A COMMUNITY stalwart was given the ‘shock of her life’ after she was thrown a surprise party to mark her ‘Sue-bilee’.
Sue Holden, company secretary of the Barton Community Association, moved to the east Oxford suburb 50 years ago, with family and friends spending months planning the surprise bash.
Ms Holden moved from Reading in 1972 and ran Holdens News in Underhill Circus for 34 years, with her late husband Barry.
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Describing the party, Ms Holden said she ‘had the best weekend ever’.
“I’m still in shock, I’m still floating. I thought I was going for a family meal but then got suspicious when my son pulled up at the neighbourhood centre,” she said.
“I had the shock of my life when I walked in – there was a life-size cut-out of the Queen with my face on.
“There were so many people, I was gobsmacked.
“I’m very rarely lost for words, but I was overwhelmed and humbled that so many people turned out to wish me well for my 50 years in Barton.
“There were lots of lovely cards with warming messages in them, with lots of people I hadn’t seen for a long time, so it was wonderful to see them. My son got hold of some ancient photos that were plastered around the room.”
Ms Holden’s value to the community cannot be undervalued, yet she sees it as just part of her job.
“I just look upon it as my job, it’s what I enjoy doing and for me, it’s just normal,” she said.
“It’s lovely to sit back and know I’ve affected so many lives with small impacts.
“When I moved, my plan was to stay for 10 years but from the moment I got here, I could feel the Barton blood running in my veins.
“If I could turn back the clock, there’s nowhere I’d rather stay than here in Barton.”
Tanya Field helped organise the party, and said: “It’s been really difficult to keep it a secret because Sue knows everything that goes on in Barton.
“We particularly wanted everyone to contribute in their own way, so people cooked different food and baked cakes, some read poems and others just stood up and said a few words – even little things like children making banners.
“Everyone contributed in little ways and that’s what made it so great.”
Looking ahead to the summer, Mrs Field said: “There’s no slowing down, we paused for a celebration and now we’re going full steam ahead.
“Our workload and what Sue does has gone up so much since Covid, and changed our operation.
“She’s not slowing down but actually speeding up.”
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This story was written by Liam Rice, he joined the team in 2019 as a multimedia reporter.
Liam covers politics, travel and transport. He occasionally covers Oxford United.
Get in touch with him by emailing: Liam.rice@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter @OxMailLiamRice
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