Last night the Flower Show Committee met at Auntie Glads for our post show post- mortem
Gladys had gone to The Harvest Thanksgiving in Church but had left the large kitchen kettle boiling on the aga for our break and had organised thickly buttered scones to be distributed with the strong tea, which was to be set out in wafer thin china cups on the sideboard.
We had more or less sorted out next year's schedule, by the time Gladys returned, and as she sat down in the armchair next to the fire ,she wryly commented that there was more people grouped around her old kitchen table than there was sat in Church; but as usual there was only amusement in her voice and no hint of criticism.
With the congregation falling at the Church and the two tiny Trelawnyd chapels holding on by their fingertips, the village social groups, like those in all villages, seem to be fading as the population ages.
Bucking this trend has been the village Friendship group ( a social group ran by and for the village OAPS) and of course the Flower Show, which has been going (albeit gently) from strength to strength with the injection of new committee "blood" and a late rush of new exhibitors in recent years.
I am proud of our little band of valiant volunteers from the Flower Show.
Good humour, hard work, and just a little effort by ten people always seems to produce something rather special year after year after year.......
After a review of the dates, it would seem that in 2012..the flower show has been running a self congratulatory, 40 years
My village in Cornwall is pretty active as to his date there is a enough of a spread of ages to keep it going but only by volunteers and the good hearted. We have lost the Methodist Chapel - now a home but still have the pub and school essential ingredients. We also have properties which sit there most of the year empty as they are second homes.ggrhh! GLADYS sounds great and an important member of your village community.
ReplyDeleteJohn - this is village life at its very best and your should be proud of your own contribution to the running of all these things.
ReplyDeleteOur village is quite active - we have an open gardens day, a toddler group, a pilates class, an art class and a once a month coffee morning which is always well attended. Church and chapel numbers, like yours, are very low. A sign of the times I think.
John, I just love the way the English say: was sat... Good on you for adding that new, young blood to the Flower Club in your community. Have a great weekend. Greetings, Jo
ReplyDeleteThe joys of country life. Our village stalwarts all decided to retire en masse (5 lovely ladies) luckily there had been enough of an influx of new people for the slack to be taken up. The only trouble is that whatever the new people do, it isn't quite done as it should be done, according to the old guard!
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion the main thing is that things DO get done - and it gives the older lot something to grouch about, which keeps them happy! We have no church, no shop, and, sadly, now the school has closed so it is vital that we keep things going with the Village Hall and also support our local tavern.
Village life is rich and varied!
Much the same many places.
ReplyDeleteYou have much to be proud of.
These things can't be forced. Some villages have a great community spirit; others are just a group of individuals on nodding terms. I think you're lucky if you have just one thing a year that brings everyone together.
ReplyDeleteThe village will be quite lost, when Auntie Gladys decides to simply retire. She is such a lovely lady.
ReplyDeleteAlways nice to see Auntie Gladys. I could just hug her. :O)
ReplyDeleteI'm lucky to live in a small community too...village/church 'do's are the best fun!
ReplyDeleteJane x
I am sure that eventually the younger people in town will put their Iphones down, get bored with Facebook, and long for the the sense of community that they grew up with.
ReplyDeleteAll down to folk like you John.
ReplyDelete'Village Trek - The Next Generation'!
Bloody shame about the falling church attendances though...
a village flower show...there must be somewhere in the USA where there are still village flower shows. The county fairs in AZ were fun community gatherings to go to...where they still showed off vegetables canning baking sewing farm animals and all the lovely fun homemade things that were still done in the small towns. I applaud you for your efforts in keeping the flower show continuing in your village...bravo to the village for 40 years!
ReplyDeleteAuntie Gladys, now there's a shining star for you, wouldn't we all be so lucky as to have an auntie Gladys in our midst.
ReplyDelete~Jo
Aunty Glad is such a lovely poised lady - I would love to meet her sometime. It always seems to be the dedicated few just keeping the community of the village going. Like Weaver I say - well done to all of you.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it is time for 'churches' to re-evaluate things and make attendance a little more attractive and up-dated for the 'younger set'. Otherwise we all know the outcome....
ReplyDeleteI'm one of a small group of volunteers trying to revive the long lost flower show tradition in our little NZ village. We started small in 2009, 2010 was bigger, and our third show is coming up in a few weeks. With any luck this year will be our biggest and best. I wish we had an Aunty Glad on our committee!
ReplyDeleteThis life you live in Trelawnyd is admirable, charming, and enviable. I'm glad you're all finding ways to keep it going.
ReplyDeleteI think Auntie Glads is so cute. I wish she lived in my neighborhood I would sip on tea and gab about flowers. and eat her buttered scones.
ReplyDeleteHave a new computer so I can blog again. Happy Happy Happy.
Have a great tiggeriffic day~! ta ta for now from Iowa:)
We take so much for granted. We ignore so much in front of us. We ask others to do so much of the work and then when it's gone we say "Hey ! What happened to the neighborhood?" Time for ME to do more in my own small Illinois town. Thanks John
ReplyDeleteI hate to say this, but there's nothing like a disaster to fire-up community spirit. The awfulness of our Earthquakes have motivated people to do all sorts of amazing things for one another. I hope we don't loose this, having re-found the ability to talk to everyone and anybody - and that includes in the City (what's left of it).
ReplyDeleteSounds to me like you're part of the 'new blood' that helps things run around your little village and I'm sure the villagers appreciate your efforts. Gladys sounds like a lot of fun and a sweet lady...wish I had been able to try one of her scones :)
ReplyDelete