Forty Years in Chandler's Ford - a Journal (Part 167)

Lesser Whitefronts and a visit to The Studio; Cambridge – to be rejected; enjoying Torville and Dean; infuriated by the milkman; Eric Ashby and his “little green van”; a long walk; “Jenny’s beastly little cat”; next door has an intruder; “Mrs Hawkeye”, and the end of the Falkland Islands conflict.

A cloudy and mild day and one of great excitement, dawns for Gran on February 6th 1982, when Barry drives her to the Wildfowl Trust at Slimbridge, arriving at Rick’s home there, Moorend Farm Cottage, in time for breakfast with him, Beverly and young Tom.

Several pages of the journal are dedicated to this visit, Gran enjoying special treatment, in particular access to bird-watching hides normally unavailable to the general public.

She records a fine array of wild waterfowl including, within a flock of 4500 White-fronted Geese, the Bean Geese that had not impressed Princess Diana earlier in the winter, and also two rare Lesser White-fronted Geese, new to her, “… from a small hide to which Ricky took us, and, when he went to fetch some other visitors who particularly wanted to see them, I came away to make room for them…”, she writes.

A Lesser White-fronted Goose – an eastern species, very rare in the U.K. and often the main goal for winter bird-watchers at Slimbridge, just about the only place in the UK where there was a chance to find these birds in those days. Note chubby face, golden eye-ring, dainty pink bill and extensive white on the forehead – all good characteristics. Image by Stefan Berndtsson via Flickr.

“We had another great treat after dark”, she recounts:

Joan Spurgin is at present “dog-sitting for the Scotts who are away, and Ricky rang her up and asked if he could take Barry and me to watch the evening feeding of the birds on the Rushy Pond from Peter’s Studio in the house, which has a huge window overlooking the pond, and in floodlights the spectacle is quite fantastic and fascinating.

As Ricky shovelled out grain, all the birds hurried to the edge and the Bewick’s and Whooper Swans in their pure white plumage were beautiful beyond description, and all the ducks showed their colours to perfection.

Rick “shovelling grain” in the Rushy Pen.

We also had the privilege of seeing some of Peter’s magnificent paintings and one can only stand entranced at his extraordinary talent. Two pictures which I found entrancing were a composite portrait of Peter himself and Philippa with creatures dear to them – Oleander Hawk-moth, their dog [“Spooky”], Puss-moth caterpillars, various birds and such, and a pair of Oleander Hawk-moths in copulation [considered by Peter to be the best painting in oils that he ever did].

Barry departs for Bushey after two days but Gran stays on at Slimbridge for several more, enjoying her “immersion” in the world of wildfowl and wetland habitats. She particularly enjoys seeing again her God-daughter Diana Fowler, who works there in the Education department. Together, in the main hall, Gran says they look at, “… the accepted design by David Gentleman, for the new Charles Darwin stamps to be issued on Wednesday”.

Gran is driven to Cheltenham to catch her coach to Winchester on February 10th and she reluctantly bids farewell to Slimbridge. “I have met several very pleasant workers at the Trust during my stay and will certainly miss this environment and people…” she says.

Just two days later, Gran writes:

This evening I watched the last “In the Country” programme in which Angela Rippon visited Phil Drabble, Gordon Benningfield and Peter Scott to discuss Conservation and it was very nice to see her with Peter in his studio watching the birds on Swan Lake, so recently enjoyed by me!

A postcard, bought by Gran, depicting the Rushy Pen and Peter’s house and studio overlooking it, where Gran was delighted to have been a visitor.

Life has returned to normal. “To the Club this afternoon”, she writes, but is disappointed because the booked entertainer has been taken to hospital:

Bingo, so boring, was arranged and Mrs Mouton read some of the poems she had received for her anthology; members’ favourites apparently, not their own, because she included my “The Countryman” and announced that I had written it. There was much surprise, but also some congratulations.

