MY COUNTRYSIDE
Reverend Richard Coles
I have always had a certain affection for the overlooked and unadmired, and I think Northamptonshire is both – a real Cinderella county.
My family are all from Finedon and Burton Latimer, so I’ve always felt very loyal to the place. I thought I’d stay in London but then I saw an advert for this parish in the Church Times and just had one of those moments of recognition. I was interviewed for the job, got it and came back.
I love walking my four dachshunds in the woods and seeing the changing colours.
Forward motion clarifies my thoughts, so I often mutter to myself as I go. Recently, I was rehearsing a tricky conversation I needed to have, and it was only after several minutes that I realised that someone was walking on the other side of the hedge. I think they just put it down to the vicar talking to himself again.
Some of my parishioners are brilliant growers. They kindly leave
bags of tomatoes on the doorstep, or curly kale at this time of year. I love the garden but I’ve never picked up a spade. That is my partner David’s department; mine is the cooking. I’m more ambitious since I did Masterchef. I love to add new things to traditional dishes and hate throwing food away, so enjoy ‘fridge-end’ suppers using up the scraps. The glut of curly kale is proving a challenge, though.
My mum grew up in Scotland and spoke about it with such romantic affection that it must have transmitted itself to me, but I didn’t actually visit until I was in the band [The Communards].
I fell in love with the country the minute I got there. Our annual retreat is in the west on the Kintyre peninsula – I can’t think of anywhere I’m happier. We stay in a corrugated-iron cabin on a beach. It overlooks rockpools that are visited by oystercatchers; there are sea otters and a heron that goes fishing. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you can look out to the Isle of Arran and Ailsa Craig, and see a pod of whales. It’s a beautiful place.
I like to think the church lightly organises the innate goodness in people in such a way that the elderly are looked after, the sick are visited and children are allowed to flourish.
It’s difficult for us to sustain and fund what we do in this parish and I know it’s even harder for others. We are managing now, but my concern is who will do this work in the future? Part of my job as vicar is to promote the value of the church in supporting communities.
I wish more attention was paid to the voices of people in rural areas.
Media conversation is very much focused on cities, but if you take the time to discover what’s happening in somewhere like Finedon, much that’s noteworthy or praiseworthy isn’t really reported. It’s important to think about what constitutes a community, to protect those things that hold it together and celebrate them more.
As a rural parish priest, I’ve found that housing is a continuing problem.
In my work for a housing association, I deal with those who have been hit by changes in welfare and are vulnerable to an economic system that doesn’t always work to their benefit. I understand the aspiration to buy your own home but some will never have the means to do that. It would be good if the government could support organisations, like ours, that are trying to help the poorest.
CL readers can order Bringing in the Sheaves by Rev Richard Coles for £7.99 (rrp £8.99) with free UK p&p by calling 01903 828503 and quoting ref PB145.
The vicar of Finedon, broadcaster and musician discusses the importance of community