Village Voice August/September 2014 | Page 3

COMMENT Sarah White, Guy Gisborne, Sarah Jackson, John Sargent, Brian Davis, Gail Straker, Jill Buss, Geoff Buss Comment The end of Village Voice At a meeting on Monday 14th July, no-one volunteered to take on Village Voice. There was much discussion about what, if anything, should replace the magazine, and no firm conclusion was reached. Options discussed included: a web magazine, a printed news sheet, an e-mailed newsletter, even to include local information in existing publications currently distributed in the Alresford area. Whatever form it takes, someone will be needed to produce some kind of publication. It was decided to ask the Bighton Parish Clerk (Sarah White, who was present at the meeting) to be a point of contact for expressions of interest from anyone in our current distribution area i.e. Bighton, Old Alresford, Abbotstone and Gundleton. If anyone would like to get involved in a new publication of any kind or format, they may contact Sarah on [email protected] Data Protection will be maintained. The meeting expressed its thanks to Jill and Geoff for their work over the past 13 years and asked for names of attendees to be published below. Thanks were also given to Gail Straker, who chaired the meeting both on July 14th and at the inaugural meeting held in 2000. At the close of the meeting Jill and Geoff were presented with a gift by the Old Alresford Fair Committee. It feels strange writing my last Comment column. For so many years everything has revolved around the ‘Voice’. Even holidays had to fall in between production weeks. But the time has come, and although Geoff and I leave with regret, it’s the right time to go. We have loved our time at Village Voice. Vernon Walker, Sarah Nicholls, Bob Dennis and I formed the original committee, later joined by Jill Davis. Kate Hancock and Vivien Bax also spent time with us, then Geoff joined and eventually it was just Geoff and me. We thank our team of distributors, which has hardly changed in 13 years: the unsung heroes who trudged out in all weathers to deliver your magazine. We thank all our writers past and present. And finally, those without whom there could be no magazine: our advertisers, together with all those bodies that have awarded us funds over the years. Again we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We’ve had some sleepless nights wondering whether we’d be able to keep the mag going, and until now, something has always turned up. Goodbye and thank you for reading this. Jill Buss Geoff Buss And the entire Village Voice team Those who attended the meeting: Bernard Tucker, Mike Thwaites, Bob Ellis, Sally Ellis, Geoffrey Beetham, Carol Beetham, Bernard Sisk, Erica Sisk, Shirley Wyeth, Roy Wyeth, 1