After celebrating Judith Rogers’ amazing achievements as BUSCA Chair for 20 years, I went to meet Fiona Laywood, the new chair of BUSCA, to find out what she brings to Barrow and what her vision is for the charity.

I met Fiona in Freckles on a rainy Friday afternoon. She told me she and her family have finally moved into their new home, after renting in the village for years. By ‘family’, she means husband, Matt, who works as a premises officer at Humphrey Perkins School, and is also a plumber and handyman by trade. The couple were married this summer.

Their children are Finn (14), who enjoys playing football at the Quorn Junior Football Club; Edith (10) who loves the outdoors, climbing, and has just started scouts; and Violet (4) who loves dancing and performing. The family is complete with a pet dog, two tortoises and a goldfish.

But let’s go back a few years. Fiona, originally from Belper in Derbyshire, moved back to her parents following a split from her then-husband. The travelling between there and work in Leicester proved to be too much so she decided to look for a new home somewhere in between. Barrow had a lovely feel, the school looked good so she moved here with her two children, who quickly settled in at Hall Orchard Primary School. This was more than six years ago.

Fiona has worked at Babington Academy (an 11-16 secondary school in Leicester city) for 17 years. She began as an English teacher and is now the senior vice principal. Fiona said, “I love working with that age group of children. It is a very deprived ward and I love the difference we make to those children and their families’ lives.” Fiona still teaches English and enjoys taking part in school plays, staff and student pantomimes, whilst working hard to ensure the school is supportive and inclusive so that all children have a chance to reach their potential.

Rehearsals of Barrow Youth Theatre’s November 2022 production ‘Legally Blonde’

Following the birth of her youngest daughter, Violet, Fiona really appreciated the community Barrow offers, particularly the library events she went to whilst on maternity leave. After a bit of searching and signposting by Judith Rodgers, she learnt that the library was run by BUSCA, and the organisation was recruiting new members. Fiona made friends with Nicola Noble and started helping out with village events, like the Scarecrow Festival and Christmas Market. She then became a trustee and started going to meetings. It was when discussions began about whether the library could still operate if BUSCA wasn’t supporting it, that Fiona felt the urge to step up. “I felt that this is really important to me. It is too good an organisation for it not to be there anymore. The library is now doing very well and could continue on its own, but I feel that BUSCA is so important as a community organisation and could do so much more for the future.”

Fiona is not new to fundraising and community involvement. When growing up, she spent many years working alongside a close family friend, raising thousands of pounds for Derby Hospital through organising fetes and fairs. “I loved being part of the community in that way,” she said.

So, what can we expect from Fiona?

“What BUSCA has achieved in the last 50 years is huge, they had a great vision and a clear goal, that created great community spirit,” she explained. “The world is a lot different now, things cost a lot more. But the pandemic has shown that lots of people are willing to help others, you can see that on Facebook all the time. There are people who want to be involved but I’m not sure they understand what they could get involved with when it comes to BUSCA. I am interested in looking forwards and seeing where BUSCA can be taken in the next fifty years. We want to understand what is important for our community, what people want in the village.”

Fiona is bubbling with many ideas and questions about the future of BUSCA: is it a community hub? If so, what does it look like? Are public toilets needed in King George V playing fields? If so, how could BUSCA help? Are there more organisations out there who would benefit from being under the umbrella of BUSCA? If so, could there be membership benefits?

BUSCA is hosting a stall at the Christmas Market (Saturday 3rd December), please go along and talk to the BUSCA representatives and let them hear your views. They are planning on creating an online form as well so they can collect people’s thoughts and views to help BUSCA decide where fundraising needs to go.

As I am writing my notes up from our meeting, I feel positive and reassured that BUSCA is in the very capable hands of someone who will successfully navigate the path of respecting the past whilst showing great curiosity and drive for the future.

Sarolta Batki