I WAS recently asked what in my opinion constituted the perfect English village and, as I live in one, I think I have the right to express my thoughts. There are several essentials in the make up, and I feel each is as important as the others. Firstly, there must be a church, and the vicar and his wife, or husband as the case may be, who between them on the whole do a good job, not only for their congregation, but also for others and the village itself. The building being a comfort for 'lost souls', especially if like me one is stranded in the middle of nowhere – find a piece of high ground, and bingo there is a church steeple and, of course, a pub will be near by for providing sustenance for the weary traveller. And so we come to the next essential, the village pub: very often the 'business centre' where many deals are struck. But I digress, this establishment must be well run and cater for all types of clientele, where many a convivial hour or two may be spent in good company under the supervision of a very important person. I refer to the friendly barman, who is a font of knowledge and an authority on all subjects. He wisely keeps his own counsel on politics, but if sport is under discussion then he is the 'man'. If it is cricket then his great grandfather was a member of Lords and a mate of WG Grace, no less. Football? Of course, he knew all about Dixie Dean! Golf? He was invited to become a member of The Royal and Ancient. But seriously, he is a very wise and valued member of the staff. He digests all snippets of gossip and pieces of useful and useless information and locks it away for the future to be used when appropriate. No self-respecting pub can do without him. The most popular village to live in will have a post office and general store, also a butcher's, which thankfully we have. May I congratulate the owners and management of all these establishments who certainly know how things should be. Long may they reign. The last on my list, but by no means least, is the caring population and friendly neighbours. Who would want to live anywhere else?

D W MASSEY Pelynt