My Mother’s Diaries: Summer Holidays and Harvest at Hiltonbury

Life on the farm in July and August 1951

By Andy Vining

A picnic in the fields, twenty-four pounds of cherries to bottle, school sports and a harvest repeatedly interrupted by rain: summer at Hiltonbury Farm in 1951 was anything but idle.

My mother’s diaries bring together two sides of our family life. There were outings, visitors and children enjoying their holidays, alongside the daily responsibilities of a working farm. Sometimes the entries are amusing; sometimes they record sadness in just a few words.

These were also years before electricity reached Hiltonbury. Washing, ironing, cooking and preserving food required considerable work, yet Mother still found time for gardening, teaching dancing and keeping her diary.

[Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 – 1976: Episode 23 — July and August 1951

My Mother’s Diaries: Chicks, Ducklings and Haymaking at Hiltonbury

Life on the farm in May and June 1951

By Andy Vining

Fifty cockerel chicks, a clutch of ducklings, a birthday pair of goldfish and twenty-five tons of hay: May and June 1951 brought plenty of activity to Hiltonbury Farm.

Reading my mother’s diaries today, I am struck by how much she fitted into her days. Washing, ironing, baking, gardening and mending were woven around family visits, children’s dancing lessons and helping my father, John, on the farm. Somehow, there was usually time to put the kettle on.

I was eight that spring, away at St Probus School in Salisbury. My sisters Jennifer, Janet and Heather were at home, and my mother’s diary gives me a window into everything happening while I was away.

[Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 – 1976: Episode 22 — May and June 1951

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.

[Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 – 1976: Episode 21 — March and April 1951

January and February 1951: Snowdrifts, Snowdrops and a Pig at the Ball

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

By Andy Vining

The new year opened under deep snow. Before February was over, the same fields were producing hundreds of bunches of snowdrops. Between them came family illness, schooldays, dancing, farm work, birthdays, visitors, a tragic accident, young chicks in a greenhouse — and one of Mother’s most memorable diary lines: “Jolly good. Won a pig!”

[Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 – 1976: Episode 20 — January and February 1951

MY MOTHER’S DIARIES

November and December 1950: The Turning of the Year

Half-term, Bonfire Night and a busy Hiltonbury Christmas, recorded by Margaret “Bebe” Vining and retold by her son, Andy.

By Andy Vining

[Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 – 1976: Episode 19 — November and December 1950

MY MOTHER’S DIARIES

September and October 1950: Autumn Turning

Harvest’s end, a child leaving for school and autumn settling over Hiltonbury Farm, recorded by Margaret “Bebe” Vining and retold by her son, Andy.

By Andy Vining

[Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 – 1976: Episode 18 — September and October 1950

Andy Vining shares his mother’s diaries in his podcast. You can listen to these stories on Spotify.

MY MOTHER’S DIARIES

July and August 1950: Harvest, Cowpens and a Summer of Rain

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

By Andy Vining

New cowpens promised modern farming, but relentless rain threatened the harvest. Around both ran the busy life of the Vining family: school journeys, birthdays, shows, visitors, preserving fruit and making the most of every dry hour.

[Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 – 1976: Episode 17 — July and August 1950

Andy Vining shares his mother’s diaries in his podcast. You can listen to these stories on Spotify.

MY MOTHER’S DIARIES

May and June 1950: Curtains, Cowslips and Haymaking

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

By Andy Vining

[Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 – 1976: Episode 16 — May and June 1950

Andy Vining shares his mother’s diaries in his new podcast. Listen to these beautiful stories on Spotify.

Andy Vining’s parents were John and Peggy (later known as Be Be).

March & April 1950 — Spring Returning at Hiltonbury [Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 – 1976: Episode 15 — March and April 1950

Andy Vining shares his mother’s diaries in his new podcast. Listen to these beautiful stories on Spotify.

Andy Vining’s parents were John and Peggy (later known as Be Be).

A New Decade Begins at Hiltonbury Farm

January and February 1950

The year 1950 began quietly at Hiltonbury Farm. There were no great celebrations to mark the arrival of a new decade, just illness, winter weather and the familiar work of keeping a busy family farm running. [Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 – 1976: Episode 14 — January and February 1950

Andy Vining shares his mother’s diaries in his new podcast. Listen to these beautiful stories on Spotify.

Andy Vining’s parents were John and Peggy (later known as Be Be).

November 1949

Fires Lit for Winter

Welcome to Episode 13 of  My Mother’s Diaries.

Each episode I open the pages of my mother’s diaries, written day by day on our family farm in Hampshire in the late 1940s.

Through her words we step back into a world of farming, family, village life… and the small everyday moments that quietly made up a life.

This is November and Dec 1949.

November arrived with the evenings growing darker and the air noticeably colder. [Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 – 1976: Episode 13 — November and December 1949

Andy Vining shares his mother’s diaries in his new podcast. Listen to these beautiful stories on Spotify.

Andy Vining’s parents were John and Peggy (later known as Be Be).

[Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 – 1976: Episode 12 — September and October 1949

Andy Vining shares his mother’s diaries in his new podcast. Listen to these beautiful stories on Spotify.

