Timsbury Parish Council has a new chairman, Josie Pownall, and vice-chairman, Stan Martin, who were elected at the meeting on May 8th.
Josie moved to the village from Shropshire and has lived in Bloomfield for the past 10 years. She came to the area to work on supplying uniforms to the armed forces and was awarded the MBE in 2013 for her work on camouflage kit and protective clothing. Now working part-time she is looking forward to her new role.
“Having been widowed shortly after arriving in Timsbury the real sense of community that I found was an enormous help to me” she explained. “I could not believe the amount of activities available. There are lots of opportunities for all age groups, from new mums and babies through to older people.
“I joined the village WI and became secretary and treasurer before serving as President and I am also involved as a dressmaker for the Timsbury Theatre Group. Timsbury is a thriving and vibrant place and it will be good to help keep it that way.”
Stan and his wife Joyce came to the village four years ago and live on South Road. He trained as an engineering draughtsman in his native Scotland and spent much of his working life in the industry before taking a job in facilities management.
“When I retired we rented a house in Wellow and took our time looking around the area” he said. “We chose to buy a house in Timsbury because we found it a friendly place with smashing facilities and lots going on”
“Four years on we are very pleased with our decision to make our home here. People are very welcoming and happy to take an interest. Recently we invited folk to start playing badminton, so far 18 people, young and old, have turned up to have a go. Its that sort of response that encourages us to spend time on village affairs”.