WHISPERING SMITH: Bewitched, bothered and bewildered

The church is just beyond the village and, luckily, it was open, as all too often these days country churches are firmly locked.

Lovely windows, sculpted stone, brasses and carved wood and, above all, that old smell, that whiff of history. Time Team and Michael Wood can bring the visuals and the feel of history, but only the real deal can give that wonderful smell of the long gone by.

Then on to the so-called Sacred Tree, a splendid mature beech steeped in myth and legend. Strangely, a small fire was smouldering in the clearing beneath its huge branches and, on the ashes, was a wire grill stacked with tasty-looking, well-browned pork sausages and not a soul to be seen.

We waited and I was tempted to try one, but certain we were being watched, we moved on. Walking away, we were conscious of figures emerging from the woods, watching our departure, but we could not be certain of that. Make of it what you will, it was an interesting morning…

GOING NOWHERE Councillor Mike Northeast’s comments about the proposed bandstand/perfornance stage in his letter last week, although understandable, do not help his or the cause. Same old trap really, party politics.

The bandstand is long overdue and in the summer months – not all summers will be as dreadful as this one, I hope – it will be used and enjoyed by many, young and old.

LA is a musical town, with a rock or country group behind every bush, and we could use some classical, too. Jane Wood proved that with her well-attended open air Bach concert at the East Beach Café a few years ago – why was that never repeated?

We want both the bandstand and the Town Show, so giving up on either is simply not an option. When one gets into that “my way or the highway” argument, it is merely aping the chumps in Whitehall, who only appear to be interested in their own party causes at the expense of everything else.

The tit for tat and my bat, my ball, I’m captain, attitude does not, I believe, sit well with the electorate, who want sensible decisions made on their behalf by sensible, non-partisan LA councillors.

PLAY A LITTLE GAME I made no secret of it, the Games were a turn-off for me! Then as they progressed, the dressage, cycling, clay pigeon shooting, the rowing and with encouragement from an enthusiastic friend, I became more than a little hooked.

It wasn’t the actual games that put me off but the hyped-up, long-winded media build-up I was sick and fed up with.

The world is hurting, and all pundits and newscasters could bring , day after day, was to speculate about someone possibly jumping, running, swimming or, the case of the archery, standing very still, better than anyone else.

All over now, winners and losers, well done. Just a pity there had to be losers!