Christmas day 2016 again saw the culmination of a lot of hard work and incredible generosity of time, patience and money from Gillingham and the surrounding community. A large band of helpers served Christmas dinner to guests including children at Gillingham Methodist Church Hall.

Jo Harvey, with the help a team of volunteers, cajoled, coerced and co-ordinated shops, businesses, services and people of Gillingham to donate food, money and time to make Christmas Day a very special event for those who may not have enjoyed it.

Grateful thanks have to go to everyone who helped particularly these businesses, who are listed in no particular order and without all of them the day would not have been such a success:

Guests tucked into a wonderful 3 course meal with soup, turkey with all the trimmings.  To finish off there was Chocolate Cake, Carrot Cake, Pistachio Cake, Christmas pudding, Shortbread, and plenty of juice or tea and coffee to wash it all down.   They joined in with carols and Father Christmas helped to hand out presents to all.

Our thanks also go way beyond the list below.  Many volunteers popped in with bits on the day or helped decorate or clear popping in and out.  Others donated presents and food or equipment without which we could not lay on the day.   We thank all the unnamed helpers who did so much and also huge thanks to :

Special Thanks to the incredible Jo Harvey who led the team to another very successful meal.

Just because Christmas has been brushed away, the planning for next year’s meal carries on behind the scenes so if  you would like to be part of this please email   gillinghamchristmasmeal@gmail.com  and we can update you as things progress.

In January 2016 Shaftesbury welcomed 80  brand new members to the Slimming world groups held there. 11 months on and 50 ladies and gentleman from the groups have reached their PAT; personal achievement target. PAT is chosen by the individuals themselves and once it’s achieved the membership to Slimming World becomes free for life!

Pictured are some of our winners that attend either the Tuesday evening 5.30pm or 7.30pm sessions or Friday 9.30am session at The Royal Chase Hotel Shaftesbury.  Amongst them are  Jennifer Matthews, Jemma Wellstead, Susan Neal, Heather Andrews, Tracey Park, Maureen Stranger, Celia Cundy and Audrey O’Donnell who is also a Diamond target member who has maintained her dream weight for more then 1 year.

Jennifer Matthews says the following about her journey to target. “Joining Slimming World has changed my life in so many ways.  Firstly  I’m so much healthier. I no longer take tablets for high blood pressure and high cholesterol, that is such a good thing and my GP is well impressed with me.  I had a hip replacement operation in June this year and my recovery has been amazing.  That’s because I have been able to get out and walk every day and losing nearly 3 stone has helped me to do that. I have gone down 3 dress sizes which gives me a much better choice of clothes and also has given me so much more confidence.  Going to group each week gave me the support I needed to keep going and not giving up on myself.  We are all there for the same reason, we want to lose weight, so it really makes sense to be with people who have the same goal as you.  Of course none of us could do this without the support of Charlene, our consultant .  She’s always there when you need advice and is very supportive.  Last but not least, I have made so many new friends  who I know will be life long friends.  I love Friday mornings, it’s a big part of my social life which I look forward to every week”.

Charlene the consultant for the groups says  “Groups have been so successful in the year of 2016 that we have had to change venue to bigger premises and introduce a brand new session which opens Friday 6th January at 11.30am. The Royal Chase Hotel also offer the members of the groups, a discounted swim on the group days. A token can be received from the groups. My aim is to help and support each person that walks into my groups to their chosen PAT dream weight and with these fabulous target members in group each week as well as all the other members too together we can make your weight loss dreams come true too.”

Constable captured Gillingham’s history on canvas but Gillingham Chamber of Commerce & Industry criss-crossed the sands of time with their recent Meet the Neighbours event at the Olive Bowl in Gillingham.  Local Businesses, local Government and local societies all joined in to welcome Chamber members from Mere,  Shaftesbury and Wilton to a showcasing of just a sample of the town’s rich and diverse business community.

Treasurer and Dorset Chef owner Rob Setchell  introduced the evening, highlighting just some of the exciting adventures Chamber are involved with:  Gillingham School 500 Anniversary events, Gillfest, Gillingham in Gear 2017, Gillingham Youth Foundation and the Lighting Festival.  Sam Woodcock from the History Society finished the evening with a slide show taking the audience through the arrival of the train up through the High Street and back to a very different thriving business community that John Constable will remember only too well.

Meet the Neighbours is an event that local Chamber groups host usually once a year.  Five different Town Chambers take advantage of this and this year it was the turn of Gillingham to host. There is no pre-set formula except that the neighbouring Chambers of Shaftesbury, Wilton, Tisbury and Mere are all invited and each group tries to send representation.    With such a rich tapestry of business history in the town it seemed right to use the historical theme to showcase the current incumbents of the business community with the old.

Jenny Trim who runs a graphic design and printing business said “it was fascinating to see the old pictures. I’ve lived here all my life and some of the buildings I do remember but found myself checking the roof of the shops by the station; they are the same as the pictures we were shown.  It was a wonderful blend of old and new.”

