Meet Cllr Catherine Jones

March is Women’s History Month, and across the globe, the achievements of women are being celebrated. There are five women on the Thame Town Council. This week, we meet Cllr Catherine Jones.

Tell us about yourself – where were you raised, schooled, and what is your connection to Thame?

I was born in Plymouth but brought up in Chester where I went to an all-girls school from 5-18. (When I say all-girls, we had Timmy the kitchen cat as a token male, but he’d seen the vet!) I left school and joined the army and my first posting was to Bicester in 1976. We used to go on trips to Thame and I fell in love with the little town and vowed to live there when I grew up. It took until 1993 to move here but we got here in the end.

What do you consider to be your greatest contribution / achievement, and why?

Getting elected on to Thame Town Council. Having the local population show they trusted me to make decisions on their behalf was quite a moment.

What is your vision for Thame? How would you like to see the town evolve over the next 10 or 20 years?

I appreciate that the outskirts of Thame are bound to change but I sincerely hope the town centre remains the same with its quirky roofline, massive open marketplace and friendly atmosphere. I imagine that, short of World War Three breaking out, that will probably happen, but I worry about some of the planning directives that come down from Westminster which give automatic permission for all sorts of developments and not all of them for the good.

Who is your shero (woman you regard as a hero), and why?

Rosa Parks, because she fought injustice.
 
What is the greatest advice you have ever received or lesson you have ever learned?

Don’t open your mouth till you know what you are talking about. (I don’t always follow it!)

How would you like to be remembered?  

As someone who (generally) rolled up her sleeves and spat on her hands when there was work to be done and who was quite useful.