February 28th: Gran’s grandchildren are growing up! ”Robin’s sixteenth birthday!”, she writes, “Many happy returns to him and success in his coming O Levels.”

And, a letter from Jane invites her north in late August:

“… when we shall be able to hear a concert by the Lancashire Schools Symphony Orchestra in Lancaster on the 27th – the last in which both Katie and Andy will be playing. Andy had a good interview at University College, London last week and has been offered a place there. He was delighted with the sound of the course and will probably reject Cambridge now.

Book 198

On March 8th Gran writes that she “watches a little television” and says:

In “Blue Peter” a boy was shown with a tame Jackdaw which met him daily from School and this reminded me of Barry’s “Jack” who used to fly up the road to meet him off the bus which brought him from School in Winchester.

“Some reading”, she writes on the 12th:

… but I succumbed to a “kip” because I wanted to stay up late to see the finals of the Ice Dance Championships in Copenhagen in which our British pair, Jane Torville and Christopher Dean were defending their title won last year. They gave a fantastic and beautiful display and could scarcely carry all the flowers bestowed upon them by the excited and enthusiastic British fans. They did retain their crown…

The actions of others, making and taking a short-cut between her front garden and next door’s, make Gran cross later in the month:

I was infuriated when I discovered that the milkman, paper-girl and the dustman (whom I actually saw) had broken the wire and cut through into Griffin’s garden, breaking their beautiful Pink Pearl Rhododendron, which is just coming into flower, just to save themselves the trouble of going down our drive and up Griffin’s. Lazy beggars, with no respect for any one else’s property. I got very overheated blocking up the gap and planting hollies on our side!

In spite of Gran’s complaint that there is little to interest her on television these days, she does watch something on most days – usually in the evening. “I was tired this afternoon”, she says on April 11th:

… but watched “Robin Hood” on television before falling asleep. Later this evening I watched “Songs of Praise” from Wells Cathedral and then, on B.B.C. 2, a delightful film to celebrate twenty-five years of filming by Eric Ashby in the New Forest. It showed sequences of his best films of life there… and also showed him at work, with no hides, just his camera and tripod camouflaged with bracken or other herbage, behind which he crouched.

His familiar little green van was shown driving along the forest roads in search of suitable habitats and I was reminded that when Brother saw it anywhere he did not stop so as not to disturb Eric at work and, likewise, if Eric saw Brother’s car at rest he also passed on. They knew each other and their vehicles well and respected them and their Forest interests.

Gran has a daft dream involving an inability to lift up her head during another afternoon nap a couple of days later and she wakens feeling, she says, “stupidly dazed”, and adds, ” – must be getting old”. She is clearly not too old, though, “to walk along the River at Brambridge and, in the end walk there and back”. This she does, noting Small Whites, Brimstones and Peacock butterflies, Moschatel, Yellow Archangel and many other spring-flowering plants but no longer has the confidence to remove her shoes and wade through fast-flowing water in a breach she discovers between the canal and the Itchen. “Two girls with a dog removed their shoes and waded as I would have done some years ago, but with nothing to which I could hold on, I deemed it prudent to turn back”, she writes. And on the return leg, adds:

I was resting awhile on the Otterbourne War Memorial when a lady from a car came across and said, “You have had a very long walk. We saw you on your way to the river and as you came back again”. She was from London and is staying with her daughter in Lakewood Road. She asked me a lot about Cranbury Park and who owned it and was very interested in all I had to tell her. I walked up to the Water Tower, through the wood beside the drive to Cranbury, and then home along Hocombe Road and Kingsway.

“I was resting awhile on the Otterbourne War Memorial”. Image courtesy of Adrian Walmsley via Flickr.

I was rather hot, thirsty and tired but soon recovered. Jamie, who had come over to retrieve his arrow, ran in to tell me there was a Slow-worm on our air-raid shelter and I was glad to see it – my first this year.

