Interview with Pat Thomas (b.1946).
Pat Thomas moved to Bletchley, Milton Keynes from Bedfordshire in 1978 with her family when her husband took a job at the Open University. She recalls memories of Milton Keynes when she first arrived: the many building sites, mud, Lloyds Court and the building of the city centre shops. She comments that their first house looked like a ‘chicken coop’ but was spacious and nice inside; once she made friends, she settled in Bletchley. She recalls shopping, the playschool (run by Lady Maxwell) and other amenities. She enjoyed working for Milton Keynes Development Corporation as a temp. ‘It was a very vibrant organisation’. She has now worked for the Community Health Council (CHC) for nineteen years, the last six as chief officer. On health, she recalls problems due to the lack of hospital, her involvement in the campaign to save Westbury maternity home, and the MK hospital campaign. She describes the work of the CHC and talks of the changes in the health service, commenting that MK has a specific profile of health problems, as a young city.
Talking of MK she says: ‘now I’m a great believer in Milton Keynes … it’s a lovely place for teenagers to grow up in…. I’ve put my roots down here and we’ve a lot of friends and being in this job I meet a lot of people.’ She would like to improve the transport system and regrets that Bletchley has become run-down.
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