Upsetting paintings; a lovely birthday – and a cake; Butterbur hats; downland farewell; Ospreys; yellow trunks and a new flower on the Isle of Wight; a regretable change of neighbours; pigeon-toed tennis; ungrateful Sparrows and loyal friend Gilbert’s success.
Gran is home from her holiday in Scotland on July 10th 1959, and the afternoon is spent unpacking and recounting her adventures to “Mother and sundry friends”. She gives herself little time to recoup though:
In the evening I went to a short farewell party at Bassett – the old friends with whom I have played tennis, attended their little fortnightly whist drives and such, have had to sell their home and, owing to ill-health, join their daughter in Ireland, and I found this a little overwhelming after leaving Scotland and travelling all night, but I was glad I went.
On the 11th, she goes with the Fowlers to the Open Day at Diana’s School of Occupational Therapy in Oxford. There is an exhibition, opened by Sir Hugh Casson, of work done by students during their training, which Gran finds deeply touching, since it is produced by mentally and physically handicapped patients in various hospitals, but:
The paintings I found depressing, for they were mostly done by those with mental disabilities; chiefly anxieties, phobias and schizophrenia, and these showed in their work, which, I found, were much as most modern art and one wonders just how much these painters of so-called contemporary pictures are deranged in some way. Some of the pictures were frankly horrifying in their tragic implications.
The increasing number of flower paintings in her several albums are becoming somewhat unmanageable so Gran:
…bought in Winchester a small index notebook, for now that my flower paintings number three hundred and five, it is as well to keep a note of those I have already done. I did seventeen in Scotland.
She also clearly brought some plant specimens home from Scotland, since, on July 16th, after a day out with Wynefred Way in the Farley Mount and Ashley area, she records that she “finished painting the Downy Rose from Aviemore”.
July 22nd:
My birthday and a very nice day indeed! The post brought me nine cards and two letters, and Antony Harding had already been with a splendid new saddlebag for my bicycle – more acceptable than words can tell, since my other one was literally falling to pieces. A goodly sum of money to spend as I like, drawing blocks and the ever necessary and, for me, needful notepaper and envelopes were other gifts. I intend to buy Tutin and Warburg’s up-to-date Flora and a new stamp album, both of which will give me endless pleasure.
And further pleasure is in store for her as she visits “her Harding family” that afternoon:
…here a delightful surprise awaited me… Mary had made me a birthday cake, iced in pink and white with five (!) candles on it! Multiplied by eleven they were adequate for my age, but I felt five anyway. My last birthday cake was when I was twenty-one! After tea, Jill and Mary played some of my favourite records, ending with my lovely “Angels Guard thee”, by Richard Crooks, and including Heddle Nash’s supreme rendering of the Serenade from “The Fair Maid of Perth”.
Gran keeps herself very busy following her return from Scotland: several Natural History Society outings; other visits to the countryside with friends; packing flowers for the Fowlers (for the Carthage and Oranje-fontein on July 24th); taking Girl Guides for their Naturalist Badges; opening Barnardo’s boxes at Sherborne House School; gardening at The Ridge, and, with John Fowler preparing flowers at a “very beautiful house and garden” at Stony Cross in the New Forest, for a twenty-first birthday party. From there, she just manages to get back to Winchester in time to meet Jane alighting from the train from Nottingham “I cannot think what was the matter with me”, she says:
…but I did not recognise her, perhaps because she was with a lady and gentleman who were helping her with her luggage. Also I was tired and very hot after the scramble from Stony Cross.
The post that day brings her late birthday cards from Fairlie and Norah, and, also from them, and more importantly, The Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe, “a copy of which Barry had lent to me for Scotland”, Gran says. This was the premier and groundbreaking bird field guide in those days, and remained so for at least twenty years. Lucky Gran!
Book 81
On July 30th, “A pleasant surprise awaited me”:
…when John [Gunningham, a visiting friend] collected my Scottish snapshots from the Chemists’ for me. All sixteen pictures came out and were far, far better than I had dared to hope. A very nice set of memories of Scotland!
Jock, visiting in early August, spends much time with Jane, and Gran having played tennis with rain threatening, records some probably typical, eccentric behaviour exhibited by the pair:
There was more and heavier rain as I was coming home and soon after five o’clock Jock and Jane came in from a walk along the river. They wore the huge leaves of Butterbur on their heads to keep them dry and said that passing motorists and a bus driver regarded them with amazement. I was not really surprised!
