THROUGHOUT seven years of secondary school, my end of year reports were wonderfully consistent driving my parents to distraction ‘…could do better if he tried…’. So, it is with great relief to discover that, after a first term at his new school, whatever else I have bequeathed my son, under performance at school isn’t one of them.

I mention this, because that phrase ‘could do better if they tried…’ sadly sums up what I often feel about Salisbury. A small market town, struggling to keep up with the heritage that is on its doorstep; the cathedral, Stonehenge and Old Sarum. A ring road cuts a swathe through the city, the approach from Southampton is dire. And the plethora of empty shops in the City Centre tell their own story, rather sad story.

Salisbury BID is doing its best to clean up the City and promote an evening economy, Wiltshire Creative is doing its best to pull a rabbit out of the rather messy festival hat that they’ve inherited, but it’s an uphill struggle and the appalling Novichok attack earlier in the year as well as tragically claiming one innocent life, took a its toll on the life of the City.

So it was with some trepidation that I agreed, after meeting a friend for coffee on Sunday morning, to show them briefly around. I was so pleasantly surprised. We started at the Cathedral (always an impressive safe bet), this time enhanced by some mesmerising artwork on the Advent Darkness to Light theme. (Jacquiline Cressswell, the Cathedral’s Visual Arts Adviser, securing yet another artistic tour de force for the City). Thence to the Christmas market – vibrant with live music, its ice rink and tempting smells from the food stalls, with further craft stalls in the Guildhall. Admittedly not the same scale as Winchester but much more relaxed, pleasantly Christmassy and with stall holders happy to pass the time of day.

The town felt cheery, as people made the most of a temporary respite in the torrential weekend weather. We popped into a few shops to give Santa the little helping hand that he needs to keep Christmas stockings appropriately filled. We rounded our brief tour off with a bite to eat at a local hostelry, admittedly part of a chain, but one that offered some very comfy seats and, in the face of Christmas busyness, friendly and helpful staff who even fetched a much-appreciated bowl of water for Barney the Beagle.

For someone who so often rails against the commercialism of Christmas, it was with some surprise that I found myself happily mooching around the city in the busy run up to Christmas. I was proud of Salisbury. Maybe I’ll have to rethink my ‘could do better’ mantra.