Author: Deborah Castellanos
-
A Lost Child Procedure Agreed Beforehand
I remember sitting in a drafty village hall back in ’94, watching a local committee spend forty minutes arguing over the legal liability of a laminated poster. They were so busy debating the fine print of how to handle a… Continue reading
-
A Street Group That Does Not Become a Feud
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall back in ’98, watching a perfectly good neighborhood initiative dissolve into thin air simply because nobody could remember who had agreed to buy the tea biscuits. We didn’t have smartphones then, but… Continue reading
-
Keeping a Diary That Would Stand Up
I remember sitting in a drafty community hall back in ’94, watching two neighbours shout over a disputed allotment boundary while the committee secretary just sat there, hands folded, doing absolutely nothing. They both thought their memory was ironclad, but… Continue reading
-
A Complaint Letter in Four Paragraphs
I remember sitting in a drafty community hall back in ’94, watching a perfectly good neighborhood initiative dissolve into nothing because the chair couldn’t get a single word of grievance onto paper. Everyone was shouting, everyone was offended, but nobody… Continue reading
-
Checking on Someone Without Intruding
I spent thirty-one years in local government, and if there is one thing that drives me mad, it is the way people try to solve loneliness with massive, expensive “social inclusion programmes” and glossy brochures. You don’t need a multi-million… Continue reading
-
Tracing a Line That Closed in 1964
I remember sitting in a drafty community hall back in ’94, watching a consultant in a sharp suit charge the council three thousand pounds just to tell us that a proposed freight line would “impact local connectivity.” It was all… Continue reading
-
Starting a Repair Cafe in a Church Hall
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall three years ago, surrounded by the smell of burnt solder and old dust, watching a young man try to fix a toaster while a group of us hovered nervously around a pile… Continue reading
-
The Social That Is Not a Meeting
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall back in ’94, watching a perfectly good community tea party dissolve into chaos because someone forgot to appoint a treasurer and nobody had bothered to write down who was bringing the biscuits.… Continue reading
-
Noticing Burnout Before It Happens
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall back in ’98, watching the chair of the neighbourhood watch group slowly wilt over a lukewarm pot of tea. She wasn’t lazy; she was just exhausted because she was doing the work… Continue reading
-
Who Built the Road and When
I remember sitting in a drafty community hall in 1994, staring at a pile of glossy, expensive-looking reports that told us absolutely nothing about why the footbridge on Miller Lane was crumbling. The council had spent thousands on “consultants” to… Continue reading