Finding a secluded place with a view on Compton Downs on “Adrian’s day”, August 3rd, his birthday, Gran describes the landscape and witnesses the agricultural changes taking place:
Most of the downland is enclosed now and either ploughed or used for the grazing of cattle. Corn is ripe and nearly ready for harvesting and there is the usual patchwork of greens and golds. It is cloudy this evening – just after five o’clock now – and the red tractor that has been clearing downland before me is silent and the driver on his way down for his tea. It is sad to think of all the lovely little downland flowers now lost to us, but it is better than building – at least we shall have the fields left to us.
Jock and the boys appear to be in Chandler’s Ford for a large part of the month, while Barry is busy elsewhere. There is no news of where Julian and I spend each night, but our Mum, Jock, sleeps in The Ridge’s dining room, badly at first, as Gran recounts:
I caught a brown cricket in the dining room where Jock Is sleeping on the camp bed, and released it down the garden. Last night its incessant chirping had kept Jock awake but she should rest in peace tonight.
A programme entitled Out of Doors and introduced by Bruce Campbell, is watched on the television next door on the 13th. It highlights the successful breeding of the Loch Garten Ospreys (all three young said to be on the verge of flying) and Gran, now having been there, enjoys seeing the familiar scenery, including the hide, and wardens’ caravan. Some days later, a long account of the Osprey story appears in the Daily Telegraph. Gran cuts it out and keeps it in the journal.
On August 20th, Jock and Jane take the two boys to the Isle of Wight for a day at the seaside, Gran telling that we saw from the ferry, the Athlone Castle sailing by. She does not report any more details of our trip but I remember it as the day when, in my little yellow trunks, I wandered into the breaking waves only to be bowled over and sucked under by a tremendous weight of salty water, and Mum and Jane rushing down the beach to retrieve me!
Gran is on the Island herself, with Wynefred Way, on September 1st, finding a particularly rare plant:
We passed through Chale and Niton and then, just beyond Whitwell, we alighted and walked up a road towards the cliffs. Along the edge of a ploughed field we came to an overgrown mound, and here we found the rare and beautiful Purple Cow-wheat Melampyrum arvense, with lovely rose-purple bracts at the top of the flower spike and the flowers themselves deep yellow tinged with the same bright colour. Altogether an imposing plant, and new to my list.
And the following day, briefly seeing Dad as he joins Jock and the boys for their return to London, Gran gloats, “It was good to see him again… and fun, too, to see his face when I asked if he had ever seen the Purple Cow-wheat! He had not, and was astounded when I told him we had found it on the Island yesterday”.
The late Summer has been very busy for Gran at Fowler’s florists. She often describes the aesthetics of various ships, and ease or awkwardness of delivering flowers on them and she is particularly taken with the Stella Polaris, delivering on board on September 5th: “This is a delightful little ship, quite old but more like a luxury yacht than a modern liner, and manned by a predominantly Swedish crew who are extremely courteous and helpful”.
On the 14th: “Our neighbour for the past twenty years or so, Mrs Lount, moved today and we were very sorry to say “goodbye”. She has been a particularly nice person to live nearby and I, for one, hate changes. I shall miss her.”
Book 82
The Summer of 1959 has been a particularly hot and sunny one, Gran recording on September 21st, “In this district we have had eighty-three consecutive days upon which the sun has shone, and during only eleven of these has there been any rain. Surely this is a record!
On television there is professional tennis from Wembley. Gran, watching it on the 23rd, enjoys a match between the veteran Pancho Segura of Ecuador and Lew Hoad of Australia. Segura wins, and Gran writes: “How he moves, with the most pronounced “pigeon-toes” I have ever seen, I just cannot imagine, but move he does with amazing swiftness and his courtcraft is superb”. This from Gran who was distinctly pigeon-toed herself!
The Men’s singles final, a few days later is between Segura and the twenty-five year old Mal Anderson, “whose first year as a professional this is”, Gran tells us. She describes the excitement of the close match, both players saving match points against them, but eventually Anderson is the winner. Gran concludes:
A fine achievement in his first year for Mal Anderson but a wonderful effort, probably in his last one, by Pancho Segura – surely the greatest sport in tennis, for one never sees him lose his temper or display any irritation – he merely mutters “Panchita”, when he makes a mistake!
