Page 26 - BR December 2023

December 2023 December 2023

FUNERAL TRIBUTES

Affpuddle is a long one. He was a man of many talents and
gave freely of them not only to the church but also the
wider community. Mike was many things, kind, energetic,
resourceful, intelligent, fearless, good humoured and above
all generous. He was a great friend and we shall all miss him
very much.

HAVE YOU HAD AN INTERESTING LIFE?

Many people have said to me, over the years, “I never knew that X was such a
fascinating person with such an interesting life, what I pity we didn’t know more
about them whilst they were alive and could tell us more”
Obituaries, eulogies and funeral tributes provide a great insight to the stories of
some wonderful individuals. I particularly remember, after Pat Mills passed away,
that our churchwarden Sarah Welton had many people tell her “we never realized
that your mum worked at Bletchley Park!” My husband, Martin, discovered (from
an obituary) that a resident of Briantspuddle had served alongside his dad on HMS
Fiji during the Battle of Crete. How he would have loved to have been able to
chat to that gentleman!

This has got me thinking. How lovely it would be if we could find out more about
some of our community members - very many of whom have travelled the world,
had some amazing experiences, undertaken significant challenges or achieved
great things.
So, from the January issue onwards, I would very much like to have another regular
feature for such individuals to share their stories - I think it could make for some
enlightening reading. Bob Holman tells me he has almost come to the end of his
‘swim stories’, so we will certainly have space.

I have already approached a few likely ‘candidates’ but would welcome hearing
from anyone who may be willing to write their own memoir for publication. Please
don’t be shy, I would be looking for anything up to around 3,000 words, and, of
course, some photographs would be brilliant too. Drop me an email, if you think
you may be able to participate.
Alison - Editor - alison@culverdell.co.uk

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