Bryn was born in Enfield and came to the area in 1966, first living in Kings Furlong, then near Alton before moving back to Basingstoke in 1978. He worked in the housing department at the council before retiring in the 90s. Some of his earliest memories of the borough are from working whilst all the development was happening.

“My earliest memories of working here, I suppose, were a degree of chaos from the development. I had one amusing incident that sort of summed up the speed at which things were happening. A year after I arrived, I went on holiday for two weeks in the summer and, on my first day back, I had to visit on of the new estates and hot lost because the road layout had changed whilst I was away!”

For six years after retiring he ran the YMCA Charity shop with his late wife.

“We ended up based in the old ABC cinema in Wote Street, where all the seats had been removed so, in addition to the traditional charity shop items we sold a lot of furniture. We raised in the region of half a million pounds and had a lot of fun in the process.”

He later drove mini-buses as a volunteer for Basingstoke Community Services and was a volunteer Haymaker.

“The experience that gave me the greatest fulfilment was working with the Haymakers. We got to see the plays. Got to meet the actors. We had a lovely relationship with our regular audience.”

Most of his favourite activities involve the stage, having performed with the Proteans in a number of their productions. He enjoys the summer productions put on in the Walled Garden as part of Basingstoke Festival.

We asked Bryn about the hidden gems of Basingstoke and he told us the Walled Garden was definitely a hidden gem and a wonderful place for outdoor performances. But “the jewel in the crown has to be The Anvil”.

September 2024