Tattenhall People in Focus

Tattenhall People in Focus
In this series, we spend 10 minutes talking to someone who lives or works in Tattenhall and share our findings with you. Today, we're talking to Martin Cooke who is currently the Chairman of Sport Tattenhall
How are you?
Very well, thank you
Where are you from?
For years I thought of myself as a nomad insomuch as both my father and his father were in the army so I spent my younger years moving every couple of years. My first school was a Greek convent in Limassol, Cyprus and by the age four I was bilingual; however I also lived in Ireland, Egypt, Germany and Finland in quick succession and forgot my Greek as quickly as I had learnt it. But when I left school I settled in Cheshire and spent the largest part of my career working in Liverpool.
How long have you lived in Tattenhall?
We moved to the village in 2000, having lived between Chowley and Clutton for the previous ten years.
What do you like about the village?
There is so much that I love about Tattenhall. Much of it is down to the large number of people who, in their different ways, contribute their time to making it such a great place to live.
What would you most like to improve in the village?
A reduction in car usage with more people walking and cycling rather than driving; this would help to improve fitness, air quality and the sense of community.
Have you found any positive aspects of the Covid-19 restrictions
I have enjoyed discovering the wealth of footpaths which criss-cross the Sandstone Ridge and which in this wet winter have, apart from the roads, been the best places to walk. I also spent more time gardening in 2020 than in any other year I can remember.
Who do you most admire, dead or alive, and why
HM The Queen for a lifetime of service to this country and the Commonwealth.
You've volunteered to give up a lot of your time in your various roles in the village. What are they all and what was the trigger for volunteering for them
Since coming to the village in 2000 I have been very much involved with Sport Tattenhall, the Tattenhall Business Alliance, the village website, Tattenhall Online and the Sandstone Ridge Festival. The trigger was seeing so many other people working for the greater good of the community and thinking that I wanted to do my bit.
What have you enjoyed most in these roles
I've enjoyed working with a large number of people in these various organisations and seeing ideas and plans being brought to fruition
What do you do to relax
Over the last year the pandemic has restricted many of the things I like doing like singing in choirs and playing sport but what I've been doing more of is playing bridge online two or three times a week.
Favourite Film, music, play or TV program
Notting Hill, Mozart, Noises Off and Morse
Who would you invite to a dinner party or a drink in the pub?
My family
If you could time travel, where would you go and when?
50 years on to see how my children and their children and grandchildren are faring
Thankyou Martin for your time.