Gospel from The Saints

By Julia Collins, who lives in Saint Nicholas

So, what did you go for first; seeing family and friends –catching up with all your special people at cafes and restaurants? Or had you been looking forward to entertaining at home once more? Did you throw as much caution as is legally allowed to the wind, or are you still careful –reticence being so ingrained that it rules the day? Being allowed to reunite outside (no more than six) was a good entree. Chatting freely with plenty of distance between us and a welcoming, warm breeze caressing our every sentence, we practised being at ease in the company of others again. For so long we have followed the conditioning to basically avoid other people and concentrate on our personal safety. Will you delight in travelling away from home (when we finally can), or have we learned to value our surroundings far more and be satisfied with simpler reunions – less being more when you’ve experienced a year of definitely less?! I wonder how many of our lockdown habits will persist? As life inevitably accelerates, will we shed our appreciation of the small things, the details we considered and recognised as significant contributors to our happiness? As human beings, will we be able to contain our lust for more and, well – I’m afraid to say – more and more thereafter? How overwhelming, or at least noticeable, has the increased traffic and general hustle and bustle been? Did you wrap yourself in the burgeoning cacophony, thinking “I’ve missed this,” or did some part of you think “oh no, too much, both now and in general”? What about the time we have at our disposal? Does a wealth of opportunity engender a sense of ‘time richness’, or has the rate at which this precious commodity slips through our fingers speeded up again? ‘So much to do and catch up on’, now that we are allowed. Many people found a slower pace soothing. It gave time to appreciate, to savour, to live. The belief that more is more remains hugely influential. Doing is important, working, or at least activity, is laudable. This is magnetic and hugely convincing to our psyche. Going slow is unproductive, slothful, less worthy, to be avoided… hmmm! This poses an interesting question; is more, be it anything –acquiring, socialising, exercising, working, general experiencing –all done at a smart pace, superior to less action that is valued, treasured even? We acknowledge that consumption is the addiction hastening our downfall. Yet will we let go – especially now we know that we can? And, finally, as the novelty wears off, will a lack of restriction smear the shine on our desires? Once it’s a case of ‘go ahead, help yourself’, will all that we have longed for sparkle quite so much?

Bravo Bungay!

Bungay has been officially recognised for its fantastic good neighbour scheme, which was set up in March 2020 to provide much-needed help and a good dose of old fashioned kindness during the pandemic. Bungay Emergency Community Support Group has risen to the many challenges of the past year, and its volunteers have so far undertaken over 2,200 tasks, such as delivering shopping and prescriptions, posting parcels, doing odd jobs and giving advice, to over 450 residents of Bungay, Broome, Ditchingham, Earsham and Homersfield. At the end of 2020, the organisation received a muchdeserved award “In Recognition of Outstanding Service to the Community in Suffolk during the Covid-19 Pandemic,” from Clare Countess of Euston, HM Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk. It was also signed by Bridget McIntyre MBE, High Sheriff of Suffolk. Grateful resident, Pat Blakeburn, said: “I was offered this superb service last year and took advantage of it. I telephoned to ask if someone could do my shopping and within an hour or two a friendly volunteer turned up and collected my shopping list, money and shopping bags. My shopping arrived a little later.” The group has now been renamed Bungay Community Support, and will continue to provide the same vital service for locals, but also befriending and linking people with other organisations in Bungay.

To contact Bungay Community Support, call 0300 365 2995.

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