Our Life in Burgundy

Vide grenier

We’ve been following with interest David Cameron’s proposal of a ‘Big Society’ in Britain. His vision is that people should work together to help build amenities like schools and take part in projects to improve their local environment.

At this time of reduced Government funding this vision has been mocked for simply being a scheme to try and save the Government money. Taxes are already paid to highly paid officials so why should people do it for free? Cash-strapped voluntary organisations say that recent cutbacks in funding do not allow them to take on any more projects.

I think David Cameron has a mountain to move to persuade ordinary people that they must take responsibility for their own street or town. It’ll be very difficult in estates with a ‘council house culture’ where folk expect the council to do absolutely everything from minor repairs to their houses to clearing up their litter.

Also the councils would have to relinquish some of their power. In Hackney, a run down part of London, a group of people set to and cleared up their local park and planted new trees. The council weren’t at all appreciative but charged the group for public liability insurance. Where we lived in Leeds everybody used to cut the grass verges outside their own houses. Officially this was not allowed as it was council property.

GF demonstrating his wares

This is one of the reasons we prefer life in France. The Mairie oversees the commune but everyone is given free rein to make it a good place to be.

The Foyer Rural is the centre of village life in France and its success depends on the energy and hard work of the local people. It has to be completely self sufficient as it receives no funding except for that raised by the activities and events organised by the Committee.  Whenever there is a rallye, a randonée or a visiting theatre the Foyer Rural organises a buvette. This year there is plenty of scope to set up buvettes in Cluny on weekends when there are the illuminations and spectacles for the Cluny 2010 celebrations.

Yesterday was the annual vide grenier. It was a long day for a willing band of volunteers that set up at the crack of dawn and manned the buvette and the indoor stalls until packing up in the evening. In true village style however everyone sat down for a banquet of leftovers and worked on emptying the beer cooler. So they were not completely unrewarded!