Well they did it! While I was out today some builders came and reassembled the scattered stones of our demolished gatepost, proving true the words of the preacher in Ecclesiastes that there is a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them together.
Only thing is.... they forgot to put back the gate itself!!
Hmmm.. I wonder if I should phone them up and tell them they need to come back, dismantle the post again, and do the job properly?(Remember this all started with flickering lights!)
On second thoughts, perhaps we don't really need the gate after all. In fact it must be about 15 years since we last closed the gates over (when the children were small.)
Who needs gates anyway?
Well, someone clearly feels the need...
Since it was a very pleasant evening we went for a short walk down our road, past the first building site where the new villas are being erected, and then past the second site where some new flats/apartments are also being built. On a large billboard at the front of the building site is the architect's sketch of what the new development will look like.
Here it is:
And the description... "Situated in an exclusive, gated development of 26 luxury apartments with an enviable position in one of Carluke's most prestigious addresses...."
So whoever comes to live here wants to make sure no unwanted people enter their world.
I first saw these gated developments in the United States some years ago and they kind of made me sad. It's like going back to medieval castles: or even an admission, somehow, that community no longer exists. How many of you remember a time not so long ago when you didn't even lock your front door?
It also reminded me of these words of Edwin Markham:
He drew a circle that shut me out
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout
But love and I had the wit to win;
We drew a circle that took him in.
There are far too many walls, barriers, gates and security fences in our world.
We need more bridges bringing people together
Well tonight... there is one less gate!
Today I met a very interesting man with a remarkable story to tell, but I'll have to share it with you at a later date. Right now I need to think of something to say at a High School Assembly tomorrow morning.
