassett WI were completed last week, when the group's assets, from teapots to public address equipment, were handed on for use by other WIs in the area.

Voluntary County Organiser Judith Butler, from the headquarters of the Wiltshire Federation of WIs, made a final plea for members to offer their services on the committee, so that the Wootton Bassett WI could continue but there were no takers.

Meetings may be resumed at any time within the next three years, if sufficient people show interest and are prepared to take office, but it looks as though Wootton Bassett WI's history is ending just short of its 76th anniversary.

However, the WI emblem will form part of the special wall hanging to be presented to Wootton Bassett's twin town, Blain, next July. The embroidered panel, worked by Joyce Robinson and Beryl Prentice, was on show at the meeting in the Memorial Hall.

Members appeared later in the BBC's regional television news, which featured the impending closure.

Thanks were received from the Prospect Hospice following members' donations in memory of the late WI President Dorothy Cretchley.

The county WI secretary Pat Daniels sent condolences on the loss of Mrs Cretchley, whose support for the WI is sorely missed.

Barbara Morris gave a report on the WI autumn council which she attended at Salisbury.

The final guest speaker, Ron Pybus, a professional photographer, displayed a wide selection of his work and related many amusing anecdotes on the theme It will go wrong on the day! He recalled wedding day problems which seem amusing only in retrospect. These included the arrival of bridesmaids' shoes, from a mail order company, in the nick of time but in the wrong sizes and the plight of a bride who travelled in an open, horse drawn carriage following a heavy storm which left a puddle on her seat.

A farewell tea party for members and invited guests only, is planned as the WI's finale, which will be enlivened by young entertainers from St Bartholomew's School.

Stella Taylor

Tel (01793) 852361