Tag: village community

Plealey Garden Party – a look back to summer

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date March 26, 2018

It often feels good to look back to a summer’s day especially when we are in the grips of an exceptionally long and cold winter. We had been asked by the organisers of the Plealey Garden Party to set up a stall to sell some of our plants. So we prepared our seedlings and young plants from cuttings and nurtured them until the event, when we priced them up, spruced them up and boxed them up for the journey to the other end of our hamlet.

The day of the garden party dawned bright and sunny and warmed up as the day moved on, perfect weather for it! This is the highlight of the hamlet’s year when all fifty households get together with friends, relatives and visitors from nearby villages for an afternoon. The afternoon also raises money for local charities. It is usually held in Well Lane but builders working along it prevented this from happening in 2017. Luckily a resident volunteered her garden for this one.

We loaded up one of our neighbours'(Chris and June) Landrover with trays of plants and Chris delivered them for us as we took a leisurely wander down the road following the trail of bunting. The vehicle certainly made life so much easier for us.

We put our folding table together and laid the plants out as we planned how to display them to look enticing or at least at their best. We were situated in the beautiful dappled shade of old apple and pear trees which was to prove a boon as the day warmed up.

In a short while we were all set and stood back to admire our handiwork. We were pleased with our efforts and hoped the sun would bring out the visitors/punters.

This is the view we had from our seats behind our plants, and the welcoming view for the visitors.

The stallholders waited patiently for the tea party to be declared officially open and the people arrived, mostly young families and couples. The local ukelele band burst into life and entertained us all afternoon, and luckily they thought to bring along a gazebo to protect themselves from the sunshine or the rain just in case.

The weather brought in a good crowd who stayed for a long time and enjoyed the refreshments in the hot weather. The tables were beautifully decorated with small posies from the garden.

A popular visitor to our hamlet’s event was this horse and cart which we often see passing by our front garden. What a delightful and peaceful mode of transport to explore the narrow country lanes around Plealey.

It turned out to be a very successful afternoon with lots of visitors who spent plenty of money that was then sent to the chosen charities. Next year the party will be back in its usual location of Well Lane so we hope the success continues.

Tags community, community spirit, garden parties, garden party, Plealey, village community, village life

architecture buildings community gardening the sea the seaside the shore the South

Southwold – a seaside town with added flair!

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 29, 2016
3 Comments on Southwold – a seaside town with added flair!

Southwold has been recommended to us as a seaside place worth a visit a few times so when we found ourselves just 20 or so miles away we simply had to go and see what made Southwold so special.

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We parked the car right in front of the pier as a suitable parking space presented itself and on opening the doors we were greeted by the sound of the song “The Good Ship Lollipop” being broadcast rather too loudly! This was to be the first of several surprises to come!

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The pier was full of such surprises none more impressive than the metalwork pieces along its length beginning appropriately with the gateway. To follow were seat arms of metal eels, two rather “Heath Robinsonesque” creations, a clock and a telescope.

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On the back wall of the main entrance building this huge mural is a tribute to writer George Orwell to whom Southwold was home during various periods of his life. Liz Ewing describes Southwold as “…… a place he returned to time and time again,to study, to work, to write, to paint, to fall in love and to convalesce”.

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Walking the promenade afforded wide sweeping views of long sandy beaches and looking out to sea the rather beautiful sculptural village of wind turbines.

From the end of the pier we spotted another favourite seaside feature, a row of beach huts, for which Southwold is famous, but this is the subject of another post all about the seaside at Southwold (published 22\11\2016) . Here are a couple to whet your appetite!

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Back to search for other aspects of this interesting little seaside town that is Southwold, we wandered very slowly away from the pier towards the old town itself.

Leaving the bright plastic of beach toys behind us we discovered these interesting little garden cameos with nautical hints, and also an inland lighthouse of all things. This strange and extremely tall building was hundreds of yards from the sea itself and hidden in the back gardens of the village cottages. Strange! You will spot it snuggled into the town centre in one of my pics below.

After being surprised by the beauty of the pier and the beach huts were then delighted to find an equally beautiful little town.

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It appears that at one time in the past Southwold was a busy productive little settlement with its own brewery, distillery and cottage industries. Today the brewery remains integrated into the village with its premises nestled among the shops and cottages.

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There was obvious pride in this lovely little place with community spirit riding high and a very warm welcome for its visitors.

We left the inland secrets of Southwold behind and ambled back along the promenade looking out over the beach and the sea itself, a perfect end to a day of finding a new favourite place. A great discovery!

Tags architecture, beach, beach huts, beaches, piers, seascapes, seashore, seaside, South coast, Southern England, Southwold, the sea, village community, villages

architecture buildings Church architecture community gardening Herefordshire

Some Little Churches of Herefordshire – Part 2

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date March 22, 2016
2 Comments on Some Little Churches of Herefordshire – Part 2

Following on from studying St Michael’s at Brimfield we drove along narrow lanes towards another small village called Yarpole. The direction sign at a junction directed us along an even narrower lane to Yarpole itself and on the opposite side of the road we spotted a brown Tourist Sign directing us to Yarpole Belfry. Thus we were expecting to find a belfry but no church. Separate belfries are a feature of several Herefordshire’s churches.

