18th December 2024

Moments as Christmas draws near and as the Christmas cards come in. It is good to remember the happy times. Today would have been Paul's birthday, he liked an outing for a present.  Once we went down to Stonehenge for the opening of the new centre.  It was bleak and cold, the good and the brave mingled with the pissed off Druid protestors.  Stonehenge is always good for a rave;)

Village barbecue held in the barn, as the weather as usual was wet

This was once my community.  There were three tablefuls of villagers here gathered together at the annual  do.  You had to pay of course, that was my job with C going round collecting in the village.  Each household had to produce a dish I always did a very large bowl of mayonnaise potatoes.

Our village was made up of retirees, suburbanites and local people. We looked after our village.  We had three meetings each year, mostly at our local pub for quiz night, though the barbecue was often in someone's garden and in years gone past, and, as we were reminded each year, the little field next to the church that had become our house.

 

Funnily enough on one side of the house was the church and the other the pub, run beautifully by two young sisters.  We were a close community, Paul thrived in the way we would always come together.  He organised the cleaning of weeds on the pavement that traversed the length of the village.  Cleaned the display board on the village history that someone had so lovingly gathered together and drawn on three enormous sheets of paper.  Which sadly through the winter months would curl up with the damp.

Happy as Larry,' as one would say :)

Why this sudden rush of memories?  Well it was the Xmas cards I received yesterday, detailing the news of the church meeting as to whether it should be closed. Ten Diocesan people (probably  from York) and the village people packed the little (very cold church) to discuss the issue.  Ironic in the sense that the church on Sunday has but half a dozen people if that but on talk of its closure will command a full house. 

At the end of the table is Dr. Peter Smith.  The first person to welcome us to our new home with a small container of tomatoes.  He was not a medical doctor but always insisted on the name.

J rang the church bells at midnight on Christmas Eve, always worrying that she would wake me up.  I would laugh for that was the whole point. J and D have been married for 60 years, they have known each other since childhood in India and have just acquired a new dog this year, I expect she still has the four kittens, grown into cats in their barn.  D was a town crier in Malton down the road and would enter into competitions all over the country.

I was late to the show, so everyone had to assemble once more.  You can see that I am the official photographer for the village!  Goodness knows what we were ringing in.

Yes I miss it all, especially the cold meetings in the church to resolve how to spend the small amount of money the council gave us for the church. 

Well in typical fashion, Rob the gardener who mowed the church yard was taken off the job and a small group from the pub said they would do it.  They failed miserably and only could manage one half.  Rob and his wife looked after many gardens in the village, and mowed our lawn as well.  When I left he did it for free as a parting gift, and I shall always remember that act of kindness.