I'm no longer part of any community but I suspect they've generally become less than they once were.
One of my abiding memories, from Allendale Cottages 60 years go, was an incident I didn't understand at the time.
The women, from the street, stood outside the house of a man banging saucepans together and shouting. They kept it up for ages and, eventually, a man came out with a suitcase, scurried up the bank and was never seen again. The incident was never mentioned but decades later it came to mind and I resolved it by believing the man had 'interfered' with someone vulnerable then been 'drummed out' of the village.
We grew up knowing any adult was entitled to give us a clip but that we were safe from strangers and people from the village.
It's sad that those days have gone and young people believe they'd gained a lot without knowing what they've lost.
yup, just look at any old 'out in the street' pictures that keep showing up, kids of all ages out together, playing and learning from each other then check out the 'street security' of at least one mother keeping guard and usually one out of focus further up the street... no one went past her.
i don't know the full story or indeed i doubt i ever will and i hate saying this but too often now, children are being allowed to be 'grown up' too early, dressed to the 9's in the latest brands, walking around with a hell of an expensive phone in hand, allowed to go drinking at friends/pubs and i honestly get sick of hearing 'what harm will it do?'...then these stories start to surface.
we have lost a lot since 'my time' but imo, common sense is most missed.
