Your letters
Jim
GutteridgeTo the Editor
Through the pages of your Newsletter, I would like to say thank you to everyone who contacted me and sent cards on the occasion of the death of my father, Jim Gutteridge. All your kind words and thoughts were much appreciated – thank you to you all. He loved receiving The Lee Newsletter and reading all the village news.
Many of you also sent him Christmas cards and this has led to a slight problem. Normally Dad and I would have gone through his list after Christmas and ticked off all the cards; but I had to do this on my own and I now find I have a pile of cards with a short message in it saying, for example, “Love from Jacqui and Nigel!”
So I am sat here in Orkney with Dad’s address list thinking… who on earth are Jacqui and Nigel? (names here are fictitious). Postmarks on envelopes are not what they used to be, so that doesn’t help me much either.
So, I thought I might start a mini-campaign and make people realise just how important it is to put those sticky address labels either on your envelopes or on the insides of your cards, irrespective of how well you know the person. The recipient is not always going to be the person who reads it, as in this case. As the well-known advert says… every little helps!
Suzie Woodward
Orkney
To the Editor
The death on the 18th December at his home overlooking Scapa Flow, Orkney sees the passing of a remarkable man.
A redoubtable couple, he and childhood sweetheart Dorothy both made 92. Their life at Cygnet Cottage opposite the Old Swan revolved around music. Jim’s many piano pupils were patiently coached through the scales. Dorothy marshalled all for the examinations held in their house. Jim also played the organ at St Leonard’s Church.
Another accomplishment in advanced years was to make wine. Our large greenhouse contained a Muscat grape, a sprig from the great vine at Hampton Court. Each year a hundredweight or so of the grapes Jim made into the Glanfield and Gutteridge Lee White Wine, invariably successful at The Lee Flower Show. Not content with this he would entertain friends in their sunny back porch with potent home-made Martinis. Did we not have some times!
Daughter Suzie in Orkney did what good daughters do. She moved her parents and the piano and looked after them. After all, for Jim and Dorothy it wasn’t daunting. For many years, late in life, they would fly off to a blistering hot holiday in South India. What a pair! God bless them.
John Glanfield
The Lee
To the Editor
It was with great sadness that we learnt of the passing of Jim Gutteridge. Jim and Dorothy spent many happy years in Swan Bottom, where Jim taught piano. Jim was a gentleman in the true sense of the word and we are sure there are many people who have benefited from his patience, enthusiasm and kindness over the years.
Dorothy died 18 months ago and Jim continued teaching the piano at the age of 92, although he had extremely poor eye-sight.
We both appreciated his kindness and expertise.
Jean Sydenham and Marian Tomkins
Lee Common
Some history please…
To the Editor
My wife, Lita and I have recently purchased ‘Thornlea Cottage’ at Swan Bottom. Having relocated from Northern California, we are very interested if anyone has any local information or can direct us to any literature on the Chapel and the four attached cottages. We are very interested to find out the history of this particular area of The Lee. We have been charmed with the friendliness of people, the wonderful scenery and the quietude of the village and look forward to meeting our neighbours. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated, please email us at
ldt.turner@gmail.com.
Dean and Lita Turner
Swan Bottom
… and more history please
To the Editor
Elaine and I have only
recently moved into Lee Common having bought ‘Laurel House’ in 2006. We fell
in love with the house on first sight and our only thought was how soon we
could move in and make it ours.We moved from the village of Longridge, in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, from an old farmhouse to this very unique and pretty 170 year old Georgian villa, and now we want to find out as much about its history as we can.
Over the last year we have had to carry out a lot of repairs, mostly structural, but some cosmetic, as we wanted to try to return the look of the house to its Georgian roots.
So we appeal to any readers of the Newsletter who have any snippets of information or photographs of Laurel House (Villa) and its history to contact us on our email address or by phone 837717, glyn_thomas@mac.com or elaine.harvey@mac.com.
Here is an undated picture of the house - does anybody know who the people pictured were?
Glyn Thomas and Elaine Harvey,
Laurel House, Oxford Street
Lee Common