Writephoto ~ Community

KL Caley is our host for the Thursday writephoto photo challenge.

You can find out more and join in here

For visually challenged writers, the image shows a collection of toy people all gathered around a sign with the word “Community” on it.
Community – Image by KL Caley

My dad always told me to look after The Little People because they were usually the ones that kept things going and got the least thanks.

Community spirit these days is important, and I am lucky in that we have one here that has gone from strength to strength since Covid made its presence felt (I shan’t say known because it was known about several months before anyone appeared to actually DO anything, by which time it was too late for many).

I was talking to a boating friend yesterday and he said that things on the marina were not the same. Not only had his friends either passed away or moved on due to expense, but he didn’t know anyone staff or otherwise, and the ‘new bods’ as we would call them didn’t make time to get to know their neighbours or regular boaters.
Sometimes we felt like we were the unofficial welcoming committee as we got to know everyone when we were liveaboards, and it was rumoured that if anyone wanted to know anything to ask us.
When all the silliness started in 2017 with horrendous hikes in river licences and mooring fees, people voted with their engines, many leaving overnight or within a few weeks.
The lovely community spirit that we were a part of was shattered and dismembered by greed and increasing profits. We kept in touch with a few boaters for a while, but like the armed forces, friendships are transient and if you aren’t together in close proximity, then in a short space of time, all that is lost.