Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2010 | Page 42

interview

Island Life - October/November 2010

Photos: Left: Percy - Terry's father in the war years.
Above: Thomas who was Terry's great great grandfather 1850

Forelands was virtually uninhabited.

got married if it hadn’t been for him,

only knows. But I have never been to so

The village was half the size it is now,

because I got a bit drunk on my stag

many temples and up so many steps a

and somewhere where everyone knew

night, and wouldn’t have got to the

foot high in all my life. That was hard

everyone else.

church on time!”

graft.

“Our company built the Village Hall

Terry and Venetia spent a lot of spare

“Sometimes I do look at buildings and

in 1910 and added to it a few years

time in the South of France, where they

think to myself ‘he knew what he was

ago, worked on all of the Church’s

owned a house for 28 years before

doing whoever built that’ I sometimes

building the Methodist Church in 1933,

selling it last year. “We travel a lot,

wonder who they managed to build

and continue to be active in building

and have been all over the world to

some of these really big places.”

and improving many properties in the

places like South America, India, South

village. My best customer is me! I build

Africa and all over Europe,” he said. “I

belong to any clubs, and I am certainly

them and then rent them out, I never

like Africa, Kenya Senegal and Rwanda

not thinking of retiring. I like work, it

sell anything.

before the problems began there, and

keeps me young. When I am at home

thought at the time what nice people

I think of business all the time, so that

units, Terry insists: “I am only a village

they were. But I think Argentina is

is why we like to go away a lot. All my

businessman, and I don’t move out of

my favourite country. A holiday is my

friends have retired, and sometimes I

Bembridge much, apart from holidays.

outlet.”

think maybe they have got it right. But

Despite his flats, shops and industrial

We were married on April 3, 1965 in

The 73-year-old smiled: “I don’t

As a builder Terry was particularly

some of them go up to the bowling

Bembridge and David Biles was my best

impressed with the building of the

club, and that would drive me mad!

man. Then he married in Nottingham in

pyramids on a trip to Egypt. “They are

“In away my business is my hobby.

the May, and we went to his wedding.

amazing,” he says. “However they did

It is better than sitting around on my

I always say that I would have not

that with just man power goodness

backside. My family and my work are

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