And goodbye to others…
COMMENT
A call to arms!
Stop Press: After much discussion and
deliberation, Geoff and I have decided that
13½ years at the helm is enough. We will be
stepping down from Village Voice this year.
We have loved producing the magazine,
which of course is why we’ve done it for so
long, but we are agreed that now is the time
to go.
Of course we don’t want to abandon ship, so
we hope that someone will come forward to
take it over. It will need a production
committee: having started in 2001 with a
committee of four, the number has dwindled
over the years to two, and between us we
have been responsible for writing, editing,
design and layout, finding advertising,
accounts, fund-raising, and for some years,
printing (although we now use a professional
print company). We have been supported by
an uncomplaining band of helpers who
initially met to collate, staple, fold and
deliver; now we just meet to count and
distribute, and occasionally insert flyers.
It has always been enjoyable. Over the
years we have also had wonderful
contributing writers, who I have no doubt will
be happy to continue.
With this issue of Village Voice you will have
received a flyer advertising a meeting to
discuss the future of the magazine. Some 13
years ago at the equivalent meeting we had
a roomful of attendees and lots of
discussion. I hope you will come along this
time to contribute your thoughts (or write to
us here if you can’t make it – we’ll make sure
your views are aired).
We say farewell and thank you to Sheila
Lovett and Christine Hurn, retiring from their
role as Bighton jumble sale organisers.
Grateful thanks also go to Julie Crawford,
Bighton Village Hall Committee’s secretary
for over 20 years, and Adrian Arnold who
has stepped down as chairman after many
years’ service (thankfully he is staying on the
committee). So the question arises: who is
around to step into their shoes? And not just
theirs, but the shoes of all the other people
who do so much in, and for, our villages.
In the years I’ve been editing Village Voice
I’ve met many of the ‘movers and shakers’ in
Bighton and Old Alresford. They are a
worthy bunch, and the faces have hardly
changed over the years (except of course
that we’ve all got a bit older!) It can be easy
to feel trapped in ‘the job’, because there are
so few new volunteers coming forward.
I know, I know, I’m always banging on about
the community, and people not participating,
but after all, this is a community magazine,
and who else has the ability to speak directly
to everyone in their own home in Bighton,
Old Alresford, Gundleton and Abbotstone?
I like to think that if you are reading this, it
indicates that you do care about the
community. We have a good demographic
mix: plenty of young families, working
people and active retirees. So here, my
children, is the text of my sermon today:
please don’t leave it all to the few people
who are currently bearing the brunt. When
the annual village fairs come round, it seems
there are plenty of volunteers, presumably
because everyone knows that it’s only once
a year, and that the workload is reduced if
spread across many people. Well the latter
also applies to the ongoing activities, such
as the village hall committees, with
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associated events.
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