20 important places in my life – part one:
As my 60th birthday approaches, I’m using this time to reflect on what I’ve achieved in my sixty years on this earth. A large part of me can’t believe I’m this old! It feels unfair, I’ve only just started! However, I also remember those who I have loved and lost and I realise that no one can help when they were born and I’ve lost people in my life who would have given anything to have the privilege of celebrating this milestone birthday. We have a choice here – we can hate it or we can embrace it. I choose the latter.
As a result, over the next few blogs I thought I’d consider 60 things which mean something to me and I’ve split that into places, things or possessions and people. I’ve done that because in our lives we can loathe and also, far more importantly, love many things and many people. This can often shape who we are and the decisions we make. This highlights how unique we are and how we move through the winding path of life.
Ten important places in my life:
1. The first place that cannot go without being mentioned, is Radstock in Somerset. This is the place I was born and raised, so therefore, must be at the top of my list. Radstock is a town on the northern slope of the Mendip Hills in Somerset and has been settled since the Iron Age. Its importance grew around 1763, when a large amount of coal was discovered. As a result, many mines were opened in the area during the 19th century. This has a personal connection to my family as my own father worked for years in the mines and so did my grandfathers and great grandfathers – there is literally coal dust in our very DNA. These experiences of my ancestors has been a staple of my childhood and the stories are still shared with my own children today.
2. Another important place is Writhlington – a small hamlet where Writhlington Secondary School sits and where I met some of my life-long friends. These include Helena Eden, Lisa Lewis and my beloved friend Dave Maundrill, who sadly passed away about eight years ago and there’s a space in my life forever where Dave should be. There were also some wonderful teachers who shaped my passion for history and English and I’ll be forever grateful to them. There were also some teachers who were less than kind and should never have been allowed near a school. Sadly, not much has changed in that regard and I still come across people today who should have walked away from education years ago so as not to negatively impact the lives of children. For those who love the profession, they can literally change lives for the better.
3. Place number three would have to be the city of Bath. After not receiving the grades I was expecting at A Level, I went on to complete an English Literature and History degree at Bath Spa University, then called Bath College of Higher Education. I lived there during my studies and got to know the inner workings of this city very very well and still know it and spend time there today. The business, chaos and life that Bath has to offer is something that always appealed to me. I don’t tend to think of it as a World Heritage City, it’s simply part of the tapestry of my life.
4. In fourth place, would be the town of Keynsham on the outskirts of Bristol. Keynsham is where I secured my first teaching position after recently completing a PGCE (teaching) course, which I quickly learned teaching and all that went with it wasn’t for me. Although I loved sharing knowledge with others, it became apparent that this love didn’t extend to those who are not interested in learning and therefore my vision of the place was tainted. However, a few short years later I made the brave and bold decision to chase my childhood dreams of becoming a journalist. I returned to work for the Keynsham Weekly Chronicle, as a local journalist. Consequently, I saw Keynsham and the surrounding area very differently and I’ll always be grateful to it for the joy that town then brought into my life.
5. Similarly, Frome in Somerset has always held a special place in my heart and I sometimes go there just because I love it. I worked there on the Somerset Standard which had an office overlooking the main High Street. Working every day in the town felt homely and very familiar. This colourful town has grown a lot since that time, but it still has its cobbled street charm, independent shops and rural feel, if you take the time to look.
6. The next place is the hustling and bustling town of Swindon in Wiltshire where I accepted a job working on the local paper there in 1991 and this town has framed my life ever since and I will defend it vigorously. Many people judge Swindon and know nothing about it or they will even live here and make no effort to get to know it in all of its variety. It’s a big town and arguably a small city which has the same pros and cons of any town of a similar size. I met my husband here and brought up a family here. The history of Swindon goes back to beyond Roman times but in modern culture it’s seen as naturally rooted in the industrial age and the development of the Great Western Railway.
7. For many years, I worked for ITV in Bristol, which of course, deserves a mention. It’s an interesting and sometimes intimidating city which I grew to like, though never felt the need to live in the area. For 13 years, I commuted to and from Bristol for work every day and my work took me around the city to see both its glory and its dark side.
8. This next location is Bournemouth is a seaside city, well known for its brilliant fish and chips, beaches and beautiful pier. My mother and father-in-law chose to settle there later in life and were very active members of their local church community. Dougie and Lettie lived in a bungalow in the Ferndown area of Bournemouth which we visited with our children most school holidays. The children have shared many of their happiest memories with their grandparents and their memories include things like going bowling, spending days on the beach, enjoying the local fair rides and the annual air show. The children were lucky enough to have very active grandparents who never failed to make their grandchildren happy. They would always greet them with a smile and a warm hug and would never let them leave a visit without a bag of Maltesers and a one-pound coin in their pockets. Now we feel sad to visit because they are no longer with us.
9. Following other familial connections, my own mother Heather Bune lives in Cullompton, which sits on the Somerset and Devon border and became her home about a year after my father Nick passed away at the young age of 58. While I personally don’t feel a huge attachment to this little town which is growing rapidly and is a bit of a traffic nightmare, it is the backdrop to my mum’s life these past decades.
10. Wilts & Berks Canal – in Swindon – I’m being very specific here because I walk our dog on a daily basis along a short stretch of restored canal in the town and every day, I’m grateful for it. So many people don’t realise how much nature there is in central Swindon and I embrace it daily. Not only have I met interesting people, I can feel like I’m in nature within 100m of my front door. I regularly see foxes, herons, cormorants, ducks, jays, magpies, robins, deer, and occasionally a woodpecker. I also saw once a kingfisher. I feel very blessed that we can stroll on numerous walks and feel immersed in nature within a stone’s throw of our central Swindon home.