TRIBUTE TO BELLA

Bella

You touched our lives in many ways, A multi fun packed glorious haze. A dynamo of fun and chatter who always knew what was the matter.

Wriggle Valley Players

Among her many interests Bella was also a dedicated and talented member of the Wriggle Valley Players. Together with Nick she produced videos of performances, cleverly editing out all the mistakes, then selling them on for charity. She also produced the posters and programmes, designed and painted scenery and took to the stage in a number A mum, a wife and a good friend, we never wanted this to end. Bella, you touched so many hearts In all our lives you played a part. One of those people, always there. Always up to do your share. Challenging us to stand up tall, And being there when others fall. You were a diamond in our sky. A person who would always try to see the best and help us out, we knew we only had to shout. Thank you, Bella from us all The school, the mag, the village hall. You were so brave, so strong, so kind.

Jan Millward

This is for those you’ve left behind.

of pantomimes. Acting alongside Bella was always entertaining; at times she felt the script merely provided guidelines, but her tremendous sense of fun always shone through as she adlibbed her way through a scene! She will be greatly missed.

Steve Crumpler and the Wriggle Valley Players

St. Andrew’s Primary school

I was asked to write a few words about working with Bella at St Andrew’s Primary school in Yetminster. Goodness, where to begin.

Laughter – my overriding memory of Bella has to be the giggles and full-on belly laughs that we shared. Bella had a really mischievous sense of humour and whether it was in the staffroom, during an assembly, a staff meeting or when teaching there’d always be something that sparked off a chain reaction of laughter. Bella could always be relied upon to call a spade a spade (and a chuffing one at that!) Happy times indeed.

Singing, displays, clay, wire modelling, art and design projects, school play props and backgrounds, murals (or Muriels as Bella always called them), website photographs, marketing, school events and fundraising, cooking (mmm those chocolate cookies and giant tray bake chocolate cakes), pink lipstick, pants (well, what else are you going to put on a flagpole?!), apes and monkeys (never to be confused), the Tardis, stars in their eyes and more double entendres than you could shake a stick at – these are just a few of the many things that Bella did at school.

I worked alongside Bella for 15 years and am proud to have called her my friend. She brought something very special to the school community, and will be fondly remembered by the children she inspired, motivated and encouraged. I miss you.

Sleep well dearest Bella xx

Katrina Halford Bella, my friend

It’s so sad to have lost one of the good ones. I will miss Bella terribly but have many cherished memories of happy times together; she was a great friend and a true inspiration. Here are a few words of what Bella means to me:

B is for brave, bright, brilliant, beloved, bold, blooming, blessed, beautiful and best friend

E is for excellent, eclectic, engaging, enthusiastic, eloquent, effervescent, erudite, entertaining and expletives! L is for loyal, lovely, learned, loquacious, laudable and laughter L is for legendary, linguistic, lovable, luminary, leader and light-hearted A is for awesome, artistic. articulate, astute, amazing, accomplished, admirable and adorable

(I hope that Bella would have approved of my use of the dictionary) My heart goes out to Nick and all the family

Julie Hardy

Both treasured friend and colleague at St Andrew’s School, Yetminster

Bella’s first connection to the school was as a parent of pupils Monte and Hebe and, new to the area, she quickly volunteered her services to produce the annual report to parents. The Head’s advice to the Governors was to be sure to have their contributions ready on time as the lady lived at a place called Hell Corner and she really was rather scary! So Bella’s life at St. Andrew’s began.

First as a volunteer, then later as a member of staff, Bella quickly became an essential and enthusiastic member of the team, the Go To person for computer assistance, art inspiration, DT and science knowledge, her skills were generously given and her commitment to the school second to none.

A character, colourful in appearance and personality, entertaining in the classroom and in the staff room, Bella was involved in all aspects of school life.

So many children will have taken home treasured crafts created under her tuition and fond memories of her well researched and inspirational lessons. With her involvement in the end of year drama productions and the class six year books, the St. Andrew’s Leavers were given a wonderful send off and through her wall displays and whole school art projects her creative touch was seen

throughout the school.

