Tom Bowtell – Chairman
Responsible for external liaison including the Didcot Expansion, Co-ordinating the northern parishes, Strategic relations with other groups in the village and the Vision steering group.
I lived in the village from 1995 to 1999, then moved with my job to Poland and the USA for 8 years, returning to the village in 2008. My wife Prew manages the school website and we have three children in the school. We organise the village fun run and I am a keen runner. I’m a General Manager for a small not for profit consultancy on Milton Park and I have a sales and marketing background. I play football with the village old boys team that meets in the Plough on Tuesday nights.
Tom can be contacted at tom.bowtell@longwittenham.com or on 407261.
Teresa Benke – Vice Chairman
Village Upkeep, including Village Hall maintenance, Village Hall Committee meetings, Co-ordinate grass cutting/path clearance, Playground equipment maintenance, Vision action group – Sustainability and Appearance.
Teresa joined the Parish Council a year ago and was elected vice-chairman last autumn. She has lived in the village for ten years having moved with her husband Martin from Hertfordshire. Before her retirement Teresa was a computer consultant for almost 30 years, working in various locations around the country. Teresa’s hobbies include researching her family history and learning French. She also dabbles in calligraphy and enjoys cross-stitch. Both Teresa and Martin enjoy travel. They originally met in Nigeria while Martin was working there and after their marriage spent two and a half years in New Zealand.
Teresa can be contacted at teresa.benke@longwittenham.com or on 407666.
Ann Tomline
Advising on Parish Council Responsibilities and Governance arrangements; Standing orders, Relations with ORCC, Emergency plan. Ann also attends twinning association meetings and is concerned with health and care in the community.
Ann, who was co-opted onto the council last autumn, has a wealth of experience in local government. Before moving to Long Wittenham six years ago she lived in Garsington where she served on the parish council for 28 years, six of them as chairman. In addition Ann was a district councillor in South Oxfordshire District Council. She began her teaching career in Hertfordshire in primary school and later ran a nursery school in Garsington. For 25 years Ann was a JP. When she was appointed at the age of 29 she was the youngest magistrate in the county. She sat on the Bench at the former Marston Road Magistrates Court in Oxford and later at Thame and Henley courts. She also chaired the courts’ Family Division.
Ann can be contacted at ann.tomline@longwittenham.com or on 407961.
Andrew MacDuff
Finance and Grants, including annual budget planning, preparation of grants for projects, Relations with Finance Officer, Monthly check on overall state of finances
Andrew and his family are the most recent arrivals in the village having moved to the High Street from north Abingdon. Andrew is the support services manager at the world famous Bodleian Library in Oxford. He trained as a stage manager and for three years from 2002 was the general manager of the Oxford Playhouse. Andrew is a keen swimmer and enjoys watching rugby union although his main hobby at the moment is DIY at his new home. His wife Holly works part-time at a children’s centre in Oxford. They have two children, fourteen-year-old Hector and Tabitha who is ten. Both attend the European School at Culham.
Andrew can be contacted on andrew.macduff@longwittenham.com or on 407026.
Gordon Rogers
Communications, including Quarterly newsletter for Wittenham Ways, Monthly news for The Bridge, Media relations, Support Wittenham Vision / Action Plan communication, Website content, Village Twitter account.
Gordon is a retired broadcast and newspaper journalist. He lives at Bradgate in High Street with his wife Maggie. They have lived in Long Wittenham for 25 years, first in Fieldside and for the last ten years in High Street. Gordon began his career in evening newspapers in Milton Keynes and Northampton before moving to join BBC Radio Oxford. He was a reporter, producer and newsreader, mainly at Oxford but interspersed with stints in regional television in London, Birmingham and Norwich. On leaving the BBC Gordon worked as a freelance for trade magazines. In 2000 he returned to newspaper journalism, working for the Oxford Mail and Times and the Abingdon Herald. He likes walking, reading history and classical works, music (seriously lapsed pianist) and visiting good pubs.
Gordon can be contacted at gordon.rogers@longwittenham.com or on either 407234 or 07946 686223
Simon Thompson
Strategy issues and development, including Big Society / Localism impact on the Parish Council, Wittenham Vision steering group.
Simon and his family moved to Long Wittenham from Sutton Courtenay last summer. He is head of corporate communications at ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales). He lives at Barn Close with his wife Kate and children Ella (ten) and Ben who is eight. Kate is a freelance communications consultant and chairman of governors at the village primary school. Simon has a keen interest in local and national politics, and has stood for election at both district and county council levels. When he lived in London he was a councillor on Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council between 1994-98. His hobbies are cooking, music, photography and cycling.
Simon can be contacted on simon.thompson@longwittenham.com or on either 407942/07843 279977