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A plague on all their houses
Mar. 24th, 2020 11:28 amToo long; Didn't read? Even in times like this, village politics are poisonous.
My village lives by volunteering. We have about 620 people living here, and precious few employment opportunities in the village. But we have more volunteer organisations than you can shake a stick at.
The Football and Social Club (incorporating a bar every evening) at the less posh end of the village. Entirely run by volunteers. Now closed.
(And when I say posh/less posh, that's the terminology in everyday use here. I live in the borderlands, and am immensely proud of the judgement from the less posh end that I 'don't have any side on me.')
The Village Hall (frequently offering a bar) in the posh centre of the village. Entirely run by volunteers. Now closed.
The Village Community Shop. Entirely run by volunteers. In the posh centre, but with committee members and volunteers from all over the village. Now only opening 9-12 each day as long as there are sufficient volunteers to drive to the cash and carry and restock the shelves. So, I suspect it will soon be closed, taking the local Post Office, which it hosts, with it.
The Parish Council: all elected volunteers, all but one from the posh end -- except they all get elected on the nod, competition not being that fierce.
Except for that notable event a few years back when a group of posh anti-cyclingnutters activists decided to stand to attempt to ban cyclists through the village because 'they're noisy at weekends when we haven't got up '. (We're on a frequently used training and competition cycling route). I will confess to having a public barney with said nutters in the pages of the local newspaper -- and am mildly smug that they weren't elected (like our current PM, they were aiming at roles they would never be able to fill -- once they'd 'dealt' with cyclists, I suspect recycling, potholes and local planning would all be beneath their dignity).
The Parochial Parish Council (responsible for the church and churchyard). All volunteers. The church is now closed, but the graveyard is open, at least for burials and self-distancing locals exercising ... although it's pretty well full with the dead and the initiatives underway to expand it have been overtaken by events.
The Good Neighbours Group (remember this). Volunteers who help vulnerable members of the community to collect prescriptions and attend medical appointments.
Neighbourhood Watch. Volunteers who look out for 'worrying issues' and report them to the police.
The Village Agent. Employed part time to link older members of the community to the local government services available to them.
So, with so many volunteers, everything should be wonderful, right?
Wrong.
Almost all of the existing volunteers involved fall into the 'over-70' group or the group with health risks. And they all overlap -- almost nobody is involved in a single enterprise/on a single 'committee'.
But! We will have loads of young people in the new regime who can offer assistance to those who need it.
Perhaps. But do they register with
The Parish Council are furious with the Community Shop for taking the initiative to register volunteers two weeks before the Parish Council held its monthly meeting. (To fully understand the venom, one needs to understand the the current Treasurer of the Village Shop -- and the Village Hall -- is married to the ex-Chair of the Parish Council, and the current Chair of the Parish Council only got his position through dead man's shoes.)
Good Neighbours are furious that nobody has offered to help expand their existing services.
Nobody knows that the local Council thinks, because the local Council hasn't made contact with anyone.
And the Facebook groups blithely ignore anything that isn't on Facebook...
Me?
I just want to knock all their heads together, and combine all the efforts. But I suspect that bird has flown...
My village lives by volunteering. We have about 620 people living here, and precious few employment opportunities in the village. But we have more volunteer organisations than you can shake a stick at.
The Football and Social Club (incorporating a bar every evening) at the less posh end of the village. Entirely run by volunteers. Now closed.
(And when I say posh/less posh, that's the terminology in everyday use here. I live in the borderlands, and am immensely proud of the judgement from the less posh end that I 'don't have any side on me.')
The Village Hall (frequently offering a bar) in the posh centre of the village. Entirely run by volunteers. Now closed.
The Village Community Shop. Entirely run by volunteers. In the posh centre, but with committee members and volunteers from all over the village. Now only opening 9-12 each day as long as there are sufficient volunteers to drive to the cash and carry and restock the shelves. So, I suspect it will soon be closed, taking the local Post Office, which it hosts, with it.
The Parish Council: all elected volunteers, all but one from the posh end -- except they all get elected on the nod, competition not being that fierce.
Except for that notable event a few years back when a group of posh anti-cycling
The Parochial Parish Council (responsible for the church and churchyard). All volunteers. The church is now closed, but the graveyard is open, at least for burials and self-distancing locals exercising ... although it's pretty well full with the dead and the initiatives underway to expand it have been overtaken by events.
The Good Neighbours Group (remember this). Volunteers who help vulnerable members of the community to collect prescriptions and attend medical appointments.
Neighbourhood Watch. Volunteers who look out for 'worrying issues' and report them to the police.
The Village Agent. Employed part time to link older members of the community to the local government services available to them.
So, with so many volunteers, everything should be wonderful, right?
Wrong.
Almost all of the existing volunteers involved fall into the 'over-70' group or the group with health risks. And they all overlap -- almost nobody is involved in a single enterprise/on a single 'committee'.
But! We will have loads of young people in the new regime who can offer assistance to those who need it.
Perhaps. But do they register with
- the longstanding Good Neighbours group
- the Community Shop, who are building up a list of volunteers to help
- the Parish Council, who ditto, but also want to build upon the Neighbourhood Watch, and also exhort us to pray! (Pah. Notes have been taken for the next Parish Council election).
- the local Council (yes, they have a 'Hub')
- one of the two competing village Facebook pages (locally known as 'the friendly one' and the 'anonymous nasty one')
- the Village Agent (who is self-isolating for the next 12 weeks)
The Parish Council are furious with the Community Shop for taking the initiative to register volunteers two weeks before the Parish Council held its monthly meeting. (To fully understand the venom, one needs to understand the the current Treasurer of the Village Shop -- and the Village Hall -- is married to the ex-Chair of the Parish Council, and the current Chair of the Parish Council only got his position through dead man's shoes.)
Good Neighbours are furious that nobody has offered to help expand their existing services.
Nobody knows that the local Council thinks, because the local Council hasn't made contact with anyone.
And the Facebook groups blithely ignore anything that isn't on Facebook...
Me?
I just want to knock all their heads together, and combine all the efforts. But I suspect that bird has flown...
