Missing Month
Author: The Boy Tom
I hope a lot on ya were able tʼdraw along tʼthe village Church durin the Heritage week-end. That were a right good du. The Missus und I were about there most oʼthe two days as we were aʼhelpin. That were good tʼsee folks who hed moved away aʼcummin back tʼhev a look round. On the Saturday two on um went up the tower the hull the parachuting teddies orf. I climbed up the tower several years ago, that wernt sʼbad a goin up but a comin down were worser, that pulled suffin savige on mi leg muscles, durin the next week I hed a job tʼcrowd my old bike along, The Missus recon I looked as if I were a cyclin inta a hed wind all the time. I recon next time I want tʼget tʼthe top of the tower Iʼll use my old thachin ladder.
That were good tʼsee the Church full for the Harvest Thanks Givin on the Sunday and seein the littleʼuns du a little turn durin the service. The only thing I dint see in the Chuch were a sheaf oʼcorn anywhere.
Arter the service were over we all drawed acroos the rood tʼsee the new Village Sign and Hoss Plough unveiled and blessed by the vica. The sign were unveiled a lady who hev lived in the village more than three score years and ten. The old hoss plough were unveiled by the Page boys, John and Richard, whoʼs Granfa hed made the plough up at the foundry on the Norridge road. I hed a good look at the plough and I recon that hed done a bit oʼ wark durin the hundred years since that were made cos the old plough point were worn down und the wheels looked a bit thin.
They recon one man wi two hosses and a single furra plough would plough an acre a day and the man would walk Eleven miles a day. In them days farm warkers worked a six day week. I ha warked out that if the same man, arter ploughing, using two hosses tʼ harrow down the soil tʼmeake a seedbed, drilled the seed & harroed agin arter drillin I recon he would ha walked sum Seventeen miles for every acre drilled, und thas afor he rolled the growin crop agin in the Spring. Tʼday sum on um grumble if they ha ta walk down the garden.
Them old clocks will soon be aʼchangin so perhaps I hed better rig up a light so I can keep a drawin about the garden arter dark cos if I get indoors afor tea is ready the Missus will get me a doin something. Some on yar will remember me a tellin on ya last year about a company who sent the Missus six Christmas cataloges and how she rung them up and giv them a piece oʼher mind well…… so far this year they hev sent her four cataloges, Iʼll let yar know next time what happen if they sent har any more.
Fare ye well tʼgether and du yu keep a troshin.
Well by the time you cast your eyes over this swit Summer will ha slipped away an wi inta Autumn. That ha bin a rum year so far, first we hed no rain so they recon so we ha’a stop a usin hose pipes, then that rain s’hard und folk’s who make a livin from holiday makers were a’sayin they wernt a makin any money, at least that kept fine for all them Olympics and the farmers were able t’get the harvest in, cos they can du it a lot quicker with them big old combines than we could with an old binder.
Do you now, they were a writin in the EDP the t’other day about a new combine they were a trying in the county whot could cut 20 acres wheat an hour. The fust combine I driv in the early 1960’s were an old Massey with a 8ft 6in cut, we could never cut enough t’finish any field the same day as we started in it, The farm were about 150 acres in 18 fields. When the master changed the Massey for a 12ft cut Claas we were suffin pleased cos we could cut a whole field in one day. The Master sent two on us on a course to learn how t’drive the new combine, that must ha bin a good course cos I cen still remember sum o’the things thay told us. The Claas hed a alarm on it that told yu if the straw got bunged up in the back, if the straw got bunged up that pressed agen a button that blew a thing like a car hooter, the trouble was the old combine were a makin so much noise yu never heard it. Wi them early combines we hatta ajust everything by hand and yu were a’warkin in the muck all the time cos there were no cabs, cuttin wheat were the wust , when yu finished cuttin yu looked as if yu had stuck yar head up a chimminy.
