Local Face: Lorna Battista
Lorna Battista, nee Thompson, is well known in Wendover. She grew up, works and has many friends here and on Saturday afternoons supports Wendover Football Club, her toddler son Max cheering along with the rest.
Lorna’s parents were both in the RAF and came to work at Halton. Her father, John, hails from Wales and her mother, Helen, from Scotland and Lorna is very proud of her Celtic origins even though she was born in the Princess Mary Hospital at Halton in October, 1977. The family lived in Grenville Avenue until 1985 when they moved to Bryants Acre where they still live. Lorna is the middle of three children who all attended the local schools – John Hampden, Wendover CofE Middle, where they each in turn became vice captain of Green House, and finally John Colet.
Lorna thoroughly enjoyed what she found to be an idyllic childhood, walking to school with friends, often along the canal. She was a sixer in the Elves with 2nd Wend over Brownies and danced with the Rozelle. At school Lorna enjoyed sport, art and drama which has led to a real interest in the theatre. She also took part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, based in Wendover. Lorna earned money babysitting for many Wendover families and helped Nigel on the hardware stall In Wendover Market, setting up before school and putting away after. She had great fun at Wendover Youth Centre and carried on her socialising, both working at and meeting friends in various pubs In Wendover. Her father is chairman of the Wendover Darts League which also includes Weston Turville and Aston Clinton.
Her work experience, while at school, was at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in the orthodontist department which led to a job for Lorna with a Tring company and day release to King’s College London on a course for Dental Technicians, making crowns, teeth and plates. This all fell apart in the recession which led to her being made redundant.
Lorna did not want to leave Wendover to continue her apprenticeship so she took part time work at The Grange Residential Home as a care assistant and then for more hours at Leonard Pulham House, finally working on the Bank at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. She started an access course at Aylesbury College for a degree in nursing when she fell pregnant and began to think about another career change.
Lorna and husband Bob, also from Wendover, think it is a shame that they had to move out of Wendover to afford to buy a house. Lorna had always enjoyed DIY, decorating and watching Changing Rooms type television programmes. When she was 7 months pregnant, Bob left for work in the morning knowing that Lorna had bought a border for Baby’s Room. She found a superb lampshade in a charity shop, bought paint and by the time Bob returned the room was finished, complete with ragged walls, spots of primary colours and mobiles.
They are gradually changing the styles of each room in their 1960’S Bedgrove house, experimenting with many paint techniques. Bob is a self-employed carpenter and joiner, using these skills to refit their kitchen. Max Robert Battista was born in November 1997 and Lorna continued with some hours at Stoke Mandeville with Bob and Lorna’s mum, Helen, helping with childcare. Lorna investigated the possibility of a City & Guilds course in Interior Design at Aylesbury College but it just wasn’t practical. However, a school friend suggested a correspondence course and Lorna found that a City & Guilds and Academy Diploma could be obtained at the Regent Academy of Fine Art, London where Lorna visits her tutor once a term. She then wrote to every interior design company in striking distance explaining her circumstances and Cromptons of Wendover needed part time help.
So every Monday Max enjoys a day with Gran, Helen, walking the dog and feeding the ducks on Hampden Pond is a favourite pastime for him. On Tuesdays he thoroughly enjoys himself at The Childrens Room in South Street.
Sue Gear, the owner of Cromptons, offers a complete service from a metre of fabric to redesigning a house. A lot of work recently has been redesigning pub interiors in London so it is very varied and ideal for Lorna’s course which involves many detailed assignments on given situations, scale drawings, colourboards measuring and estimations etc.
Bob has just been appointed 1st team manager for Wendover Football Club and at the Ladies 5-a-side football tournament on Saturday 21st August, Lorna will be leading a team which includes her sister, Moira, and friends.