Ron Summerfield dec'd

I remember vividly the day Ron Summerfield died (not least because of the mountain of work to which his death gave rise). Can it really be 25 years ago today? That's what the local paper tells me.

Its report is OK as far as it goes, but barely scratches at the surface of what Ron's legacy has achieved for Gloucestershire. Around £10m will now have been donated to local charitable causes by the Summerfield Trust, and the giving goes on.

I took the above photograph for a booklet published to commemorate the first 20 years of the Trust's existence. Alas, the gallery in question (at Pittville) is now closed: funding its refurbishment might be thought one of Summerfield's less successful efforts. But there's a long list of more lasting achievements. You keep coming across them in surprising places: this old graveyard (below) was, for instance, restored to community use with the help of a grant the Trust made, an oasis just off Cheltenham High Street.