We have all witnessed a lot over the last seven days, from the state funeral of the Queen to a despot's threat of nuclear war and to the announcement of what Sir Humphrey in 'Yes Minister' would have called a 'courageous' economic experiment for the UK.
Rather than add to the millions of words already spent on the above, let's look at something on a human scale; that is, what it means to be a community.
Around 50 years ago, I was sent for engineering training to a company near Towcester. It was the company's research centre and during the course of a few weeks I saw some of the first LED lights ever produced and even something that looked distinctly weird called a liquid crystal display. Those first LED lights were scarcely visible in normal light, had to shown against a black background and didn't last very long at all. The LCD was very slow to change its numbers but looked like it might have some potential. Nowadays, LED lighting has taken over the world and the 'bulbs' last tens of thousands of hours; LCDs are everywhere, from fitness watches to tv screens.
Whilst working at the research centre, I was placed in 'digs' with an elderly lady who took in lodgers in her little house in the middle of a tiny rural village called Tiffield. As a young man not out of my teens, I was pleased to have someone cooking my meals and even more pleased that my fellow lodger would occasionally give me lifts to the company's bus stop on the back of his Honda motorcycle. Otherwise I would trudge a mile or so over the fields, experiencing country life for the first time for someone coming from industrial Lancashire. One surprise that awaited me was that during that daily walk I would occasionally hear someone cough behind me. I would turn around and there would be no one there; it was very disconcerting until one day the cough came from in front, even though there wasn't anyone in sight. However, there was a horse watching me for a few seconds before it decided to return to its grazing. When it coughed again as I looked at it, the problem was solved! It was only many years later when we had a horse to look after at a livery yard that I found out that all horses could make a coughing sound identical to that of a human.
Tiffield was a little place with just over 300 inhabitants but what it did have was life: there was a church, a shop and a pub, with the latter by far more popular with me. Inside, the 'locals' made me welcome, I learned to play their version of bar skittles, hurling large wooden 'cheeses' in what I assumed at the time was a national sport that had passed me by. In the years since, I have never seen such a game of skittles played anywhere else but in that pub, although I have seen other types played in pubs, from little games that fitted on the bat to a full-scale skittle alley requiring its own large room.
About five years ago. on a whim, I drove through Tiffield, noting how everything seemed closed at that time. It was a dismal sight and produced thoughts of 'the good old days' (usually a figment of a false memories).
What brought these musings on today? It's always interesting to see the grand scale of national and international events and that's what we have had in the last week. What really counts in one's life turns out to be much more local; that is the community in which we live. After all, there are so many times you'll get a nuclear threat and state funerals are almost literally once in a lifetime events, but we all encounter local people and local places many times each week, even if they only pass past our window. So I took a look at the events that were scheduled for this week in Tittensor:
Church first: St Luke's Churchyard was 'open' on Saturday. There were people available to offer guidance around this historical site, which contains graves going back 150 years, each with its own story of a life, either short or long, and with some hinting at anguish and tragedy, such as a war grave. The trees, shrubs, flowers, lichens and other flora and creatures are everywhere and would take months to document fully. Benches kindly donated over the years have been placed carefully to allow privacy and space for reflection and peace. John Skinner has led most of these efforts and is often to be seen working on paths and in the planted areas, although he would be the first to say that is not alone in caring for the churchyard. All those flowers, tubs and pots don't just appear from nowhere and look after themselves, in the churchyard and around the lower car park!
On Sunday, St Luke's also held a Holy Communion service, and people from Tittensor, Trentham, Swynnerton, Barlaston, Beech and Stone (at the very least) gathered for that. The feeling of fellowship, particularly as everyone 'exchanged a sign of the Peace', was almost overwhelming. It has been particularly wonderful to see that the residents of Oaklea have been able to return to St Luke's, after the long period of lockdown increased health security concerns.
On Monday morning, two events predominated: Tittensor Tots at St Luke's continued the support group for young children, their parents and carers. In these days of the almost permanently-held smartphone, the need for genuine human contact in a safe place can easily be overlooked, the potential for isolation when caring for young children not recognised.
The Village Hall accommodated the auction and social morning, another opportunity for people to mix, to talk, to listen and to exist as a community. This is another event that needs preparation, planning and dedication. Those auctions don't happen by chance and the support for them also shows a need and wish for people to gather together.
The previous Tuesday evening, incidentally, volunteers gathered at St Luke's Church Hall to map out possible events over the next three months, including communal meals and movie nights.
On Wednesday morning, a group will gather in St Luke's Church Hall again, this time for Bible Study. The group varies in size and participants but works its way through various books of the Bible, with everyone asking their questions or giving their views as much or as little as they wish. From personal experience, this is also a time when people, knowing that they are in a safe, supportive place, speak of their concerns to others about what is happening in their lives.
Similarly, on Thursday mornings in the same place, a short informal period of worship is held, followed by what one can only call 'a good natter', when anyone can have a word with the whole group or with friends whom they have come to trust most deeply. This is a time and a place where anyone can come along and feel their place and their value in a community, with some seeking help in prayer.
By the weekend, the whole community starts to become available for other than work, so this Saturday Tittensor Village Hall will be hosting the Dougie Mac Choir and Friends, with the tickets available from the Village Post Office. Even that one sentence has so much of community, of human kindness, friendship and the fabric of society woven deeply within it.
And so we come to Sunday 2nd October, when St Luke's will hold a Pets Service & Blessing of the Animals, with everyone invited to bring their pet along for a blessing. When we think of how much those animals have meant to us throughout Covid and into normal life again, we owe these creatures, God's creation, so much. The act of joining with others to thank God for bringing these animals into our lives is one of community, of saying, 'These too have made a difference.'
Finally on Sunday, another area of village activity celebrates with what we hope will be sunshine, as the Bowling Club holds its Village Trophy Cup, with experienced club bowlers pairing up with other villagers for some fun in a friendly competition. At this point, I should add a health warning in that my experience, as a crown green bowler from Lancashire, there is no such thing as friendly competition in bowls, having witnessed some of the goings-on at working men clubs there 😊.
And that is the fabric of a community, the tapestry that holds us all together, no matter what else is hitting us from the world outside. Long may it continue.
And what of that village of Tiffield, mentioned earlier? Well, nowadays the pub has been extensively refurbished and offers food and drink on its patio (not a word used back then). Thanks to work with a charity and the pub, a village shop now also operates from the pub. Its primary school, which is a Church of England Voluntary Assisted School, is one of the smallest in England but is still going strong; it is now part of a federation, again something that didn't exist fifty years ago. The church, which is grade 2 listed, is little-used, only seeing a service once a month and two years ago its roof deteriorated badly, with significant damage inside and buckets all over the place. It faced demolition unless the villagers rallied around to raise a total of £80,000. Not many people know that local churches receive nothing from the Church of England to look after their churches, church halls and churchyards. Everything has to raised locally. Just over 300 people live in Tiffield but they did it. Their church is restored.
St Luke's will face the same predicament soon, with costs not dissimilar. The clay roof tiles have lasted more than twice the time that would be thought of as normal but they are failing now. Let's hope and pray that the village community will come together in the same way that Tiffield's did. And may the Tittensor community continue to be strong and supportive of all who live there. Amen.