Spotlight on: Melksham Chatty Cafe
Every Tuesday in the Campus, residents come together for a ‘chatter and a natter’ as part of a UK-wide scheme aiming to tackle loneliness and isolation.
Melksham Chatty Cafe launched last year and has since grown in popularity, with as many as 44 people attending
It runs every Tuesday from 10am to 12pm at the Poolside Cafe in the Community Campus with people of various ages and abilities enjoying a chat and refreshments.
Bowerhill resident Evelyn Phillips, who also helps to facilitate the group has been attending for five months, said, “I am retired, so it gives me an outlet to get out and meet people and I just love it. We love mixing with all the different people; it’s open to anyone that is fighting loneliness.”
“Ages start from about mid-50s plus. It’s amazing how we have quite a few men. There is a group of men who have now made friends; there is one man who tells the others about what he did in the RAF and it gives them a motivation to speak to others. It can often be hard to get men to speak. The cafe is helping that.”
Representatives from key community services also attend the cafe including from Spa Medical Centre and Giffords Surgery, who are on hand for advice and also to support patients to attend the group.
“The local police have also been in attendance and come to make sure people are ok and will ask them if they have any concerns,” said Evelyn.
“Melksham is a fantastic community. It is a lovely little town. The Chatty Cafe is a lovely addition to Melksham; since I have been there, I have seen people really come out of their shell and grow in confidence.”
Chatty Cafe is a UK-wide scheme and was started by Alex Hoskyn in 2017. Now with over 900 Chatty Cafes taking place across the country, the aim is to encourage simple interactions between people that can help combat loneliness.
