Dull and grey with the promise of the sun coming out later on. Lucy sits in her gorgeous spaniel way, she had seen off poor Teddy, my daughter's whippet, over the weekend. He was reduced to a quivering wreck as he hides in the wells of the desks. Lucy hasn't raised one paw against him, or growled, just made her presence felt as she lies across exits to stop him crossing. She had her moment though at the pub, when Paul asked a five year to bring a bowl of water over for her to drink, the child did, unfortunately he threw the water all over Lucy - she did not mind!
Yesterday was a meeting of the Events committee to sort the barbecue venue out, last year's garden, large and with plenty of space was unavailable, due to the husband going over to Syria and Iraq, and complaints that there weren't enough help for moving the heavy stuff around. Lesson learnt. We need working groups in this village but there are a lot of elderly people around and I just wonder if the makeup of our village precludes a community spirit.
There are less of the locals living in the village, more 'suburbanites' and people who are disinterested in anything. It transpires that most of the money collected goes on the rent of a 'slow down' large solar sign, the contract should be finished this year. What with no church warden for the church, our parish councillor and treasurer are also stepping down, so what? We are not represented by bureaucracy almost. Perhaps that is a good thing, perhaps we should run our own parish affairs but it definitely needs someone with a whip to get it going ;)
It is the petty things that infuriate people, especially to property. Talking to P the other day and he is cross that no one (Council) will address the problem of the great puddle (15 feet across) that abounds his garden in the lane. He has dug the ditches out, but has that perennial problem of a large pothole attracting the water which eventually turns into a pond. Then there is S and G's field, being altered by private contractors for the water board. The bunding is being strengthened, which is the great bank that follows our winding river through the village, but the contractors have replaced soil with rubble making the field untenable for arable, and now walked off the site in a huff.
But the mistle thrush is still outside on the lawn looking for grubs, and the whole of nature is bursting with exuberance!
Yes, nature does help in these trouble village times doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteOf course I no longer live in the village and have moved a mile into town. But in spite of there only being about a dozen 'originals' left in the village (my farmer was one) there is a good community spirit although many incomers are retired. Here in the town (only 2000 inhabitants) we have a thriving U3A with almost 200 members and loads of things to join. We also have an arts centre, which used to be the RC school, which is used for things like Probus and which shows a reallyup to date film every Friday evening. I think we are lucky.
Forgot to say that the villagers are each year adding to the daffodils which they are planting all along the verges and they all mucked in at a 'Yorkshire Tapas' lunch in the Village Hall on Tour de Yorkshire day.
ReplyDeleteWell it was decided to have the barbeque in the pub car park, if Harriet agrees. Someone always used to say it is like herding kittens trying to get anything done with people!
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