there and help to keep it tidy.'
'That's even worse!' exclaimed Mrs Cleary. 'Sheep indeed!'
'Wouldn't be practical with all the yew there is there now,' said Percy Hodge. 'Fencing alone would cost a small fortune.'
'What about Miss Harmer's goats?' suggested someone, half-jokingly.
Harold saw that Charles was beginning to get distressed as well as dismayed.
'Not goats,' said the rector. 'I don't think either sheep or goats are a good idea myself.'
At this point, Miss Watson spoke up bravely.
'I think the rector's first suggestion is a good one, and we ought to consider it. Those railings are a downright danger, and the state of the churchyard is a positive disgrace. What's the use of my telling the children to keep the place tidy, with that muddle facing them every time they go out on the green?'
'Quite right,' said Harold.
'And to my mind,' continued Miss Watson, 'it's far more irreligious to neglect the dead as we are doing at the moment, than to rearrange things so that the place can be a fitting memorial to those who have gone before us.'
There were murmurs of assent for this point of view, and Charles began to look a little happier.
'That is exactly my feeling,' he said. 'It is quite impossible to get help, either paid or voluntary, to keep the churchyard as it should be. We can put several matters on the one faculty when we apply. The railings should certainly go. The headstones – er, rearranged – and the turf levelled so that a mower can keep the whole space beautifully cut. I do urge you to visit the church which I mentioned. It would be inspiring, I assure you.'
'Know it well,' said Mrs Cleary. 'Looks like a children's playground.'
'I really think,' piped the very old churchwarden tremulously, 'that Miss Watson's point, about the churchyard's untidiness being a bad example for her pupils, is one of the most telling. I should like to see this other place. To my mind, the idea is sound.'
There was general discussion, some against, but more for, the proposal, and the hideous black marble clock on the black marble mantelpiece struck nine before the rector could restore order.
'It seems to me that we should take a vote on this project,' he said at last. 'Those for?'
Eight hands were raised.
'And against?'
Three hands went up.
The rector sighed.
'Later on there will be a notice on the church door. Any objections, I believe, must be sent to the Diocese. Meanwhile, I will find out more about applying for a faculty.
'Thank you, my dear people, a most interesting meeting.'
Mr Hodge and Mrs Cleary were two of the last to leave. Their faces were stern as they shook the rector's proffered hand at the front door.
'You'll see my name among the objectors, sir, I'm afraid,' said Percy.
'And mine most certainly; said Mrs Cleary, sweeping out. Harold and Charles watched them depart beneath the starry sky.
'Dear, oh dear!' cried the rector. 'Would you have thought it?'
'Yes,' said Harold simply, and began to laugh.
10 Problems At Thrush Green
N EWS of the St Andrew's project soon ousted Dotty's accident as the prime subject of debate at Thrush Green.
As is so often the case, those most vociferous were the people who had the least to do with the church. Several stalwart chapel-goers, whose parents and friends lay peacefully beneath the tussocky grass of the graveyard, were among the first to put their names on the list of objectors to the scheme. Percy Hodge's name, of course, was there, in company with Mrs Cleary's.
'I've been tending the graves of my old grandpa and grandma since I was big enough to hold shears,' Percy said fiercely to Joan Young who had been unfortunate enough to meet him on Thrush Green.
'And then my dad's and mum's. Four graves I've seen to every other week, and four nice green vases I've paid for and put up respectful.'
'It isn't such people as you,' said Joan, in a placatory manner, 'that the changes are being made for. It's dozens of graves that are neglected that make the place
'That's even worse!' exclaimed Mrs Cleary. 'Sheep indeed!'
'Wouldn't be practical with all the yew there is there now,' said Percy Hodge. 'Fencing alone would cost a small fortune.'
'What about Miss Harmer's goats?' suggested someone, half-jokingly.
Harold saw that Charles was beginning to get distressed as well as dismayed.
'Not goats,' said the rector. 'I don't think either sheep or goats are a good idea myself.'
At this point, Miss Watson spoke up bravely.
'I think the rector's first suggestion is a good one, and we ought to consider it. Those railings are a downright danger, and the state of the churchyard is a positive disgrace. What's the use of my telling the children to keep the place tidy, with that muddle facing them every time they go out on the green?'
'Quite right,' said Harold.
'And to my mind,' continued Miss Watson, 'it's far more irreligious to neglect the dead as we are doing at the moment, than to rearrange things so that the place can be a fitting memorial to those who have gone before us.'
There were murmurs of assent for this point of view, and Charles began to look a little happier.
'That is exactly my feeling,' he said. 'It is quite impossible to get help, either paid or voluntary, to keep the churchyard as it should be. We can put several matters on the one faculty when we apply. The railings should certainly go. The headstones – er, rearranged – and the turf levelled so that a mower can keep the whole space beautifully cut. I do urge you to visit the church which I mentioned. It would be inspiring, I assure you.'
'Know it well,' said Mrs Cleary. 'Looks like a children's playground.'
'I really think,' piped the very old churchwarden tremulously, 'that Miss Watson's point, about the churchyard's untidiness being a bad example for her pupils, is one of the most telling. I should like to see this other place. To my mind, the idea is sound.'
There was general discussion, some against, but more for, the proposal, and the hideous black marble clock on the black marble mantelpiece struck nine before the rector could restore order.
'It seems to me that we should take a vote on this project,' he said at last. 'Those for?'
Eight hands were raised.
'And against?'
Three hands went up.
The rector sighed.
'Later on there will be a notice on the church door. Any objections, I believe, must be sent to the Diocese. Meanwhile, I will find out more about applying for a faculty.
'Thank you, my dear people, a most interesting meeting.'
Mr Hodge and Mrs Cleary were two of the last to leave. Their faces were stern as they shook the rector's proffered hand at the front door.
'You'll see my name among the objectors, sir, I'm afraid,' said Percy.
'And mine most certainly; said Mrs Cleary, sweeping out. Harold and Charles watched them depart beneath the starry sky.
'Dear, oh dear!' cried the rector. 'Would you have thought it?'
'Yes,' said Harold simply, and began to laugh.
10 Problems At Thrush Green
N EWS of the St Andrew's project soon ousted Dotty's accident as the prime subject of debate at Thrush Green.
As is so often the case, those most vociferous were the people who had the least to do with the church. Several stalwart chapel-goers, whose parents and friends lay peacefully beneath the tussocky grass of the graveyard, were among the first to put their names on the list of objectors to the scheme. Percy Hodge's name, of course, was there, in company with Mrs Cleary's.
'I've been tending the graves of my old grandpa and grandma since I was big enough to hold shears,' Percy said fiercely to Joan Young who had been unfortunate enough to meet him on Thrush Green.
'And then my dad's and mum's. Four graves I've seen to every other week, and four nice green vases I've paid for and put up respectful.'
'It isn't such people as you,' said Joan, in a placatory manner, 'that the changes are being made for. It's dozens of graves that are neglected that make the place
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