A few years ago David Cameron launched the idea of his Big Society. There was a lot of fanfare and shiny booklets and ‘keynote speeches’ (aren’t they all these days?) but at the end of it I remember thinking “and… is that it? Is that your big idea?” It felt to me that this ideal of communities working together and people helping each other out was already happening. It was just that no one had given it a label.
I’m reminded of this at the moment. Here in Great Bedwyn the Big Society dream is already a reality. I am involved with the village pre-school, an Ofsted outstanding, community run preschool that operates from the Village Hall. Open to all children from two years old until starting school, the preschool provides a vital service to local parents as well as giving their children a stimulating and safe environment in which to learn and develop.
Finding itself reliant on ever dwindling state funding to provide an ever growing service the preschool has looked at the local community for support and the response has been fantastic. Particularly reassuring is the collaboration it has made with local businesses that are mutually beneficial and illustrate the beauty of what community spirit can really mean.
The White Horse Bookshop in Marlborough has launched a book club for Great Bedwyn Preschool children. Every time they buy a book in the shop 5% of the sale goes to the pre-school and in December they have kindly offered to raise this to 10% so we can all benefit from a bit of Christmas spirit.
The Three Tuns pub in the village has volunteered to give 50 pence to the preschool from every children’s meal they sell – so we help drive diners to them and they make a donation to us. My own children have benefitted from this arrangement already as I feel justified in taking them out for chicken and chips at the pub! Luckily the food is fantastic so it is an easy way to give support to both village institutions.
Great Bedwyn is a thriving village and is lucky enough to boast two pubs, an excellent village shop, a wonderful post office, a superb garage, an outstanding primary school and an outstanding pre-school. There is also a marvellous bakery but its future is uncertain and I don’t think any of the services I’ve listed would say they can happily rest on their laurels and assume their own future is secure.
Even in a village like this the shops and pubs and providers that we take for granted are constantly facing pressure from competition, some of it down the road and some of it online. Why go to the village shop when a supermarket will deliver your shop to your door? Why send your child to the village pre-school with its school hours and term times when you could use the private nursery with flexible hours and holiday provision?
Perhaps because if you don’t, they will close and your village and your community will be the poorer for it.
The Big Society was a laborious way of saying what most communities know already. If we don’t support each other and support our businesses and services they will disappear. And that support can be formal, like the pre-school and the pub and the book shop, or it can be informal like making sure you do buy that extra pint of milk from the village shop or you do use the local garage the next time you need to MOT your car.
If we all decide to take the easy, convenient route we may find our community has changed before we know it. And then we may find we need one of those big government initiatives, keynote speech and all.
Tennis: Wiltshire Men promoted after victories at the Winter County Cup
