Village
Appraisal
(.pdf)
Introduction In 1998, a public meeting was held in the village hall to find out what interest there was within the village to do something in time for the millennium. The idea of a village appraisal was raised along with other ideas: a village sign, a street party, and planting trees. The Women's Institute had produced a magnificent scrapbook of village life in 1965, but apart from a history of the village written by Jackie Grebby in 1991 and the publicity from 'The Darling Buds of May', Pluckley had not been in print in recent years. An appraisal committee was formed and, after several meetings, a questionnaire was agreed. A band of helpers distributed them to every household in the village and collected them. 68% of the village replied. My grateful thanks go to all those who completed this task. An extra group of people who possessed computers were drafted in to enter the questionnaires onto their machines - aided and abetted by Jackie Grebby. Every club, organisation, and business was approached and asked for a little bit of history: what they do at present and what of their future. From then on, the meetings were spent analysing results, writing reports, putting everything together, and grand discussions. Despite the amount of time involved everyone tried to attend all the meetings. Jackie Grebby and I even went up in a light aircraft in an effort to get some aerial photographs of the village. All I managed to do was to get the camera stuck and go a lovely shade of green! The next week I tried a balloon flight which was much more peaceful. Janet Gwillim, Co-ordinator |
