WALTON NEWS

They say that everyone can remember exactly where they were when they heard the news that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated and it is the same with the events of 9/11. As I write this on the tenth anniversary, I remember the phone ringing that afternoon when I was at home expecting to go down in the evening to give my weekly talk to the time sharers about the history of Walton. It was Fred Staples, the Chief Executive. and he simply said ‘I think you'd better not come. Something terrible has happened in New York and we've a lot of Americans here’. I immediately went and turned the television on and saw the plane fly into the second of the Twin Towers, followed by the great engulfing curl of black toxic smoke and the hundreds of people running ahead of it, trying to escape. If I had not been warned that it was real I would certainly have thought that I was watching a horror film. Fred Staples told me later that it had been impossible to contact the people staying at Walton Hall – they had mostly been out for the day sight seeing and had not turned their televisions on, so that he had to break the news to them as they gathered for the talk, unaware of what had happened. There was naturally consternation among the guests, some of whom lived in New York and there was even an air hostess who worked for the airline of one of the hijacked planes who understandably was desperately distressed.

We know now that the event was world changing, and it brought change even to such a small place at Walton, for it affected the American tourist ind­ustry and slowed down what had been very profit­able time share sales. These formed an impor­tant part of the economy so that, although many peo­ple regretted it, when an offer to buy out the time sha­rers was received from Paramount Hotels it was thought wise to accept. So another era of Walton history began, with the Spanish firm Barc­eló running the hotel and conference business and many brides and grooms choosing the old house as a perfect setting for their wedding receptions.

The management stress that the doors are still open to local visitors so don't be afraid to drop in for coffee or to taste the gourmet food in the restaurant. We are very grateful to Barceló for allowing us to hold the fête on the lawn in front of the Church as usual, as well as providing the raffle prize of a dinner for two.

The puppy Haley is being puppy-walked as part of her training to become a dog for the disabled.

It was a very happy afternoon and our weather luck held, so many thanks again to Christine Baker and her team who worked so hard setting up the site and running the events, and it was good to see new families joining in. Well over £1,400 was raised.

So life goes on and the next thing on the list is the Christmas Fair on Wednesday 2nd November from 10.30am to 2.00pm at the Wellesbourne Watermill when there will be all the familiar stalls and some new ones, with plenty of opportunities for pressure-free Christmas shopping and a chance to chat to friends over coffee.

EH

Parish Council News