V Beckwith, Brunswick Heads
You may not be aware, but many people are doing lots of little things in Bruns, which all add up to civic pride in our town.
There is of course the fairy trail, but so many other actions that also make our community work and add to its character. There is the man who removes the outdated notices from the noticeboard next to the library so they won’t blow off into the little park behind the bakery and make a mess; the woman who carries a plastic bag and picks up the butts and the litter in the gutter along the street on her way to the footbridge each morning; the person who weeds and waters the gardens surrounding the library; the shops who put out water bowls for the dogs; the lady who looks after one of the island gardens.
And that’s just on Fingal Street. If you branch out farther, there are the landcare volunteers who have made into an oasis the area between the bowling green and the town; the people who have tried to beautify the wooden koala fence near the Gulgan Street roundabout; the graffiti busters who walk around and paint over the unsightly tags near the Massy Greene caravan park. And recently, a new Gnome Town and postbox, with its little grotto of gnomes appeared near the path to the bowlo (though at the time of writing this, someone had stolen first the sign and postbox and all the littlest gnomes, leaving the biggest one alone to mourn the loss of his community – now even he and everything around him is gone).
But despite this setback, it seems to me that there is general goodwill here and, no doubt, many, many more people in the town who care about Bruns and do their bit in lots of ways, but go sight unseen.
So, regardless of a few selfish individuals who try to destroy what is here, and legitimate frustrations about potholes etc, there are people changing the things they can, who still care about how our town feels and looks and are doing their small bit to keep Bruns feeling like a community that people can feel pride in. So next time you walk down the street, maybe there will be something small that you might want to do – some litter here, a weed there, something you can fix or tidy; it might make both the town and you feel good.
(And if you see the gnomes, please help them get home again.)
