Churchyard workers

Lots of people, most of them welcome, have been working in St Nicolas’ churchyard.

The regular volunteer who quietly mows the new cremated remains area and around the main paths is much more appreciated than he realises. A new volunteer, who has come forward as a result of an advert we placed at Voluntary Action, has begun adding real value to this and earned the gratitude in particular of those who tend plots in the old cremated remains area. And over the last three days Community Pay Back have been in to make a splendid job of the annual mammoth cut back; this is perhaps a couple of weeks earlier than ideal as just some bluebells as the very last of the spring flowers had not quite died off and set seed, but the Bank Holiday weekend brides will be grateful we didn’t wait until early June as normal.

Meanwhile the top picture shows new kerbs and stones on a grave just two yards from the 2003 sign appealing to people not to make changes without permission and not to allow things like this to spoil the rural feel of this corner of Great Coates. What does one do (even assuming one can even trace the next-of-kin from a burial over twenty-five years ago)? End up on the front page of the local paper as the those who persecute the bereaved? Or let it go and risk others beginning to copy the idea and rapidly lose the whole character of this part of the churchyard?

And the bottom picture shows where a neighbour has removed his fence and come in to do this work layering our trees to develop a new hedge. It looks as if he’s done a really creative and attractive job; if he’d asked, I’m sure we would have welcomed his initiative. Does one do anything about this either (it certainly isn’t the sort of things anyone would consider doing in the garden of the person who lives next door without permission)? My naughty thought was we could write a letter thanking him for joining the small team of volunteers and giving him the next couple of jobs which need doing, but I don’t expect we’ll do that.