On February 23rd David Chaffe celebrates his 70th birthday. David has been involved with CLASP since the very early days so we thought we ‘d tell you a little bit more about David and his life.
Born in Twickenham in 1954, David has lived in Wokingham since 1970 and he still lives in the same house today. An only child David had loving and supportive parents who encouraged him to take and make the most of every opportunity that came along, and David has certainly done that. He has been up in a glider, dinghy sailing, played many sports, worked nearly all his life and has been to Downing Street to meet and drink champagne with the Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
The trip to No. 10 Downing Street was in recognition for the work David has done for the learning disability community. His work with the Learning Disability Partnership Board has taken David to award ceremonies around the country, to London, Birmingham and Stoke to name just a few. David has been involved with CLASP, as a member and trustee, since the start and was involved in the setup of Support Horizons back in 2006. David still has support from Support Horizons today.
An avid Reading FC football fan David celebrated his 50th birthday with a tour of the stadium, then known as the Madejski Stadium or ‘Mad Stad’. If he can David still likes to go to the Reading home games today and has been to Wembley to support his team in the FA Cup in the semi-final.
In addition to his activities with CLASP and the LDPB David worked for many years. His roles included a part time job at WH Smith, pricing and stock filling for 12 years, working in the post room at Wokingham Borough Council and working for Optalis in the Café at the Acorn Centre. When the Café closed due to the pandemic David was made redundant, so he took the decision to retire. He remains a CLASP Trustee.
David will celebrate his birthday with friends, family, and neighbours at a local pub.
Happy 70th Birthday David!