What makes a place special? (From Bournemouth Echo)

What makes a place special?

7:00am Tuesday 30th June 2009 in

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THE bad news was that our drains were blocked. The good news was I wasn’t around.

And the even better news was that our neighbour over the road was.

What’s more, before you could say: “Phew, that was a close shave, Perkins”, Sheila had come over with rods and a steely determination and set about clearing our unsavoury problem. By the time I got home, my wife reported that our drains were flowing like the Blue Danube.

I mention that past incident of extraordinarily kind neighbourliness because it illustrates that, like owning a rare single malt, you can’t put too high a value on community spirit.

You often read about “broken Britain” and “lack of respect” but here in Dorset the government’s Place Survey reveals that 89 per cent of people are satisfied with the area.

What makes a place special, apart from spectacular surroundings, are things like having a pleasant home you can afford, knowing your child’s happy at school, having a decent pub and post office round the corner, getting prompt treatment when that injury you don’t like to mention on your you-know-what starts playing up... and, of course, good neighbours.

Pleasingly, the Place Survey has revealed that more than two-thirds of Dorset people feel they belong to their immediate neighbourhood.

The flip, of course, is that nearly a third don’t. But let’s not dwell on that. I wouldn’t like to pour all that feelgood spirit down the drain, clogging it up again.

And have to call Sheila over one more time.