Great thread. Was talking about these very things last night with a couple of Brit pals. The off-license The milk and paper rounds Cricket with a tennis ball Footie with a Casey, jumpers or a wall Expeditions into the sticks, all of 1 mile away and it was another world, a real adventure. Where has all the respect gone?
As I said earlier we used to leave our village twice a year and it was like going into space, Durham Big Meeting & Cullercoats for a week. The sense of community, in our village, was incredible and we had a fete on the green every year when everyone would be there. We've been back in the UK for over 6 months, moved into a rented place while we decide where to settle and haven't spoken to a soul. People come out of their houses, lock up, jump in the car and are gone ... around 6pm the process is reversed when they come back from work. There are for sale, and to let, signs everywhere, removal vans are on the estate every day and if you do speak to anyone you get blank stares and grunted 'hellos' often in one eastern European accent or another. Kids playing on the street is so rare that you're quite surprised if you see any. At night there are TV's flickering in 2 or 3 rooms while the family 'share' quality time ...... it's like a scene from a zombie movie.
I remember the Lanchester Show, and the more community focussed Lanchester Lions rotary events every year. We knew and got on with most of our direct neighbours and my old man knew a lot of folk throughout the village, all the shopkeepers by name etc. I remember going into the big wide world of the actual village with mates for the first time - it was like steeping into a giant metropolis. playing armies, building camps in local farmers hay barns, cowpat fights, swimming in the beck - all the things young lads should do at the age of 21, I mean 10. Many parts of the UK sounds incredibly depressing mate, to be honest. I'm coming round to just how lucky I am to be where I am. We are in an enclave of 7 houses and all the neighbours at least speak or hang out with each other. the kids run through and around the 3 houses playing before and after tea-time. We have a September 'Crayfish party' coming up and each neighbour has asked us if we can make it. sadly we'll miss it as I'm in the UK with work and they seem genuinely disappointed! There are get togethers to do the communal gardening and some works on the properties. It's just civil, decent. Where would I rather bring my kid up? Currently it's a no-brainer. I'm wondering what I'll feel like after my trip back to the north east later this month. It's funny, i always used to call the 'north-east' home. I stopped doing that a year ago.
It's better than crabs! funny bastards. crayfish party sounds dreadfully middle class and poncey. it's just the norm here. you gan 'fishing for them in the local lakes and rivers, grill them and get pissed on schnapps/vodka/aquavit in the process...... I might get that outfit for my next match though.
Its not totally dead Smug. I think its still there in some small villages. We moved into Blunham last year and there's a great local community here. Admittedly its based around either the pub (just one left in the village) or the Cricket Club, and not everybody goes to either but those who do make it feel like you're part of a big family. Some friends were up at Barney Castle last week and said the place looked great - still 8 or so pubs in the village and thriving market. So maybe a sense of community isn't quite dead yet. It's the bigger towns and cities where its all gone wrong. Soulless places where no one talks to anyone or even know their neighbours.
Me and our lass now travel all around the country, as a business, and pick out places we fancy going. The saddest sight is going through a lovely little village where the local pub has been 'aluminiumed'. Whatever the case it has to be said that the local used to be the heart of every village where strangers became friends. There are so many pubs closing now I really think a huge part of British culture is vanishing.
If our pub closed it would be bloody awful mate. Its a real local country pub, no food, just beer! The landlord's a mad City fan so its a real sports pub. I walk in after work and everyone says hello! Thats a great feeling mate! Makes you feel like you belong! If the brewery **** up, do what they do everywhere else and put the rents up like they always do when a new landlord has a reasonably good couple of years, and makes it pointless for the landlord to continue I don't know what we'll do. I guess the village would have to try and buy the pub to save it from closing! Lets hope it doesnt come to that but these brewery companies don't seem to give a ****! They're the ones with no sense of community!
That's the worrying trend that has sadly been ongoing for while, once they shut they're gone - very rare nowadays to see a the local/ community/village type pub that has been closed reopened - unless its a boozer a town centre and Wetherspoons take over the lease. As you say it's a part of British Culture; that imho really should be cherished & preserved.
This isn't a criticism mate, but I believe it's a massive part of our common culture. The local was always a place where the young lads would be 'educated' by the older fellas and weren't allowed to think they were the bollocks. Newcomers only had to pop their heads in and go through the 'getting to know you rigmarole' before being accepted on some level or another. After the 'pub/club culture' I'm not really sure what common culture we have left.
Sadly, and especially for the younger ones, this is the only common culture - communication whatever you want to call it, the one we are all using on here and countless other forums, social media, twatter, etc.etc.
Very true mate and it's an awkward way to communicate at times. I've posted the kind of friendly mocking banter you'd use down the pub and people have taken it completely the wrong way. That's lead to some pretty nasty exchanges. Happily most of us, on here, eventually get used to each other and 'get' the various characters for what they really are.
I'm a bit late coming to this thread, but have enjoyed reading it all and was surprised no one mentioned playing marbles, American Comics, matchstick guns, and last but not least collecting anything, *** packets, cigarette cards, stamps and worst of all scraps. :