Some months earlier Ruth, with some trepidation, had notified Gran that Jenny (her daughter and Jamie’s sister) intended to get a cat. Gran was polite at the time but quietly horrified and did tell Ruth that if ever it entered the garden of The Ridge it would be vigorously chased away. And now, on April 16th, we have this:

I had to go to the dentist this morning to have the tooth prepared for crowning and, just as I was ready to go, Helen [the other daughter] ran in, in a great state of anxiety because Jenny’s !!!?!! [Gran would never write a swear word!] cat had caught a bird and carried it into the house and Helen did not know what to do with it… It was a young Collared Dove, still with some baby down on its back but otherwise fully fledged.

The bird does not appear to be badly damaged and Gran sees no blood, but she warns Helen that it might die of shock. It is put in a quiet place in a container, and Gran goes off to keep her appointment with the dentist. The bird receives more attention later in the day but Gran is saddened to discover next day that it had died during the night. “Jenny’s beastly little cat”, she says.

There is excitement concerning her other neighbours, the Griffins, on the following day:

An intruder broke into Griffin’s house at nine o’clock when they were all out. I saw him go up their drive and across the front garden and, when I saw a light upstairs, rang up to tell them someone was prowling in their garden. I should have rung the Police straight away because it was apparently the burglar who had put the light on and drawn the curtains. Just after ten o’clock a friend of Tim’s [the Griffins’ son] called and found the front door open so came in here to phone the Police, who arrived almost at once. I hope they catch the thief.

We are up-dated the next day:

Monique came in to see us and told us that the intruder had tried to get in at a leaded window at the back, removing a piece but unable to open the window because of a lock, so had opened the minor front door, which leads to the kitchen, with a screwdriver. He had turned out all the drawers, taken money from Monique’s purse but missed some of Tim’s, which was on the table, taken some pieces of jewellery, and, strangely, a large African wooden carved figure which is of no great value and very heavy, and wrapped it up in one of Mr Griffin’s shirts which he had torn up for the purpose!

I wonder how they knew!

April 23rd:

Julian and Sue’s Wedding Anniversary and may they have lasting happiness and good health and, in July, a wonderful fulfilment in the birth of their first baby. God bless them all.

Book 200

Book 199 is missing, and Book 200 begins on June 9th. Gran appears to be on a coach trip to Merley Bird Gardens near Wimborne. She does not find the bird exhibits very exciting and does not approve of “the keeping in a large cage of our native finches and other small birds.

A postcard of Merley Bird Gardens. Gran did not particularly approve. The gardens closed in 1997.

On the way home, Gran remarks that the driver pulled into a layby near to Charleston Marshall:

… and, looking about as usual, I saw a 50p piece lying on the ground. Several people near me said it was a milk-bottle top but Mrs Edwards, sitting on the outside of me, went to ask the driver if she had time to investigate and he went with her. I was right, and intended to split the 50p between us, but she gave it to the driver!

Gran describes the route home and what she sees in the way of roadside plants from the window, and arrives at Chandler’s Ford at 7.30. “When I alighted at Kingsway the driver said ‘Goodbye Mrs Hawkeye’, and I told him not to expect 50p every time I went out in his coach!”

Over the preceding two months, the Falkland Islands Conflict has been going on, and Gran is likely to have mentioned it in the last missing book. On June 14th there is the briefest of entries: “There has been a cease-fire in the Falkland Isles dispute with Argentina but I have heard no details. I only hope it means the end of the horrible conflict”.

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Tags: Chandler's Ford, Chandler's Ford Today, family, Hiltingbury, Hiltingbury Road, history, Joan Adamson, Joan Adelaide Goater, Julian Goater, local interest, memory, nature, writing

Comments

Jill Andrew says

May 16, 2021 at 4:40 pm

Thank you Rick for another diverting blog. I am then always tempted back into the earlier blogs and have today read with great enjoyment the extended No.72 in which you talk about your Dad. (The photo is how I remember him)

I knew Diana Fowler worked at Slimbridge but didn’t know you did too.