Sense of community

Yesterday turned into an unusual day. I suppose it started when I noticed Michelle, Geoff's widow, washing her car. I thought I might as well pop out & have a few words with her. I'm glad I did. It turns out she's missing Geoff all the more now the fuss of the funeral is over. Her son is once more with his regiment in Holland. She's half dreading he'll get posted to somewhere like Afghanistan & something will happen to him as well. The nights are particularly getting to her, which I found surprising since Geoff was a HGV driver & so worked away from home a week at a time. I suggested if things were really getting her down to pop round. There's usually someone up & she's welcome. She said she might just do that & she'll bring a bottle of wine. I left her laughing, something I doubt she's done much of recently.

Not long after I was back inside, the vicar turned up. He stopped for an hour or so, just chatting. He's due to retire in the summer. He was telling us of his plans. They've finally found a house they like, now they're just waiting to see if the church will approve their choice. He's a good vicar, very caring. After 40 years of service, he deserves to have some time just for Janet, his wife, & himself.

Meanwhile, the great excitement is the return of BJ, another neighbour. He works abroad so he's not been home for months. This time he's bringing back his new bride, a Chinese woman. He's told us something about her, but we're all left boggling a bit. She apparently speaks no English & BJ speaks no Chinese. Presumably they communicate with sign language of some sort. We're all eager to meet her, but so far we've seen no sign of her. They hadn't made it back by the time the vicar left. We then hastily went to do the food shopping we needed to do. By the time we got back, BJ & his wife were back & inside the house, so we've still not seen her.

All the neighbours here were very supportive of BJ when his first wife, Karen, died in horrific circumstances a few years ago. Now we're all hoping that BJ has really found new love & is not just on the rebound. We're all wondering whether we need to gear ourselves up to be supportive again as the marriage breaks up.

I have to admit one of the wonderful things about living here is just how supportive the neighbours are. We all go about our own lives respecting each other's privacy, yet at the same time, we all keep a benign watch over each other. Occasionally one of us will throw a party for all the neighbours - very occasionally, about once every 5 years. In times of trouble, we all come together to help one another. Who said the sense of community was dead in this country? It certainly is alive here.