So that's what it's called!
There's a letter in the B&R today, from a chap in Cusop Dingle, saying that 'social capital' is the reason he likes Hay. That's the sort of thing where the lady at the newsagents will notice when someone doesn't come in for their daily paper, and go and check up on them, or the ladies in Londis will let you pay next time you go in if you've forgotten your purse - because they know you (something that's happened to me more than once when I've changed coats without changing the contents of the pockets!).
It's the lady from Spar who made ginger cakes for someone who'd done her a favour, and was distributing the ones she had left over to other friends. She was also behind the St Valentine's Day idea of having a bucket outside Spar with chocolates for passers-by to help themselves, with a poem written on a big red heart. Over the road, a customer dropped a rather pretty ear-ring, and if no-one comes back for it, the staff in the shop are saving it for me to use in costume making.
And if people know each other, and trust each other, and look out for each other, the crime rate goes down, and it makes a better atmosphere for small businesses to operate in. There are even studies to suggest that people are healthier - and happier.
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5 comments:
Lovely, nicely put lesley x
It very much like that in the Scottish village where I live. A real sense of community where it takes two hours to buy a newspaper and a pint of milk, because you keep meeting people you know and chat to them.
And something else which I never experienced in London... the postman knows me by name and where to hide anything too big for my letter box so that I don't have to traipse all the way to the post office to retrieve it. In fact I don't think the same postman delivered to my place in London two days on the trot, whereas here we know all the posties and they know us.
And we know the folk in the butchers, the newsagents, the bookshop, the library, the bakery, the post office, the supermarket, the opticians, the general store and so on.
It's a lovely way to live.
JB
Let's all move to this Scottish village then!
Spot on, Lesley. It's a rare commodity - and of the many places I've lived, big cities and medium suburbs, this is the first place I've felt it.
I am not quite sure what to think of that last comment.
Sarcasm or humour?
Just goes to show how easy it can be to misinterpret what someone is trying to say when they can only use the written word. How much we rely upon facial expressions, body language and voice tone when attemting to communciate with another person face to face. The lack of all can lead to confusion and misunderstanding.
:-)
JB
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