Creeting St Peter - the Chair goes forth into the snowy landscape...

Due to a slight mix-up between myself and our Clerk, I found myself with all of the Parish Newsletters, rather than just those for the core village - the Church Warden, Alice, usually delivers the outliers, which is very generous of her.

That meant that I rather felt that I ought to deliver themselves myself, but the distances involved required me to do so in two tranches - Clamp Farm and Creeting Hall in one walk, and the southern end in another.

And so, yesterday I trudged through the rain and murk, for neither rain nor snow, nor gloom of night shall stay the deliverer from his duty. Today offered more of a challenge though, what with the snow being swept in from Ukraine on a stiff easterly wind. But I’m a dogged soul, and besides, it gave me a chance to see how things were at that end of the Parish.

There will doubtless be those who, being less than usually generous, will assume that, as a card-carrying Liberal Democrat, I might have a motive to go out in such conditions. There are, after all, elections due in May, and my view as to the quality of service we get from our Conservative county councillor is not a tremendously high one. However, not only do I have no intention of running this year, but the Parish newsletter is decidedly non-political.

And besides, it provided a more than respectable reason for my 10,000 steps - I might as well do something both useful and healthy.

Properly wrapped up for the conditions, with waterproof trousers and the parka jacket I brought back from our Alaska cruise in 2019, it wasn’t too bad out, and with the roads as quiet as you might expect, the walking was pretty easy. A bit of early-seventeenth century music for voice and lute kept the spirits up too.

I did run into one of our residents, whom I had never actually met before, and we had an interesting (and socially distanced) chat on her doorstep. Reassuringly, given her isolated location, it turned out that one of my near neighbours is watching out for her, a reminder that, in our small village, the informal support network remains efficient.

So, another day in the life of a Parish councillor is completed. It isn’t all about shouting at each other over Zoom, you know...