Stonycroft Is The Village Of The Damned
TIRED of high-pressure city living? Thinking of upping sticks and moving to the peace and quiet of the countryside? Well, before you make any rash decisions, you’d be advised to take a look at a new report from Liverpool University.
The study, written by Dr Francine Watkins and Ann Jacoby, and published in the ‘Health and Place’ journal, paints a rather less-appealing picture of rural living, where prejudice is rife and stress levels are surprisingly high.
Watkins spent three months undercover in a mystery village somewhere near the M40, which the report calls ‘Stonycroft’.
Working as a barmaid in the pub as well as joining the local Women’s Institute, Watkins came across a sizeable proportion of locals who have been shunned or isolated by locals for being the proverbial ‘only gay in the village’, having an affair or even for simply being a single woman.
Watkins says, “Public health practitioners should consider the problems of stigma and social exclusion sometimes faced by individuals in the rural idyll.”
Gay sex, affairs and single women? Sure she wasn’t watching reruns of Brookside…
Posted: 13th, June 2007 | In: Money Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink
