Things that make me angry or make me smile

If you've read this blog in the past, you'll know about Sutton's elms. http://www.livingvillage.blogspot.com/search/label/Elms Sutton in the Elms has its name because of the elm trees under which, in 1650,  the Baptists from nearby villages assembled secretly to worship. Elm trees have, in recent years, been subject to the depredations of the Elm Bark Beetle and the fatal fungus it spreads so that the Elms of Sutton in the Elms are long gone.

Last October, the village got together to plant new elm trees through the village and, over the hot Summer of 2010, they watered them and cared for them.

A few weeks ago, someone tore down one of the elms in the outskirts of the village. It has been put back together and its trunk bound theough it seems unlikely to survive. If that weren't bad enough, the final, symbolic tree was broken and cast down in the early hours of a morning this week.

Other things were part of the vandalism, an old lady's bins were removed and dumped on the main road - perhaps not a great crime, but very difficult for someone old and frail. The notices asking people not to park their care where bulbs had been planted were also pulled up and thrown about.

I know I'm getting old and crabby (as opposed to young and crabby) but what makes me angry is the sheer pettiness, the blind destructiveness of destroying something that gives people pleasure and into which they have put a fair bit of hard work. It's as if the vandals are saying,"No matter what you do to make life better for everyone, we can still bring you down to our twisted level". "What we want is for you to have lives as stripped of light and joy as our own". It's the simple banality of that point of view that angers me. Instead of doing what they can to improve people's (including their own) lives, they simply destroy.

I'm also made angry by the fact that this happened at 5.10 in the morning. This wasn't some drunken spree after the pubs close, it was a calculated piece of contempt. Of course, the most depressing thing of all is the fact that the Police attended and gave pursuit but lost the culprits. This is a village! What's wrong with them? Don't they have radios, cars, even a helicopter which seems to hover frequently overhead. I almost despair that they are capable of any real action.

So, it's time to write a bit about what makes me happy: living in a beautiful part of the countryside, the passing of the seasons, snow, frost and startling sunshine. I'm easily pleased.
 

Some of the elms survive and people are keeping a watch on them

Startling sunshine  - a village dawn



Christmas starts now

In last week's blog, I asked "...where are the snows of yesteryear..." (in French, of course). Well, as we expected, they have arrived.

Living where we do, the countryside in Winter can be very beautiful,  a little bleak.

However, the road out of the village can be a bit hazardous, so the car can stay where it is today and I'm working from home updating the Jobs Desk http://www.le.ac.uk/ms/jobs/job_titles_jobid.htm.

There are still plenty of haws on the climbing roses, with their own dusting of snow - brrrr.

The birds are being well fed, but water is a problem.

Anyway, in all this cold, were worried that no-one would turn up to our Celebration of Christmas at Leicester Guildhall. This is in aid of the Leicester Children's Holiday Centre (Mablethorpe) and it falls to me to organise the acts,the PA system and the mulled wine.

We began with 'Starlets Performing Arts'  who can be seen above with their organiser, Kerry, waiting to go on stage.

This being a mediaeval guild hall, the stage is tiny but the atmosphere is magical. halfway down the hall there's a blazing coke fire to drive away the Winter cold.

'Welcome to the 60s'

'I'm Gonna Wash That Man...'

SoClose Barbershop Quartet performed for us a couple of years ago and I was determined to get them back as soon as they were available.

Banjo Dez is one of our greates supporters and always goes down a storm. He has some of George Formby's original robes and does a wicked impression. To drive the cold away, this year we had 'Swimmin with the Wimmin' - nice and Summery.

Rivers and Shivers are a Professional duo who sing all sorts of music and they gave us a bluesy, jazzy session that everyone appreciated,

 Meanwhile, the team were getting the buffet supper ready for the interval.

T43 - good friends who are soloists with the local Bardi Orchestra (there are 3, but the pianist is slighly off the stage on the right). There repertoire includes all the classics but also traditional celtic music and jazz.

The view across the courtyard while the Fosse Singers Community Choir waited to take the stage.

They gave a varied programme in the second half and concluded by leading the audience in a number of carols. Everyone seemed to enjoy the evening and I hope we've raised a bit of money for the children's holidays next year.

... où sont les neiges d'antan! On the way...

Forecasters have been predicting falls of snow across the country `

“A new warning has been issued of heavy snow in south Wales, after both the north and the west were hit, causing road problems and closing schools.

More than 40 schools were shut because of snow, mostly in Denbighshire and Carmarthenshire. The Met Office issued a severe weather warning of heavy snow across south Wales on Friday afternoon. It is expected to spread south east, with more than 10cm possibly falling on higher ground.”

The moon rose last night red through the cloud (this is a quick hand -held photo) and I felt sure we would find the village covered this morning.

The morning was bright and cold, minus 2 degrees with an icy sun and no snow. Across the North and East there have been heavy falls and widespread disruption. So it feels like a ‘phoney Winter’ here, waiting for the snow to arrive.

Walters Wood, Ouston, Co Durham: photo Rebecca Wilkinson  (from www.bbc.co.uk/news/)

Aboyne, Aberdeenshire. Photo: Christopher Keith  (from www.bbc.co.uk/news/)

The fields behind the village collect the frost, being in a glacial valley. I think this makes them very beautiful and I feel fortunate to live in the English countryside.

The field with the cattle is to be given over to allotments. These are very popular in the village and are well organised and kept. It means that it is unlikely that the fields will be built on so it’s not a bad trade-off.



One of the nearer fields is to be turned into a car park for the Baptist Chapel. Hopefully, this will alleviate the parking problems on Sunday mornings, though it’s unlikely to help at other times when the Girl Guides some and go, or the Youth club. It doesn’t do to take your car out then because your chances of getting back in are small. In the field, plastic mesh is being laid and paving into the back if the Chapel site. Progress is slow, but the new Minister has demanded action because of the problem it causes to the whole village.

I’ve been neglecting the glass and I had promised myself that I’d complete the new window before Christmas.



Life takes over and Christmas is almost upon us. Hopefully, I’ll get something done this weekend.

Meanwhile, it gets colder...