Julia Hamby
AREA ORGANISER NE01
Hi everyone, I live in a village called Well, near Bedale in North Yorkshire. We moved up here 4 years ago from Derbyshire where I had lived for 25 years.
However, I am Yorkshire born and bred. I was born in Bradford, lived there until I was 17 then moved to Doncaster which is where ultimately I joined NHR. After moving to Chesterfield in 1983 I immediately joined NHR/NWR there and have been a member ever since. On moving to North Yorkshire the first thing I did was look for my nearest group which turned out to be Northallerton, about 12 miles away from where I live. I joined straight away and they couldn’t have been more welcoming. There were 25 members in the group when I joined and it has since grown to over 30, with a core of regular members. Apart from the regular fortnightly meetings, there are also monthly coffee afternoons, lunches and walks and the possibility of a book group starting as well. There is a Supper Club on a rota basis for those interested and the group also has a couple of parties a year that include partners.
In 2013 the group hosted a Day Conference which was very successful. This came at the end of my 2 year session as Local Organiser; owing to work commitments in Chesterfield, I had been unable to take my turn as LO for some time so did a double stint for Northallerton.
Technically I am semi-retired but still work as a part-time trainer/assessor with the Assessor and Verifier Awards and mainly with railway guys. I also volunteer for the local Hospice and for the Riding for the Disabled where I am Co-Chairman. In my ‘spare time’ I like to read, walk the dogs and basically get outside.
I believe in NWR and its ethos which is why I kept my membership going for many years when I couldn’t attend the full meetings because of teaching evening classes. I enjoy the meetings, the variety, the different people you meet and the fact that there is stimulation, friendship, laughter and so on. Long may it continue.
Member of:
Northallerton NWR