Happy Days

Yes, another day over at Carl Wilde’s. An early start to cope with the traffic. It seems never ending and I wonder how soon it will be before the roads are completely grid locked. On our arrival a cheery Carl and John, who were in the process of preparing lunch, greeted us. It is always nice to see them, Carl with his lovely smile and John also with a nice smile and welcome. Two more guests arrived and then lunch, which was as usual delicious. Carl then demonstrated with his remarkable ability three arrangements. He is so talented and it is always a pleasure to watch and listen. More coffee and chocolates and it was time for home, but not an evening in. After battling with the traffic we arrived home with about ten minutes to spare before off again this time over to Wrelton. The Staithes Fisherman were there and very soon the Chapel was filled to capacity. Brian introduced the choir and Doris was on the harmonium. They sang hymns and also fishing songs with a note of sadness in some of them due to the decline of the fishing industry. Man will never learn to protect our resources and not over fish. An added pleasure was that Vera was celebrating her 98th birthday. Happy Birthday was sung and a cake was cut. She is such a nice lady and it added to the pleasure of the evening. A scrumptious supper was served and then it was time for home. Yet another pleasant day absolutely filled with happiness.This brings me on to the question of community spirit. We have experienced, especially in the Ryedale area, such a happy atmosphere amongst the Chapels. However, in the big world of inner cities, the heart of community living seems to have disappeared because we all go into little rooms of family. Not like the old days when people lived in a small village and everybody had something in common with everybody else and they lived as a harmonious tribe, which now seems to have been lost and we seem to be individuals lost in a wilderness searching for the only things we know of, which now seem to be possessions. Therefore we end up being a stranger in a world of strangers. How can we put things right? There has been the recent publicity about Castleford. Years ago people living there were very hard working, working hard and living hard, but with the closing of the mines all the happiness must have dissipated. The powers that be have spent vast sums of money with the projects of parks and leisure facilities, but that is not what the people want, they want to be able to have the heart of the town back. I know people do support the Churches and Chapels but I certainly remember when every Sunday our Chapel was full. Sadly that is not the case now. Somewhere along the way we have got lost in the vast world of materialism. I think the above-mentioned Vera will have seen vast changes during her life!


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