A Cumbrian lady has marked a very special work anniversary this month. Lynne Walker has celebrated 25 years of working as Assistant Housekeeper at the Lake District Calvert Trust. This longevity should be enough for anyone to celebrate but Lynne has a rather special story that underpins this achievement.
Lynne was born in Cumbria in the 1950s. Here parents arrived in the county from Liverpool by bike, to work as wardens at a local youth hostel. As a baby, Lynne suffered a rare reaction to a vaccine. Resulting delays getting to hospital due to Cumbrian geography left baby Lynne with learning difficulties, something that she lives with to this day.
With no SEND provision in the county and determined to keep the family together, Lynne’s parents chose to leave their beloved Cumbria and move the family lock, stock and barrel back to Liverpool in order to give Lynne the educational support she needed. But the county was never far from the family’s heart and all school holidays were spent in Threlkeld.
On completing her education, Lynne entered the workplace. Working first in housekeeping in a Liverpool care home, Lynne subsequently worked for Barclays in the staff kitchen and then at Winniecott Poodle Parlour where she groomed Ken Dodd’s two poodles!
But the lure of the Lakes was strong and in the 1990s, Lynne and her parents found themselves back in Threlkeld on a permanent basis and a new job was needed.
In true Keswick fashion, Lynne first saw the Calvert housekeeping position advertised in the Keswick Reminder! Her first major hurdle to overcome? Writing her letter of application – this was no small feat for Lynne, but she applied herself diligently.
Happily, Lynne made it to interview where she met Edna, the then Head Housekeeper. Edna saw Lynne’s potential and on 13 August 1998, Lynne got the letter to confirm her employment – she jumped for joy! She wrote it in her diary – circled and highlighted it excitedly. On the 26 August 1998, Lynne started at what is now the Calvert Lakes site at Bassenthwaite.
Twenty-five years ago, Edna took Lynne under her wing and supported and nurtured her in her early years at Calvert Lakes. Today, Lynne continues to receive empathetic support from the latest Head Housekeeper, Caitlin along with the incredible, specialist Calvert instructors, who never fail to greet her and stop for a chat. In addition, Lynne and her family have very much valued the support from John Crosby (former CEO for LDCT) and John Fryer-Spedding (founder of LDCT).
Lynne’s parents were incredibly proud of her. They visited her regularly at the Calvert Lakes site. As her father’s mobility declined, they would sit and chat just outside the main building. After he passed, they installed a bench in that spot in his memory. Now at Lynne’s break time she likes to sit on the bench, look at the panoramic view across Bassenthwiate, watch the osprey and ‘talk’ to Dad.
Lynne’s brother, Ian commented:
“As a family we are delighted to be able to celebrate 25 years of Lynne’s employment at the Calvert Trust.
It began amazingly for Lynne back in 1998 with such empathetic and supportive work colleagues. Her confidence grew noticeably immediately and, for Lynne, this has continued to this day. Calvert Lakes and the wider Trust play a massive role in her personal life and development.
Lynne’s parents would have been overjoyed to see the foundations that were laid by them with regard to her education and the move back to the Lake District, having resulted in Lynne’s remarkable achievement at Calvert Lakes.”
In her time, Lynne has seen many changes at Calvert. But throughout that time, she has been supported by both the Lake District Calvert Trust and The Shaw Trust – thanks to whom she took a busman’s holiday to Calvert Lakes spending a week as visitor experiencing horse riding, archery, sailing and abseiling.
So what’s next for Lynne? Well, there are beds to be made, sheets to be washed and bathrooms to clean. Lynne is simply happy being able to contribute working at the Trust. It is such a vital part of her life – not to mention her gorgeous daily commute via taxi from Keswick to Bassenthwaite and the chance to catch up with one of the 20 local taxi drivers who chauffeur her! Over the last quarter of a century, Calvert has become more than a job – Calvert and Keswick are Lynne’s caring community.
To find out more about the work of the Lake District Calvert Trust and how to get involved, visit www.ldct.org.uk
