Fluent in nonsense

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“Are you the Vicar?” barked the woman who was standing at the door. Seconds earlier, I saw through the kitchen window a very angry woman, wearing bright yellow wellies marching towards the Vicarage door. We have a door bell but she opted to bang on the door.

I wasn’t eavesdropping. I just happened to be preparing breakfast in the kitchen when this happened.

She went on a rant demanding the Mhinisteir do something about her unhappiness there and then.

She is unhappy that the churchyard is getting in the way of her garden. Seriously???? Did she not consider that when she bought the house all that yonks ago????

What a start to our Monday morning!

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. A few years back, a newcomer to the village complained about the church bells. The matter even went to court after this individual displayed threatening behaviour. Why buy a house right next to the parish church if you want peace and quiet????

Rude Awakening

Rural living has its own set of unwritten rules like no grass cutting at ungodly times unless you are a farmer where you have special dispensation.

On Saturday, I got woken up by some loud noise. Surely it was too early for any kind of work. As I lay in bed, I started wondering what that noise might be? The man who cuts the grass in the churchyard doesn’t start work until 8.00am and in any case he didn’t work on a Saturday. It sounded like a lawn mower but I was quite sure that it wasn’t. The Mhinisteir was still sound asleep. Mmmm. Curiosity got the better of me so I got up to look out of the window. Guess what I saw?

It was pouring rain and some numpty was “destroying” my neighbour’s garden with a digger. He looked too young to be operating a digger. My young neighbour lives alone with her two boisterous dogs. Until Autumn last year, there was a fellow living there too but not any more. I assume she got some young rookie to do a bit of digging for her but failed to realise that you don’t start at the crack of dawn just because you feel like it. It reminded me of this scene in the Good Life when the Goods and the Leadbetters fall out.

Keep off the Churchyard, please!

Most of the rooms in the Vicarage look out to the Churchyard. I love looking out of the window as I like the serene view and the reminder that we are all pilgrims in this world. I even get a fabulous view of the churchyard when I am sitting up in bed!

The sight that irritates me most is when dog owners use the churchyard as a footpath and allow their dogs to run all over the Churchyard when there is a perfectly suitable footpath for all dog walkers to use.

It irritates me because it is so disrespectful! Often, there are fresh graves when only a short while earlier some family was standing there solemnly often weeping uncontrollably as their loved one was buried.

A Churchyard is just not a place for dogs. Period.