I find it quite tragic that the community is being lost in Britain. It will be very hard to get back. Examples. Village post offices, pubs,village halls and shops.

How hard would it be to give tax breaks or some form of incentive to these businesses in order for them to stay open? Expect more pubs to close next year when VAT and duty goes up.

My local village in the UK. We had a village hall paid for in part by the local big employer and the rest in money raised by the community. It was free to use and was very well patronised. Then along came some bright spark who said lets have a new, bigger and more modern village hall. It was promptly built and of course the cost had to be recouped somehow and so each activity has to pay. One by one the various groups have had to stop using the hall. WI flower arranging group, Brownies and so on as the cost kept going up to pay for the loss of revenue from the groups that fell by the wayside a few years ago when charges were first introduced. Now it is hardly used.

I also read that churches and scout halls etc are now expected to pay water rates as the water company has to take away their rain water.

Sorry but it gets my goat to see the very life blood of communities being eroded steadily and very few people taking an interest. Of course in a few years people will be saying no one knows anyone anymore, loss of community spirit and moaning about juvenile crime.

On the subject of using your garage, me thinks we should have an LPG tank fitting party 

tunnie wrote on 22. Nov 2009 at 13:51: