The Church of England has come in for some stick for the whole of my life and I have watched with interest how different Archbishops have used their time in office. Increasingly they are seen by the general public as kind hearted souls who somehow, do not seem to have grasped the things that worry the common man and woman and so, to an extent, are aloof from the life of most of us.
This rather negative perception has never bothered me, because I see the role of Bishop as being to represent God to man not as representing man to God. Therefore, I expect bishops to be scholarly, spiritual and maybe somewhat detached from much of the trivia which passes for mainstream public opinion. A Bishop’s job means that he has a lonely furrow to plough, and he must do so whilst knowing that most people do not concern themselves with how and what he ploughs, only that they want the products of his labour whenever they want it.
In this respect the Bishop is like many farmers and food producers today. The public’s only concern is that food is available when they want it, and that the countryside ‘looks nice’ on a sunny day when they go for a drive. They live in the world of ‘On Demand’, and to them the farmer and the Bishop are merely functionaries who provide their wants on demand.
This narrow view does however have consequences for both the church and the rural landscape. Many villages have now lost both their church and their small local farmers. Nor is the impact of this narrow view restricted to villages: Traditional market towns too are declining, and this came to mind recently on hearing that two national supermarkets want to build out of town in Ledbury.
It is many years since my old sheep mentor introduced us to Ledbury and probably, like many others, we now consider it to be our home town and so are interested in its continuation as a place of trade and enjoyment for both residents and visitors alike. We go to town at least once a week and, whilst doing the bulk of our shopping there, also enjoy the coffee and ambience of The Feathers.
There is an excellent variety of shops and services and we enjoy exchanging pleasantries and conversation with dozens of people who, whilst not friends, are nonetheless, acquaintances who make our lives more interesting and delightful than they might otherwise be.
In short, the town of Ledbury has probably become part of the fabric of the lives of many readers. Likewise, others may consider Newent to have the same place in their lives.
Therefore, the proposal to build more supermarkets poses wider challenges than may be at first apparent. The impact will be much wider than the independent local shops and this is because large numbers of local suppliers will also be affected.
For example, the five local butchers of Newent, Ledbury and Staunton buy most of their meat from local farms. This means that all their meat has been locally grown, slaughtered, hung and delivered for local cutting and processing, before being sold to local people.
For example, our lambs go to Kings at Brookthorpe for slaughter who then, after hanging, deliver them to Wallers in Ledbury. Wallers alone might employ over a dozen people whose jobs therefore partly depend on local farmers. To this number can be added vets, farm stores, chemical suppliers, irrigation and equipment stockists, and dozens of local tradesmen and women who help around the farms. In short; hundreds of local people owe a part of their living to the farmers supplying the locally owned food shops.
Supermarkets however, don’t work that way! Their meat (and everything else) is centrally purchased. It is slaughtered, butchered and packed in factories on city industrial estates and, despite politicians saying that sustainable local supply chains are what Britain needs; the huge supermarkets do nothing for local supply chains. Although some of them do buy British produce, their centralised business model cannot help but destroy the local supply chains and networks which only small businesses create.
To illustrate the point, were we to lose local butchers, the farms would have to sell to a central buyer and dozens of local businesses will be adversely affected. The negative effect on the area would certainly be much greater than the plus of a ‘two for the price of one’ offer from a supermarket.
However, a mention of Tesco and a clergyman in the same article reminds me of the two small boys from the town of Onago in Kansas. Isaac grew up to become a Rabbi and Richard a Catholic Priest. Throughout their lives they met every Wednesday to play bridge and discuss spiritual matters. They had different views but the evening always ended in good natured disagreement. One day, by now both old. Isaac was in hospital terminally ill. During Richard’s visit he asked if he could be baptised and become a Christian. The delighted Priest agreed but sighed and asked, “Ah Isaac but why did you leave it to the last minute?”
Slowly the Rabbi replied, “My good friend, this way when I die, I want to make sure that it’s your lot that lose one and not us.”
View from the Pew 