I’m increasingly convinced some people think paying Council Tax absolves them of all further responsibility. Every day social media is full of complaints. The verge hasn’t been cut. There’s litter in the lay-by. The flowerbeds need weeding. The Christmas lights weren’t as good this year. By the time you’ve read the comments, you’d think the Four Horsemen had arrived in Dorset armed with nettles and potholes.
Thirty years ago, if something needed doing, a notice went up in the post office window. “Volunteers needed Saturday.” A dozen people turned up with gloves, shovels and black sacks. Nobody asked whose job it was. Of course, young families are juggling two jobs. The sandwich generation are supporting grown-up children while caring for elderly parents. They’re exhausted. I completely understand that.
But there are also plenty of us who have retired. We’re fitter than previous generations. Living longer. Travelling. Walking. Playing golf. Discovering pickleball, whatever that is. Surely we can spare a couple of hours every now and then? If you can spend 20 minutes writing an angry Facebook post about weeds outside the village hall, you could probably spend 30 minutes pulling them up. And if your local charity is crying out for helpers, don’t simply click the sad-face emoji and scroll on.
Community isn’t a service you subscribe to. It’s something you contribute to. After 35 years as a teacher, I learnt one lesson above all others. The children who helped tidy the classroom were invariably the ones who complained least about the mess. I have a feeling the same is true of villages.
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