Bella taking part in the human fruit machine at the school summer fair 2011

No one could forget her school panto performance as the Fairy Godmother, proving to the children that perfection isn’t always necessary as forgetting your lines and ad-libbing with panache can be more entertaining!

Even after a bad day, parting words from Bella would leave you with a smile. The list of her contributions was endless.

First impressions are not always accurate and only scary when you’d taken more than your share of purple chocolates from the staff room tuck tin or attempted a raid on the art room resources, Bella was a treasure as both colleague and friend.

Judy Gallimore

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Bella R.I.P.

I first came to know Bella when she volunteered to take on the role of editor of the magazine in 2011. The magazine was very different in appearance and monochrome format in those days.

With encouragement and support from the WVM committee it didn’t take long for Bella’s flair and creativity to emerge – sometimes going into overdrive – to consistently produce a little gem of a community magazine good enough to win a national award in 2018. I think Bella was a genius, very kind hearted and generous with her time.

We became good friends, mostly via emails and phone calls every month, as Bella put a new issue together. Our dialogue was full of pithy, lighthearted banter as we decided how to deal with [some very bizarre] requests and problems initiated by contributors and advertisers. Frustration always turned into fun and only on rare occasions did we end up “putting foot in mouth”. [The George Albert Hotel incident was a classic example].

Bella’s motto could well have been the classic “Never Give Up”, a fighter to the end. Sincere condolences to Nick, Monte and Hebe.

Gordon Ratcliffe

Dear WVM

I just wanted to write a short note saying how sorry I was to hear about Bella’s passing. I knew she had been unwell for some time, but the occasional email between us was always so cheerful and professional, that it has come as such a shock. My children were at St. Andrews and absolutely loved her as she was so positive and creative. I must admit to not knowing her well personally but 34 as I was always bothering her with a late submission or request for a poster, and she put up with me with so much generosity – I feel like I did! I hope you will feel the support from the community to get you through this sad time, and please pass on to her family my best wishes. She was one of the good ones that make the difference in so many ways and has left the Wriggle Valley a far better place for having been here. She will be much missed.

Julia Jepson

A Personal Tribute to Bella

When my husband and I went to look at St. Andrew’s School, Yetminster, with the idea of sending our daughter there, one of the most attractive things about the school was the number of wonderfully imaginative and creative pieces of art and craft that filled the walls. On arrival at the school, our daughter got the full benefit of the creative impetus behind these works of art, as she got to work on clay creations with Bella in her first couple of years at the school. Personally though, Bella’s greatest influence was in being so enormously supportive and encouraging in my taking over the direction of what is now Wriggle Valley Voices. Leading a choir was a massive step out of my comfort zone, and one that I was not sure I could manage. Bella’s obvious enthusiasm and appreciation, whilst sitting in the front row at rehearsals, and her mischievous sense of humour, were a very significant factor in my feeling confident enough to take on the challenge. I know she will be very sadly missed by all who knew and loved her, and her generosity with her skills within the local community will be irreplaceable. Wriggle Valley Voices

have lost a valued and adored member, friend and advocate. We hope to be able to meet again in the not too distant future to show our appreciation of her through some joyful music-making.

Kate Hawnt and the Wriggle Valley Voices

My tribute to Bella

What can I say about Bella? We knew each other from our connections with St Andrew’s school back in the 1990s when my girls brought home mysteriously shaped objects made with Bella at Clay Club (Mrs Neate-Clegg was the fun art teacher who wore brightly coloured clothes and stripey socks), and from her hilarious performances in Wriggle Valley Players productions. But it was here at the mag where our friendship grew; our lively monthly emails back and forth were always filled with light-hearted banter despite the high level of professionalism she dedicated to producing each issue. Her commitment as editor was such that even towards the end of her life she was still putting the issue together and refusing to give up – her courage and tenacity to fight cancer was unrelenting. I also really loved sitting next to her each Thursday night at choir and there was many a time when we couldn’t look at each other for giggling during a song (sorry Ian and Kate). I will miss her so much and I’ll remember her for her wit, red lippy, lovely singing voice, her passion for colour, nature and language and her ability to call a spade a spade. Always the first one to ask about the girls, her love of family life was immense and I send so much love to Nick, Monte and Hebe.

