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I ran into Brian Church this morning while out canvassing in Denholme. Now Brian’s in his 70s, has just been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and has every reason to slow down a little, to enjoy his retirement. But Brian was still out delivering the Town Council newsletter!
I first encountered Brian during the campaign to stop a landfill being built on the edge of Denholme – he knew every inch of every footpath around the village and reported all the problems with the developer assiduously. Brian turned up to every campaign meeting, reported to the local forum and provided invaluable input to the inevitable public enquiry.
As well as this campaigning, Brian set up a local environmental group. Not to campaign but to spruce up some of the village’s untidier corners – we got the group a little money and Brian scrounged bits of stone, plants and fencing from local companies. Four or five little projects were competed – a little garden at the entrance to the village, the raised bed round the mechanics institute, the tiny green at the top of Old Lane and loads of bulbs throughout.
Any way, I was chatting to Brian – asking about the Parkinson’s and some other village matters – and he told me a little of the doctor’s advice about walking being good for managing the condition. And Brian came out with this little gem – as good a description of what David Cameron means by the “Big Society” as you’ll find:
“The village will keep me fit”
That really is what it’s about – a place where people get involved because they’ve something to offer and because they want the place where they live to be a pleasant place. And what they get back isn’t money or kudos or medals. What they get back is a good feeling, a sense of community and, in Brian’s case, a reason to carry on doing things for the village.
And for Brian the village is almost a living thing – it is the people, the trees, the old buildings, the new estates, the changes – good and bad and the sense that it’s worth looking after, it’s worth a bit of love. You might, on arriving in Denholme, find an unprepossessing place stuck on the top of the South Pennines. You’ll see big trunk road, some old terraced housing, a Co-op and a big public hall. You might even think the place a little unattractive, certainly not your typical, roses-over-the-door English village.
But look a little further you’ll find something more remarkable – you’ll find people like Brian (and Nora and Barbara and Ann and Steve and Sharon) working hard at making the place more than what you see on your visit. You might bob into the Town Council meeting and see nine unpaid politicians talking about the minutiae of village affairs. You might meet some scouts, or kids from the youth club. It might be the cricket club that gets your attention or the football club or the Denholme Elders (what a great name for a group that is!) who meet to reminisce and share their experience of living in Denholme.
This is the “Big Society” – these are ordinary people freely working to make where they live better, happier, safer and more friendly. It’s not about strategies, governance and policies. It’s not about clever folk in big corner offices. And it’s not about taxes or public spending. It’s about saying; “yes, we do want you to do that, we’re not going to stop you, we might even help a little – after all it’s your village in the end!”
I first encountered Brian during the campaign to stop a landfill being built on the edge of Denholme – he knew every inch of every footpath around the village and reported all the problems with the developer assiduously. Brian turned up to every campaign meeting, reported to the local forum and provided invaluable input to the inevitable public enquiry.
As well as this campaigning, Brian set up a local environmental group. Not to campaign but to spruce up some of the village’s untidier corners – we got the group a little money and Brian scrounged bits of stone, plants and fencing from local companies. Four or five little projects were competed – a little garden at the entrance to the village, the raised bed round the mechanics institute, the tiny green at the top of Old Lane and loads of bulbs throughout.
Any way, I was chatting to Brian – asking about the Parkinson’s and some other village matters – and he told me a little of the doctor’s advice about walking being good for managing the condition. And Brian came out with this little gem – as good a description of what David Cameron means by the “Big Society” as you’ll find:
“The village will keep me fit”
That really is what it’s about – a place where people get involved because they’ve something to offer and because they want the place where they live to be a pleasant place. And what they get back isn’t money or kudos or medals. What they get back is a good feeling, a sense of community and, in Brian’s case, a reason to carry on doing things for the village.
And for Brian the village is almost a living thing – it is the people, the trees, the old buildings, the new estates, the changes – good and bad and the sense that it’s worth looking after, it’s worth a bit of love. You might, on arriving in Denholme, find an unprepossessing place stuck on the top of the South Pennines. You’ll see big trunk road, some old terraced housing, a Co-op and a big public hall. You might even think the place a little unattractive, certainly not your typical, roses-over-the-door English village.
But look a little further you’ll find something more remarkable – you’ll find people like Brian (and Nora and Barbara and Ann and Steve and Sharon) working hard at making the place more than what you see on your visit. You might bob into the Town Council meeting and see nine unpaid politicians talking about the minutiae of village affairs. You might meet some scouts, or kids from the youth club. It might be the cricket club that gets your attention or the football club or the Denholme Elders (what a great name for a group that is!) who meet to reminisce and share their experience of living in Denholme.
This is the “Big Society” – these are ordinary people freely working to make where they live better, happier, safer and more friendly. It’s not about strategies, governance and policies. It’s not about clever folk in big corner offices. And it’s not about taxes or public spending. It’s about saying; “yes, we do want you to do that, we’re not going to stop you, we might even help a little – after all it’s your village in the end!”
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