Bertie the sheep has just five days to find somewhere else to graze after the local church council decided that his tenancy in a church garden was up after four years.And the reason?
'The reasons stated in the letter were that there is not enough grass to graze Bertie on, and that there was a catalogue of health and safety concerns.*sigh*
The nativity scene at that church must be something to see at Christmas, eh? No animals, and festooned with hi-vis tape saying ‘Keep out! Unstable structure!’…
Paul now has until Febraury 1 to remove Bertie and has been informed that the decision is non-negotiable.I think the local church council must be ‘part of the village’ too. Isn’t it about time the villagers started reminding them of that? And of what 'non-negotiable' means?
'Everyone knows Bertie, he's not just part of my family, he's part of the village,' he said.
And when they start "bleating" for funds to repair the Church roof ..they should be told .. "Bertie says, blow it out yer arse" ..
ReplyDeleteThe "Good Shepherd" obviously isn't in residence at this Church ..
Sheep are a menace. If it has eaten the grass, what are you going to feed it on? If it's in the Church garden and something happens to it, whose problem is it? Perhaps, like our Church, you'd like the garden for children to play on. Not terribly easy or desirable with a lot of sheep's droppings around. Sounds like the PCC has come to the end of its tether and there's a history that we're not reading about. Was there a rent for the use of the garden? Why couldn't Bertie look after it himself? How had it come to this?
ReplyDeleteSorry, "Why couldn't Paul look after it himself."
ReplyDeleteBertie is the name of the sheep.
He's lucky if he's only part of the furniture; he's designed grow church kneelers.
ReplyDeleteHe can be part of the buffet if he prefers.
Exported to Scotland to the Haggis recycling centre?
ReplyDeleteIf only he had been a lamb, he'd make a perfect Passover meal - come to think of it, it's the right time of year.
ReplyDelete"The "Good Shepherd" obviously isn't in residence at this Church .."
ReplyDeleteIndeed!
"Sounds like the PCC has come to the end of its tether and there's a history that we're not reading about."
It's entirely possible. And its also entirely possible that they are throwing their weight about simply because they can.
'Religious' does not necessarily equal 'beyond criticism'.
"He can be part of the buffet if he prefers."
Mutton is an acquired taste. As Tolkien points out, lamb is much more palatable. Perhaps the committee should have objected sooner?
There are a number of good mutton recipes around on the 'net. Just google "Mutton Recipes"
ReplyDeleteMost PCCs won't want to take controversial decisions, so, although it's a nice try by Andrea Cooke to get sympathy, I wonder why The Mail didn't try to talk to the PCC and find out their side of the story. If they had, they'd have said so.