OXFORD AND KENT.
I have a very definite scheme to suggest for their considera- tion, and have the hardihood to believe it might do incal- culable good in every larger village, as it has done in one with which I am well acquainted ; but this must wait a week for the sake of a rather fuller discussion. The total achievement of the Community Councils has been not incon- siderable in sixteen counties. Oxford and Kent at any rate have done notable work for rural health and village crafts. But most of the Councils have been feeling their way tentatively and seeking to discover how and where they can provide leadership, how and with whom they can co-operate. More than half the counties are still unequipped with Councils. Perhaps the most defmite success any can point to is a real revival in the craft of the blacksmith. This is expressible in figures. At two recent , shows orders for £900 and £500 were received ; and these direct immediate orders are merely an indication of the general acknowledgment that metal workers are still found in the villages—certainly to my personal knowledge in Kent and Hertfordshire—who are, at least, up to the best mediaeval standard. More than this, guilds are being formed—in Hampshire, for example—that have a mediaeval savour and a modern organization. They have already helped the craftsman both financially and in tech- nique, for every individual craftsman is the better for a school as well as a marketing agency.
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