ON the 70th anniversary of D-Day I was honoured to be part of Chard’s D-Day event at the museum.

More than 90 primary school children came through the door to meet our veterans and experience the history that the volunteers had prepared for them.

The sun was shining and everyone enjoyed the day.

Stuart, our town crier, was present to cry newsreel from the day in 1944 and the children thought he looked like Captain Jack Sparrow from the film Pirates of the Caribbean!

True to the form of my Mayorship I made some wartime cake from recipes I found on the internet so that we could teach the children about rationing – mum tells me I put in too much fruit!

I also visited the five-year anniversary of Chard’s Memory Café run by the Alzheimer’s Society at the Catholic church hall on Wednesday mornings.

We had a little quiz based on events of five years ago while enjoying cake and tea served by some of the many volunteers who make groups such as this so successful locally.

Age UK gave a talk about how it can help with filling in forms and getting advice for older people. Chard’s shop has details on where to go to get help if you need it. Volunteers will come to your house to help you fill in claims for attendance allowance if you find the application form a bit daunting.

One hundred years of Boys Brigade in Somerset was celebrated on Sunday, June 8. Boys from around the area joined Chard’s brigade at the Methodist church.

We marched around the town twice with a brigade, its marching band and the younger members, called the ‘anchors’, who were generally five years old.

They thought I looked like a pirate in my tricorn hat and all tried it on and gave me their best pirate ‘ah-hars’.

As the town crier and I both wear a hat of this nature I thought I would try and find out a little bit about the hat.

Apparently, the turned-up portions of the brim formed gutters that directed rainwater away from the wearer’s face, depositing most of it over his shoulders. We also see these hats on the Lord Mayor of London and Chelsea pensioners, so we are in good company.