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| Interview with Gordon Evans |
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Gordon, affectionately known in the Village as ‘the Mayor’, you’ve lived in Norton Bavant for a number of years and during that time you have worked tirelessly to ensure that we have the best possible social amenities available to everyone in the Village. To show our appreciation we’d like to bestow upon you the honour of "Freedom of the Village".
“In this fair land of Norton Bavant, whomsoever’s dwelling place where your foot should fall, may the Landlord be truly hospitable”. Which means in today’s terms, when you call on anyone in Norton Bavant as the holder of the Freedom of the Village you shall be entitled to a cup of tea and we all know that you take your tea, black, no sugar with a quick dip in & out of the teabag! |
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We understand your job led the Evans family to Wiltshire so how did you choose Norton Bavant as the place to bring up your family? |
We were looking for a family home within easy driving distance of Trowbridge and Norton Bavant fitted the bill. We liked the house, our only concern was whether we would be accepted into such a small community. |
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For someone who is supposedly retired you seem to have a full-time job managing / overseeing the Village Hall, events and other amenities in the Village, how did you first become involved? |
I first took on the role as Treasurer to the PCC and upon the retirement of David Sawyer, I undertook the voluntary task of becoming Clerk to “Norton Bavant Parish Meeting”. |
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Was it an easy transition into retirement for you, as you seemed to retire only to pick up another full-time voluntary role in the Village? |
Yes, the transition to retirement has been very easy for me. I have worked as a consultant leading a couple of projects for Swindon Borough Council and the former Wiltshire County Council but the majority of my time has been committed to voluntary work and DIY projects. I have enjoyed the freedom that retirement has given me to control and schedule my time to suit myself. We have also taken the opportunity to see a lot more of the world. |
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| "the village raised £7,000 and this was topped up by a single donation of £3,000..." |
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I understand you and Jo also took a lead role in managing the Village Hall refurbishment project, how long did it take to raise the funds and did you get any additional help from the local authority in the form of a building grant? |
The Village School closed in the early 1950’s. The village, at that time, raised funds to purchase the former school from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for the sum of £250. The “Old Schoolroom” then served as a Parish Hall for 50 years in the charge of the PCC. During this period the limited resources available to the PCC were necessarily focussed on the Church, as a result of which the hall fell into a poor state of repair and lacked even basic amenities such as toilets.
Fearing that the hall would be sold, the Norton Bavant Parish Meeting resolved in 2002 to seek a lease on the schoolroom, to raise funds and to apply for grant aid support. With the determination not to raise a parish precept it became necessary to establish a Charitable Trust, called the Norton Bavant Amenity Fund, as a vehicle for the funding of the Hall and the subsequent establishment of a Playing Field.
A series of fund raising events in the village raised £7,000 and this was topped up by a single donation of £3,000. This local support enabled us to secure grants of: £10,000 from the County Council, £4,000 from the District Council, £15,000 from Land fill Tax and £10,000 from The Countryside Agency. Further funds were raised as the building work progressed. The refurbished hall was opened in July 2006, four years after the decision to seek to secure the hall for the village. |
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| What ideas did you have for fund raising and what was the single event that raised the largest amount of money for the refurbishment project? |
| The fund raising was based on the proposal to hold regular social events in the schoolroom; to develop a sense of community and to raise funds for the refurbishment. The largest single fund raising event was the first Barn Dance, held in the Big Grain Barn at South Farm. |
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| "the village has developed a sense of pride in itself..." |
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| Prior to the refurbishment of the Village Hall, was it used for social events of any kind? And, if so, what style of events were popular then? |
| The schoolroom was used for the harvest supper, PCC meetings, Parish Meetings and some occasional private parties but there was no programme of regular social events. |
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| This August yourself & Jo celebrated your 30th anniversary living in Norton Bavant, how has life changed in the Village over the last 30 years? |
| Norton Bavant has changed to become a cohesive community and the village has developed a sense of pride in itself. We now have a Village Hall, a Playing Field and even our own Telephone Box. Outsiders seem to see us as a caring little community. |
