Years ago, living my rather manic, Manhattan life, I fell in love with a sitcom on BBC America, called “The Vicar of Dibley.” For any beings from the planet Zog, who may be reading this, and are unfamiliar with the programme, please click here: The Vicar of Dibley
I’m a massive fan of Dawn French, and any programme centred around an Anglican vicar will always get my vote, however, it was neither of these two incredible traits that really did it for me. For me, it was the opening credits and that luscious, panoramic view of the English countryside.
In the same way that New York City was the undoubtedly mesmerizing “fifth character” on 'Sex and the City,' so, too for me was the verdant landscape of the Chiltern Hills and Oxfordshire on The Vicar of Dibley.
The camera’s perspective of this view seemed to mirror my own. It came in from a distance, surveying the land below from above and afar. Of course, Howard Goodall’s delicate and delightfully evocative theme tune (“The Lord is My Shepherd”) did its part, and was enough to send this Anglophilic, Episcopalian girl right over the edge!
So, when the D.E.B. and I came to live in Barford, we jokingly referred to it as “Dibley”, our Dibley. We even had the Vicar if Dibley theme tune sang beautifully at our wedding here.
I did not expect to find a community full of comic villagers like those in Dibley, but I did expect to find was a way of life very different from my own. And that much has been true.
I find my life here much simpler, calmer and more fulfilling than my manic, Manhattan one. And, I am definitely doing a lot more baking! My only fear is that I will eventually become the Barford equivalent of Dibley’s Letty Cropley, the wacky, old woman creates such awful delicacies as: parsnip brownies and chocolate spread sandwiches, with a "hint" of taramosalata.
Beyond my baking and W.I. commitments the other feature of my life here that resembles Dibley in my involvement in the church, and the fact that we are welcoming a new Assistant Vicar to our village, a lovely, bubbly, lady vicar.
Another new development on the church front. The Bishop has agreed to allow me to serve on the altar as a chalice bearer. I was trained and licensed as an eucharistic minister in NYC, and the Bishop has agreed to accept those credentials.
Looking out my window, Barford is looking very Dibley-esque. I must dash off and jump in the shower. Serving at the 9:30 a.m. service this morning, with the new lady vicar, I believe. All I need is for the choir to sing the Howard Goodall tune, and my Dibley fantastic will be complete!
4 comments:
Love it! Having been all over your very lovely church and having met your dishy vicar, I can see why you'd feel so welcomed and at home there.
Seriously, I understand completely the sense of calm and contentment that comes with swapping big city life with a more rural English village.
While I haven't joined the W.I. yet, I have been baking up a storm myself.
Did you know you can go to "Dibley", which is really Turville, in the Chilterns? I wrote about it here:
http://whatdoiknow.typepad.com/what_do_i_know/2009/04/dibley-aka-turville.html
(I'm a fellow BlogHer expat, too, living in the Chilterns.)
My dh and I recently discovered the Vicar of Dibley. Funny, funny show! Then we also discovered that Dawn French plays the "Fat Lady/ Griffyndor Common Room Door keeper" in the Harry Potter movies, which makes her even more fabulous. Hehe.
My British fiancee sent me the dvd collection of Vicar of Dibley several years ago. I had never heard of it before that. Well it didn't take long for me to fall completely in love with it, and I too became a huge Dawn French fan. My 21 yr old daughter can recite the "I can't believe it's not butter" segment and in an English accent too! :)
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