Over three years since my most memorable “Spider-Milk-Man” run in aid of Carmela’s Stand Up to Muscular Dystrophy, it’s always nice to catch up with Carmela Chillery-Watson and her family. If I expressed then how much of an inspiration to us all Carmela is, agelessly, it was never said in a patronising manner simply because she was just six years old at the time, because she’s growing up, and surely proving my point…...
This week has seen Carmela in hospital for an operation, for a monitoring device to be implanted near her heart, and still, she comes up smiles! We all wish you the very best here at Devizine, Carmela, and of course, a very happy Christmas too, but the news Carmela plans to start helping one of our local care homes in the new year is outstanding.
Mum, Lucy explained, “on one of Carmela’s sad days a few weeks back, we discovered she was really keen to help put smiles on the elderly who can’t get outside to do sports and fun activities.”
“Carmela said she gets sad because her body won’t allow her to do lots of things she was once able to and she said her weak body is like the elderly. But having me in her life helps her to do lots of other fun stuff. So that’s why she felt she could help the elderly like I do for her.”
Carmela will be coaching bean bag boccia and fun hand sensory activities once a month after Christmas, and visited the home last week where she got to have a brief chat with one of the residents who was 99 years old. See what I mean now? She really is an inspiration to us all.
Well done, Carmela, and I just know you’re going to win their hearts!
Last August a team of fundraisers, led by Carmela’s mum, Lucy, cycled 66 miles through Wiltshire villages for Muscular Dystrophy UK, and plan to do it again in 2023. You can register your interest HERE, or you can donate to the Courageous Carmela fundraising HERE, or the Cure for Carmela HERE.



Latest….
McDonalds Coming to Devizes?!
Okay, it was the April Fools joke I broke the Internet with in 2021, but it’s not the 1st of April today….. Bishop’s Cannings Parish…
Using Fulltone as a Proper Noun
To most, “full” and “tone” are two separate words, but around here it’s been a portmanteau and a proper noun since 2019, conveying a unique…
Devizes’ Sammi Evans Features on Innereyefull Dub
If I was pleased to hear the vocals of Devizes singer-songwriter Sammi Evans would feature on a single, I was even more delighted when I…
Looking Back At Devizes Arts Festival 2026
Featured Image: Gail Foster. Features extracts from reviews by Andy Fawthrop, Ian Diddams and Madelaine Blake. Does it ever stop?! The weekend is upon us…
Phil Beer to Perform at The Pump on Friday 4th December!
“Mr Phil Beer needs no introduction to anyone,” says a spokesperson for The Pump in Trowbridge, our grassroots venue kicking up turf on Rolling Stone…
“Bullshot Crummond” at the Rondo Theatre, Larkhall, Bath June 17th – 20th 2026
by Ian Diddamsimages by Ian Diddams & Lisa Hounsome A few weeks ago I scribbled a preview of this production – Bullshot Crummond. I extolled…
Award-Winning Circus Cortex BizZzar Comes to Devizes This July
Get ready for an unforgettable family day out as Circus Cortex BizZzar brings its award-winning Big Top spectacular to Devizes from 9–12 July 2026….. Performing…
Who are you most looking forward to seeing at CrownFest?
CrownFest at The Crown in Bishops Cannings is making a fantastic comeback this July with a stellar lineup, particularly supporting local acts, begging the question,…
“Don’t Drive to Stonehenge” Advises English Heritage!
Summer Solstice in Wiltshire; it’s a crowd-puller, but even forty years after the Battle of the Beanfield and decades of attempted commercialisation, it remains a…
Nothing Seems as Sweet as the Start; NRWO as Devizes Arts Festival’s Finale
All Images: ©Gail Foster If last Saturday’s Celtic punk band quipped if the Devizes Corn Exchange was a bingo hall, and Milton Jones jested “it’s…