A Bridge Sunk in Troubled Water ; Bridges Are Normally Built to Bring People Closer Together but, As Tristan Cork Discovered, One has Left an Entire Town Bitterly Divided

Summary

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You'd be forgiven for not having read the 1934 satirical French novel Clochemerle, but indulge me because it's rather brilliant and you should borrow it from your local library before it closes.

It tells the story of how a peaceful picturesque winegrowing small town in Beaujolais is gradually driven to violent civil war over the building of a public urinal in the marketplace. Neighbour falls out with neighbour, mother with son, over the construction by the mayor and civic authorities, who have a vision of progress for their sleepy community.

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Extract

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A Bridge Sunk in Troubled Water ; Bridges Are Normally Built to Bring People Closer Together but, As Tristan Cork Discovered, One has Left an Entire Town Bitterly Divided

It's written as out-there dry satire, and while I have often noted the kind of characters it portrays in 17 years of covering town council meetings from Stonehouse to Shaftesbury, I never thought the real world was anywhere near as bad as the fiction...

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