Asleep at the Pitch

The British Ministry of Town and Country Planning chose Milton Abbas, in Dorset, as a village model for postwar reconstruction. In Milton Abbas, the church faces the almshouse at the center of the hamlet, the vicarage faces the brewery at one end, the school opposes the hospital at the other; all snugly lined on a sloping road in a wooded cleft.

The suggestion stirred talk. Last week the talk produced an added list of essentials for the villages of postwar Britain:

-- Village green containing a cricket pitch with trees for the faithful to doze under during cricket matches.

-- Reading room with a table for snooker, to be played "on a cloth untrue with a twisted cue and elliptical billiard balls."

-- Indoor Gauping Place, preferably a smithy or a cobbler's shop, for lengthy conversations and lengthier silences.

--Outdoor Gauping Place, preferably a town pump, where villagers can see what goes on at home, while hearing, from fellow gossips, what goes on elsewhere.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.