November 2022

12 Buckden Roundabout November 2022 Village News Ruth Nicholas – 07957334142 Judith Armitage – 01480 811717 Buckden WI Our October meeting began with a minute ’ s silence as a mark of respect and to remember HM Queen Elizabeth II who had been a long standing member and passionate supporter of the WI. We then welcomed our speaker, Sue Jakeman, who had dressed up for the occasion in a beautiful turquoise fringed gown and black sparkly dancing shoes and had come to tell us about the life of her aunt, Peggy Spencer MBE. Peggy was born in London in 1920 and, after taking a secretarial course, became the private sec- retary to Herbert Morrison of the Labour Party and Deputy Prime Minister. Here she met and married Jack Spencer who also worked for the Labour Party and together they had two children, Helen and Mick. Sadly, the marriage didn ’ t last and Peggy later mar- ried his brother, Frank. During the time of the Blitz Peggy saw the hardships and suffering of people especially when they were sheltering from the constant nightly bombing raids in London ’ s underground stations. She bought a book on ballroom dancing, taught herself one dance and then took the children into a quiet area of the underground and taught them the cha cha cha. When they had mastered that dance she would then learn a different one and teach them that. 1953 was the year of the Coronation and many people bought TVs and subsequently watched other programmes including Victor Sylvester ’ s BBC Dancing Club. He was a World champion in Latin and Ballroom Dancing so Peggy teamed up with him to make dancing on TV competitive and so “ Come Dancing ” was formed with Eric Morley as host. Peggy and Frank ’ s formation dancing team was an essential part of this for over 40 years. Frank and Peggy Spencer became one of the most successful partnerships in the world resulting in the presentation of eight Carl Alan Awards ( the equivalent of the Oscars) and the award of the M.B.E. for their service to the dancing world. Other highlights of a distinguished career included appearing at Buckingham Palace to entertain the Royal Household Staff at their Annual Ball on two occasions and appearing at the Royal Command Performance twice. She was the subject of Cilla Black ’ s “ Surprise Surprise ” and Michael Aspel ’ s “ This is your Life ”. A remarkable lady and an amusing rendition of her life by her niece. Our next meeting is on November 1st in the Millard Suite of the Village Hall at 7.30pm. It is a talk by Bill Templeton on the history of Huntingdon following on from his previous talk about the bridge between Godmanchester and Huntingdon. Everyone is welcome but for additional information please contact either Extracts from Buckden ’ s Neighbourhood Plan 2020 The full plan is available from Buckden Parish Council website : https://buckdenpc.org.uk Pictures taken from the Newly adopted 2020 Neighbourhood Plan. Comparing previous pictures from the 1995 Buckden Landscape Appraisal compared to present day.