Sadly, Peggy Parmenter passed away on 11th February 2021. Peggy had slowed down a lot over recent years, not surprising when you consider her age. During the last year or so she had increasing health problems that left her pretty much immobile. Her husband Ron, whom she dearly loved, cared for at home but as her health deteriorated, she had more hospital visits than she would have cared for. Just a few days before she passed away she was once more hospitalised, where she later died. Peggy and Ron had been married for over 63 years and he will miss her terribly. Our thoughts go out to him and the family at this sad time.
Peggy was one of those ‘get up and go’ girls. She had no time to sit around and had to be on the go, constantly doing something. She would insist that she could manage, even when things were becoming impossible for her to continue with. She was ‘in charge’. In charge of serving others, a wonderful gift to have; whether teas or coffees, savouries, cakes or puddings whenever there was a social event or a day of filming she would organise the food, delighting others with her homemade fare.
For shows, where OVFM catered for visitors, she went the extra mile to make special treats, filling her freezer up to the gunnels. One such occasion that she catered for was the North v South competition that OVFM used to host. She would have likeminded volunteers lined up to help out both with the home made cooking and the service on the day.
Peggy enjoyed talking to people, socialising and having fun and you’d know that she was about, due to her distinctive voice and little chuckle. She possessed a natural talent for acting. She learned her lines so that her words would flow naturally and seamlessly as though in conversation, entering fully into the spirit of the character she was playing……… And if there was a reason to ‘dress up’ Peggy would oblige.
OVFM were very fortunate to have such a versatile member amongst their ranks. It is good that we are left with so many good memories of Peggy as we see her starring in many of the older films within our archives.
Peggy, we will miss you, may you rest in peace.
Jane Oliver
I remember when she had bought a ride on racing car at Brands Hatch for Ron, she asked me to film it. I wasn’t dressed for the occasion but they took me into the restraunt for lunch, I felt right out of place but it was a lovely gesture. RIP Peggy.
I was very sorry indeed to hear that Peggy had died.
Although she had suffered a number of falls and broken bones, as well as operations in recent years, she always bounced back to being her old cheery self.
She was a vegetarian and fervent animal lover, owning up to three dogs at a time, including Freddie who starred in a number of members’ films.
She had a camera in the early days and was all set to make films, seeking help wherever and whenever it was offered.
However, the idea of sitting on her own and editing didn’t appeal to our Peggy so she decided that her contribution to the club would be on the refreshment side, and participating in the making of other members’ films.
She provided the teas and coffees on club nights, and over the years she organised the refreshments for public shows, Triangles, North v South competitions, and even the Kent Film Festival on one occasion.
Who can forget her Lemon Drizzle cake!
She hosted and fed the external judges for our Annual competition before films could be transferred to them digitally.
She was a very organised person, and anybody she chose to make up her ‘team’ soon learned they had to abide by her rules.
For our annual dinners it was Peggy who made multiple trips to hotels and restaurants to check out the venues and negotiate a good price.
Every outing with Peggy had to include a stop for coffee, and “well-done toast” in her case, so that whenever I helped her shop for supplies for the club I knew to set aside anything up to three hours.
But that was a pleasure because she was a very entertaining lady and we always had a good laugh.
I feel honoured to have been a friend of Peggy’s, and accepted as part of one of her ‘teams’.
Along with the club I’ll miss her greatly and send my condolences to Ron, Rachel and all her family.
Annabelle.
Thank you for this lovely memoriam; especially Annabelle’s lovely words – so very true – especially the “well-done toast” with lots of butter! She was an amazing mum and a great loss to us, when she passed on 11th February. Remember one of Freddie’s films, Annabelle mentions, when joined by his mum ‘Trixie’ – a fun day of filming – dogs loved it and we also briefly met Camilla, before she became Duchess of Cornwall – filming could take place in some beautiful locations. So glad we were able to celebrate mum’s special birthday two year’s ago.
Rachel
I must confess I didn’t get to know Peggy that well despite me being a club member for 10 years now, but she was always cordial and welcoming. For example, as I don’t drink tea or coffee, every meeting I would find the bottle of squash along with a cup set aside for me in the kitchen, which was nice of her.
I wasn’t aware of Peggy’s acting contributions to the club for a while until we started to delve into the archives and began to digitise the older films. Suddenly she would become a fixture both on and off screen at club meetings, cropping up in supporting roles in other members’ films, and doing a good job to boot.
They always say that you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, and despite the best efforts of other members in running the kitchen during the break or at film show events, I think I can safely say Peggy was a tough act to follow in that regard. However, through her many film appearances and convivial manner, this wont just be her legacy as a member of OVFM.
R.I.P
Peggy Parmenter
I was so sad to hear that Peggy Parmenter had passed away. She was always such a fun lively person who had lived life to the full. I remember seeing a super eight film Peggy’s husband had taken on a beach years ago during a holiday film evening or something and I’ve got to say that she was a real siren in her youth.
Her real forte was in catering and the masterminded many of our catering events, organising sandwich and cake production by club members and together with Ron her doting husband, produced mouth-watering displays that that were eagerly snapped up. Her most mouth-watering signature product, if I may say, was fruit cake, she excelled in this. In fact, she always secretly gave me a couple of extra pieces to take home after our shows.
She was very fond of dogs and years ago she had a black Labrador called Freddie. I starred in a film with him down at Jim’s place. Freddie had a kind of lopsided sideways walk I’ll never forget.
I am going to miss her.