The theme for this year’s Festival - the tenth since they began in 1972 - is all about community. It seems particularly appropriate
because this is the year when the Highworth Community Partnership will be presenting its vision for the future of Highworth, the strategic plan.

Over thirty years ago, my husband and I came to Highworth from a rather isolated Surrey village, not knowing anyone in this part of Wiltshire.

We were immediately struck by the kindness and welcome we got from everyone here, from the neighbours who took pity on a mother with two under-3s to the parents at the Mother and Toddler Group, and from the women of the Evening W.I. to the minister of the United Reformed Church, the Rev. Edward Bangay.
The couple who sold us our house left what must have been a very early copy of
the community magazine, ‘Link’, which gave us lots of useful information about the town including vital addresses. The following year, 1976, introduced us to our first Highworth Festival. I remember my older son (now 35) dressed as a very reluctant butterfly – all the pre-school girls were flowers and the boys insects on this occasion!

Festivals are marvellous opportunities for people to get together and celebrate the
many talents to be found within their community. This, rather than raising money, is
what it is all about. Over the weekend of the 7th and 8th of June, as part of the Festival, lots of people in Highworth will be opening their gardens. This gives us not only the chance to marvel at the hard work of the gardeners and the beauty of
their creations, but also the opportunity of meeting with other people from our town in
a relaxed and pleasant environment.
The poet and priest John Donne said that ‘no man is an island‘. In every community, what each member does has a direct effect on the other members of that community. The best communities are those bound together by love, that love of our fellow beings which lies at the heart of Christian teaching. Jesus said‘Love thy neighbour as thyself’ – not a bad piece of advice to follow, whether you are a believer or not.

Anthea Beaumont is an elder
of Highworth United Reformed Church
and secretary of the Festival 2008 Committee