A Day in Aresey with . . .
. . . Steve Maddox
Editor and publisher of on the button , Steve Maddox gives us his typical day in Arlesey . He lives with his wife Julie and dog Freddie .
Questions by Jodie Chillery
How long have you lived in Arlesey ?
I moved here with my wife Julie in January 1983 . Not long after we decided to buy the house we found out Julie was pregnant . So our daughter Chloe was born about 8 months after we moved in . Chloe grew up here and even though she lives in Stevenage now still has an affection for Arlesey . We have done a lot of work to the house and really enjoy our garden . We have had 2 dogs before our latest , Freddie , a Jack Russel cross , who is absolutely bonkers but a great companion . We should have called him Kato , after Burt Kwouks character in the Pink Panther films , as he seems to jump out at me whenever I get home and wants to play .
Why did you move to Arlesey ?
It was price and location really . After moving from Stevenage ( where I grew up ) to a small three-bed in Little Paxton , near St Neots we stayed there about three years and then looked for a house which we could do a lot of work to and enjoy a bigger garden . Also being closer to our jobs . After viewing many between Letchworth and St Neots we settled on this house in Stotfold Road . Mr Murray who sold us the house had lost his wife and needed to move on . While on our first viewing we were talking to him and sitting in his living room he told us about his wife and how she died in the chair that Julie was sitting in . But that didn ’ t deter us .
How does the morning start for you ?
I get up at about 6.30am every day . I make tea for Julie and myself and have breakfast , then usually take Freddie out for a walk along Pix Brook . Its amazing the wildlife you see at all times of the year – Egrets , Herons , Muntjacs , Woodpeckers and recently a Kingfisher along the small stretch of water .
On weekdays , after our walk I get ready for work which is at a publishing company in Hatfield . At the weekends I try walk over the Old Moat Nature Reserve and take my camera with me .
You ’ ve played an active role in the community over the years , - APPLE , Pram race , ST Peter ’ s Fete , village quiz teams and school fundraisers etc - Tell us about some of the best events you ’ ve witnessed in the village ?
The Pram Races were such a good way of spending a Sunday . As I was usually the shortest of the three in the team I was chosen as the ‘ baby ’ in the pram , who had to ‘ drink ’ the half pint of beer at each stop ( 13 on the way down the village ). So getting to the other end in around 20 minutes always ended in quite a lot of beer being consumed , very quickly – unless you employed the old ‘ pram race trick ’ you would feel quite ill after wards .
There used to be a Carnival Procession and Fete every year which was always great fun . The procession went from the south of Arlesey up the High Street then looped along Stotfold
Road and back down the village finishing at the Village Hall , where the Fete would then start .
Talking of APPLE that was probably some of my best times I ’ ve ever had outside of my family . It was such a laugh from beginning to end and I have made some fantastic friends . It would be nice to see another Am Dram group start up in Arlesey .
From my time in APPLE I also joined a couple of other groups and I can say I ’ ve ‘ acted ’ on stage at the Gordon Craig Theatre and at Plinston Hall many times .
I am very proud of the fact that APPLE raised a lot of money for local groups and individuals , as well as some national causes .
A . P . P . L . E . Panto ‘ Sing a Song of Sixpence ’ 1987 . Image : A . P . P . L . E . Archives
8 on the button issue 60 August 2017 | 01462 834265 | onthebutton . online @ gmail . com | www . on-the-button . co . uk