Cos I were away for the Norfolk Show and the Wayland were cancelled I hed a day at the Aylsham Show at the end of August. There were a rare crowd of folk there. I were a’helpin on the Rare Breed stand and wi the young handlers competition, thas a bin runnin all summer at different shows. The young handlers show sheep at these shows & get marks accordin t’how the judge place them. The younguns sho other folks sheep and the Judges are a’judgin how they handle the sheep. At the Aylsham the marks are added up and the winners get a cup. Thas good t’see the younguns a havin a go and there are several on um. They also hev young handlers competitions wi cattle an all. Thas good t’see the younguns havin a go cos us olduns wont be around f’ever. When yu are a gettin on yu get t’thinkin how much yu know about handlin livestock that yu cant earn outa a book.
Them old evenins are a drawin in so I hatta scrap round t’get all I want t’du afor I draw inside for m’tea. I ha got m’self a little trailer t’go behind the car so I can carry things about w’out havin t’crowd them inta the car. That’ll stop the Missus a mobbin me cause I am a messin up the inside o’the car. The fust thing I will be a’usin the trailer for is t’clear sum stuff outa the garage so I can store the trailer inside.
Fare yu well t’gether and du yu keep a’troshin
Well old mother nature is playing on us up agin, fust we get a day or two dry then she start a sendin tempists in the arternoon. The farmers ha mead a start on harvest but when I am a writin this (early August) the weather ha made them put brakes on, stiil, as my old father used t’say – ‘there’ll allus be a seed time & harvest… und du yu know….. he was allus right.
The old weather put pay t’the Wayland Show this year. I arnt a goin t’say whose right and whose wrong about a cancellin it but thas a rear shame for all them folks who hed got livestock ready and all them folks who were a lookin forward to a day out. Next year will be the 140th year since that started. I remember m’father a coming to it in the 1950s a showin cows. One year he cum with a red and white Friesian cow und when he went inta the judging ring with her the judge asked him if he were in the right class.. he (the judge) thought m’Father should ha bin in the next door ring with the Ayrshires.
One show what hed a good day were the Sandringham Flower show. That were suffun hot there and there were a rare crowd o’folks a jammin around a havin a look. The Missus & I were there a helpin with the Heavy Horses. They were a givin a display in the ring. I were doin the talkin on the Public Address so folks knew what they were a lookin at. The Missus were a helpin on the Heavy Horse stand a sellin things.. she’s good at that cos she were in selling afor we got married, she recon folk like a bargin when they see one…I reccon she thought I were a bargin when we got married…….though I dussent ask har.
Afor we got goin we hatta line up wi the hosses when Charlie boy and his Missus cum a riding past in they carriage, the Missus were suffin pleased cos the Duchess said good marnin to her as she went a ridin past.
One thing the Missus did notice were that nearly all the folks there were about retiring age, we got a talkin about that and she recon that if yu are under sixty five you wont remember hosses a warkin on farms, she’s rite yu know cos I’m sixty seven and I only used hosses when I were a boy, I don’t get s’meny old boys acomin up t’me now a sayin “I remember when I were a usin Heavy Hosses” as I did twenty year a’go.
I were a readin t’other day that that the average age o’farm warkers is a goin up and over the next ten years 60,000 younguns will be wanted to start a warkin on farms t’replace them as they retire. Thas 6000 a year and folks are a wonderin where they are a comin from . I ha said afor that I ha got a little job a testin folks on tractor drivin arter they ha bin a trainin at Easton College, outa them folks who I test very few on um are a goin t’wark on farms, they are a goin t’be mechanics, go inta horticulture or wark with ridin hosses. I know farmin is long hours but that int such hard work as it was when I started cos everything is lifted for yu mechanicaly, Yu ha got t’get the younguns interested, I wonder how many school job advisors know anything about farmin?.
By the time yu read this the Olympics will be over. I ha bin a’watchin them cyclists, my heart they crowd their old bikes along, the Missus recon I could learn a few lessons from them, I say t’her I’d never git on my old bike on me own if I hed the saddle set that high. Still they are a doin well, less hope that get some of the younguns out a doin some sport instead o’sittin in doors a’playin with their phones or computors.
