LOCAL FACES: NIGEL AND MARGARET COPELIN

Both Margaret and Nigel came to Wendover for work related reasons, from small villages north of Aylesbury, and each thought Wendover a thriving big town: a High Street abuzz with local shoppers having most of their needs easily met. Another highlight was the large number of pubs! They've been here around 45 years and in their present house nearly 37 years while bringing up four children who all live elsewhere now and have given them seven grandchildren aged 17½ to 2½ .

Margaret came to work in Brown & Merry Estate Agent while Nigel wanted somewhere nearer to his work which involved river water and he was then based in Amersham. Over the years, Margaret and Nigel have become very involved with many aspects of Wendover life.

Margaret's work trajectory took her from office work to working with children, ultimately in Wendover Preschool at Wendover Memorial Hall, giving her a strong connection with growing families and hence she became embedded into Wendover life.

Nigel stuck to working with river water quality, first of all with that elusive chalk stream, the Misbourne, and then with the Thames from Oxford. This inspired him to walk the Grand Union Canal from London to Birmingham to raise money for Leukemia Research and the MS Centre. Nigel served on Friends of John Hampden School, Wendover Carnival Committee and the Coombe Hill Run, raising money for local charities.

When the call came from Wendover Parish Council, they joined the Warden Scheme because they wanted to help their neighbours as the country went into lockdown. As long standing residents, they already knew the neighbours near to them but now they took on the responsibility of collecting prescriptions and generally making sure they were well provisioned and often took the place of family members who were not allowed to visit or carry out these simple tasks. While realising that no-one wants to be beholden to their neighbours, least of all we British, Margaret in particular found that the new relationships they were developing gave her an inner satisfaction she hadn't anticipated.

As the lockdowns came one after the other culminating in our current "fully boosted" stage, most of their neighbours were able to return to their former self sufficient state, often with family support, but Margaret and Nigel are still there in case of emergency. They have noticed that the initial feeling was very much universal fear of going out, as instructed by the Government. Some seemed frightened even to open their front door to a familiar face, but now their neighbours have learned how to order deliveries and are able to go about their business as before, still observing sensible precautions and enjoying the opportunity to take more exercise, which came as a surprise to some!