Chandler's Ford Today

You are here: Home / Community / Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 138)

Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 138)

By Leave a Comment

Sika whistles; various ailments; much knitting; an old doll; birds on a wire; a 25th wedding anniversary; a rude beginning to the day; the Rector retires; a near disaster; kind residents, and new friends at Cranbury Park.

Gran’s restlessness and depression, which characterised her first day of October 1972, lift on the 2nd, after a day out in the New Forest with Norris.  There they search for Sika Deer hoping in particular, to hear the remarkable whistling calls of the males and they have to wait at Ladycross until seven o’clock before they are rewarded, Gran says, with “a sound which I would never have associated with a deer”.

A typically “frowny-faced” Sika stag. Gran and Norris became very keen on the deer of the New Forest. Image by Mark Seton via Flickr.

Book 145

Several times during the month, we read of pain in one of Gran’s hips.  Weekly badminton is not curtailed, however – she writes on the 17th that, “I did play badminton and greatly enjoyed it but, as there were only six of us, I somewhat overdid it and the hip is now very painful again.  But it lasted well and I hope this discomfort is only temporary”.

These are not her only ailments at this time: a painful stiff neck prevents her going out on the 21st, and two days later she notes, “a high westerly wind, so the washing dried in spite of the fact that I am still without the washing machine and spin-dryer, and my arthritic thumbs make wringing virtually useless”.

Knitting takes up many of Gran’s hours, in spite of her thumbs; it is something she likes do at the same time as watching television, saying on one day, “Some Television programmes today have been enlightening, thought-provoking, interesting and entertaining but I do not care to spend such time without knitting, which I can do with it”.

And continuing the knitting theme:

I went to the village to fetch a repaired shoe, calling in on Mary en route as she wanted to see the doll’s clothes I have knitted for Katherine.  It is perhaps worth remembering that the first knitting I ever did was for this same doll, Wendy, when she was mine (I was ten years old) and had scarlet fever, and Nurse Ford who was looking after me, taught me to knit.  How I have blessed her for this!  I came home past the Lake, where the Carolina Ducks were resting on a notice board thrown into the Lake by vandals…

A truly wild Wood Duck (no longer known as Carolina Duck) in North America – but nevertheless, a pretty thing to see on Hiltingbury Lake. Image by Michael Klotz via Flickr.

Still on the subject of knitting, and giving a good example of the recycling and “make do and mend” attitude of her generation, she writes:

This afternoon I unpicked a pullover belonging to Brother, which was now too big for him after the drastic dieting following his coronary last year.  I hanked the wool and washed it prior to re-knitting it later on.

The severely declined farmland bird, Cirl Bunting, has featured several times in Gran’s journal since 1947, noted on Southampton Common, and Farley Mount in particular, and I thought this species would have been absent from Hampshire by the early 1970s.  However, Gran and Norris visit Alresford on the 31st, returning home by a route previously unknown to them, via Abbotstone, and near there:

…we soon stopped again to look closer at the extraordinary sight of a green Budgerigar, a cock Cirl Bunting and four Starlings all resting on a telegraph wire!  None of the birds attempted to molest the Budgie who presently flew strongly across the field.

Sadler’s Mill at Romsey is the first destination for a Bournemouth Natural History Society outing, led by Norris on November 7th.  There they watch a “splendid run” of large Salmon, and then, led by another member, Miss Bennets, they make their way to Brockishill Inclosure in the New Forest, “first inclosed in 1860”, writes Gran, “and a fine example of the few remaining mixed deciduous woods, so many others now being mainly of conifers”.  She continues:

A wild Bees’ nest was extremely interesting and unusual, being built, not in a hole as usual, but hanging from a tree branch out in the open, the layers of comb, not horizontal but vertical, six in all, and the bees all clustered at the bottom.  There seemed to be very little honey from what we could see, only a small brownish patch in the middle of one section of comb.  A few bees flew to and fro.

A swarm of bees, which, if not gathered and put into a hive, might well start creating comb where they swarm, as Gran and Norris discovered.  Image by Jon Sullivan via Flickr.

Gran and Norris re-visit the site a week later, pleased then to find that the colony had been removed “by somebody who clearly knew what he was doing”, she says, “…as the bees would have a better chance of survival in a beehive”.

November 10th:

I went to Winchester to get the Cubs’ Annual for Andrew for Christmas, as my local order had not been forthcoming.  I had phoned Smiths this morning and secured their last copy.  This evening I nearly finished Brother’s pullover.

There is snow on the 17th, and a visit to the Doctor confirms rheumatism in Gran’s neck – both things that she could happily do without.   But she writes later that day, somewhat uplifted:

Just before teatime, I was greatly cheered by the arrival of Ricky, with his new girlfriend, Beverly, who is very pretty and easy to fit in.  They are staying at Eastleigh with Rick’s Mother, but they had tea with us before departing…

Joan Adelaide Goater - her journal about Chandler's Ford.

