WILTSHIRE LIFE Awards 2018 3
Contents and introduction
Pictured left is former chair of judges Lady Ruth Hawley
with current chair of judges Helen Birchenough
Contents
4 Meet the Judges
5 More about STEAM Museum
7 Community Group of the Year
9 Carer of the Year
11 Teacher/Coach of the Year
13 Business of the Year
14 Past winner: Buttle Farm
15 Independent Food/Drink Producer
17 Conservation Group of the Year
19 Philanthropist of the Year
20 Past winner: The Swan at Enford
21 Pub of the Year
23 Young Entrepreneur of the Year
25 Farm/Village Shop of the Year
27 Young Sports Personality of the Year
29 Local Hero of the Year
30 Past winner: Wiltshire Music Centre
31 The Arts and Culture Award
33 Countryside Champion of the Year
35 Lifetime Achievement Award
37 Services to the Community Award
39 Pride of Wiltshire Award
40 About BBC Wiltshire
42 Interview with Cadan Murley
43 Wiltshire Life Awards 2019
Introduction Helen Birchenough
It is a great honour and delight to be the chair of judges for the illustrious Wiltshire Life
Awards 2018, for they play such an important role in our community, drawing together
people from across Wiltshire.
We live in a large and diverse county and the south and the north can seem a distance
apart, separated as they are by a plain the size of the Isle of Wight. Our awards shine a
light on the wonderful things that are happening in the furthest corners, often hidden
and little known about.
It is appropriate that our ceremony moves around, popping up in a different but always
splendid place each year and it’s wonderful to be at STEAM Museum in Swindon this time.
This extraordinary listed building has so much to tell us about the history and heritage
of the north of Wiltshire. It was at the very heart of railway engineering, employing 12,000
people in its day; a place of excellence and a precursor to the vibrant centre of industry that
Swindon is today. The museum promises a ‘First Class Day Out’ and is a fitting space for
our First Class Awards Ceremony.
These awards gather together the ‘great and the good’ of the county. I include all our
sponsors and nominees in this group. Thank you to the 15 great organisations that support
this event as corporate sponsors. Between them they deliver a huge variety of goods and
services and while they vary in size and the nature of their business, they all have in common
that they care very much about this county and the people in it.
Thank you also to our wonderful nominees, who are an inspiration to us all. In their
different ways they bring skill, creativity, commitment and energy to this place. The judging
process is often a humbling one, as we read about extraordinary feats of commitment and
devotion. The world is a better place for these people and we are very fortunate to be able to
meet and celebrate them at our awards ceremony.
It is an occasion that reminds us that sponsors are people too, and I would like to pick out
one sponsor who illustrates this point very well. Last year the Young Entrepreneur of the Year
award went to Monty George with his company Furniture Box. It is fabulous to welcome
him back as the sponsor of the Farm/Village Shop of the Year and we thank Monty and his
business partner Daniel Beckles for their support.
Lastly, I want to thank my marvellous fellow judges for all the time and care that they give.