But when we drove into the village following signs for the Belfry we found both the belfry and an accompanying church only a few metres apart. We certainly were not expecting to find such an exciting place! The church here in Yarpole was a true community affair. We were in for many delightful and heart-warming surprises.

As we closed the car doors alongside the churchyard we got our first view of St Leonard’s over a low wall. We could only see the bell tower at that time but the big blue sign made us think there must be a church to be found there somewhere as well.

The next sign was more confusing as it welcomed us to Yarpole Village Shop and Post Office which were both to be found inside the church. We then realised this was a special place, the centre of village life around which the community revolved.

Signs outside the main porch provided further clues to the character of this community church.

On the path that wound its way towards the church porch we took a diversion to get a close look at the belfry which was separate from the main church building. Once inside it took a while for our eyes to get used to the dark before we could appreciate the ancient woodworking skills of its builders.

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We were surprised by a little sign explaining what made the churchyard special and different from most others. The graveyard is managed by volunteers to optimise the wildlife potential. Areas of grass are left uncut for wildlife, and lichen is left to grow on gravestones and stonework. Rough areas are left for nest sites, hibernating sites and groundcover for insects and invertebrates. The area is full of wild flowers to attract bees and butterflies. Another sign nearby announced a Spring Concert

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On either side of the porch carved stone faces welcomed us in, and inside the porch modern colourful stained glass windows added warmth to that welcome.

We found the door open and the sounds of voices came to meet us. This was a lively community centre with a cafe, village shop and Post Office. From the roof hung beautiful photographic hangings. The stone pillars were built from two types of stone giving it a striped effect.

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In the gallery where the cafe opened each morning a chess group was silently enjoying their games.

Exploring the interior we found the usual furniture and features of any village church and the worship side of the church’s functions sat so comfortably alongside the community functions.This is what village churches should be like, keeping themselves open and used beyond occasional Sunday services and serving the community as they were originally meant to do. Other features however were exactly what we would expect to find in any church.

We liked the idea of the pebble pool. Each pebble dropped in the water represented a prayer.

We then had a wander around the out side of the church looking for interesting little details.

So the first two churches we had discovered on our initial exploration of the villages of Herefordshire in search of little churches serving small communities were totally different. St Michael’s at Brimfield was quite traditional and typical in the way it was used and in how the interior looked and felt. But St Leonard’s at Yarpole was a totally different kettle of fish – it was a community centre and felt full of life. It had a relaxed atmosphere with a warmth missing from so many of the churches in England.

On our first day we found one more little church in this area and we will share this with you in Part 3.

Tags church architecture, churches, community, community gardening, Herefordshire, stained glass, village community, village shop, villages

architecture buildings Church architecture Herefordshire

Some Little Churches of Herefordshire – Part 1

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date March 15, 2016

We often drive through Herefordshire, our neighbouring county to the south of our home county of Shropshire when we visit gardens. Herefordshire has many beautiful private gardens open under the auspices of the National Garden Scheme and a few larger ones open more often so we have driven along miles of the county’s tiny winding lanes. These lanes take us through so many tiny villages many with equally tiny churches.

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We decided to explore some of these diminutive churches and find out more about them. We are not interested in those large churches built from the wool money, as these lack the character of their smaller cousins. They sit on high ground and dominate the local area. The little churches we are looking at are much more central to the village and appear to be grounded in their community rather than dominating it.

This is the first in a series about these miniature churches when we will be looking at the Church of St Michael at Brimfield.

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We drove south from home down the A49 knowing we had to find a left turn not far after bypassing the market town of Ludlow. We found the sign and turned into a narrow lane where we looked out for signs to the village church. After spotting the sign we discovered that the church was down a gravel road. We soon spotted the church through the trees and it certainly looked very interesting. So we parked up on a grass patch by the churchyard walls and searched for the gateway.

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St Michael’s is constructed in sandstone from local quarries but for added interest it has a wood-framed porch and top tower section. When we reached the porch we noticed a stone font on the grass on one corner. Today it probably acts as a very effective birdbath!

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St Michael’s was founded in the C12 but its tower was added later. The lower two stages were built in the C13 with the top section, built in timber added in the C17. The tower houses 3 bells, one Medieval, one early C16 and the third added in 1659.

We were surprised how bright and airy the inside of the church felt. Freshly painted white walls bounced the light around the nave and sent alternating bands of light and shade across the aisle.

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We wandered around the interior in search of interesting features.

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We always look out for interesting windows when we visit churches and St Michael’s boasted a stunning modern stained glass window in shades of blue depicting the dove of peace. Older windows were plain but beautifully proportioned. The light fitting hanging down from the ceiling had once been home for oil lamps and then gas lamps before the current electric bulbs.

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We were pleased to notice links to the local community, original art pieces by the local Women’s Institute and children from the local school. It feels good to see newer pieces of art alongside and on equal terms with ancient carvings in wood and stone.

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Returning outside, coats were rapidly buttoned up and we donned hats and scarves against the February chill. We wandered around the outside of the building, where we discovered our blue window, a blocked up door and battered sheds and add-ons.

Returning to the car we looked for textures in the grave stones and their sundries.

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St Michaels’ in Brimfield gave us a good start in our search for interesting little churches of Herefordshire. In part 2 we study another diminutive village church a short distance away.