For years, the New Year and Birthday Honours lists were dominated by the great and good.
Peggy Long, the Thame traffic warden awarded an MBEBut now increasingly, the recipients are likely to be the man or woman living next door.
It is particularly pleasing, at the start of 2003, to see the Queen honouring today such people as traffic warden Penny Long, charity worker Don Rouse, Thames lockkeeper William McCreadie and flood defence worker Robert Dale.
We give them - and all the other award winners from our county - our hearty congratulations.
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