Brenda lists her occupation as retiree, but at the age of 81 that is far from the case.
As the secretary for Leadgate Community Centre, she dedicates her time to helping the centre run smoothly, allocating times for use and sorting out payments to keep the Centre at the heart of the community.
Born to Leadgate parents, her father was a miner at the Eden Pit. She has lived all her life not only in the same village but in the same house bought by her father all those years ago.
Working at a clothing facility in the Team Valley area and then the surveyors department at Derwentside District Council, Brenda’s early life gave her the skills she needed for her next post. Her brush with the law came first at Wickham and then Consett, as she joined the police force as a shorthand typist. She enjoyed the job so much—dealing with the admin and writing up reports for the courts—that she stayed in post for the next 40 years.
It was with this background that Brenda was able to apply herself to helping out at the credit union and then to become a trustee and chairman of the Leadgate Area Partnership.
You would think having a cardiac arrest four years ago would slow her down, but Brenda seems to be working as hard as ever, giving time to the community she loves.
Story and Photographs by Mark Wilkinson – Consett in Focus
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Brenda’s story proves age is just a number.
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