Faces of FWC
WHEN Anita Johnson was invited along to a FWC meeting in 1999, the other members knew they were on to a good thing and got her to join up there and then. A year later she became their contact leader and hasn”t looked back.
The best part about their meetings is the friendship and laughter – all trials and tribulations are left behind. No two meetings are the same, as Anita organises such a variety of things to do. The bottom line is being able to get away from it all and switch off for a couple of hours – very therapeutic, she says.
For the first time ever this year, husbands, partners and friends were invited to join the members at a meeting and they all had a great time together. It”s the only FWC group I know that always starts off its meetings with a sherry!
Anita has been married to Eddie for 43 years. They met in Melbourne, Australia, in 1958 when she was working as a travel agent and he was looking at turkey farms. It must have been fate, because he was given her address by a mutual friend but missed her the first time. The second time around, he travelled south instead of north – and the rest is history.
Eddie and Anita have worked side by side producing as many as 10,000 turkeys at the peak of their farming days. But two Christmases have now passed without a bird to be plucked – they just have some arable land to work.
In 1977 Anita was diagnosed with cancer and given six months to live. She had a really tough time, with five operations in 18 months. But she recovered with plenty of rest, fresh air, good food and a very understanding husband. She had always been an active person and her time spent at the Forward Health Clinic with Roger Uttley, the former England rugby captain, built up her confidence. She gradually became stronger with specific exercises set by this gentle giant of a man, and eventually took a diploma with the Keep Fit Association. To this day she is a keep-fit instructor.
She takes her classes in Eaton Bray village hall every Thursday, when her 32 ladies leap around like spring chickens, even though they are all over 60. Anita puts so much into the preparation of her classes that when she heads off to the village hall it is like moving home as she takes everything with her. In the summer the classes are held outside and Anita says that one of these days, a hula hoop may end up on the church spire. “You name it, we fling it,” she says – and adds how much satisfaction she gets from this part of her life.