Thursday 1 September 2016

Small town life.

One of the nicest things about living in or near to a small town, like we do, is that you rarely go into town without seeing someone you know.

Before coming up here I lived in Wolverhampton and going into town was a major operation - negotiating various traffic islands, getting stuck on the ring road, finding a space in the multi storey car park;  you were pretty worn out before you arrived at your reason for actually going.

Here it is just a case of getting in the car, driving the mile (you may or may not see any traffic) into town and just looking for a parking space.   If all else fails you can always  go to the car park, but it is rarely necessary - usually somebody backs out and leaves a space just as you get there.

And then, because the streets are never crowded it is actually quite unusual not to see one or two folk you know.   Today I met friends  S and N = it is sometime since I saw them - who are shortly off on the Hurtigruten
up the inside passage of Norway and round to the Russian border.   This is a holiday the farmer and I did some years ago - how I envy them setting off on their adventure.

Then it was hairdressers and back home again, all in the space of half an hour - time to put on this post and then it will be time to think about tea.
Where does the day  go?

14 comments:

Frances said...

I've lived in my current location for almost 30 years, and am often amazed that even in this big city I often encounter five or six familiar faces every time I walk to the subway station at the corner. We will often just stop for a moment to exchange greetings and a word or two about the weather.

Yesterday, amongst a variety of errands, I visited the Union Square farmers market to buy more fresh produce. When I'd finished doing that, I was walking away from the market area ...heading further downtown to art supply shop. All of a sudden, I heard someone call my name, turned around and saw a very dear friend. It was grand to have this unexpected encounter, very small town moment. If I had taken my usual route back home after the market, we would not have met. xo

Derek Faulkner said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHFhRxSL1AU

Pat, reading your last comment, play the above link, it's a lovely song.
You touched on something today that I really envy, small village life, how lovely it must be.

Terry and Linda said...

We live five miles from town. I like that because, like you, we can go down and back in a short time. Run to the parts store, run to .... whatever.

Linda

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Which small town are you referring to Mrs Weaver? Richmond? Hawes? Leyburn?

Heather said...

Your little town sounds ideal. I think ours must have been like that about 40 or 50 years ago before it expanded so much. It is still expanding and will need more schools, car parks, doctors' surgeries, etc., to cope with everyone. Just occasionally the High Street is quiet and it becomes the sleepy little market town it once was.

Mary said...

Pat, I loved listening to the Sandy Denny song (thanks Derek) but was saddened reading the cause of her early death!

I grew up in a village within the Torquay town limits, but it was truly still a village with thatched cottages and rambling roses, and we knew everyone.
Small town living would be glorious right now - too busy around these parts!

Rachel Phillips said...

Living near a small town is very useful and I am lucky enough to live roughly equidistant between three. Small village life is something else.

John Going Gently said...

A pace all f its own

Cro Magnon said...

We have a small town 7 Kms away, and a bigger one 25 Kms away. I like the small town, but do my big shop in the bigger one. We often meet people we know in the small town.

Librarian said...

Although my home town is a bit larger at just over 90.000 inhabitants, I still frequently meet people I know when I'm out and about. I guess this comes with having been born and raised here, spent all my school years here and part of my working life, too.
I also am very lucky to have found my flat 13 years ago; it is within walking distance to the town centre (5-10 minutes), so I wouldn't use a car to get there even if I had one :-)

The Weaver of Grass said...

Lovely Derek - thanks for that.
Seems you all like the idea of small town life. Thanks for calling.

thelma said...

I also love small towns, we have Kirkymoorside and Pickering to wander around, lovely old buildings in 'Kirby' as it is locally called. Of course it is sometimes more difficult to find certain things ;)

The Weaver of Grass said...

Have never been to Kirby Thelma, but I expect it is much like Leyburn. We have more or less everything we need here and anything else can always be bought on line.

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