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| What was better in the ‘good old days’ of life in Norton Bavant? |
| The Church had a much greater profile in the Village when we first came, the PCC was the only locally accountable body with its own resources and the Vicar had time to play a lead role in the community, supported by a strong influence from the Manor. |
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What is better today about living in Norton Bavant compared to when you first moved into the Village? |
The supportive community that now exists in the village and the way that newcomers are given the opportunity to join in the community life of the village, should they choose to do so. |
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| "the social scene is naturally evolving as people come and go." |
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Come rain or shine, night or day you & Jo are always welcoming villagers into your home don’t you ever get tired of seeing people? |
No, we are naturally gregarious people, Jo more so than me. We like meeting new people and then let them decide to what degree they want to engage in the social activities which take place in the village. |
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| "The response to my recent appeal has been very positive" |
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We seem to have a Village full of people who want to contribute, to continually make Norton Bavant a better place to live. How do you sustain that amount of enthusiasm? Is there a balance? |
The rewards are self evident. We have in recent years secured some valued amenities in the village. The challenge, in recent years has been to secure a good funding base so that these amenities are maintained at a high standard for future generations and to provide scope for further amenities to be acquired. |
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The events at the Village Hall are very successful in terms of raising money and people having a good time, how do you suggest we introduce change so that the whole social scene can evolve? |
It is interesting to note that the social scene is naturally evolving as people come and go. It is important that we enable newcomers to influence change if we are to maintain a vibrant community. |
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The Amenity Fund is a great way for Villagers to contribute towards the upkeep of the Village Hall & Field, have many people responded to the recent request for more regular (monthly / quarterly) donations? |
The response to my recent appeal has been very positive but there are still a number of people who have not responded. I would like to think that this is because they have just not got around to it. I have striven to ensure that everyone has equal access to the village amenities. I am now striving to achieve the position where the cost is also shared equally by everyone in the village, rather than the committed few. |
What’s the one thing that you’d like to do for the village but either haven’t had the time or the finance to make it happen? |
The Village Hall and the Playing Field are currently leased to the Amenity Fund. I would like to secure these amenities by purchasing the freehold for future generations. |
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| In thirty years time, when James has taken on his Grandfather’s mayoral responsibilities for the Village what would you like to see as a memorial feature for everything that you’ve achieved, what would it be and where would it be? |
| I hope that this mantle will be passed on to someone else in a much shorter timescale. As I have already indicated, I would like to see the current amenities secured for future generations and further amenities of a similar nature developed if any expansion takes place. I also hope that some means can be found of also securing the Church. |
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| What other groups / committees are you involved with outside of the village? |
My current major role outside the village is as County Chairman of Wiltshire Scouts and member of the Scouts General Council. I have held this position for the last five years. We have raised £650,000 to rebuild the County Scout Centre in Potterne Wick which was formally reopened in September this year. It provides a conference, training and residential / camping facility principally for Wiltshire Scouts.
I have worked with Tisbury Amateur Swimming Club to secure the outdoor swimming pool in Tisbury. I have secured Swindon’s Outdoor Pursuits Centre at Plas Pencelli, near Brecon and I remain on the Management Committee. I have recently been assisting Wiltshire Council, as a parent carer, with the Tender Evaluation of bidders for some new adult care providers for adults in care. |
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| How do you switch off at the end of the day, what do you do to relax? |
We have enjoyed some wonderful holidays in the last few years and we always enjoy socialising with our friends.
We work steadily on keeping our home together and we enjoy sharing our lives with our children and grandchildren.
We also enjoy relaxing in front of the TV but we are getting very selective as to which programmes we watch. |
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| Would you like to be interviewed for the Village People page? Do you have something interesting to say? If so let us know. |
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