Published:
1:52 PM November 6, 2022
A family is hoping to raise money to fund an urgent house move for their mother, a well-known Norfolk landlady who has been diagnosed with cancer.
Heather Talbot, 74, is a familiar face in Great Massingham, the village she has called home for more than 35 years.
An irreplaceable part of the community, she has worked behind the bar at the Great Massingham Social Club and helped the village’s football club by washing their kits and providing food after games.
But in September, Ms Talbot began to complain of a stomach pain and while in the Accident and Emergency department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, she suffered a stroke.
While there, doctors gave her a scan and told her family the “heartbreaking” news that she had terminal pancreatic cancer.
Heather Talbot, right, with her son Barry and daughter Charlotte
– Credit: Charlotte Talbot
Her daughter Charlotte Talbot said: “We weren’t expecting this. It was a massive shock to the family.”
She has been living in the same house since 1989, the same year she lost her husband Russell to cancer, leaving her to raise her three children by herself.
Her family now want to move Ms Talbot to a bungalow, where she can have a better quality of life.
And while North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) have found her suitable accommodation, the house needs a revamp as it does not have any carpets, curtains or furniture.
Charlotte said: “Mum is a pensioner, she has nothing left in the bank, so we’re hoping to raise some money to furnish the house, and carpet the house, to make it more comfortable.
“If people feel they could support mum to make her last few months worry free, we as a family would be extremely grateful,” she said.
They are hoping to move their mother to the house by Christmas.
Heather Talbot was diagnosed with cancer in September and now her family want to make her last months ‘worry-free’ by moving her to a more comfortable house in Great Massingham
– Credit: Charlotte Talbot
Before moving to Great Massingham, Ms Talbot lived with her family in Bacton, where she was landlady of The Ship Inn for nine years.
In Massingham she worked at the local pub, The Rose and Crown, and then at the village hall for more than 20 years.
Charlotte said: “A lot of people in their 30s in the village say, ‘your mum was so good to me’.”
To help the Talbot family, visit their Go Fund Me page at gofundme.com/f/help-heather-talbot-with-house-move.
