MY MOTHER’S DIARIES
March and April 1951: Rain, New Life and Spring at Hiltonbury

Two spring months at Hiltonbury Farm, recorded by Margaret “Bebe” Vining and retold by her son, Andy.
By Andy Vining

March and April 1951 brought a stubborn battle with rain, illness and delayed farm work, but also the unmistakable arrival of spring. There were pigs, Jersey calves, chicks and lambs; a family operation and an emergency appendicitis; Andrew home from school; a new baby at Beechcroft; Jennifer competing at Ampfield Gymkhana; and, eventually, warm days when the oats could finally be drilled.

1–9 March: Rain, dancing and a rug that would not end

March opened with Mother at the hairdresser, then back home darning and working on the rug that had occupied so many evenings. She even collected pieces of coke from the ashes John had spread, to use on the household fires. The following day it rained all day again while John went to the sale in Winchester and Crossy called in during the evening.

A lovely Saturday gave everyone a brief respite. John went to football, Marjorie and Stanley and the girls called, and the evening was spent at the Beetons’. Sunday was an excellent drying day, so Mother was up early to wash, had the ironing finished before lunch, entertained her own mother and Auntie Bella for tea — and then went back to the rug.

Janet was home with a slight cold on Monday. Mother went with the Bucketts to an N.N.L.G.O. dance that evening, recording the verdict as simply “Not bad”. Dancing at the Hall continued the next day and the flower ballet was started, while rain returned and the rug came out again.

By 9 March Mother confessed she was “getting a bit sick of it but mean to get it finished”. It is a wonderfully ordinary line: in between farming, visitors, children, illness and weather, she had set herself a domestic job and was determined not to be beaten by it.

10–18 March: Two pigs, appendicitis and weather stopping the farm

The weather turned miserable again: dull, drizzle and cold winds. John fitted in football and the Lodge, while visitors continued to arrive for cups of tea. Then, on Monday 12 March, a prize pig arrived from Rowsell’s. The next day John bought another pig from Hatley’s. Hiltonbury had acquired two pigs in two days — one a prize and one a purchase — while Mother, naturally, carried on with her rug.

On 15 March the household routine was suddenly interrupted. Fred arrived to say Betty was unwell. Mother went round to see her, only to discover that Betty had already been taken to hospital with appendicitis. The operation went well. Mother’s diary then changes tone instantly and announces, with five exclamation marks, “I finished the rug!!!!!” Serious family worry and domestic triumph sit side by side, exactly as they so often do in the diaries.

Rain continued. Mother had two chickens to dress, John visited Betty twice, and there was still enough energy for a dance at the Cadena with John and Joan Buckett — “Very good”. Saturday brought more rain, football for John, the pictures for the girls and an evening at the theatre with Frank and Win to see While Parents Sleep.

By Sunday the weather had become a farming concern rather than a mere nuisance. Mother wrote: “This weather is serious — nothing done at all on the land.” Spring work was waiting, but saturated ground meant John could do very little. It is one of those short diary sentences that explains the anxiety of farming more clearly than pages of description.

19–26 March: Fish and chips, Andrew home and two hospital worries

Between showers Mother managed to get the clothes dry, ironed through the afternoon and spent an evening making up dances and writing letters. On 20 March the weather was finally nice. Mother went dancing, while John, John Buckett and Fred attended a B.O.C.M.A. film show. They returned very late, but wisely brought fish and chips home “as peace offering”.

John went to a Jersey sale the following day but bought nothing. The girls broke up from school and needed shoes, and Mother fitted in a hairdresser visit before more callers arrived. On 22 March she went to Salisbury to collect Andrew from school and later saw Pink String and Sealing Wax in Southampton.

The family enjoyed a day with Jack Craft and his family, and John and Andrew went to football. Betty, however, was still in hospital. Then on Sunday 25 March another worry began: Bebe’s mother went into hospital for an operation. Mother’s diary now had two close family members under hospital care at the same time.

The next day was Bebe’s birthday. The weather was rotten, though she still managed to do the washing. John went to football and Joan and Les came for the evening. There is no grand birthday celebration in the entry — just another working day at Hiltonbury, with family worries continuing in the background.

27–31 March: New life, two Jersey calves and snow again

The final days of March were extraordinarily busy. Jack Miller had a son, Andrew was taken back to Salisbury, Jennifer hunted all day, and Sooty produced four kits up the back stairs. Norah took the children to Bournemouth for a few days, while Mother returned to ironing and darning.

On 28 March Bebe’s mother had her operation. Happily, Betty was home from hospital. At Hiltonbury two Jersey heifers calved — one producing a bull calf and the other a heifer. Mother was up until two in the morning helping. For a dairy herd, the heifer calf was especially welcome because she could eventually join the milking herd.

The next morning brought snow and bitter cold before turning to rain. Mother went into hospital with Fred and Bella and found her mother “quite cheerful”. By the last day of the month the weather was rotten again. The usual Saturday callers still appeared, John went to football and the evening was spent with Les and Joan.

