Monday 19 November 2012

Village Halls

There is no doubt about it, our village hall is the hub of village life.   Because our farm is about a mile out of the village, the only way I get to see other villagers is by going to things in the village hall.

On the first Saturday in each month there is a coffee morning to which villagers of all ages go - and I try to always go to that.   In addition there are mother and toddler groups, there is a study group (they meet every wednesday evening in winter and walk every other sunday in summer) , there is a weekly art group and there are also one-off events.

One such one-off event took place yesterday when D, a friend in the village, celebrated his eightieth birthday by having a hundred of his friends to a birthday lunch.   J, his wife, did all the catering - and a delightful spread it was too.   We sat at tables for eight and there was great jollification.

I have attached a couple of photographs of the event.   Notice the 29 on the cake - that is not meant to be his age but is to indicate that his birthday is on the 29th of the month and that they will be visiting his son and his family in France on that date - hence the early party.

Such happy events are the staff of village life.  I don't think these kind of events could possibly take place in a town.   I have lived in both villages and towns and on balance, in spite of the disadvantages, I do think I prefer village life.   The odd trip to town comes in very handy (I am having one such this Thursday when friend W takes me to a large shopping centre) but walking the busy streets of city centres is no longer for me I am afraid.





Are you a villager or a townie?    

12 comments:

mrsnesbitt said...

Definitely viallager Pat! xxxx

Heather said...

I'm definitely a villager, though can't say I live in either village or town at present. Our house is part of a large development on the edge of a small town but there is a good community spirit.
Village Halls are very precious and I remember, as a child, attending ballet classes and other events in the one I lived near over 70 years ago. Happy Birthday to your friend and thankyou for taking us to the party!

John Going Gently said...

WE SHOULD TWIN YOUR VILLAGE WITH tRELAWNYD!

Cloudia said...

You are a wonderful ambassador!


Aloha from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral

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Robin Mac said...

I grew up in a small country town and the communal feeling is wonderful, but all my married life has been spent in a city which has grown from 22,000 to over 120,000, and I would love to have the village feeling, but that sadly is not to be. However, we do have lots of medical services and here in Australia the distance from town to town is so much greater than in your beautiful part of the world, so I am very grateful for that. Cheers

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

I would love to live in a village! I live in a township here in Ohio, Bath Township, but there is no real village center. Our population is just over 9,000. It was about six thousand when we moved here in 1980. There were no shops then, and now a few miles away is a huge over-developed commercial area which sprang into being in late 1992. I wish we had a little village. However, we do have many local (township) groups which meet often and that feels a bit similar. The history of an English village and an Ohio township which was laid out by surveyors in 1818 in a square of 35 square miles of land which had no inhabitants, Indian or European, leads to a different outcome.

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

Sorry I meant to say laid out in 1808. (Make such a difference!)

One interesting thing about the way the land was surveyed is that one section of each township was alloted to government and one to support a school system.

Crafty Green Poet said...

I'm definitely a city person, but I'm lucky because i live in a city with a lot of green spaces and a fair bit of community spirit. I couldn't live in London or any of the other big English cities.

Em Parkinson said...

Previous townie but 12 years on, I couldn't go back. Am a Hamleter now I suppose but I'd like to be totally isolated!

Em Parkinson said...

Previous townie but 12 years on, I couldn't go back. Am a Hamleter now I suppose but I'd like to be totally isolated!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Votes on both sides then - and that is how it should be. Thanks for visiting.

Gwil W said...

I have to say I'm both. When I'm in a town I like to go to concerts and museums. And when I'm in the country I like to go for long walks. So I guess I'm villtownagerie!