Category: Community

I remember sitting in the village hall last autumn, watching a young man from the district council try to explain how to run a community survey using a fancy digital platform that required a login, a password, and a high-speed connection. He was talking about “data acquisition metrics” while Mrs. Higgins, who has lived in […]

I was sitting in the village hall last Tuesday, listening to a consultant from the county council drone on about “social cohesion frameworks” and “intergenerational synergy.” It was all very expensive-sounding, but it missed the point entirely. When people search for befriending schemes explained, they aren’t looking for a lecture on sociological theory or a […]

I was standing in the village hall last Tuesday, watching a young lad from the council try to explain a three-page digital spreadsheet for managing donations, and I thought, good grief, we’ve lost the plot. You don’t need a high-speed internet connection or a committee of six to figure out how to set up a […]

I was standing by the old stone bridge last Tuesday—the one built back in 1842, if memory serves—watching the wind whip through the empty branches of the oaks, and it struck me just how bleak the high street looks when it’s dark. Now, I’ve seen some people suggest that village christmas lights fundraising requires a […]

I remember sitting in the village hall back in ’98, watching a neighbor lose his temper and shout about “the principle of the thing” during a heated meeting about the old mill conversion. He thought his outrage was enough, but all he did was give the planning officer a reason to stop listening. Most people […]

I was sitting in the back room of the Old Post Office last Tuesday—a fine little flint building dating back to the mid-1800s, mind you—trying to upload a simple photo of the parish council minutes. The spinning circle on the screen just kept turning, mocking me, while the rain lashed against the window. It’s a […]

I saw a flyer in the village hall last Tuesday for a “Wellness Trekking Initiative,” complete with high-vis vests and a spreadsheet for tracking heart rates. Honestly, it made me roll my eyes so hard I nearly lost my spectacles. You don’t need a mountain of expensive gear or a degree in kinesiology to figure […]

I remember sitting in the village hall back in ’94—the one with the draughty sash windows that haven’t been properly sealed since the late seventies—watching a committee try to plan a social gathering. They were obsessed with hiring professional caterers and sourcing linen tablecloths, as if a bit of fancy starch would somehow make people […]

I remember standing in the middle of the village green last autumn, watching a young fellow from the next parish try to run a local market using a fancy new smartphone app and a stack of glossy, laminated flyers. He spent more on the marketing than he did on the actual site hire, and by […]

I was sitting in the village hall last Tuesday, looking at a stack of notices that were so dry they practically crumbled in my hands. It struck me then that most people only pick up a community circular when they’re looking for a lost cat or a planning permission warning, which is a crying shame. […]