Category: Community

I walked past the old oak near the parish hall yesterday and noticed the noticeboard is looking a bit sorry for itself; the wood is greyed, and half the flyers are curling at the edges from the damp. It’s a common sight in most of our small settlements, where these boards end up looking more […]

I remember the 1992 Jubilee celebration down on Mill Lane—the one where the marquee collapsed because someone thought a bit of twine and a prayer was enough to hold up heavy canvas. We spent more time arguing about the exact placement of the folding tables than we did actually talking to one another. Most people […]

I spent forty minutes yesterday clearing a collapsed section of dry stone wall near the old mill—built, if memory serves, around 1840—and it struck me how much people overcomplicate things. You’ll see those glossy brochures online claiming that starting a community garden requires expensive raised beds, automated irrigation systems, and a committee of twelve people […]

I remember standing in the drafty vestibule of the St. Jude’s hall back in ’94, clutching a damp clipboard and wondering why the booking ledger looked like it had been through a hedge backwards. People seem to think that figuring out how to book a village hall requires a degree in civil engineering or a […]

I sat in the village hall last Tuesday, listening to a consultant drone on about “strategic community governance” and “multi-agency infrastructure frameworks,” and I nearly fell asleep in my chair. It’s a load of nonsense. People often ask me, what does a parish council do, expecting some grand, high-level political explanation, but the truth is […]

I saw a flyer the other day for a security firm promising “total peace of mind” through a suite of smart cameras and motion-sensor floodlights that cost more than a decent set of draught excluders. It’s all a bit much, isn’t it? People seem to think that learning how to set up a neighbourhood watch […]

I was sitting in the village shop the other morning, watching the clock tick past ten, when I realised how many of us have suddenly found ourselves with a surplus of time and a bit too much quiet in the house. It’s a strange thing, moving from forty years of measuring rafters and checking damp […]

I remember standing in the middle of the village green back in ’94, watching a committee spend three hours debating the exact shade of bunting for the marquee while the tea urn sat unpowered and the raffle prizes gathered dust in a damp garage. People think learning how to organise a village fete is about […]

I was sitting in the village hall last Tuesday, watching a young man from the district council try to explain that setting up a local collective required a three-year strategic plan and a formal committee structure. It was nonsense, plain and simple. If you’re sitting there wondering how to start a community group just because […]