Betty Richards at Middleton-on-Sea
Other children would ask me, “Does your mum work?” “No,” I'd reply.... Only from the distance of 46 years since her death, can I see that this wasn’t strictly true. Mum didn’t have any paid employment, but her involvement in the local community practically amounted to a full time job. I’ve done a thorough trawl of old copies of the Bognor Observer and in particular, the Town and Country Gossip columns to catch up on her activities. The writer was “Belinda” who didn’t do gossip as we understand it today – the weekly column wasn't a catalogue of mean swipes or taunts, it didn't go in for ghastly Jerry Springer-type revelations or Twitter-style trolling but rather provided a comprehensive summary of all the social and fund-raising activities in Bognor and in the outlying villages where everyone got a mention, where achievements were celebrated and where communities and their activities – from bee-keeping, flower arranging, drama productions and fun...