Terry Townsend came to Little Thurlow when he was nine. He moved from Norwich with his parents when his father took a job as a carpenter on the Thurlow Estate. They lived at The Firs, a house adjacent to what used to be the bakery.

Terry remembers so well the smell of fresh bread straight from the oven, and Mr. Cooper the baker delivering bread at midnight.

In 1957, when he was twelve, they moved to Thurlow Green and he has lived there ever since. During the early years his mother (Irene) was the postwoman, cycling the round in all weathers, and then in later years using her car. Terry’s father (Hubert) on retirement was a church warden at St. Peters for a short time, a lot of which was spent repairing and recovering the bench kneelers.

Terry has seen many changes in the village, especially new houses on land once used as allotments and on open land. Regarding wildlife, he doesn’t think that intensive farming has had too harsh an effect on birds and animals. There seems to be an increase in magpies, smaller birds, and small mammals as far as he can see in this area.

Terry’s interests are mainly his two German Shepherds which he rescued from a dogs’ home, photography for which he has received official recognition, and gardening when he gets time.

All in all he thinks the village is a nice place to live and would not choose to live anywhere else. He wishes the village good luck in the new millennium.