They tell me there’s agoin t’be a big week-end in the village at the end September when there are goin t’be a showin the old village maps and Bibles in the church and they are a goin t’unveil the new Village Sign and the Hunton Hoss Plough and hev the Harvest Festival in the Church. The Missu and I will be a’drawin along t’that. Lets hope that,by then, “All is Safely Gathered In”.
Fare ye well t’gether and du yu keep a’troshin.
I told yar that would happen, all the rain we have bin a havin mean they recon we can use hose pipes agin, old mother nature nearly allus put things right, the trouble is that don’t allus fit in wi what you want t‘du on the land. That’ll make them old beet grow but that aint any good if yu want t’be a meakin hay.
The Missus and I have bin over the water a’gin with our caravan. We went a rare long way this time, that took us 3 days t’get there, we drawd along travelling more than a few miles a day, I ha’a du the drivin cos the Missus dont like a drivin with the old caravan yoked up behind, that don’t worry me cos I ha bin towing trailers about for ni on fifty five years. The only thing yu ha’a get used to is drivin on the wrong side o’the rud, on the main roads thas alright but on the side roads where there arnt no markins yu can make a mistake, I did once this time over there until the Missus hollered at me t’get on t’the tuther side. While I am a’drivin the Missus du the map readin, we ha got one o’them sat.nav. things but I tun that orf cos thas bad enough a’havin one woman a’tellin yu what t’du, I dont want two on um a tellin me what t’du while I’m a drivin.
That were suffin hot while we were over there, up to 35C, thas about 100F for those on yar who hant converted yet. The farmers were busy a meakin hay, they use the same sorta kit as yu see on farms over here, but sum o’the fields they were a workin in I would have a’job t’walk up cos they were so steep but they were a drivin their tractors about as if the fields were flat. They recon there were a lot o’sheep where we were but I never see none of’um, I recon they must keep them inside.
At one o’the places we stopped for few days there were Vultures a nestin nearby, the locals told us they only fed on dead meat but t’be on the safe side I told the Missus if she were a sittin outside the caravan not t’go t’sleep.
We went and had a look at a garden where there were over 150,000 boxwood shapes, there were only four gardeners who ha’a cut all on um a couple’o’times a year and they were a’doin on it w’hand shears cos they recon if they used electric ones that bruise the leaves, my hart they had a job on, I see um a cuttin a hedge, they were doin it properly by using a bit o’binder twine to keep the top level.
While we were over there I did see one combine a’goin, but I recon old mother nature will hatta change her tune a’for the corn will be fit t’cut here any time soon. Still that were fine for the Norfolk Show and the Village Fete, they recon both events were well supported. I hear there’s a new man in charge o’our Millennium Green and he is a gettin folks t’gether t’tricolate the place up a bit.
Mr Lambert ha gone from Carra Rud, we’ll ha’a see how the new man get, he seem to ha worked well with teams that hev birds as mascots, Magpies (Newcastle), less hope he can get on with Canaries. Afor they start a playin agin we ha got the Olympics in London, that’ll be a job a gettin about up there, I know sum folks ha got tickets t’go, good luck to um, I wont want t’go, I recon the best place t’see what happening will be on the TV.
Now I’m back from over the water there’s plenty t’du in the garden. The rain ha made everything grow, that include the weeds, my old Dad used t’say you ha’a keep the old hoe a goin so thas what I’ll be a doin and the old hedges want a trimmin back now the birds ha finished nestin, so these plenty t’keep me in the garden and out’a the house, all I want is a bit o’help from mother nature.
Fare ye well t’gether and du yu keep a’troshin.
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The Boy Tom – July 2012
By the time all on yer read this that’ll be getting near the old corn harvest agin. When the jubilee were a’goin on and they were all a’goin on about how things ha changed in the last 60 years I got a thinkin how farmin ha changed. Well back then in 1952 there were a lot o’hosses still bein used, farms and fields were smaller and there were a’lot more on us a warkin on the land cos everything were done by hand. That were durin the sixties and seventies that things started a changing, farms and fields got bigger and so did the machines we were a usin, the big difference were that then nearly all the farm machinery yu used was made at the local blacksmiths or in this country, now we make nothin, everything cum in from abroad.
