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The Author

Andrew Pastor

Who Were We? Author Andrew Pastor talks about the book and life in the village on YouTube:

The Author of “Who Were We?”

Just who has put so much effort into the people and history of this small Dorset village? Read on to find out.

With my personal background – father a refugee from the Spanish Civil War and mother the daughter of a German economic migrant – it is no real wonder I’ve always been attracted to family stories and history.

After university in Liverpool where I studied Modern History, I began working as a teacher of English to non-English-speaking people, adults and children, both abroad and in the UK. Over the years I have lived and worked in Spain, Finland, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Oman. Back in the UK I have taught in state schools at primary and secondary level. And for the past 20 years I have been a freelance teacher/trainer of English to European business people. At other times I have been a member of a Theatre in Education company and managed my own small garden nursery.

Bringing the story up to date: Since 1989 I have been living in the small village of Drimpton, in west Dorset, where I have put down deep roots.

Since 1999, when the voluntary community group, Village Voices, was formed in the village, I have been its Project Manager.

In over a decade the group has managed a raft of activities: singing, music making, photography, art, language classes, IT training, textile workshops, community pantomimes, plays and shows, film making, exhibitions, not forgetting the planning and making of The Green Way. [See – Hidden Dorset]

My personal enthusiasm for history has led me to record reminiscence and oral history, interviewing hundreds of local people. Material gathered has been used to make three books, published as Village Voices: Local Lives (2002),  Farming Families (2006) and The Nameless Stream (2006).

When, in 2006, villagers with a shared wish to research their family histories came together, it was decided that the stories of our 19th century ‘neighbours’ deserved to be put on record. For three years we researched, collected, collated, sifted and stitched accounts together. Then in early 2009 I was set the task of making sense of what we knew mixed liberally with what we imagined. The result is ‘Who Were We?’

Please contact me if you would like to know more about ‘Who Were We?’ and how it came about. I am available to speak to groups with an interest in Oral / Local / Family History or with a desire to set up community-made projects. I do not claim to be a specialist, but I am a practical enthusiast, with experience.

andrew.villagevoices@btinternet.com

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