MY VIEW - WHAT IS SOCIETY?

With the death of Margaret Thatcher this last week there has been much comment; both positive and negative, and some of it down right evil; I would argue that in some cases ‘incitement to hatred and violence’ has been prevalent.

However, that’s the price we pay for being in a democracy, the right to be heard no matter what your views. It’s what we fought for, and what we continue to do.

Many popular commentaries were around Maggie’s ‘there’s no such thing as society’ speech, the comment taken out of context as it happens. This got me thinking about the words we use, again.

One definition of ‘society’ is – ‘an organised group of people associated for some specific purpose or on account of some common interest.’

Not a lot different to ‘community’, a word bandied around at every opportunity in our modern ‘society’, and which can be defined as – ‘an interacting population of various kinds of individuals in a common location or with a common characteristic or interest’.

The link between the two words was brought home to me with the increased reliance on local communities having to fend for themselves.

We are all having to pull together to preserve the things we value, but which are no longer provided for by the state. At both national and local government level, funding continues to be squeezed ever tighter in all areas, and I am always impressed by the extent to which the local population in our towns and villages gather together to achieve great things.

Recently I have attended an Easter egg hunt to raise funds for play equipment, a Mayoral dinner to raise money for a community residential care home, and just last night, a splendid quiz organised by Nigel and Lucy Corbett to help with the upkeep of Cudworth Church.

Over 70 people gathered at Speke Hall in Dowlish Wake to be put through their paces (my team came 2^nd by the way!), fed and watered, and urged to donate their hard earned money in the hope of winning one of many prizes donated by local businesses including Bonners, Cottage Flowers (I won a £10 voucher) and Dotty Desserts. All great fun, and raising over £300.

You give something, you get something back, to the mutual benefit of all.

Makes you proud to be British, doesn’t it?