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My earliest memory of the Community Association was when Dorothy
Ashton knocked on our door to ask us to join the Association. It was 1975 and
we had just moved into our house on Sandy Lane. We admired Dot's enthusiasm
and kindness as the subscriptions collector and welcomer for Sandy Lane, and
we thought the availability of loan equipment was a wonderful idea!
Another memory is that of one Sunday morning at St Michael's
when Martin Coutie asked me if I would like to be on the Community Association's
Management Committee. Martin was about to become the Chairman of the Association
at the AGM to be held the following week. Having agreed, and been duly 'elected'
at the AGM, one of my first tasks was to work with Martin and Zoe Plant on the
arrangements for an annual dinner dance to be held at the Co-op in Ilkeston.
This was a favourite venue for the dinner dance then and for years to come.
My involvement with the Committee continued up until about 1987.
I remember that they were very good times, fun times. There
were some very enthusiastic people on the Management Committee, all of whom
were very active for their community. It is dangerous to name names because
one is sure to miss someone out, but names like Peter King, Lindsay Power, Gaynor
Bryan and Marilyn Lincoln readily come to mind.
Peter was our 'planning' expert. In those days most of the
rest of us didn't have a clue about local plans and green belt issues, but there
were several planning applications for housing on the land at the top of Sandy
Lane. We must thank Peter for the fact that the land is still ffee of housing
today. Lindsay was an 'events' person. One particularly memorable success was
a summer barbecue and barn dance held in the Dutch Barn at the Comprehensive
School. Geoff Beeby was in charge of the barbecue and Lindsay coordinated
everything else that needed to be done to ensure that a marvellous time was
had by all. Gaynor was one of those who put a great deal of energy into producing
superb Children's Christmas Parties, as well as other things. Marilyn was another
'events' person and she also had the secretarial skills that enabled us to apply
the new computer technology that was emerging at that time to the production
of the Association's newsletter. 1 recall that annual trips to London, trips
to France, evening walks and dinner dances were all routine throughout the late
1970s and 1980s.
The midsummer outing was, and always has been, a particularly
popular event. My favourite was the one organised by John Hart, who took us
in a bus to a point about five miles north of Ashbourne, and then walked us
over hill and dale to Alstonfield where we enjoyed a nice meal and several drinks
at The George. This happens to be my favourite pub. 1 remember the coach driver
being very hesitant about taking his coach over the humpback bridge not far
ITom Milldale. He had visions of the bus doing a balancing act swaying back
and forth unable to go forward or back. There was one occasion, of course, when
the assembled crowd did indeed have to get out and give the bus a push start.
That was following one of the dinner dances.
It was in the early 1980s that the Summer Children's Plays
cherne was started, and also the Bramcote Hills Care Group and the Monday Club.
My wife Lillian, together with many friends and other helpers, started the Playscheme,
and Sue Feasey was very much involved in starting the Care Group and the Monday
Club, with accommodation and tea provided by John Beaumont of The Rose Grower.
It is hugely rewarding to see that all these are still going strong in 1999.
I have one particular memory of which 1 am very proud. Towards
the end of my time on the Management Committee 1 had finally been allotted Cranston
Road and Sandy Lane as the roads for which it was my responsibility to collect
the subscriptions. (I had started off collecting ITom residents in Westray Close
and Manville Close and had gradually moved to locations closer to home over
the years!) However, there was one family that consistently refused to join
the Association irrespective of all my efforts to persuade them.
They simply could not see the point of membership, arguing
that they would never use the Association's equipment nor join in any of the
activities. However, 1 eventually did persuade them to join and, for the first
time on Cranston Road and Sandy Lane, 100% membership was achieved. The reason
for the change of heart was the Association's involvement in establishing the
Neighbourhood Watch Scheme.
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