Karen was born in Basingstoke, in The Shrubbery Maternity Home in 1967 on her mother’s birthday. They lived in Packenham Road before moving to Kempshott, just after Karen turned ten years old.

Karen shares with us:

“My mum worked evenings in Sainsbury’s, which was where Iceland is now, while my dad looked after me, after his shift at Blue Peter Retreads.  We had a little black cat, called Sooty, who came to live with us, when I was around seven years old.  By then, my sister, also born in The Shrubbery, was three years old.  I do have a vague memory of being taken to visit mum in the maternity home.  It seemed to be a very dark place, this was probably due to all the wood panelling.”

Karen tells us of her early memories of Basingstoke:

“I remember being with my dad, walking through the new town centre, with my Fisher Price Little Snoopy in tow.  His bright red wheels squeaked, as I pulled him along.  My dad later said he nearly died of embarrassment, because I would insist on taking it on the shopping trip.”

“There was a tea shop called The Good Hostess next door to the Wheatsheaf Pub on Winchester Street. I also recall being told about Thornton's Bakery which had three cafés. One was located where National Tyres is now on Flaxfield Road, my nan used to work in The Good Hostess and my grandad worked at the bakery in Flaxfield Road.”

“I used to go in The Warren (which is now Willows) it was a stationery and sweet shop!”

Karen attended preschool at the Pentecostal Church opposite King’s Furlong Centre, then attended King’s Furlong Infants. “In 1974, I moved down to the primary school building, where the headteacher was Mr Reed.  My favourite teachers were Miss Webb and Mr Sherwood, he used to take us swimming in the Sports Centre every week.”

Karen then spent five years at Richard Aldworth Secondary School before going on to study at Basingstoke Technical College, now known as BCOT.  “I left Basingstoke Technical College in 1985, with three A Levels, which were English, French, and German.  I also obtained two business qualifications in French, plus RSA Stage 2 Typewriting.  At the same time, I was undertaking privately funded lessons in word processing, as word processing was beginning to replace typing in the world of work.”

Karen shares with us what it was like to grow up in Basingstoke:

“Growing up in Basingstoke, well, we used to make a lot of our own amusements, such as building dens. I used to go to the cinema and Westfield Lido. Basingstoke is much bigger now. There is so much around that you can do, there’s no way you can be bored.”

Karen’s first full time job was in the Membership Administration Department of the AA, based in Fanum House before moving into the world of IT, working for an engineering and micrographics company in West Ham, Wicks & Wilson. This was Karen’s last full time IT job in Basingstoke, as her career took her to other towns, Maidenhead, Farnborough, Hook, High Wycombe, Uxbridge, and Milton Keynes. 

Karen is an active volunteer at her local registered GP surgery, and previously volunteered at Milestones Museum and the Watercress Line.

“I worked as a volunteer in the 1940s shop at Milestones Museum. Kids would come in to have a look around and pass me their ration card for sweets!”

Karen shares with us

“I love walking, historical reenactment and amongst other interests have rediscovered art, in particular mixed media, and find that my local area gives me plenty of inspiration, attending classes in jewellery making, metal embossing, creative writing, and bookbinding, all offered by our fantastic museums.  I’ve also been lucky enough to participate in outdoor urban sketching workshops, in and around Basingstoke.”

January 2025