Tradition dictates...

...a local Walk of Witness on Good Friday morning, organised by all the local churches, led by a Cross and culminating in a short service. We walked in silence - rather touching somehow - and then joined to pray, and sang "There is a green hill far away" and other hymns, and the Scripture account of Our Lord's death was read...and all this happened in what used to be the town centre, but somehow isn't any more. In what we still call the "High Street" we walked past a shuttered Woolworths, and other empty and abandoned premises, and posters advertising closing-down sales, and several charity shops and the closed Police Station. The real "centre" these days is Tescos - always teeming with crowds - but that is some distance away, on a turning off the motorway.

For a tradition you need a sense of place. Even five years ago, this was still strong locally. But now, our Good Friday Walk, and the gathering at the War Memorial in November, and the summer festival sponsored by the local Rotary Club, take place in what was once the heart of the town but now seems to be unconnected with the way people live and shop.