1994 Interviews

In January 1994 BBC Radio Suffolk broadcast an edition of Down Suffolk Way in which Mary Jane Cullum interviewed a number of Earl Soham residents.  Copies of these interviews are reproduced here by kind permission of BBC Radio Suffolk.. Walter Pearl Walter Pearl lived at The Causeway (on the Causeway),with his wife Nancy. During the second world war he had deep litter chickens in the cottage next door. He was in the building trade and worked for the well known firm of Read's of Aldeburgh.  He died within the last ten years.He was quite a character. JR 2019. Margaret Buckland   Margaret Buckland and her late  husband Geoff were both very active in the village.They lived at Cherry Hill, Framlingham Road, Margaret with her daughter Suzanne took an extremely active part in organising the Annual Art Exhibition run by Earl Soham RBL that ran  for well  over 30 years.  She organised the Earl Soham over 60s Club, and was and still is active in Church affairs. JR 2019   John Bjornson   John Bjornson still owns the Victoria and the Brewery.  Brewery now based, I believe, in Debenham.  John and his wife Claire took over the pub with his brother Sandy and wife Linda.  Nowadays, John also owns The Station in Framlingham. At the time of the interview they would have been living in Cobbold's Row (where the Whittakers now live).   John has owned the pub for well over 30 years now.  JR 2019   John Hutton   John Hutton opened the butcher's shop giving himself a couple of years or so to get the thing up and running.  When it first opened there was no vegetable outlet but with the closing of the corner shop on the green there were no vegetables available in the village and John was persuaded to fill the gap. JR 2019.  .    Connie Abbott   Connie, Abbott who had been employed at the Corner shop, ran the vegetable side of things in John Hutton's shop JR 2019.   Nella and Vernon Cotton   Nella and Vernon Cotton still live in Earl Soham.  Nella was the postmistress from 1969-1996.  In 1978 Vernon gave up his Dennington round and took over from Jackie Freeman (she also lived in the village). JR2019 .