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Mayl 2022 May 2022

VILLAGE HALL NEWS OBITUARIES

Well in many ways this year has seemed stranger
than last year when we were all under the various
lockdowns. Life chopped and changed regularly Olive Curtis
and we somehow had to try and make sense of
what was happening and what the right thing to
do was and so the village hall has enjoyed a fairly good year as most of our Olive was born on 17 June 1929, at Puddletown, Dorset, the second daughter
regular hirers have returned and picked up where they left off with their various of George and Ada Stainer, and younger sister to Kathleen (fondly known as
activities. Kit).
Sadly her dad passed away at a very young age when Olive was only three.
However, she had a good and happy childhood being brought up by her
widowed mum, sister, other close family members and friends. Olive often
remembered going to Christmas pantomimes in Bournemouth with her cousin
Win, something she continued throughout her later life.
Olive initially went to the local school in Puddletown and latterly to
Dorchester Grammar School after passing their entry exam. On leaving
school Olive started her first job as a short-hand typist at County Hall in
Dorchester.

Olive met Doug, a local farm labourer, at a New Years’ Eve dance in 1946,
their courtship soon followed and they were engaged in December 1948. On
21 October 1950 Olive and Doug were married in Puddletown Church. The
happy couple started married life staying with Ada, Olive’s mum, in
Puddletown, where their first child Richard was born in October 1951. Soon
after this they moved to West Knighton but Olive would still visit her mum,
cycling back to Puddletown with Richard on the back of her bike. In
It’s been great to see Yoga and Pilates returning alongside Short Mat Bowls, December 1955 their second child Valerie was born. Doug’s working
Artsreach events and the Purbeck Film Festival and Mike Menzies talks evenings all commitments on the farm took them to Bladen Valley, Briantspuddle, where
taking differing approaches to covid as their organisations saw fit. It’s also been in October 1964 Diana was born. In 1970 the family were on the move again,
good to see the community group return to running the Saturday morning coffee this time to Sitterton, Bere Regis. This was to be their last family move, with
shop and Let’s Lunch, providing us all with the much needed opportunities to Richard, Valerie and Diana all leaving the ‘nest’ to start their own married
meet up and catch up over a meal or a coffee and a bacon roll. journeys. In 1990 Olive and Doug were able to celebrate their ‘Ruby’
wedding anniversary with family and friends at a
We had a very successful Christmas Fayre with many people, stall holders and party in Puddletown Village Hall. Shortly after the
visitors alike, saying it’s one of the best they can remember. There was certainly a sudden death of Doug in 1992 Olive moved more
great atmosphere with everyone enjoying an event that reminded us what centrally in the village to Manor Farm Road, which
normal was like again. Once again the village shop was able to hold its pop up was to be her final home in Bere Regis.
Christmas shop, made possible by the coffee shop relocating to the main hall for
a couple of weeks, in the jubilee room. For me this type of event is what village Olive always kept busy during her married life, not
parish life should be all about different organisations working together in just in the family home but elsewhere in the local
cooperation to provide even wider activities and benefits to our whole community. She was on the cleaning rota at
community.

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