Why was I drawn to village notice boards? I think I would have to admit that I am being just plain nosy.

I’ve always wondered what was going on in the next village, and the village beyond that. Is the grass much greener there? Is my village keeping up with the Joneses next door? Are these people having a much better quality of life in their village than I am in my own village of Astwood Bank?

Are these people more arty, more well heeled, better educated and is there more going on at their place?

To cut to the quick, ARE THEY HAVING A BETTER TIME THAN US?!

I have found you can learn a lot from a village notice board. As you approach one you can see even from a distance that with the amount of notice sheets pinned to the board you can get a fair indication of how much is going on in this small part of the world. Quantity on the board of course is not the be all & end all. Quality counts as always.

In this calendar one proud board can boast an art-house village cinema albeit a tiny one. Another trumpets Shakespear’s play, Richard the III....the half hour version. Boards proclaiming 44 days of art festival. And there is always the obligatory lost cat. Bless