For 60 years, Len Thorne has run donkey rides for children. Now he is to be honoured for his dedication. CLAIRE BURKE reports.
LEN Thorne is a familiar face in Blackheath. Whether it is summer or winter, the 74-year-old spends his weekends on the heath, giving residents and tourists rides on his donkeys.
He started working with his father in 1948, when donkeys rides where much more common.
And this year marks his 60th anniversary in the business.
Mr Thorne said: "I have many wonderful memories of meeting some wonderful people from all over the world and celebrities, such as Jimmy Savile.
"Jools Holland used to bring his kids for a ride and the singer Sandie Shaw often used to walk across the heath.
advertisement
"My best memories are seeing the delight of the children when they first have a ride, and that my donkeys will always be a part of their childhood memories."
To recognise his hard work, a celebration is to be held at 4pm on April 19 at the main gates to Greenwich Park, attended by the mayors of Greenwich and Lewisham.
In the meantime, organisers are appealing to News Shopper readers to send in their memories and old photos of donkey rides.
Helen Tomkins, of Quentin Road, Blackheath, is one of the organisers.
The 70-year-old writer and environmentalist. said: "We want the celebration to honour him for his dedication for doing this for all these years."
Born in Greenwich, Mr Thorne went to work in Essex at a pig farm.
During the weekends, he would travel back to run the donkey rides.
The divorced father-of-five, who now lives in Campfield Road, Eltham, would take his children along to help.
His daughter, Lorayne Ahmet, 46, remembers: "It was sixpence a go.
"There used to be queues of people waiting to go on the donkeys.
"People who rode on the donkeys as a child now bring their great-grandchildren."
But Mr Thorne says things are very different from when he started out.
He said: "People didn't have much money but they valued their spare time and family, and the heath was full of families coming for donkey rides and picnics.
"Now people just don't have time for their families or to bring their children for rides."
He says parking charges and restrictions make it more difficult for families to visit the heath.
Mrs Ahmet and her brother, Casey Thorne, 45, now run the business with their father, who suffers from muscular dystrophy.
They have 17 English, Irish and French Poitou donkeys, which are kept at Woodlands Farm in Shooters Hill. When the animals retire, they go to The Donkey Sanctuary in Sidmouth.
Five years ago, disaster struck when nine donkeys were stolen, leaving three foals motherless.
Mrs Ahmet said: "When the donkeys were stolen, people who had been here as tourists were sending letters of support from America and Japan."
If you have any memories or photos, email them to LorayneAquilas@aol.com
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
