I LIVED in Chippenham until the age of 11. I attended Ivy Lane Primary School and lived on Dallas Road. My father was the Minister of Station Hill Baptist Church.

In 1948, my family moved away and it wasn't until last month that, after having lived in Canada for many years, I returned to Chippenham for a brief visit.

I expected and even dreaded that I'd find Chippenham unrecognisable after my absence of 52 years. Instead, how amazed and delighted I was to find that it is still the charming town that was so dear to me as a child.

Despite some changes, such as the old Brickyards where I used to play having been built over, Chippenham nonetheless has retained its bustling market town atmosphere and still projects a warm and hospitable feeling.

I was thrilled to see, once again, the Butter Cross and the Yelde Hall, virtually unchanged.

The High Street, town bridge, railway arches, St Andrew's Church and Park Lane, for example, these still give Chippenham its special identity and are almost as I had remembered them.

As well, I liked the fact that downtown Chippenham (as we would say here in Canada) is for pedestrians only. It was so pleasant and remarkable to be able to stroll through the town without having to dodge traffic, knowing that people matter most.

If residents of Chippenham tend to worry that their town has over time lost its spirit and heart, I hope my impressions will leave them believing that the essence of their town has, in fact, remained.

I hope, too, that they appreciate what a delightful town Chippenham is, set as it is on the River Avon in beautiful surrounding countryside. How fortunate they are to live in such a lovely place.

I wish that those who fear that development, progress and expansion have invaded Chippenham at its cost could have glimpsed it as I have done finding it still friendly, still inviting, still attractive and unique, still almost as it was half a century ago.

Somehow it has remained basically the Chippenham I knew and loved and it now holds an even more cherished place in my heart.

JOSEPHINE SHERIDAN (nee Cross)

Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada