EACH and every Tuesday morning you can drop in to Bridgwater Town Hall and have a free cup of coffee and a chat, writes Brian Smedley, leader of Bridgwater Town Council.

This is the Bridgwater 'Warm Rooms' project. On a balmy and clearly warm enough July morning you might think this was an odd thing to be doing.

Well, although these 'Warm Rooms' started off as an idea from the town council to provide somewhere for people to go during the cost of living crisis to save heating their homes expensively for the odd day, they proved so popular that we've continued them as a community drop in.

People come along, meet old friends, make new ones and can also take advantage of some of the things we bring in as extras, such as computer training, cookery demonstrations or citizens advice.

This week at the Warm Rooms, the people burst into a spontaneous warm round of applause for one of the regulars who had paid his last visit and who we'd never see again - apart from in our hearts and memories.

Peter Kearle had died the Sunday before.

A Warm Room regular, Pete regularly turned up with pictures of old Bridgwater that he dug out and collected.

His knowledge of and his enthusiasm for the town were second to none and I would look forward to what he would bring in next. Sad, but no more.

Just before this, another regular, Bill Bath, had suddenly died.

Bill was a Bridgwater old boy that would eagerly engage with me every week with the local news and then cheer me up with a wry 'what happened to Leeds United this weekend then?'.

The last time I saw Bill, he'd joined us on the community litter pick. Another good bloke with his heart firmly in Bridgwater.

And at the heart of all of this is the message that Bridgwater people are good people.

Whatever happens in our town there's people who are proud of it and want to make a difference.

And that's why, despite the problems, the reputation and the setbacks, its still, at the end of the day, our town.