C O N T E X T 1 0 7 : N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 8 41 Vox pop Membership notes The following members were voted in at the council meeting on 25 September 2008.Welcome to you all. Upgrades from affiliates to full members Josephine Brown (SW) Joanne Fisher (SW) Richard Fox (SW) David James (NO) Affiliate members Christopher Augerson (SC) Lucie Carayon (LO) Rachel Case (SW) Stephen Corbett (SE) Anna Cudnowska (SE) Catherine Dove (YO) Wayne Duffy (SC) Toby Gane (EA) Davinia Glanfield (SO) Delia Graham (NI) Stephen Gregory (EA) Lucy Haile (LO) Lee Hall (NO) Malcolm Hislop (WM) Stella Jamieson (WM) Sebastian Knox (LO) William Leadingham (SC) Graeme McCarthy (NW) Fiona Murphy (SC) John Nicholls (LO) Susan Oakley (YO) Nina Paternoster (SW) Victoria Poole (WM) Claire Pudney (EA) Charlotte Reynolds (EA) Mark Ruth (NW) Jan Schneidewind (LO) Nancy Sheridan (SO) Christopher Smith (EM) Diana Sproat (SC) Thomas Street (EM) Chris Telford (EM) Lynda Tomkins (EM) Stuart Turner (SO) Jill Vernon (EM) Gary Vidler (EA) Peter Ward (WM) ClareWatson (YO) JeremyWatson (SC) HannahWaugh (SW) GervaseWebb (WA) JulieWilkins (SO) DebbyYates (EM) Associate Members Helen Lindsay (NW) John Summers (SE) Simon Robertshaw is conservation manager with Monmouthshire County Council Who has been your greatest inspiration? Sounds corny but… my wife. She’s focused, works hard, and achieves things. What has been your best idea? In terms of work, getting out of a job that I didn’t enjoy or feel a passion for and changing career direction to conservation. What would you like to have been if you had not become a conservationist? If I could start all over again I’d like to have taken up a trade – stone slate roofer, maybe. How do you reply when at a party someone asks what you do? Boring, I know, but I just say I’m a conservation officer. People usually know what the job is. It is absolutely fantastic to have a job that people are interested in and where you don’t feel like you are going to bore them to death – that was my previous line of work. What is the biggest frustration in your job? Some of the very complex personalities we have to deal with – people never cease to amaze me! It’s amazing how some owners just don’t, or can’t, get it. What would you like to be doing in five years time? In terms of work, a job that gives me a buzz – which could be the one I’m doing now. What is your favourite building? I fall in love with loads of different bits of buildings every day – I find it difficult to pick just one. I had access to the Palace of Westminster for three months over the summer of 2003 and so feel I have a connection with it:Westminster Hall, St Stephen’s Cloister, and all of the Barry and Pugin phase. It is lavish, beautiful and has an energy about it. Your favourite place? Different places for different things but… home. In terms of holidays I really love north Norfolk – the skies are so big and the scenery is absolutely gorgeous. Your favourite book? A good dictionary – words are amazingly enjoyable to play with. I’m not really a book worm. What do you do in your spare time? Spend time with my family mostly – my children are aged two and four. To clear my head I find running really good. It leaves me feeling refreshed. What organisations are you a member of? Apart from the IHBC, the SPAB and the RICS. Which one issue would you particularly like the IHBC to campaign on? We need to continue to argue the green debate. To live in buildings which have been recycled over hundreds of years, many of which retain their original fabric, is positive. In addition their maintenance often relies on the use of locally sourced materials that have a low carbon footprint in terms of production. Combined with this, ad hoc partial repair and replacement is part of their character. The continuing use of historic buildings, combined with their sympathetic alteration, is a positive message that needs to get through to members of the public.
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