Country music ain’t nuthin’ but three chords ’n’ the truth. Beryl knew nothing much about Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash and all the other country music stars until in 1978 she went to work as a company nurse at an iron foundry in Halfway, Sheffield. It was where she met Bryan Newton, who marketed precision castings.
He had a passion for soulful hillbilly ballads, and soon Beryl was in love with them — and him. It was not long before they were married and jetting off to the United States, where Bryan’s work often took him. “We had a wonderful time,” says Beryl, “visiting just about everywhere in the USA, and often getting seats at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, where we heard some of the most famous country names. We also visited Dollywood, which is Dolly Parton’s theme park in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.” Beryl, 88, was born in Mansfield, where her father managed the town’s markets.
Her first job was as a junior clerk with TV and radio retailer Henry Wigfall. She later trained as nurse, and worked at Chesterfield Royal Hospital and Sheffield Royal Infirmary (which closed in 1980). Beryl and Bryan were married for 45 years, until his death in July last year at the age of 80. “I was heartbroken when he passed away, and decided that I no longer wanted to live at our bungalow,” says Beryl, who has two daughters: Gillian and Lynne. It was Gillian who contacted Loxley Park and arranged for her mum to have a one-bedroomed, ground floor apartment.
“I think Loxley Park is amazing,” says Beryl, “and feel very safe here. It’s a pleasure to walk in the grounds, and there are always people to chat with. I like that the staff are very sociable — always greeting me with: ‘Hello, Beryl,’ which is nice. Sometimes I sit in my apartment and enjoy playing Bryan’s country music CDs. The songs bring back such happy memories.”
