“A revelation as to the richness and variety of Watlington’s inhabitants” – Jeremy Irons & Sinéad Cusack Check out the book of the series! 56 portraits and interviews of the people who live in Watlington. The stories are fascinating in themselves and, as a collection, they represent a social document and historical record of a… Continue reading Watlington Folk – The Book!
Tag: Portraits
David Marcou
“I like the location and culture of Watlington” I was born in Kensington in 1944, and grew up there, with my three younger sisters. In my first year at senior school, I started to learn the clarinet, but words can’t describe how bad I was – I had absolutely no aptitude for it whatsoever. My… Continue reading David Marcou
Ann Jollye
“There’s nowhere I’d rather live than here” I was born in Beaconsfield in 1936 and my early years were with my family in Penn, Buckinghamshire. I went to boarding school from the age of eleven and a half until seventeen and a half. When I left, I thought it would be nice to live at… Continue reading Ann Jollye
Martin Edis
“Watlington is really vibrant” I was born in 1948 in Northwood and brought up in Pinner. From the age of 11 I always wanted to work. I started in a newspaper shop. I left school at 16 and worked in Harrods from 1965 – 1989. By the time I left I was running menswear which… Continue reading Martin Edis
Matt Reid
Doing the school run in the morning is a chance to catch up with everybody “I was born in Old Coulsdon in Surrey in 1973. It was a great time to be born. We were always out in the streets, playing football in the park or out riding our bikes. When I was five, my… Continue reading Matt Reid
Mike Young
We’re sheltered from the big wide world “My dad was in the Army and he met my mother when he was stationed up north. I was born in Lancashire in 1946. My dad was from Watlington originally. He applied for a job as clerical staff at RAF Benson, and we moved to Chalgrove in 1953,… Continue reading Mike Young
Debbie Hemmins
We are extremely lucky to have such a wonderful community “I was born in Windsor – my dad was footman to the Queen and I lived in the Royal Mews until I was seven. We lived in the staff quarters, in the flats above the stables. We used the Long Walk for our garden, and… Continue reading Debbie Hemmins
Eve Diett
It’s like one big family “I was born in 1926 in Worcester. I was in the Land Army to start off with, and then I joined the NAAFI (Navy Army and Airforce Institute). In the NAAFI, I used to work in the net bar, which was like a shop where you could get everything. The… Continue reading Eve Diett
Lindsay Howard-Dean
People are always prepared to help “My dad was an RSPCA inspector in London, and my parents went up the M40 looking for grazing for rescue animals. They ended up here in Christmas Common and rented some land from a very old Watlington family, the Englands. Eventually they bought the land and moved here permanently.… Continue reading Lindsay Howard-Dean
Robin Holmes-Smith
It takes a long time to walk down the High Street “I met my wife Fran at college in London. She studied Geography, and I studied Biochemistry and Neuro-physiology, and we met rowing – we both used to row for our college. We used to go to Henley and row there, so that we could… Continue reading Robin Holmes-Smith
