SERVICE IN THE COMMUNITY
Peter Ankers
The word "community" comes from the Old French comuneté, which derives from the Latin words “communitas” and “communis "; meaning "together" and “performing services”.
How we become part of a community ranges from the involuntary, for example by birth, through to the pro-active joining a club or moving to an area such as Pyrford,
Community spirit finds expression in activities in which members of a community choose to engage. These activities can be for enjoyment but they can also be as help to others. It is surely this positive sense of coming together so that the total is more than the sum of parts is what we mean by saying the community spirit is strong. My generation was young when John Kennedy made his 1961 Inaugural Address on becoming President. It included several challenges including the one “…ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.” Service, individually or collectively, to help others is so important and is the measure of the quality of a community.
Many people give up their time to help others by themselves but sometimes it may require a leader to bring a team together which produces help more than the individuals can achieve separately.
Living in landlocked Pyrford a service that does not immediately come to mind but one that always impresses me greatly is the RNLI, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Many of us have had a holiday in a seaside resort and visited the lifeboat house. Usually we find a list of the occasions when men have turned out in dreadful weather to rescue people in craft, small and not so small, that have got into trouble.
In a similar vein are mountain rescue personnel. The weather in Snowdonia, the Lake District, across the Scottish Highlands and elsewhere can change very quickly and leave climbers and walkers stranded and in need of rescue by people who have the skills and know the terrain. Putting one’s life at risk to help others is a very high level of community spirit, especially if the people being rescued have not taken proper precautions!
I had lived in Pyrford for 20 years when I became a Councillor and so I knew what happened locally. However I quickly became aware of the tremendous voluntary work that takes place in the wider Woking scene. I was amazed and in some awe at how many groups of people who willingly, and without any remuneration, were giving their time and energy to help others.
One of the events that most impressed me was the annual Christmas Lunch at the Moorcroft Centre in Westfield for people, mostly elderly, who were by themselves on the 25th December. Gill and I were invited one year and we can both honestly say it was one of the most memorable Christmas Day lunches that we have had.
The organisation by The Lions of the food, the transportation and the entertainment, involved many people willing to give their time when they could have been at home with their families – but it did need someone to bring it all together.
Here in Pyrford the initiative by Sue Hurst to run the Coldharbour Lunch Club to provide lunch (and sherry) for elderly people, some of whom did not have much opportunity to socialise, was hugely appreciated. A team of helpers collected people, cooked, served and washed up afterwards. However it was Sue who was the driving force. Sadly, after very many years the Club was wound up when Sue moved away – but it will long be remembered.
Even though the Lunch Club is no longer, the Friday morning coffee shop and the monthly Sunday lunches in the Church run by volunteers are going strong and help to bring the Pyrford community together.
On the Woking level we must remember how Woking Hospice was set up. Rhod Lofting father’s last days had left an indelible impression on Rhod and he wanted a Hospice to be built to provide the support that had not been available to his father.
Rhod made it his mayoral charity and with the help of his colleague, Alec Grayson, a Pyrford resident and fellow Borough Councillor, he set about raising the money to set one up. The time taken to raise the necessary funds, well over £1 million, continued after his mayoral year. It required much effort and it was a huge achievement when a 10 bed Hospice was open in 1996.
Woking Hospice subsequently expanded and has eventually combined with the Sam Beare Hospice on a new site in Woking. Over the last 25 years it has been supported by innumerable people helping in so many ways to raise the money.
In summary we are indebted to the many people in Pyrford, Woking and elsewhere in the country who continue to work hard to help others. Long may it continue!
-Peter Ankers