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July 2018 July 2018
OBITUARIES
round a corner long before she did – was carrying twins until seven
weeks before the babies were due . Seven weeks was not long to
get used to having to double up on everything Mum and Dad had for one
babe but to make matters worse the babies came a week later, and six weeks
early. Poor Dad had to rush around and try and make an additional cot in
time for when the babies came home. Mum and babes were quite poorly after
the birth and did not return home for several weeks which fortunately gave Dad
some breathing space and time to prepare.
After that – and still ignoring medical advise – Mum went on to have Janice in
September 1958, followed by Kevin in 1961.
With the family complete and at this point living in 374 Upminster Road,
Rainham in Essex and Dad now working in Fords Dagenham, the family
travelled down to Dorset to spend a holiday with friends in Corfe Mullen. It was
here after a lovely holiday that Mum and Dad decided to move the family from
Essex to the countryside of Dorset and settled for a run down cottage in
Shitterton, built in 1760. There were no stairs, the loo was down the garden and
no real plumbing and electrics to write home about. With the help of Dad’s old
friend Eric Mansfield and Louis Bartlett – who lived in the bungalow next door –
Dad set about making the house into a family home. We can’t quite
remember how many weekends away Dad spent working on the house but
think it was about 12 weeks. The family finally moved down in January 1963 all
loaded into Dads Ford Pop, which was not uneventful because he had
problems with muck in the fuel line so every few miles we had to stop and Dad
would suck out the junk from the pipe, drink several gulps of milk and off we’d
go again.
The family quickly settled into our new life with all us children attending Bere
Regis Primary School.
Mum meanwhile immersed herself in village life and, with other young Mums in
the village started the Bere Regis Young Wives Group. This was a monthly get
together of like minded Wives and Mums. After a few years the members
decided to drop the word “Young” (something to do
with no longer being so young !) and it carried on for
many years. During this time Mum was wholeheartedly
involved in the Bere Regis Carnival and the Wives
always entered floats – ably assisted by husbands who
lent vehicles, muscle and carpentry skills to build the
sets. Mum was also a player in the Wives Group
Football team – although we can’t quite remember
how successful they were !
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Various bodies have contributed donations towards items being bought for the
Hall, not least the Parish Council who contributed along with the Community
Group to the purchase of the beautiful new cooker to replace our dear old
green goddess which had given us such good service for so many years.
The next item of expenditure is to be a renewal of the straw ridge on the Hall.
Luckily for us Allan secured a grant in the last round of Viridor Landfill Tax Grants,
as the scheme is now closing. Leonora Shepherd has given the Hall a substantial
amount as third Party match funding and also a donation from the sale of ‘Salt of
the Earth’ for which we thank her in the warmest terms.
Planning for the future (if we remain in post) we hope to promote the hall more
on line, luckily we do have a young savvy and computer literate member who is
a great help. Another aim is to try and get more regular users and if at all possible
to encourage some of the people in the parish who never use the hall to come
along to experience its delights! We will continue to foster good relations with
other Parish organisations, and keep the Hall open and in good repair for use by
future generations as a social, educational and recreational hub for the
community.
Before I finish, I would like to thank all the people who have been on the
Committee for the last two years, those in our tiny band when we were surprised
to find ourselves alone and in charge at the beginning of my tenure, and those
who have joined us along the way. We have swift, efficient and often amusing
meetings, a delightful, sensible and silent minutes secretary, and still manage to
enjoy being trustees even though it’s hard work.
And finally Don’t forget research has found that the biggest correlation with
happiness is not with money, but with your relationships and your sense of
community.
Thank you all for your attention
Current Village Hall Trustees
After a friendly and positive AGM the previous committee were thanked for their
work throughout the year by the Parish Council Chair on behalf of the
community.
There are now 9 members on the Hall Committee, 4 nominated trustees, and 5
elected trustees.
We are: Anne Colquhoun, Allan Smith, Angie Talbot, Angela Tozer, Jenny
Lightfoot, Mike Menzies, Roger Smith, Stuart Chorley, Tamsin Tankard Evans.
Lesley Wilcox is the voluntary minutes secretary.
Affpuddle and Turnerspuddle website: www.briantspuddle.info
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