Community

Sometimes we get a holiday from our Scottish island community.  We have been welcomed into our new life so thoroughly by our neighbours and new friends, that now going back to England, my old life and the places I grew up in, is more like being a tourist.

This year we also visited my Aunty on the south coast and were treated to a beautifully hot couple of days in Worthing.  After a day on the beach, we walked along the sea front and into town for something to eat and it was just like being on holiday in the med.  People were out sauntering along, roller blading and cycling on the walkway and hanging out on the beach. Very continental.

We ate in a traditional Italian restaurant, opposite a gellato shop where a large Italian family were having a get together.  Sitting on the pavement, listening to the sounds of foreign voices in an English seaside town I was struck by how important it is to have a mix of communities in an area.
The gelato shop had cordoned off its pavement tables, so that all the Italian guests were packed into a tight group which only seems to liven the party up even more!  Small children had broken free of the barriers and were chasing balloon animals around the pedestrianised streets.  You couldn't help but be caught up in their happiness and togetherness.

British culture doesn't seem to nurture community that well.  It's connecting branches seem more based on class and wealth than on extended family bonds reaching out further to lifelong friendships.  Its a shame that the British feel connected by talking about people in their community, but not by sharing events with them on a regular basis. We see our families to share life events, and enjoy spending time with our loved ones, but we feel awkward about inviting friends outside of that circle, even if those friends have been there for as long as our family members and we love them too.

I feel sad that the British are leaving the variety of the European Union,  I think it has sent an awful message to our neighbours that we think we are better than them, better off without them.  It makes our culture appear arrogant and selfish and we aren't.  I want to make sure that in my family and in my community at least, that we don't become polarised by the Brexit vote and that we continue to learn from other communities around us, whether they are across the water, across the border or across the planet.