September 24th:
Much of this morning was spent bottling apples, which Jock’s mother very kindly gave me. And this occupation gave me much satisfaction for, undomesticated as I am on the whole, I do like jam-making, fruit-bottling and making pickles and chutney, and get much pleasure from seeing the shelves well-stocked with the results of my labours.
Later, after returning from Flexford Bridge where she shows her friend, Bee Richardson, her Scottish holiday album, Gran sees in the “Echo”, some good news:
Three new Nature Reserves have been established in the New Forest, including Matley Heath, Bog and Wood, and Denny Bog and Wood. This safeguards these for posterity but they will still be accessible for those wishing to study the natural history and such, so Barry will still be able to bring his boys down for this purpose.
New neighbours do not impress Gran on the 27th:
A Woodpigeon was crooning softly early but the peace and serenity of this lovely Sunday morning was rudely shattered by the loud-voiced quarrelling of our new neighbours who have taken Mrs Lount’s house. Mudd by name and mud by nature, I fear – so far I have not heard the woman address a kind word to either the husband or the child – and I find this sort of thing distressing. I made apple and onion chutney this morning.
The loud voices continue, for in the afternoon Gran “went for a bicycle ride to get away from the sound of human voices, driven to distraction by the continuous quarrelling…”. She goes to Shawford to find, in a piggery there, some of the highly toxic plant, Henbane, to paint.
Early in her journal Gran recorded her excitement at seeing the first Autumn Crocus appear naturally in the front lawn. Flowers have appeared in every subsequent year, and this year, on September 28th:
I was delighted to see a fourth Crocus bud appearing this morning but later shattered to discover that the wretched little Sparrows, whom we feed so well, had completely destroyed one, nipped off another and bent the third! Only the little bud-tip remained unharmed. Ungrateful! And I have never yet picked one myself to paint!
The following day is one of Gran’s “red-letter days”. She and Peg Eagle drive to West Wittering in Sussex for a day’s birdwatching. Of particular note for them are Little Terns, Whimbrels, a brief view of a Water Rail and what they can only assume, having consulted the books, is an early, and moulting, drake Long-tailed Duck. Of more import though, for Gran, is the following:
Some distance away on the marsh I thought at first that a Great Black-back was standing. Then it rose and circled before coming down again and suddenly I knew, and could scarcely believe my eyes. It was an Osprey on migration – the shining white underparts, unmistakable head and the bow in the wings left no possible doubt – and I had seen them so recently in Scotland. We were thrilled and had many excellent views of it…
It is early October and the weather has been unseasonably Summery. Gran writes:
…I played four sets of tennis on the private court in Merdon Avenue, to which Jane and I have been invited recently. It was a glorious afternoon and very warm. Fancy playing tennis on a grass court in October – a thing I have never done before, and I have been playing tennis for forty-five years!
There is another grass court in Brownhill Road, at the house of Dr and Mrs Moore, and Gran plays there too, on the 5th.
October 6th:
A letter from Gilbert Whitley from Australia today, brought me a first-day cover of the new Australian fivepenny stamp, issued on October 1st, and four unused specimens inside. Jane and Julian [both keen stamp collectors now] will be pleased! Gilbert has been elected a Councillor of the Australian Naturalists’ Association and President of the Royal Geological Society, so he will be more fully occupied than ever. But he remains a loyal friend to me.
Article series
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 1)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 2)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 3)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 4)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 5)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 6)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 7)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 8)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 9)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 10)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 11)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 12)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 13)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 14)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 15)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 16)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 17)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 18)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 19)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 20)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 21)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 22)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 23)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 24)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 25)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 26)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 27)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 28)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 29)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 30)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 31)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 32)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 33)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 34)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 35)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 36)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 37)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 38)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 39)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 40)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 41)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 42)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 43)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 44)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 45)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 46)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 47)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 48)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 49)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 50)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 51)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 52)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 53)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 54)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 55)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 56)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 57)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 58)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 59)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 60)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 61)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 62)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 63)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 64)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 65)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 66)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 67)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 68)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 69)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 70)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 71)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 72)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 73)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 74)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 75)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 76)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 77)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 78)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 79)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 80)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 81)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 82)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 83)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 84)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 85)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 86)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 87)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 88)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 89)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 90)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 91)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 92)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 93)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 94)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 95)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 96)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 97)
- Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 98)
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