Sunday 7 February 2016

The Counting.


                           

Above; Our Mayor's 'parlour'.

Just before Christmas, Lady Magnon and friend (St Theresa of the Floral Tribute) went to the Mayor's 'parlour' for drinks, snacks, and a few words from His Worship himself (Alain).

Apparently it was a rather uplifting affair. Presents were handed-out to all the children of the commune (including one for Boo Boo, who was sadly away in Oz), a round-up of the year's events was highlighted, and a complete list of all births, deaths, marriages, new residents, etc, was read-out.

We were discussing the event over lunch, and although to us it seems like a normal village affair, to an outsider it must have been like re-living 'The Counting' at Cold Comfort Farm.

Such events could never happen in a town or city; there would simply be too many things to talk about, but for our tiny 240 resident commune such intimate details are important.

Lady M and St Theresa drank pleasant wine and ate delicious home-made quiche whilst listening to the Mayor listing the passing of Madame X, Monsieur Y, as well as the birth of Petit Z, and the arrival of Wills and Kellogg; and it all seemed very normal. I'm very proud to live in such a village, where each and every resident is of the utmost importance. It makes everyone's contribution very poignant.

A tiny village such as ours only functions efficiently because of the effort made by all its residents, and I think we do a particularly good job.



42 comments:

  1. You mentioned lady Magnon and a friend but not yourself - was it a ladies only affair apart from the Mayor?

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  2. Oh Cro, how this post reminds me of our last mining community! What a quaint village you live in. Sorry you didn't get there. But Grant is normally "busy" when such girlie things are on the go! Strange, as in an hour we're going on a breakfast run with several other bikers (we've never done this, always toured and rode alone) They're all men and I'm the only lady. Thanks for sharing! S Jo

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    1. I thought you ladies loved to be surrounded by lots of men. Have a good trip!

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  3. That sounds so nice. How wonderful to live in a community where every single person is counted and valued.

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    1. I suppose that all small farming communities have to look out for each other. It's very reassuring.

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  4. As you say Cro...
    In a bigger commune it can't happen...
    we get the Mayoral Voeux...
    somewhere around the 7th of January.
    At 997 strong, we get the "uplifting" haven't we done well in the past 12 months....
    and the aspirations for current year and the next....
    but no mention of newbies or departures.
    It always used to happen...
    But not with the new mayor and his committee...
    oh no...
    hatch,match and dispatch is regarded as too personal to give out...
    it has even gone from the "trimestral" magazine!
    It is a shame, actually, as it gave a sense of community that has now been lost.

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    1. At almost a thousand, your village is four times the size of ours, so reading 'the lists' might take all afternoon. We are still small enough for it to take just enough time to eat a slice of Madame B's quiche.

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  5. How lucky you are to live in such a pleasant place. I live in a lovely neighbourhood but living in a city everyone is always in a hurry. We have supermarkets right up to our doorstep that are opened every day of the week including Sundays which means no one has the excuse anymore to go borrowing a cup of sugar at the neighbours. Ten families live in the condominium where I live and days go by, sometimes weeks, before I encounter any of them. (Sorry a bit muddled up but I hope comprehensible). Greetings Maria x

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    1. I'm sure this is the experience of most. A sad reflection on modern life. It was certainly my experience whilst living in London, even if I loved it.

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  6. It was our village coffee morning yesterdayand three quarters of the villagers were there. It was blowing a gale and pouring with rain but it didn't stop anyone from coming and buying A's delicious sausage casseroles (I bought two - one each for our lunch and they were good), or J's home made marmalade, or K's cakes.
    Yes Cro, who in their right mind would wish to live in a city?

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    1. I still like city life (I'd love a little mews house in W Ken), but I'd HAVE to have my country bolt hole.

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  7. Sounds lovely....and I hope a large number of the 250 are nice people that you get on well with. ....and are there a good number of young people ? Enough for friends for Wills, Kellogg and classmates for BoBo?

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    1. It's not easy to encourage young families into the area; most head for the towns to find work. Even so, there are quite a few children in the village at the moment.

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  8. We have the end of season hunting/shooting dinner when the local syndicates put on a dinner in the village hall for all the residents as a thank you for putting up with any inconvenience by the guns/vehicles on the lanes. We have the parish magazine every month which at the end of the year collates the births, deaths, marriages and those who have moved house and left the village. Not bad really I suppose.

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  9. That's my idea of a proper community. We live in a much smaller hamlet of only twenty houses, too small to boast a mayor and an official counting but we all look out for each other.

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    1. Every village here has a 'Mayor'. He may not have chains and robes, but he does conduct marriages, and sees to planning applications, disputes, etc.

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  10. I work in some of the local village and this type of community spirit is still very much in existence I am pleased to say.
    Arilx

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    1. Wherever there are small villages, there is community spirit. Long may it thrive.

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  11. The mechanics of Hebridean Communities is quite different but the closeness is often the same. Or used to be. Things change and not always for the better communally.

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    1. I would have thought that in an isolated community, such as you have in the Hebrides, closeness would be essential.

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  12. Our community meetings are sparcly attended with usually only those with a bone to pick showing up. How lovely to live in a village where everybody counts.

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    1. It depends on the type of community. If it's a transitory place, then no-one really bothers. But if it's a farming community (where generations of families have lived) then people seem to be more caring.

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  13. We also have 240 people here, may be we can be "twin vilages" like the big tween cities...

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  14. A mate of mine who used to live in Bath, moved to a village in France and became the Mayor. He was half French, but I still think this is a feat for a Brit.

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  15. Quite a contrast to the village (was it in Sussex?) you described a little while back.

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    Replies
    1. It was Shropshire. A very different kettle of fish.

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  16. Just one big family...it sounds lovely.

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  17. How lovely Cro ...... a beautiful part of French village life. When I visited my friend's house in Lectoure, I went to the Mayor's home and he was so welcoming. XXXX

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    1. Ours is a small farmer; like most other villagers. Nice man.

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  18. I think the concept of 'home' is wider than your own bricks and mortar. Certainly I feel a lot happier in Brixham than where I previously lived. A lot of that is around already feeling part of a community. x

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    1. Brixham looks like a nice place to live, it has a comfortable air about it.

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  19. My dear departed Mum was mentioned in despatches - the village magazine - but they called her by her MAIDEN name, such is the current practice in France. She would have been mortified! She was extremely proud of her married Scottish name and as a child, I was forced to wear the rather bright tartan. As her funeral, all the men wore our tartan scarves, which kind of surprised our French friends.

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    1. In France you are always officially called by the name you were born with. A married woman can call herself Madame (name of husband), but to the state she will always carry the name of her father.

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