I first met Traudi Halliday over four years ago when I moved to the village and was looking for a local exercise class I could join. Her friendly face on a poster in a shop window encouraged me to pick up the phone and come along to the library where she still holds her Pilates classes. Over time, I got to know her for being the bubbly, fun and caring person she is.

Traudi has lived in Barrow upon Soar all her life. Her parents moved to the village in 1964, bought their first house after getting married and have lived here ever since. Geoff and Ann set up the knitwear factory: Geoff Harriman Fashion Ltd, first on Sileby Road, then later on the corner of Warner Street, at what used to be called ‘Industrial Square’ – the plot that is now Maran’s Court. The family business operated for 27 years, making jumpers and knitwear, for men’s and children’s fashion. The family business employed many local people, as well as all three of the Harriman children. They spent their school holidays buttoning up school cardigans or putting price tag labels on the clothes (called ‘kimbling’ as I found out) becoming knitters and designers until the factory closed in 2004.

Traudi reminisced about her childhood, spending her time with friends, being in and out of each other’s houses, or down the fields past the ‘Navi Bridge’ by the weir, at what used to be known as Barrow Beach, and about the freedom and safety they had as children. She talked about playing ‘Kerby’ on the street and speeding down Ribble Drive on roller skates or tin trays in the snow. Her two older siblings went to the old primary school on Cotes Road, before it was converted into houses, but Traudi, being the youngest, went to Hall Orchard and has many happy memories like drinking school milk with a green straw or playing hopscotch and kiss chase during playtime. They all went on to Humphrey Perkins High School as it was then called.

Traudi lives with her husband Andy, their two children Darcy and Bryn, and their family pooch, Betsy. Andy is a ‘townie’ from Loughborough, but when they got married, there was never any question about living in Barrow upon Soar. Darcy now works as an estate agent in Loughborough, whilst Bryn, after finishing his A-levels during the pandemic, has qualified as a tree surgeon.

As for us all, the last two years have been challenging for the Halliday family. Andy, a car salesman, had to learn to cope with the forced sabbatical, whilst Traudi had to overcome her fear of technology and move her Pilates business online. Her second most important value (after family, of course) is to serve people. “My clients became my friends,” she told me. After a short shock, she embraced the world of Zoom and even set up her own studio in the spare bedroom. It is not the first time, though, that her life has changed direction. It was the recovery from a terrible ski accident in 2016 that brought out her passion for wellbeing, mobility and spine health.

Saying all that, when I asked how she remembers the pandemic, all she recalls is having a beautiful summer, pausing to enjoy the birdsong and getting to know her neighbours.

She sees the positive in everything and everyone, and when asked about how much the village has grown since she was a child, she reminds me that new people bring value to the village, and hopefully they will also embrace the community here.

Love for the family is this family’s strongest value. This may have started with her parents’ open house approach, but her siblings have always supported each other; cousins grew up together; grandparents and grandchildren have always been close. Fun family gettogethers is how life still is in the Harriman and Halliday households. Even though they all enjoy going on holidays abroad, they love the sense of belonging that waits for them at home, in Barrow upon Soar.

Sarolta Bakti