Inside Salisbury: The magazine is here + the spotlight on Councillor John Wells.

Interview with Cllr John Wells + our new magazine is here

Welcome to another issue of Inside Salisbury. We are delighted that our first glossy-looking magazine is now available and full subscribers will be able to read it online by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page.

The following extracts are just some of the articles published in the issue this month, and you can read most of the fascinating interview with Councillor John Wells here too.

If you want to subscribe, then sign up for a monthly subscription or take out an annual subscription which is fantastic value at just £20 for the year.

We hope you enjoy it.

If you would like to email us, please do so here.

Annette J Beveridge

Editor

The History of the City Hall

The very first picture house opened on Fisherton Street in December 1916. A West Country company called Albany Ward Theatres Ltd was leading the cinematic experience opening many cinemas. This was due to the popularity of early silent film….

Bloodied games, smallpox and the disappearing licence

The Halfway House pub on Wilton Rd has a rather curious past. Before the railway line was built, land around the pub would have been much larger and it is where bull baiting took place…

Celebrated Bible to go on display

A special item will be on public display this month at the Salisbury Cathedral.

The Sarum Master Bible - which is of exceptional artistic value and significance to Salisbury, was returned following a successful fundraising campaign by Friends of the Nations’ Libraries. It is written on parchment and illustrated with highly detailed initial letters. It stands at just 17cm high. This will be the first time in centuries….

The history of the Dinghams Cookware building

As shops come and go in these difficult economic times, we thought it might be interesting to consider the history of the building which has been Dinghams Cookware shop for many years.

The history of the city of Salisbury is long and the appearance of buildings can be surprisingly deceptive….

Wilts and Dorset Female Penitentiary

Little remains of a once female penitentiary in Salisbury that aimed to transform the lives of the poor, needy, or fallen in society.

Shaping minds and now shaping Salisbury

by Annette J Beveridge

IT WAS teaching not politics on the agenda for much of Councillor John Well’s life and he spent more than 40 years as a teacher shaping young minds.

Now as a Councillor, he helps to shape the city of Salisbury.

John moved around quite a bit as a young child. He lived with his mother and stepfather who was in the army.

John said: “My mother was really worried that my learning might be disrupted [due to moving around] but most of my teachers said it hadn’t affected my learning, and that it had probably enriched my experiences.

“I think it gave me one advantage in that I learned to settle into new situations very quickly. I was more able to adapt. I think that is a good skill to have because we all have to face different situations in life and to know that it will be a temporary transition.”

John’s father fought in Burma.

John said: “He did a lot of reading in between being shot at and his philosophy changed because he didn’t know whether he would be killed the next day. So he developed this philosophy about making the most of where you are at the time. He told me whatever situation I was in to do my best to have a happy existence.

John firmly believes that there are two ways of looking at the situations of life.

“He said: ”When things are not very good, you can try and accept it and do something about it or you can let it get on top of you. I think a lot of mental health issues occur because people are trying to resolve this conflict. It just becomes overwhelming.”

John’s ambition was to be a teacher and he trained to teach in secondary schools. His main subject was art and his subsidiary subject - games. A friend asked him if he wanted to try teaching at primary school so he decided to give it a go.

He said: “I spent 40 years in primary school because I just loved it. It is just fantastic. If you motivate children and engage with them as people they will react to you and you have to get to know them, to assess what their social and emotional needs are. It’s a whole thing in the primary school. You have the same children for five days a week, for about 30 weeks a year. So you build a bond with them.”

John’s viewpoint was that for children to learn, they need engagement.

He said: “You don’t just sit there and give them information and hope they remember it, that is the old model. You want people to be learners and to make people think.

“Children naturally ask questions. Parents don’t always know the answers but neither do teachers. But then you are on the same journey as them. It is about putting the thought in peoples’ heads so that they question what’s happening.”

John went on to become a head teacher.

He said: “I couldn't wait to start managing the school because I wanted to work with teachers and knew what you needed as a teacher. I could do all manner of things to support them in their professional development and to alleviate any stress they might have. I used to get real pleasure out of seeing someone come out of teacher training, apprehensive but enthusiastic. Sometimes, they struggle with things, but you help them along, and then you see them start to thrive as a teacher.”

When John retired, he admitted it was Boris Johnson who inspired him to get involved in politics.

John said: “I was so incensed about him [Boris Johnson]. He was so detached from what was needed politically across the country. I mean, no political party is perfect, but I wanted to have a go at moving things in the right direction.”

When asked whether he would like to become an elected counsellor, he decided to go for it.

He said: “There was no one standing in my ward so if there were people who wanted to vote Labour, they couldn’t do that. I planned out my own campaign in my ward which had been traditionally Conservative and did everything I could to engage with everyone there.

“I was told to not be disappointed if I didn’t get elected but I had no expectations, I just thought I’ll see what I can do.”

John has now been a councillor for four years and enjoys it. His motto is to listen to people and then discuss what he can do.

But now Labour are in Government, what does John really think about their progress during the last seven months?

John said: “I think the essence of the situation post-general election is that now in power, they have complete responsibility for what goes on in the whole country. Decisions are coming at you faster than you can consult over and in that leadership position, you’ve got to make decisions.

“I think the basic principles are fine but if you take something like the winter fuel allowance, that was a big issue. I think the phrase that went around it wasn't stress-tested. I put out a leaflet in my ward to help people get a bit more money if they are able to.

“But I play golf and there are people there sitting on huge pensions and still getting a whopping handout, so I agree with it in principle but I feel they should not have just cut it off at that point. They did set it very low. “

John believes that energy companies should offer concessions in the same way that bus companies do when you get to a certain age or if you go to certain restaurants.

He said: “Where that money should be coming from is perhaps shaving it off the profits made by the energy companies. They seem to have got away with it scot-free.

“GB energy is a classic example of how an environmental change can benefit the environment, the economy, and the population because it saves money and it is a win-win situation. But the problem is that to get the infrastructure in place, you’ve got to invest, so that’s where you have got to grow the economy and that is difficult. Improving public services is a huge economic challenge.”

Does John support Rachel Reeves in her role as Chancellor?