Two women born 50 years apart speak on village life

Two women born 57 years apart have shared what life is like living in their village, as part of a county's annual celebrations.

Margaret Buttle, 76, and Jess Heyns, 19, have both lived in Haughley, Suffolk, since 2005.

As part of the commemorations around Suffolk Day on Friday, the two women spoke to BBC Radio Suffolk and shared their experiences of living in the area.

The pair both agreed Haughley had a good community spirit.

"You can never be bored," said Mrs Buttle who retired to the village and is a well-known figure in the area.

"Everybody has got a smile on their face and it is just a nice place to be.

"Everybody is community minded and we've now had a new housing estate at the bottom of the village [and] one at the top, and they've all integrated which is really nice."

Miss Heyns works at the Kings Arms pub in the village, which she said has helped her connect with other residents.

"People from all over Haughley come in and it's really nice to get to know them all," she explained.

"All these lovely faces that I've passed for so many years and hadn't known or talked to - and now meeting them all and getting to know them [is] really lovely."

Miss Heyns described the village as "a beautiful place".

"I did some research on the history the other day and it is really rich," she added.

"[Haughley] was here before Stowmarket, so it's definitely a really beautiful place."

Suffolk Day was first held in 2017 and this year's celebration has been hosted in Haverhill.

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