3 minute read
Local Heroes
Patricia Latter
Patricia Latter
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Samantha Nemeth nominated Patricia Latter as an inspirational local author.
Samantha said: “Trish is such an inspiration for me. She has managed to write and self-publish five books with the sixth on the way. Having read them all I can thoroughly recommend them! In addition, Trish does voluntary work at Down House and also organises our Saturday morning adult ballet class. She’s a true example of following your passion, living life to the full and giving back to the community!”
Congratulations on being nominated by Samantha, Patricia. How do you feel and can you give us a bit of background about yourself?
I think she has a sense of humour! I absolutely don’t qualify as any kind of hero. I have been lucky enough to take early retirement and devote my time to activities I really enjoy. I volunteer one day a week in the garden at Down House, Charles Darwin’s home. The garden volunteers do whatever is needed - which means a lot of weeding and general tidying. But we also have the opportunity to talk to visitors about the garden and about Darwin’s life in Downe village. The place has been described as “Britain’s Galapagos”: where Darwin developed from being a naturalist making observations, to become a scientist, testing his hypothesis. For example, we maintain the experimental beds which feature some of the plants he studied. He demonstrated that artificial selection of a trait, such as flower colour, could serve as a model of the longer-term natural selection which drives evolution. I have always worked alongside biological scientists, so Darwin is a personal local hero for me. The volunteers couldn’t work during lockdown, but the garden still managed impressive wins at the London in Bloom awards, thanks to our amazing head gardener. I am hoping that next year the garden will be even more impressive. (It is never intended to be perfectly neat: the Darwins didn’t follow the Victorian mania for carpet bedding.) The kitchen garden may be able to return to full production, so the visitors will be able to see a larger range of fruit and vegetables from heritage varieties being grown organically, and buy some in the shop.
Have you been involved in other community activities?
I was pleased to help with the “For the Love of Scrubs” project, near the start of lockdown last year. I think I eventually became quite good at trouser pockets. I have always enjoyed dressmaking (dating from impoverished teenage years when new clothes were needed for parties).
My other regular community activity is to organise (but not to teach) an adult ballet group. When we couldn’t meet up last year, our teachers switched and adapted our classes for Zoom. One of our group members even arranged for our after-class social “ballet teatime” to continue via Zoom. We are now back to live, in-person classes - so I can attempt to pirouette without crashing into furniture. I came to ballet - to dance rather than just watch - in my 50s, and I’m still pretty useless. However, it is a fascinating discipline and hugely enjoyable, thanks to inspirational teachers and impressive classmates who have become very good friends. lifeinmagazines.co.uk
Is the local area important to you in other ways?
It has provided inspiration for something which fills much of my time. My professional role involved a lot of factual writing, and now I write fiction for fun. I have five selfpublished novels - available through Amazon as e-books and printed paperbacks. Almost all include nods to the local area, and the two most recent are gentle satires featuring a thinly disguised Petts Wood as the garden suburb of ‘Hazelden Forest’. The location will return in my next - a murder mystery - involving restaurants in “The Square” near “Elmwood” station. I must make the disclaimer that I am certain not one of my neighbours is as superstitious nor as murderous as those portrayed in the books.
What is it you love most about our local area?
The trees. The limes in Farnborough, where I grew up, provided the idea for a short story which was a prizewinner. The National Trust woodlands at Petts Wood have inspired other scenes in my stories. I also love that the Orpington area gives such easy access to London, with all that offers, but retains a feeling of the surrounding countryside.
