… in the cathedral there was an embarrassing moment when one of the officers thanked our “Lord Mayor” for attending. But it was an understandable slip. After all, if our powerless parish council insists on styling itself as something it isn’t, there’s bound to be confusion.

Fortunately, no such uncertainty troubles cllr Peter Doyle, who ably represents the good folk of Royal Wootton Bassett on Wiltshire Council. He’s anxious to “right a wrong” over funding for Salisbury’s CCTV system. Upgrading could cost about half a million quid, and Wiltshire Council wants a “sustainable and harmonised approach” – which is council-speak for cost-cutting.

Cllr Doyle feels Salisbury “should be placed in the same position as other market towns” (which of course include Royal Wootton Bassett), which cuts us down to size.

Presumably he’s never strolled through Salisbury at 2am on Saturday or Sunday, because had he done so he’d know that the general atmosphere is best described as intimidating. But why should any councillors from the northern half of the county care?

We’re too far away and we have too few votes (eight out of 98) to make any difference to a council that regards us only as a potential source of income.

In November 1960…

… fresh out of the army, I attended my first Salisbury Remembrance Day war memorial service.

It was just 15 years after the Second World War, six years since Korea, four years since Suez, three years since Malaya, and less than two years since the Cyprus settlement. There was still fighting in Aden. The British Army was still 160,000-strong, with many units based locally. So, not surprisingly, there was quite a turnout that year – just as there was in 1982 after the Falklands War, 1991 after Gulf One and 2002 after Gulf Two.

It’s funny, but I don’t recollect anyone complaining on any of those occasions that they couldn’t see what was going on. It was just a time to stand in silence, say a prayer and sing a hymn, and it meant (and means) a lot to anyone who’s ever seen active service. But now we’re being told that (sob) “thousands of people” had their view blocked, and that what we need to do is – you’ve guessed it – move the war memorial and open up the market square, as proposed by Salisbury Vision. They don’t give up, do they? But this is not a bandwagon SV supporters should climb on. What part of the word “no” do they not understand?

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