Wonkey walls and master builders

It’s amazing the overlaps that happen in my life. To Angels this morning, our midweek congregation to discuss life the universe and everything with Scarlett aged two who will be a captain of industry, to marvel at Ralphy who managed to make a weapon of mass destruction out of a model plane. In the middle of this a conversation with a mum who in her day job is responsible for what we will do in a flu pandemic. It made me think that any twenty five year plans we have might not have much relevance in that particular scenario.
Afternoon found me looking at a Million pound extension on our primary school. “Look at this” someone said: “How wonkey the Victorians built their walls.” It was true, the walls were wonkey, bending and writhing throughout the building. It reminded me of something an old builder in the valley told me. He said that all the buildings in the valley had been built by master builders who didn’t use plans but rather responded to the strange topography of this gorge like valley as they built, it wasn’t straight but it was responsive.
Any regeneration plans we have need to be like the master builders, not so much sticking rigidly to a fixed plan but adapting as we go along, building with wobbly walls because that is sometimes the only way to create a building that works.
Whether that is adaptive enough to cope with a pandemic, who knows.