A Convenient Little Office

I walked round to St Luke’s earlier than usual this morning to meet up with Wendy before the Thursday service started. This was so that she could walk me through everything the acolytes do during the Sunday communion service. There’s quite a bit of bowing of one’s head to the priest or the altar, but not too far forward when one is carrying the candle otherwise one’s hair is in danger of catching on fire… I have another chance this Sunday to observe it all from my seat in the congregation, then on Sunday week I will make my debut!

We had our coffee and cake at The Exchange afterwards, and as I walked home from there I thought the Parish Council office next to the churchyard looked rather nice in the dappled sunlight under the Scots Pine trees which are a bit of a landmark in Tiptree. It’s only a tiny little building, and therein lies the clue to its former use. Until a few years ago it was a public convenience! After the loos were closed down, the place became so dilapidated that the roof and bricks turned green and there was a huge tangle of weeds and brambles all around. At one point someone applied to turn it into a wine bar, but there’s an old covenant from when the land belonged to the church that alcohol could not be sold from that particular location. Speaking as someone whose parents’ ashes are buried only a few yards away, I would have been upset at the thought of people staggering out of a wine bar late at night right next to the graveyard - really not appropriate, so I’m relieved the wine bar was refused planning permission. The Rectory is on the other side, so it wouldn’t have been very nice for the Rector and her family either. Converting it into the Parish Council office was the best thing they could have done with it, and it’s now very well looked after.