Andrew Wilson and his staff from the Olive Bowl laid on the most superb finger food buffet for the visitors, greeting them with their first drink ‘on the house’.  Olive Bowl staff worked hard with Chamber members to create a welcome and productive arrangement in the room allowing traders and organisations to mingle freely with visitors and each other, developing new links or strengthening old connections.  The bar remained open and the food continued to be served seamlessly tempting even the most discerning palate.

Gillingham History Society were joined by the Town Twinning Group and Rotary with tables manned by their members discussing the roles they play within the fabric of the town.  David Beaton and Simon Kidner from Gillingham Neighbourhood Plan Group were on hand to update enquirers with the current plans.  Representatives from both the Town Council and North Dorset District Council attended the event.

There was a varied and eclectic mix of businesses showing the diverse nature of this small but still thriving town.   Representatives from Portmore Insurance, Octopus Personnel and Southern Tank Services mingled with Jennifer Trim – Design and Print, Neal’s Yard Remedies Consultant, Gillingham and Shaftesbury Guide, East West Design together with new businesses: Stephen O’Keefe – Sports Massage and Gillingham Chiropractor replace the old industries such as the glue factory and royally appointed bacon factory of former years.  While more established old master firms such as Farnfields, Cullingfords and Andrews and Palmer bridged the gap between old and new commerce.

Gillingham Ladies are currently 5 games into their second season in the Dorset Women’s League. The team train on Tuesday evenings at Kington Magna from  6:30pm until 8:00pm.

The club are always looking for new ladies aged 16 and over of any ability to join the team, everyone is welcome! The ladies have a new support team this season in Coach Les Chinyou and Manager Tim Simmonds.

The ladies recently enjoyed a training session with Yeovil Town Ladies player Helen Bleazard who have recently won the league and have been promoted to the FA Women’s Super League 1. The ladies have recently received a new training kit thanks to sponsor David Rhodes Landscaping & Property Maintenance!

Gillingham ladies are a fun and friendly team who love the game and are looking forward to improving throughout the rest of the season! if you would like any more information please contact Manager Tim by email-

gtlfcmanager@outlook.com   or find the team on Facebook!

Gordon Amery, organist at Gillingham Methodist Church, has recently completed an 18,000 piece jigsaw in aid of church funds.  “I’ve always enjoyed doing jigsaws, especially at Christmas when it’s a real pleasure to do a 1,000 piece jigsaw with the time to complete it.  However, I wasn’t prepared for the surprise when I was given a gift of an 18,000 piece jigsaw entitled ‘At the Watering Hole’.  I didn’t know such big jigsaws even existed!  How did I start?  A big relief was to find that the jigsaw was in four sections, each of 4,500 pieces, since doing a complete 18,000 piece all in one go would have been too daunting.  Each section took about 6 weeks with a break before starting the next section (to stay sane) and the whole project took around 9 months to complete.

The Methodist Church kindly allowed me to use its space to join the four sections together, making a finished jigsaw of 3m x 2m.  Church members came to the ‘unveiling’ (with coffee and cake!) and we raised £33 for church funds.
Gordon says he now has his eye on a 32,000 piece puzzle…watch this space!

Well I don’t expect an application to join NASA to be forthcoming anytime soon, but I did survive my flying weightless experience in Chicago! There were only 12 wannabee astronauts on this flight when 36 is the usual number, so much more room to try  forward, backward and even sideways somersaults plus handsprings and other Gymnastic manoeuvres!

Somewhere over Lake Michigan we initially experienced Martian Gravity (50% bodyweight) then Lunar Gravity (30%) making Press-ups really easy. Once we got to Zero Gravity for the first time Boof! ….. it was straight up to the ceiling! Being weightless for 30 seconds at a time is the most bizarre feeling ever as you adjust to trying to control not only your body but also your stomach which seems to be spinning in different directions to the rest of you (and yes the receptacle in my right hand was required, so I now have something in common with Tom Hanks who used this aircraft while preparing for the Apollo 13 film)

Beforehand I hadn’t really thought about the 10,000 foot dive before each climb – that was pretty scary and loud so all in all I was quite relieved to walk on airport tarmac after my 3 hour flight. To mark joining the weightless club the name badge on my suit was ceremonially turned the right way up, and I was allowed to keep my flight suit!

As well as the challenge I’m raising money for the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation and will be most grateful if you feel you can donate online:                                                     https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/rosiethompson2

As part of our celebrations to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday, the churches in the Shaftesbury Team Ministry launched a poetry competition open to anyone in Year Six or below.

Children were invited to write a poem about the Queen’s birthday, celebrating her life of    service and her dedication to the people of this country. There was a prize for the winning poem and it was read in public during the service of thanksgiving held in Shaftesbury Abbey ruins on 12th June.

Shaftesbury Town Silver Band and Shaftesbury Community Choir led the singing of favourite hymns and there was a variety of readings – including the prize-winning poem – as well as prayers of thanksgiving and activities for children.

Harry and Archie from year 6 Abbey School won the competition