Ron's 50 years

That metaphorical adhesive does come in handy at times. Doreen and Ron "retired" to Bexhill in 1994 to take life easy after Ron suffered a heart scare.

They came to get away from the stress of running the 17-branch family catering business with its 200 staff PLUS Ron's innumerable council and county council responsibilities.

But within months, irrepressible Ron had been head-hunted by the Conservative Party which had learned of his track-record, had won yet another election and was back in local authority harness.

Today, at 76, he is still combining being both a county councillor and chairman of Rother District Council.

And his diary is as crowded as ever. His recent civic service at St Augustine's, where the couple worship, combined both the traditional in marking the start of his chairmanship of Rother - and the near-unique in celebrating a half-century of community service.

Ron freely admits that party politics in Windsor in the 'Fifties was a "feudal" experience. Against more mature opposition, he was selected to stand for the town's Park ward in 1955. Local Tory chairman Lady Mary Creighton dismissed opposition to his selection with the prophetic "I think the BOY will make good in due course..."

Humour is never far away in the Dyason household.

To the inevitable question, why get involved in local politics in the first place, Ron quips that he joined the Young Conservatives as a teenager because they had the prettiest girls...

But the mood changes dramatically when he is asked why, 50 years after he was first elected, he still devotes a huge chunk of his time to local government service.

"Basically, I think it's doing things for people..."

He can recall countless instances where frantic electors have contacted him with problems. "I sat on the phone for about two weeks with one!"

But, like many other battles, the two-week struggle had a happy ending. And the people concerned were thankful to have had a listening, working, representative.

Ron says quietly: "That's what it's all about..."

Had luck been with him, it could have been about still more.

Ron had aspirations to become an MP. Customarily, all political parties send their untried candidates out to cut their political teeth in no-hope constituencies.

But despite cutting an 18,000 Labour majority in Willesden, London to 11,000 in 1970 - with Doreen's enthusiastic support - Ron was destined to serve at local and county level.

But there are "local" levels and local levels. The high-spot of Ron's 50 years was unquestionably when the then Royal Borough of Windsor invited him in his silver jubilee year in local government to take on a second term of office as Mayor.

Ron had the honour and pleasure of conferring the freedom of the borough on Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in a ceremony before 15,000 people in Windsor's Home Park.

The full-colour photo album recording the occasion is one of the couple's most treasured possessions.

So say that Ron is "wedded" to local government service is an understatement.

When he and Doreen married in 1951 the original plan had been for them to "honeymoon" at the Conservative Party Conference which Ron was due to attend as chairman of Windsor Young Conservatives.

Doreen says: "But the party conference was cancelled - so we toured Devon and Cornwall instead..."

The couple dissolve into gales of laughter at the memory.