At the weekend, I spoke to a friend who a few months ago moved to a small local village. She seemed a bit down on the phone and not her usual jolly self. Eventually, I asked, “Are you all right?” She replied, “Not really.” She told me she was stressed. She had joined the village Mother and Toddler Group and tomorrow she had been asked to kick off the session by singing the Welcome Song. At this point I got the giggles. This was my friend who until recently had been a high-powered fabric designer in London, used to numerous business meetings with extremely wealthy individuals and celebrities. And here she was terrified about the thought of singing, “Welcome floppy bunnies,” to a small group of toddlers and their mothers.
She went on to tell me that she had joined the Village Hall committee and a number of other small groups, which she now utterly regretted. It turns out that in a village as small as hers, she had barely had time to unpack the removal van before villagers came calling delighted with the prospect of a new young recruit. As with many, she felt obliged to join, keen to be accepted and establish herself as part of the community. The slight issue is that she has two small children under 3 and a husband who works long unsociable hours.
This got me thinking. What is the perfect recruit for village committees? There are those who simply ‘don’t do committees’ usually based on a bad experience like falling out with the Chairman or being so proactive that it reduced them to an anxious wreck. There is the ‘silent member’ who dutifully attends every meeting, keeps quiet and scuttles away at the end hoping that no one will collar them for the Sponsored Bounce. There is the highly efficient member who runs the committee like a blue chip AGM, flipping open a laptop and tapping out the minutes live. Finally, there is the crème de la crème committee member who is not phased by the amount of work involved and juggles a job, children and pets, topped off with the church flowers every week. They are enthusiastic, willing and greet every cake and Table Top sale with open arms.
Joining The Committee is something most of us do at some point, whether it is out of duty or for enjoyment. However, it can be a bit like taking on a job without reading the job description. I feel certain that my friend would have stuck a sign on her front door reading ‘No Committee Requests Please’ if she had read the small print on public singing. And once you have been recruited it is very difficult to resign. She could be ‘Winding the Bobbin Up’ with the local toddler group for many years to come. That is until the next removal lorry arrives in the village.
