New clerk getting to grips with town

THE new Beccles Town Clerk said this week that she was looking forward to getting to know the town even if she was so far finding it hard to get her head around all the “Gates” such as Blyburgate and Hungate.

THE new Beccles Town Clerk said this week that she was looking forward to getting to know the town even if she was so far finding it hard to get her head around all the “Gates” such as Blyburgate and Hungate.

Claire Murray, 41, took over as town clerk on Tuesday, and having always lived in Lowestoft, admitted she is not entirely familiar with the town.

However, she said she was so far enjoying the job, which she said was in many ways different from her old post as an accountant for Waveney District Council.

“I'm still trying to get the hang of all the street names, all the Gates!” she said. “I'm enjoying it. It's diverse and I don't think any two days will be the same. It's certainly quite different to my last job but it will be a nice change. You get to meet people.

“As an accountant you don't get to deal with the public at all and it will be nice to meet people on a daily basis and get to know Beccles. It's a lovely little market town.”

Miss Murray lives in Fallowfields, Lowestoft, with her three-year-old daughter and fianc�e, to whom she is getting married in September.

She also works as secretary for the Corton Arms House charity, which looks after elderly people. She said that most of her spare time was spent looking after her daughter, however, when she does have time to herself she enjoys gardening and travelling.

She takes over from Berenice Broome, who was town clerk for three and a half years and retired last Friday. “Bernie was a very successful town clerk,” she said. “Its big shoes to fill but I'll give it a go.”