‘We don’t need tourism,’ a voice said from several rows forward of Aaron’s seat. ‘There’s enough tourists on this coast. Let’s keep Nelson’s Bar a peaceful place.’

Kaz jumped to her feet and turned to face the meeting, face creased with concern. Clancy stood back to give her the floor. ‘Some of us need tourism for our living. I’d better take this opportunity to inform the village that we’re putting in for planning permission to build an extension to the B&B. Nelson’s Bar doesn’t have a hall but Oli and I believe the village could do with more space for socialising. In view of what’s been said this evening about tourists, this is a good time to bring this to your attention.’ She shot a look in the direction of the earlier dissenting voice. ‘The B&B has to bring in business or we won’t survive. As well as our tourist guests, people from the village come to us for breakfast or lunch. We don’t presently have the kitchen space to offer dinners but both it and our tiny bar will be significantly extended if our plans come to fruition, which would mean an extension to what we could offer all year round. We’d love you to spend your beer money with us instead of at the pubs in Thornham and Titchwell, but if a lot of you hate the idea then please do let us know before we put in a load of work and commit ourselves to the finance.’

She paused, then added in a rush, ‘The alternative to the extension could easily be the B&B closing because it’s getting less profitable in its current configuration. Oli and I don’t want that, or to have to leave Nelson’s Bar.’

She took a deep breath and twisted her hands in front of her. ‘In fact … we wondered how open the village would be to … well, to fundraising, really. It could make all the difference.’

‘What – like passing the hat round?’ someone asked in tones of outrage. ‘Why should we contribute?’

Ernie lifted his ever-ready voice. ‘Yes, why should we? You’ll want us to come in spending our money with you, why should we help you finance the place? We might as well have a village hall and have done.’

Kaz drooped, taking an uncertain step towards her seat.

Then, as a clamour of conversation erupted, Clancy stepped forward once more. Her voice was calm and sympathetic, yet rang with conviction. ‘The thing is, Ernie, there is no village hall. There’s no pub in Nelson’s Bar, or even so much as a playing field. The B&B is the social hub of this village. A village hall would take not only years of fundraising, lobbying for funds and applying for grants, it would take constant financial input from the villagers to maintain it. It would have to be run by volunteers. There’s no real need for any of that, if Kaz and Oli can extend the B&B to provide villagers with a bar and a function room. I think it’s something we all need to be realistic about.’