Vale: Wini Brierly

Co-incidentally to Michael's departure, we are also losing Wini and her family (see picture of Wini and Michael).  The Brierlys moved away last week to live in their house in Devon now that the family are all launched and independent - a new life at the seaside.

Wini arrived with us some eight years ago as housekeeper.  She rapidly became an integral part of the fabric of Iford, looking after residents, employees, friends and visitors alike - with Wini in the house, there was always a warmth (and a flapjack!) in the kitchen - and the kitchen at Iford is the heart of our little community.

As many readers of this post will know, Wini's arrival was also a treat for our tea-consuming visitors and Opera-goers in the summer.  She has raised both the standard and the volume of cream teas at weekends, cakes for visiting coach groups, and has even initiated 'cake of the day' teas during the week.  Thanks to her organisational skills we have a young, enthusiastic and efficient team of tea-helpers, and they in turn have Wini to thank for their universally good mental arithmetic (as she refused to let them use a calculator when working on the till!).  All these things have augmented the flow of visitors and contributed to the overall good will in Iford, above all sustaining the Iford community in a profoundly human manner.

It is impossible to write all the things Winnie has done or to convey how she has looked after everyone, with so much warmth - welcoming everyone with charm and good humour and so we'd just like to say:

Dear Winnie, thank you, thank you.