This Chandler’s Ford community website has just had a facelift. As the creator, I am thrilled.
A few weeks ago, I received an email from Roger Clark, Trustee of Hiltingbury Community Centre:
“Wonder why though it’s called Eastleighnet rather than a Chandler’s Ford website name.”
Roger explained his points through these metaphors:
“If you look at branding Eastleigh is a Ford, Chandler’s Ford is a Jaguar and Winchester is a Rolls Royce.”
I went swimming with these powerful analogies on my mind. The same night I had a discussion with my husband about types of car, their stereotypes and images, and their engines, like all passionate couples do in the evening.
Yesterday, Chandler’s Ford Today was born. The concept is refreshing, modern, and relevant. The name Chandler’s Ford owns this space. Roger challenged me with my brand name, with persistence and a good argument. His reasoning was thought provoking. He bought me coffee. He won the argument.
I changed my site name.
Who is Roger Clark?
Roger has a strong sense of community. He believes in putting something back into the community and organisations that he has enjoyed.
Roger was a Rotarian, and also an Olympics Games Maker for London 2012.
His enthusiasm is inspiring. Roger was involved in the building of the Hilt as a retirement project. As a Trustee, he also runs stimulating Movie and Talk events at the Hilt that Chandler’s Ford residents truly enjoy. These events entertain the audience, and help enhance the quality of our cultural life in the community.
Roger is also involved with Festival Medical Services through his daughter Lisa. His commitments also cover Winchester Photographic Society, South Winchester Golf Club, and Ovacome, the ovarian cancer support network.
You are a competition-winning wildlife photographer. Any strange encounters?
“It all started after I was charged by a black bear when trying to take photos of it in Yosemite Park. I used a compact camera and the black bear didn’t like me invading its space. At the time it was scrumping apples. Since then I purchased a telephoto and that took me to other bear places – like Alaska.”
“I won a well rewarded Times competition of a Grizzly with a jumping salmon a claw’s length away. The eye of the salmon was looking into the eye of the bear.”
“My wife Lyn also enjoys the hobby and we have been to quite a few places. It’s often an adventure. We went to Antartica a few years ago. We went to the Arctic as well to photograph polar bears. As a bonus we saw other Arctic wildlife ptarmigan, hare and fox.”
What are the highlights of your adventures?
“The great thing about these trips is that you can never predict what you will see and who you will meet. We have done safari three times. The last time, in July, we hired a 4WD and drove 3000 miles around Namibia to photograph animals at waterholes. Elephants kept us amused because they loved water. We saw one young elephant dive down in a deep waterhole until it disappeared completely. After minutes we saw just a trunk, slowly and comically, rise to the surface for some air.”
“In November we went back South just above the Antarctic Circle to photograph the King Penguins of South Georgia. To walk around a colony of 300,000 King Penguins on one beach can only be described as great privilege. South Georgia is truly one of the greatest places on the planet.”
“We also visited the Falklands as well and I had mixed feelings. The wildlife was wonderful and not too frightened of us poking a camera into their face. What was disturbing was the amount of land on the Island that have not been cleared of landmines. When was the war – 30 years ago?”
Thank you Roger for sharing with us your work for Hiltingbury, the Chandler’s Ford community, charities, and the joy and arts of wildlife photography. I have learned from your understanding of the community, its needs, and your advice for the direction of Chandler’s Ford Today.
Confucius said, “In a group of three people, there is always something I can learn from. Choose to follow the strengths of others, use the shortcomings to reflect upon ourselves.” (Verse 21 of Analects of Confucius Chapter 7.)
Who is the other key figure in reshaping Chandler’s Ford Today? In my next post, I’ll introduce Web Designer Neil Duddridge from SO53 to you.
Related Posts:
- Chandler’s Ford Today For Chandler’s Ford Community
- Is Chandler’s Ford A Jaguar? Meet Roger Clark.
- Neil Duddridge: The Man Behind Chandler’s Ford Today (With Huskies)
- Lib Dem Joined The Apostrophe Debate of Chandler’s Ford
- Chandler’s Ford Or Chandlers Ford? You Choose.
- Does Spelling Matter? Notes On Chandler’s Ford Library.
- How I love Your Comments
Related posts about Roger and Lisa Clark:
- Lisa Clark’s Legacy
- Roger Clark’s Quest to Antarctica to Photograph the Right Penguins
- Roger Clark: Trip of a Lifetime – My Antarctic Trip
- Richard Stock: Fundraising for Ovacome
- Richard Stock Raising Money For Ovacome
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Ford v Jaguar v Rolls Royce…?
Such comparisons are always dangerous. Probably best avoided actually.
The area that I often visit (Velmore) is noticeably different to the other, more affluent parts of Chandlers Ford.
Is Roger being a little too selective when he compares Chandler’s Ford to the brand-name Jaguar…?
Hi Ray,
Thanks for your comment. I wouldn’t take the car analogies too seriously. We drive a Honda, and what should Honda be compared to? I think Roger was trying to persuade me to drop ‘Eastleighnet’ as my brand, for ‘marketing’ purposes in the long term, if this site wanted to distinguish itself from Eastleigh, and not to be confused with, for example, Eastleigh News, which is well-loved by a wider area of Eastleigh residents.
When I was at school, we used to analyse countries using their national flowers. For example, the national flower of the Republic of China is the plum blossom, because it is a “symbol for resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity, because plum blossoms often bloom most vibrantly even amidst the harsh winter snow.”
Perhaps we should try using plants as metaphors next time.