Local Hero

Local Hero: John Butler

Gloria Angélica Pérez-Vértiz nominated John Butler for quietly making a difference in his community, one small act at a time. From litter picking in local parks to volunteering at his village church, this Bromley resident shows that being a local hero isn’t about grand gestures – it's about care, kindness and simply getting on with it.

John, how did it feel to be nominated by Gloria as a local hero?

I felt quite bemused. I thought a hero was someone who rescues somebody from a burning building, not someone who picks up litter. Gloria has also become a litter picker and fully deserves recognition for her efforts.

Tell us more about the club you belong to and what prompted you to join.

My wife is in the Garden of Remembrance in St Giles Church, Farnborough Village. When visiting once I was asked by the vicar if I was interested in joining the volunteers who look after the grounds. My Tuesday morning job is sweeping the car park, but there are around 70 volunteers at the church, with jobs from bellringers to flower arrangers. It takes an army of people to keep it going. I belong to a croquet club in Bromley and began seeing litter in the park. Bromley Council do a great job maintaining it, but cannot afford to send somebody to litter-pick. I don’t like seeing the litter and nor do others, so I decided to pick some up. I didn’t say anything to anybody, just got on with it.

Have there been any changes locally or at your club since you started litter picking?

I’ve been doing it for three years and take pride in the fact that the park looks a lot better for all the litter I pick up. I also hope that seeing me pottering about may encourage people to bin their litter, rather than drop it.

We hear that you volunteer weekly at the church’s ‘tea and chat’ gathering. Can you tell us more about that?

There’s about 15 of us that look after the grounds once a week and they are a lovely bunch of people, some of the nicest you could ever wish to meet. Nobody’s there under pressure and keeping the church spick and span gives all of us a large sense of pride.

For many people, volunteering or taking action can feel daunting. What advice would you give to someone who wants to help out locally?

It’s daunting to volunteer but almost as daunting to join a club. General advice for lonely old people is to join a club. When you’ve lived with someone for years, you’re not always in that frame of mind to go out socialising. If you perk up just a little bit of courage to go and join in with something, it leads to all sorts of nice things, including new friendships. There’s no need to be afraid of that sort of thing.

If there’s one thing you wish people understood about caring for shared spaces – parks, clubs, community areas – what would it be?

You can only hope people’s attitudes will change by seeing the example of volunteers. It’s not embarrassing to pick up rubbish, if you start doing something for the community, it does make you feel better.

What’s one moment or interaction during your litter picking or volunteering that’s stayed with you?

A young lady was taking her dog for a walk and saw me collecting litter at St Giles’ church car park, she said, "you and your friends are doing a grand job, we do really appreciate it." As it turned out, she owns The Drawing Room café in Locksbottom and told me to drop in for a free coffee. That was very nice and unexpected.

What do you love most about living in the Bromley Borough?

It’s a nice town with good facilities. I love the theatre and the quick transport into London by trains and buses.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Croquet is a wonderful pastime and I enjoy it immensely with very friendly people.