How To Save The English Village - In Search of Lost Pubs and Egg Vending Machines

Beyond the Hedge: The People and Stories that Shape the British Countryside

Inspired by the chance discovery of an egg vending machine deep in rural Norfolk, Patrick Galbraith reflects upon the changes to village life that have occurred over the last hundred years or so.

Patrick goes in search of the farmer who owns the pickled egg dispenser - David - and discovers that his family has farmed the land around Great Snoring (yes, really) for the last 150 years, and that David remembers a time when the village had a pub and when he knew who lived in every house. Today the pub is gone, the houses are occupied by 'incomers' and the only retail outlet left in the village is David's vending machine.
Later Patrick catches up with fellow Scribehounder Anna Jones, whose work as a rural affairs journalist has led her to make a study of the changes that are affecting rural communities and the impact that these have on their culture. Her book, Divide: The relationship crisis between town and country explores the reasons behind the growing lack of understanding between urbanites and rural dwellers, and suggests that to protect livlihoods and the environment we must all work together to narrow that gap. How does the changing face of Britain's villages fit into this picture when locals can no longer afford to live in them, and those who can don't understand their culture?