A RESIDENT who gives her time freely to improve the surroundings of Mangotsfield’s war memorial has been given a community award.
Mavis Maybee stops off at the Alec Large Park in Mangotsfield whenever she sees some gardening that needs doing around the memorial.
Mavis joined Mangotsfield Residents Association soon after moving to the area from Kingswood in 2007 and volunteered to help tidy up the border around the memorial in 2020 just before the pandemic, after noticing it was in need of attention.
She said: “It was such a mess – it was solid with weeds. I thought it was a shame it looked so awful, when everything else around it looked so nice.
“So I asked if anyone tidied the war memorial, and would they mind if I did it?”
After filling three bags with weeds to clear the border, with help from some neighbours, Mavis decided to return to keep it clear, and now drops in regularly to see what needs to be done.
She said: “Sometimes I’ll come over with my hoe and sometimes I’ll just pull a few weeds up.”
Mavis and her friend Sue Fletcher also look after one of planters in the park and are involved in work to improve the gardens at the Dame School, at the corner of St James Street and Richmond Road.
Mangotsfield Residents Association and the Staple Hill Partnership gave Mavis an award for outstanding community service in July.
MRA chair Clive Heath said: “We often see Mavis out doing things around the memorial. She does it just because it needs to be done.
“She works hard and does a great job, which is really appreciated by the residents association and the community.
“If we had more people like Mavis the place would be better, and I’d encourage other people to come forward to help our community.
“We especially need some younger people to help keep our work going into the future.”
Pictured: Mangotsfield Residents Association chair Clive Heath hands Mavis Maybee her certificate at the memorial, with Staple Hill & Mangotsfield ward councillor Michael Bell and Simon Budd, of Emersons Green Town Council