Andy Vining’s parents were John and Peggy (later known as Be Be).

[Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 – 1976: Episode 11 — July and August 1949

Andy Vining shares his mother’s diaries in his new podcast. Listen to these beautiful stories on Spotify.

Andy Vining’s parents were John and Peggy (later known as Be Be).

May 1949 The Farm in Full Bloom

[Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 – 1976: Episode 10 — May and June 1949

Andy Vining shares his mother’s diaries in his new podcast. Listen to these beautiful stories on Spotify.

Andy Vining’s parents were John and Peggy (later known as Be Be).

March 1949

Early Signs of Spring [Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 – 1976: Episode 9 — March and April 1949

Andy Vining shares his mother’s diaries in his new podcast. Listen to these beautiful stories on Spotify.

Andy Vining’s parents were John and Peggy (later known as Be Be).

Podcast Opening Introduction – January 1949

Welcome back to My Mother’s Diaries. Episode 8, January 1949

We begin a brand-new year now — January 1949 — a time when winter still grips the countryside, but the promise of a fresh year lies ahead.

There is always a sense of quiet optimism at the start of a new year… new plans, small hopes, and the simple rhythm of family and farm life continuing day by day. [Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 – 1976: Episode 8 — January and February 1949

Image My Mother’s Diaries by Andy Vining 2026

Andy Vining shares his mother’s diaries in his new podcast. Listen to these beautiful stories on Spotify.

Andy Vining’s parents were John and Peggy (later known as Be Be).

November 1948 

November opened in foul weather — rain sweeping across the fields from morning to night — and the children home for half term filled the house with noise despite the gloom.

I went into Winchester for new shoes while John attended Lodge, and there was uneasy talk of foot and mouth in Salisbury — never pleasant news when one keeps cattle. 

There were brighter interludes. I went dancing at The Richie Hall, though the gramophone misbehaved and caused some disruption.  [Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 – 1976: Episode 7 — November and December 1948

Image My Mother’s Diaries by Andy Vining 2026

Andy Vining shares his mother’s diaries in his new podcast. Listen to these beautiful stories on Spotify.

Andy Vining’s parents were John and Peggy (later known as Be Be).

September 1948

September opened with the Romsey Show. Betty and I set off early on the first, taking our lunch with us, and met John later among the livestock and produce stands. It was a jolly good show. There is something about the Show — polished cattle, prize vegetables, farmers inspecting each other’s stock — that feels like the summing up of a year’s labour. John still went to football that evening, never missing if he can help it. [Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 -1976: Episode 6 — September and October 1948

Image My Mother’s Diaries by Andy Vining 2026

Andy Vining shares his mother’s diaries in his new podcast. Listen to these beautiful stories on Spotify.

Andy Vining’s parents were John and Peggy (later known as Be Be).

July 1948

July began unsettled, though full of movement as always. John went off to cricket on the first, while I went to Mrs St Johns for some dancing lessons for the children.

Jane and Margaret came to tea later, and I tried to do a little gardening, though the midges drove me indoors before long.

Jennifer was quite beside herself begging for a ride on Lister’s pony, who had been brought over to the farm again and so she had a ride. She was really happy.

On the 2nd July John was busy cutting vetches with the big Mower. the great green swathes falling in neat rows.

I went to tea at Beechcroft and washed Janet’s hair, I do hope we get the water laid in soon.

Ann Lister brought the pony right onto the back lawn — much excitement. Mrs Manning took John and I to look at bees going into the hive, and I was stung for my trouble. One forgets how sharp it feels.

The third brought a fine success — thirteen bantams hatched out from the eggs I thought might have been spoilt last month. A good strong number, and always satisfying to lift the broody hen gently and count them.

[Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 -1976: Episode 5 — July and August 1948

Image My Mother’s Diaries by Andy Vining 2026

Andy Vining shares his mother’s diaries in his new podcast. Listen to these beautiful stories on Spotify.

Andy Vining’s parents were John and Peggy (later known as Be Be).

May 1948

May began with the yard still lively from the puppies. All had been sold, though we kept Jesse, Ruffles and Mr Leggs for another week or two before they too would leave. There is always a bustle when pups are about — feeding bowls, straw, sharp little claws on stone — and though one is glad when good homes are found, the yard seems strangely empty once they go.

Margaret Haskell stayed the first night of the month, and there were callers — Marge and Doug, Norah and her family. Bet and Fred had secured their job at last, which was heartening news.

John turned his attention to the front lawn, turfing a worn patch that had suffered through the winter. He went over to Norman Cooper’s in Hursley while I wrote letters indoors and telephoned the Sinclairs, inviting them for Whitsun. There is always something to plan ahead for.

On the Monday we went into Winchester. A calf was taken to market — never an easy sight, watching it loaded and driven away, though such comings and goings are the rhythm of farming life. The heifers were turned into the Sanitorium field, where the grass was coming on steadily. They took to it well enough, heads down almost at once, testing the new pasture. The land was improving with the season. Rain fell in the night, which would freshen the grazing and help the vegetable rows along.

[Read more…] about Andy Vining’s Podcast: My Mother’s Diaries 1948 -1976: Episode 4 — May 1948