art teacher, David, already has some ideas about an art project involving the older students coming into the Village and working with our little ones.’
‘That sounds interesting,’ said Sylvie. ‘Let me know, won’t you Dawn, if there’s anything I can do in the school. I’d love to help out now that the girls are in Nursery full time.’
Just then Clip arrived, apologising for his tardiness. He still wore his cloak and his boots were slightly muddy; he’d obviously been outside and forgotten the time. Yul scowled at him and glanced pointedly at his watch, but nobody else seemed to mind and finally the meeting commenced. It had been a good year for harvest and many of the reports were very positive. The three women who ran the schools spoke first and everyone was pleased to hear that the children were thriving. However Miranda expressed concerns again about the lack of space and facilities for so many teenagers.
‘But we’re coming to the end of the bulge, aren’t we?’ said Yul. ‘This latest year group at Senior School is the last one born in my father’s time. All the younger year groups are much smaller and now we’ve firmly established the two children per family rule, this will be a diminishing issue.’
‘True,’ Miranda agreed, ‘but there’s still the problem of how to cope now. We’re bursting at the seams. And looking ahead, all these present teenagers will be growing up in the next few years and producing their own children, so we’ll have another bulge in a few years’ time.’
‘Aye,’ growled Tom, clearing his throat, ‘I wanted to say something on that matter. ‘Tis sort of part o’ this problem. A whole load of these youngsters are adults now and they’re wanting their own cottages. Wanting to settle down and be handfasted and raise their own families. Me and Maizie been talking about this and we’re worried there ain’t no spare cottages. What’s to be done about that?’
‘’Tis a problem right enough,’ said Edward. ‘My eldest, Iris, is hoping to be handfasted next year but seems they’ll have to live at home with the rest of us.’
‘If I may speak about this?’ asked Hazel. ‘The shortage of cottages may not seem related to my field, but I’ve been thinking about it for a while now. We haven’t yet heard from Harold, but the way the business is going, more and more women are working almost full-time hours. This is having an impact on the elderly living in the Village. Whereas in the past, the women would be about in their homes for most of the day and able to care for their parents, that’s not always the case nowadays. And if, as I suspect, Harold’s report is going to tell us that more female labour is needed in future, this problem will only get worse.’
She looked around the circle and saw that several people were nodding. All were thinking of a recent incident where a very old woman had fallen and not been found till too late, when her family returned home and visited her in the evening.
‘So although it goes against what’s traditionally been seen as the Stonewylde way, living and dying in your own home, I was wondering if we could move the more frail and less mobile folk up into a separate part of the Hall, into a sort of geriatric wing if you like. We have rooms near the hospital wing which are no good as classrooms for the youngsters, but with a bit of adapting could be made into comfortable accommodation for the elderly. And our medical staff would be close at hand too.’
There was a buzz of comment which Yul cut through.
‘Thanks for coming up with that solution, Hazel. Maybe at our next meeting when I’ve … when we’ve had a chance to think about it, we can talk some more. It could certainly help create some space in the Village. Some of the elderly live alone in cottages which could accommodate a couple or family. It does seem like a good idea.’
‘Just to return to the issue of my Seniors,’ said Miranda, ‘Although they all have a choice to continue their education in an Outside college or remain in Stonewylde and apprentice to a trade, the majority of those who choose to study finish their two years’ further education and then return here. Very few are choosing to move permanently to the Outside World, preferring to live and work at Stonewylde.’