There is televised tennis on the following day.  Gran watches it:

I watched the final of the Dewar Cup tennis on Television and saw poor Virginia Wade absolutely overpowered by an impeccable and tremendously powerful Margaret Court, who, I should say, made less than a dozen mistakes during her 6-1 6-1 win.  Virginia Wade, a good sport, smiled ruefully at the impossibility of coping with such faultless play…

Virginia Wade – “a good sport”.  Image courtesy of Alwyn Ladell via Flickr.

November 20th:

A memorable and most beautiful day, the silver Wedding of our much-loved Queen and her Consort Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.  May God bless them and guard them always.

Commemorative stamps were issued today to mark the Queen’s Silver Wedding, very nice and simple, depicting profile portraits of the monarch and Prince Philip together, 3p on black ground and 20p on purple… I skipped as many household chores as possible today and devoted myself to watching the celebrations on Television.

“… very nice and simple… 3p on black ground and 20p on purple”  Image courtesy of Andy Brenan.

She has much to write on this, including:

Incidents of the twenty-five years since the Queen’s marriage completed the Television Transmissions on this momentous day, and left me mentally and emotionally exhausted.  I had knitted furiously throughout.

“A rude beginning to today”, she records:

… when, as I was dressing, a car skidded through the sapling birch trees outside the baker’s shop, careered along the edge of the car park, miraculously missed the fence, emerged on to the road from the exit opposite here, crossed over, up the kerb and came to rest embedded in our front bank!  By good fortune the driver escaped with shock and a hurt back, which we subsequently learned, would be alright after a few days in bed.  The turf and moss from our bank was later retrieved from the front of the car and replaced in its original home, where I thumped it down with the spade. No doubt Nature will soon cover the scars!    Evidently there had been a frost in the night (which may have caused the car to skid)…

Nature soon covered the scars!

Gran receives stamps on November 27th – “New Zealand mint commemorative stamps issued during 1971 and this year.  They were sent by Brother-in-Law Norman and his wife, Zoe”.  She adds:

I spent the early part of the afternoon enjoying sticking in my new stamps and later looking up the catalogue value of some others.  The very first I had in my collection, the Kangaroo Australian, brought home by my Father in 1913, are now valued at £11.80, for eleven mint stamps.

Gran’s “Kangaroo Australians” – some of the first in her collection. Image courtesy of Andy Brenan.

And on December 1st:

This afternoon I wrote to the Editor of “Stamp Monthly”, after reading today of an unusual excuse for delayed delivery of a letter (chewed by a snail whilst in the letterbox!), thinking he might be interested to hear about the envelope I have.  It was posted in Russia in March 1916 (during the First World War) and not received in Liverpool until August 1916, and having printed on the back, “Part of a mail captured by the Germans and delayed”.

The delayed envelope, addressed to Liverpool Refrigeration Co. Ltd., the company founded by Gran’s Uncle, Alexander John Adamson…
… and the reverse, with the explanation for its delay.  Images courtesy of Andy Brenan.

A new carpet has been ordered for the dining-room at The Ridge, but I think, without any input from Grampa; “A traditional pattern, which will go well with the existing curtains”, says Gran.  It appears that she plans to lay this herself, clearing and cleaning the floor in preparation for its arrival on December 2nd, and when it does arrive, she spends “An exhausting but satisfying morning, amongst the usual chores, fighting to get down the underlay and the new carpet, but it now looks very attractive”.

Book 146

On December 20th, on a short outing with Norris:

… at first we had a bitter disappointment.  We went along Poles Lane to see if the Green Hellebore was through the ground yet and, to our horror, the whole thicket had been completely cleared and there was no sign of any plants at all.  It was a sad sight indeed, after remembering how it once was lovely with, besides the Hellebores, Primroses, Anemones, Bluebells, Celandines, Early Purple Orchids and Moschatel, besides the always lovely Violets.

Christmas Day 1972, Gran describes as “one of the best and most joyous I have ever spent”.  The Brenans are staying at The Ridge – “It was lovely to see them all”, she writes, and the children “had grown enormously since I last saw them and Andrew’s face was changed somewhat with the coming of his second teeth…”  Julian is down as well, staying in Eastleigh, and Gran records gratefully on Christmas Eve that:

He asked me if he could take me to Church tomorrow morning and I was more than delighted.  We decided to go to the seven o’clock service, so he went to collect his sleeping-bag and dossed down in the dining room.

We discover on December 28th that neighbour Ruth Kingston is expecting a third child.  Gran starts:

…knitting a shawl for Ruth Kingston’s expected April baby.  The pattern for the shawl is very shabby as I have made at least half a dozen, and I could not see one number clearly with the result that I made three attempts before I got it right!  However, it is on its way now.

A detail of one of the more than half dozen baby shawls that Gran produced for family and friends’ newborns. She was skilled.

Her summing-up of the year begins with her usual letter to Adrian, beginning:

Many thousands of pages and a great number of notebooks have been written up since my promise to you in 1947 and this has brought me much satisfaction and comfort during the years that have followed.  And now 1972 is drawing to a close and, as always, you have been remembered and lived in my innermost thoughts every day.

