The Community Spirit
It mustn't be assumed, however, that all the happenings in the village were pleasant or humorous. It was when things went wrong and the tragedies, little or big, came along that the true community spirit prevalent in the village really came to the fore.
Sometimes it was a relatively small trouble such as the time when one of our neighbours cut his hand very badly while hedge‑trimming. It was seed‑sowing time in the garden, and for a few weeks gardening for him was out of the question. Everyone depended so much on the garden produce that it was a very real worry to Ned and his family. You can imagine his surprise and pleasure when one evening along came a half dozen or so of the villagers, complete with tools, finished his digging for him, and got all the seeds in. Not only that, but some of them turned up from time to time to do a bit of hoeing or transplanting until Ned had recovered and was able to take over again.
Sometimes in the cold weather it became known that one or two of the real 'oldies' had run out of firewood. When this happened it wouldn't be long before a few barrow loads of logs would be delivered by some kindly friends.
Occasionally there was real tragedy. One of the chapel stalwarts had been married for many many years, but he and his wife had never been blessed with a family. They were so fond of children, and one day when the news got around that there was a nipper on the way, the whole village was delighted. There was one big worry, and that was the fact that the expectant mother was way past the normal time for childbearing. When the time arrived, Mother was sent for in her capacity of unofficial midwife. She was worried stiff, and made sure that the doctor would be there.
Alas, all efforts were doomed to failure. The baby was stillborn, and the mother only survived a few hours. The gloom that settled over the village could have been cut with a knife. Mother came home crying, and hers were by no means the only tears shed in the village. Charley and Reggie made the coffin, and I heard them say to Father that neither of them had seen anything more pitiful than mother and child lying there in the same coffin. There was nothing left for the villagers to do except show their heartfelt sympathy by attending the funeral, and this they did to a man.
This tragedy was the forerunner of a black period, for a month or so afterwards the same thing happened again, although this time there were other children to soften the blow. The old maxim says that all things come in threes, and the villagers were wondering where next the axe might fall. And fall it did, for the next sad event duly materialised. One of the younger families had two children and the elder of these, a small boy of four, pulled a saucepan of boiling water off the stove and scalded himself so severely that he only lived a day or two, and there was another sad procession to the church.
When the shock of this was over and life in the village was getting back to its normal tempo, another childless couple were presented with twins, which was just what the village wanted. I think everyone felt that things were on the upturn at last. With the spirit that prevailed in the village, sorrows and blessings were things to be shared, just as if all were members of one large family, which indeed they were. It wouldn't be a bad thing if there was more of that feeling around now, but conditions today make that most unlikely, I'm afraid.
Sometimes it was a relatively small trouble such as the time when one of our neighbours cut his hand very badly while hedge‑trimming. It was seed‑sowing time in the garden, and for a few weeks gardening for him was out of the question. Everyone depended so much on the garden produce that it was a very real worry to Ned and his family. You can imagine his surprise and pleasure when one evening along came a half dozen or so of the villagers, complete with tools, finished his digging for him, and got all the seeds in. Not only that, but some of them turned up from time to time to do a bit of hoeing or transplanting until Ned had recovered and was able to take over again.
Sometimes in the cold weather it became known that one or two of the real 'oldies' had run out of firewood. When this happened it wouldn't be long before a few barrow loads of logs would be delivered by some kindly friends.
Occasionally there was real tragedy. One of the chapel stalwarts had been married for many many years, but he and his wife had never been blessed with a family. They were so fond of children, and one day when the news got around that there was a nipper on the way, the whole village was delighted. There was one big worry, and that was the fact that the expectant mother was way past the normal time for childbearing. When the time arrived, Mother was sent for in her capacity of unofficial midwife. She was worried stiff, and made sure that the doctor would be there.
Alas, all efforts were doomed to failure. The baby was stillborn, and the mother only survived a few hours. The gloom that settled over the village could have been cut with a knife. Mother came home crying, and hers were by no means the only tears shed in the village. Charley and Reggie made the coffin, and I heard them say to Father that neither of them had seen anything more pitiful than mother and child lying there in the same coffin. There was nothing left for the villagers to do except show their heartfelt sympathy by attending the funeral, and this they did to a man.
This tragedy was the forerunner of a black period, for a month or so afterwards the same thing happened again, although this time there were other children to soften the blow. The old maxim says that all things come in threes, and the villagers were wondering where next the axe might fall. And fall it did, for the next sad event duly materialised. One of the younger families had two children and the elder of these, a small boy of four, pulled a saucepan of boiling water off the stove and scalded himself so severely that he only lived a day or two, and there was another sad procession to the church.
When the shock of this was over and life in the village was getting back to its normal tempo, another childless couple were presented with twins, which was just what the village wanted. I think everyone felt that things were on the upturn at last. With the spirit that prevailed in the village, sorrows and blessings were things to be shared, just as if all were members of one large family, which indeed they were. It wouldn't be a bad thing if there was more of that feeling around now, but conditions today make that most unlikely, I'm afraid.
posted by curlybonce | 2:35 pm
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