Alan Boyce, long time resident of Longworth and clerk to the parish council for many years, is leaving the village and has this message to share.
I shall be leaving the village of Longworth at the end of December, and moving to Sheffield to be closer to my son and daughter and my two grandchildren. I have spent 39 years, almost half my life, here in rural Longworth; going back to the city will, I hope, be like opening a new chapter of a book. The village has been a great place to spend half a lifetime. Elsa and I moved here quite by happy chance, but we could not have chosen a more agreeable place both to live in and to nurture two growing-up children in. We both tried to pay back our good fortune; she by 20 years’ service as elected Vale councillor and parish council chairman, myself by 13 years as parish clerk, four years as school governor, too many years heading up the successful ‘Land not Sand’ fight to stop a sand quarry adjacent to the A420, and (before I finally ran out of steam) starting off the ongoing Neighbourhood Plan project. If I leave any memento, I can only refer you to the 70-odd 500-word essays on village affairs I contributed over 15 years to the Cherbury News, now preserved for posterity in a locked wooden box in the choir of the church; surely an incongruous end for an unbeliever… I will not be able to say farewell to everyone we have known over the years; but I shall remember all of you and, should you ever think of me, I would like to hear of local events from time to time, if you have the time to spare.