1973

Gran is not a fan of Britain’s closer political relationship with the rest of Europe, and she writes on January 3rd:

New stamps were issued today to celebrate Britain’s entry into the Common Market on January 1st.  I bought them because I do not want gaps in my Great Britain collection but I reserve my personal celebrations until I know how it will affect the housewives of this country.

January 26th:

This evening I went to the farewell party and presentation to our Rector, Mr Fawkes, who has retired after over fourteen years’ ministry at Compton.  It was a lovely, if rather sad, gathering and Mr and Mrs Fawkes were presented with a colour television (to be delivered to their new home in Twyford) a cheque, a portrait of the Rector to be painted by Mr Dring R.A., a resident of Compton, who has painted the Prince of Wales, and an Azalea for Mrs Fawkes, who is a keen gardener.  Brother took me to Shawford Parish Hall and fetched me afterwards, and Sheila Moody (badminton colleague!) and her husband escorted me down the dark road from the hall to meet him.  A very pleasant evening.

Book 147

Gran’s mother, referred to as “Greaty” by the younger generations, but as “Mother” by Gran, has two more years of life but at the age of ninety-five, is increasingly frail.  She spends much of her time sleeping in a chair, but still takes pleasure in preparing food to put out for birds, and, on February 5th, with Spring flowers appearing in the garden, Gran says, “I took Mother round to see the Snowdrops and others, rather slow and unsteady progress but she greatly enjoyed it”.

Norris and Gran walk along the Itchen on February 14th, recording new flowers for the year and also noting several Water Voles.  She adds:

On our way home we went, without much hope, to see if any Green Hellebores had survived in the devastated Hazel thicket in Poles Lane, and were delighted to find it still there and fully in flower.  I resolved to write to Mrs Chamberlayne-MacDonald in the hope that she would agree to have it protected as the late Mr Judd had for so many years.

Water Voles were a common sight during Gran’s lifetime.  Predation by feral American Mink has severely reduced their numbers. Image by Peter Trimming via Flickr.

On the following day, Gran’s evening write-up gives us this:

I went to Badminton this afternoon but I came home to near disaster and a horrible fright – front door wide open and the house full of smoke.  Mother’s cushion had fallen out of her chair into the hearth and she must have been asleep for, in spite of the fireguard, the cushion was a smouldering mass of kapok; carpet, rug and lino showing burnt patches, and the paintwork burned at the side of the fireplace.  I cleared away the cushion remains and then went to the proprietors of the “homeware” shop opposite to ask him if he could come and make sure there was no burning anywhere.  This he gladly did, and disaster avoided but I shall not be able to leave Mother alone again except when she is in bed.  The house still reeks of smoke and I am still feeling shaky but Hazel came to see me and this helped to steady me.

Gran does not sleep well that night!  But  “How extremely kind are the residents of this area!” she writes the next evening.  During the day she thanks, “Mr Homeware”, who tells her that he has a fire extinguisher and to call him at any time if needed; Sheila Moody, met with in the greengrocers, expresses sincere sympathy, and the manageress of the shop, Mrs Lewis, on overhearing their conversation, tells Gran that she can always send someone over to check on Greaty on Wednesdays so that Brother and Gran can continue their weekly outings.  And Mrs Hillier will ask her husband to repaint scorched woodwork and patch the burnt linoleum.

Schools’ half-term is imminent and during the holiday Gran plans to visit first, Barry and family in Bushey, and then Jane, Stuart and their family in Longton, leaving Norris to care for Mother.  She writes that day:

This afternoon I defrosted the refrigerator and cleaned the gas oven so that Brother has a clear start when he takes over here next week, and then stuck in my Australian and New Zealand.

Next day, the trauma over, Gran’s mood is lifted.  She writes, “Great encouragement this morning!”:

…Mrs Chamberlayne-MacDonald phoned me and arranged for me to go to Cranbury Park tomorrow afternoon and show her the Green Hellebore.  She did not know it was on her estate until she received my letter… The copse which has been cleared, is not for building or cultivation but has been cleared under the new Woodland Management Regulations.  Mrs Chamberlayne-MacDonald wants me to tell her of anything else growing in the Cranbury Estate so I’m hoping that the orchid field in Baddesley Road may also be saved.

The visit to Cranbury Park takes place on the following day, Gran being received “with the utmost friendliness” by the Chamberlayne-MacDonalds.

…who, immediately agreed to plant a circle of protective trees round a good area and fence it till these have grown, to keep away the cattle when the surrounding area is grassed over.  They have also promised to try to save Beatty’s field in Baddesley Road, where the orchids grow.  This will be more difficult because the Council want it for building but the Chamberlayne-MacDonalds mean to approach the Planning Authority before things go too far.

This appears to have been successful from Gran’s point of view, since the field is now a Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve.  Gran ends her recounting of this event with, “In parting, my new friends shook hands warmly and assured me that Brother and I were welcome in Cranbury at any time…”

Article series

^

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.


Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related posts:

Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 58) Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 70) Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 80) Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 105) Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 124)
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.