Liz Tebbatt

Bella

Bella crammed a lot of experiences into what turned out to be her too short life. Her father was a Royal Navy officer and her childhood was split between boarding school and exotic places like Hong Kong, South Africa, Malta and Portsmouth. When her father retired, he took on the management of Tatton Park, a stately home in Cheshire owned by the National Trust. Tatton was her home whilst she attended Swansea University to read Zoology in the mid ‘70s. Bella was passionate about animals and conservation; her dis-sertation was on tardigrades, microscopic “water bears” – these resilient creatures were little studied then, though more so now.

After Uni she joined Chester Zoo as an ape keeper, where her love of orang-utans began. Whilst at Chester she pushed the boundaries too far on human-ape relations and received a very bad bite to her knee from a male orang called Dennis. Around the same time she lost a kneecap in a car accident – the

dash-mounted handbrake on her Renault 4 was to blame. No marathons for Bella after that!

In the early ‘80s Bella moved to Paignton Zoo as Education Officer but later as Marketing Manager. Each move saw her using her natural talents and creativity as she developed her career. When she first moved to Devon she shared a house with a group of teachers, one of whom would subsequently sing at our wedding and another made Bella’s wedding dress. Stories and photos abound of her crafting and cooking, chocolate cake and brownies in particular. Subsequently she bought a house in Kingswear and filled it with possessions, pictures and two cats.

Bella and I met a few times at the parties of mutual friends. When one of those friends married we met again at the Reception. An invitation to dinner, followed by the failure of my TR7 “popup” headlights – which didn’t pop-up – and the rest ….is a cliché. That was June 1986. I plucked up the courage to ask for her father’s permission to marry Bella in the September and we married the following year – D-Day, 1987. Bella gave up her job in Devon and we moved to Sheet near Petersfield – close to my work in North Portsmouth. Bella took on various marketing projects for zoos and the Zoo Federation. Bella was an early starter in getting zoo marketing to focus on the vital conservation work done by and in zoos, funded

by the commercial enterprises popular with the public. She had regular slots on Radio Devon, and created educational material with her natural artistic flair.

Bella was looking forward to building a family but tragically through her first pregnancy we learned that our daughter, Amelia, had a life-limiting condition and she died in November 1988 aged just three weeks. Unfortunately we were experiencing one of those ultra-rare health statistics, when knowing it’s rare is no comfort. A number of pregnancies followed with heartbreaking outcomes. To say we were delighted therefore, when Monte and then Hebe arrived healthy and safe, would be a massive understatement. Inevitably they became a key focus in Bella’s life as she nurtured a passion for Zoology (Monte) and a love of creativity in design and marketing (Hebe) – no accountants here!

We then moved to Hullavington in Wiltshire in 1989 for a fresh start and it was whilst here that Monte and Hebe were born. We loved our ten years there, and had lovely neighbours and friends in the village for whom we are grateful now. Bella moved increasingly into crafting, producing clocks, boxes, coat hooks and all sorts for sale in craft shops and shows.

We came to Hell Corner in April 2000. As a parent at the school gate, then as a TA, and then taking on teaching responsibilities for Art, Science and Design Technology, St. Andrew’s School and the people around it have been tightly woven into Bella’s life. Her work at the school was a natural combination of her talents to educate, motivate and create.

She treasured the friendships she made and the opportunity to help children learn and be creative. It saddened her hugely when she had to give it up because of her illness.

In our 20 years at Hell Corner we have seen our children grow and move off with their own lives.

Bella loved technology, especially that which allowed daily (sometimes hourly) calls, so different from her childhood with her parents overseas. She loved the natural world around her and as her illness kept her at home more and more, she loved the view from her room over the fields, the sounds and sights of the birds and other wildlife, and the live nest cam in her blue tit nest box.

Monte, Hebe and I have been hugely moved by the number and range of Bella’s contacts and friends who have shared our loss. It is heart-warming to know how she touched and brightened so many lives. Thank you.

Nick Clegg