March had been a month of relentless weather, two new pigs, illness, operations and new life. The land had at times been too wet to work, yet the household, family and animals allowed no such pause.

1–8 April: Mother recovering, threshing at last and Timothy arrives

April began showery. Bebe visited her mother with Bob and Bunty and found her still unwell but making progress. On Monday John and Bebe took one of the bull calves into Winchester Market. Mother tried unsuccessfully to buy herself a new coat, then returned home to iron and darn while John went to his Lodge of Instruction.

There were signs of spring in the poultry yard too. John fetched Maran cocks from Crossy’s and Mother helped feed the chickens. On 5 April came a really lovely day at last. John was finally able to make progress with threshing and Mother noted that he was “very busy but glad to be doing something” after the long frustration of wet weather.

Rain returned on 6 April, when Andrew was fetched home from school. The next day brought wonderful family news: Betty had a son, Timothy John, at 12.30 in the afternoon, weighing 8 lb 4 oz. Mother visited her own mother in hospital and still had the Deans in that evening.

Sunday brought Andrew’s family party, with about twenty people including the grown-ups, mostly relations. It was a success despite the rain. Mother was so exhausted afterwards that she fell asleep in front of the dining-room fire — a very believable ending to a Hiltonbury party.

9–15 April: Ampfield Gymkhana, threshing finished and the T.T. test

Monday began early with washing, although it hung outside in the rain all day. Mother went into Southampton after breakfast, buying shirts for Janet and, at last, a coat for herself. The following day was much more exciting: the Ampfield Gymkhana.

Jennifer took second place in Musical Chairs and passed her D Test, an important step in her riding. Mother then spent the evening getting the girls ready to return to school. On Wednesday she went with Fred to see Betty and baby Timothy, while John finally finished threshing at Flexford.

Farm business continued with the official T.T. test of the cattle on Friday 13 April. Tuberculosis testing was an important part of herd management and could bring serious consequences if cattle failed. Mother’s own day was more domestic: cooking, altering her new coat and listening to a Ford Works programme on the wireless.

The weekend turned pleasant. On Sunday Mother was up early washing, Crossy showed her how to prune roses, and she visited her mother again. Afterwards the family drove up Farley Mount and saw sheep and lambs — one of the clearest signs that spring really had arrived. That evening was the first under Daylight Saving Time.

16–23 April: Oats drilled, two new cows and Mother home again

At last the ground dried enough for proper spring work. On Monday 16 April John drilled the oats and completed the final T.T. test. He also brought home two new cows from Norman. In the house he found time to distemper Jennifer’s bedroom, while Bebe went shopping in Southampton with Andrew and Heather for Andrew’s clothes.

The following day was lovely. Mother went dancing, Mrs Fullbrook worked on Jennifer’s room, and the best news was that Bebe’s mother was home from hospital, staying with Norah. Phillip and Erica Coates came to supper. Bebe visited Reading the next day and went to see her mother again that evening.

For several days the weather was almost suspiciously good. On 19 April Mother wrote, “Seems too good to be true.” Betty and Timothy were now home too, and Bebe walked to Beechcroft to see them. The family’s two hospital worries of March had eased into convalescence and a new baby at home.

Sunday 22 April was Norah’s birthday. There was chicken for dinner, the children went to Sunday School and John worked all day. Bebe visited Norah and her mother in the evening; her mother was home but still “not too good yet”. The next day brought the familiar washing, a trip to Southampton for Andrew’s cricket trousers and ironing through the afternoon and evening.

24–30 April: Hot days, drilling at Flexford and back to school

The final week of April suddenly turned hot. John was busy drilling at Flexford, so Mother had all the hens to look after as well as the house. Mrs Fullbrook tackled the lounge and stairs paintwork, Mother went dancing and the children were “getting on well”.

The heat continued and brought gardening, cups of tea with Joan and more evening callers. John moved from drilling to muck spreading. Then the temperature dropped sharply: Mother went to the village, mowed the lawn and began gathering Andrew’s clothes together for his return to school.

Saturday was bright but cold and brought the usual stream of callers. Mr and Mrs Yeats came to enquire about a kitten. On Sunday Mary spent the day at Hiltonbury while Mother washed, ironed, made shortbread and fudge and spent the evening making rolls.

April ended with the familiar ritual of boarding-school life. Mother spent the day packing Andrew’s clothes and took him back to school that evening. On the return journey they came home by Plaitford, trying unsuccessfully to find Mr Bates’s house.

So March and April closed very differently from the way they had begun. Weeks of rain had stopped work on the land and brought repeated illness and hospital visits. By the end of April, oats were drilled, threshing was finished, two new cows had arrived, lambs were in the fields, Timothy was home with Betty and the garden was demanding attention again. Spring, finally, had taken hold at Hiltonbury.

About My Mother’s Diaries: The series is based on the original diaries of Margaret “Bebe” Vining, recording family and farming life at Hiltonbury Farm, Chandler’s Ford. They are retold by her son, Andy Vining.