When there were a lot more cattle kept this were the time o’year when yu were a’makin hay or silage. T’make hay yu wanted a weeks fine weather, the grass were cut and left a laying until the sun had dried the top of the swath, then yu turned the grass so the other side o’the swath could dry, before balers cum along, when the grass were dry the hay was carted and stacked loose, this were a’skilled job as dry grass is slippery which make it a job t’stack. Later when hay were baled, before it was really dry that would heat up and sum times the old stack would fly a’fire.
Arter trying t’make good hay f’years in the early 1950s farmers started a’makin silage cos they reccon that were easier. The grass were cut and then carted green onta a’great old wedge shaped heap where yu ha’ta spread it out with a hand fork, that were suffin hard wark cos the old grass were long and heavy. Once yu ha got the grass level the heap were rolled by drivin a tractor over it t’get rid o’the air, arter that yu ha’a use a watering can t’spread molasses over the grass, this sorta kept it sweet while it were a turnin inta silage. When all the grass were on the heap that were covered with soil t’keep the air out. Later instead o’covering the heap w’soil yu ha’a drag a poly sheet over and use old tyres t’keep it down. I used t’like the smell of silage when yu were a feeding it in the winter but the smell sorta hang to yu and the Missus dint like it so I ha’a leave my wark clothes in the shud a’for I could cum indoors, that were just the same when I were a muckin out the pigs.
Another job they are a’doin on sum farms this time o’year is a shearin the sheep. Thas a back breakin job, I allus reccon you wanta be low t’the ground and have arms like a monkey t’be a good shearer. I could shear sheep but my shearing days are over, my old back would soon go and the sheep would look like they do on that TV advert for spectacles, them old sheep allus used t’look a lot more comfortable arter they had been sheared and that stopped them a gettin that old fly strike, thas where blow flies lay they eggs in the sheeps fleece and when they hatch out the maggots start a eatin inta the sheep.
I told onya sum time ago that I were a goin t’make a wooden trough t’grow my old strawberries in, well bor y’orta see um, thas the best crop I ha’had f’years. I tried a’growin sum spuds in bags this year……that seem t’be a warkin an all. Thas still a job a draggin round the gardin wth a waterin can, at least the rain we are a havin ha kept my old water butts full, Arter the rain if the weather warm up yu ha’a keep an eye out for them old green fly on yar roses, I spray mine afor I see any greenfly cos by the time yu see um they ha bin upt’no good. Thas the same wi blight on yar spuds, yu got a keep an eye open for that, cos I ha seen what that can du to a right good field of spuds if yu dont keep on top on it.
Well thas all for now cos I ha gotta git tricolate the old caravan up for our trip over the water, I’ll tell yu how we get on next time I write.
Fare ye well t’gether and du yu keep a’troshin.
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The Boy Tom – June 2012
Well we’r nearly half way through another year, the time that is a’goin suffin quick agin. I am a writtin this while the Missus and I are away in our Caravan for a few days, we hant gone over the water this time. The camp site we booked wernt to good when we got there. For the money they wanted we were expectin suffin good, all we got were a meadow wi long grass and a load o’stingin nettles, I had a jam round t’see what the other things were like- and they wernt a lot better. There he’bin a’lot o’rain and that made it job a’gettin the car and caravan on the field and a’gettin orf agin. we stayed the two nights we had a’paid for and then we moved to a better site f’less money.
That’l soon be time for the old Norfolk Show agin, I ha been a up t’the show ground twice already this year a’helpin on the Rare Breed Stand. The fust were afor Easter when there were a Vintage Tractor and Hoss week-end. There were a lot a’makes o’vintage tractors there, the trouble was when I went round a’lookin at them old tractors I recon I hed driven half on um and nearly all on um.
The other du at the showground wus just arter Easter, that were the Spring Fling when children cum and see how their grub is produced, they could hev a’go at milkin a cow, spinnin wool and holdin a day old chick. Thas a right good day, this year I were a’showin on um a sheep’s fleece and a lettin on um take a little bit home with um.
They recon them old sugar beet plants should be a meetin in the row by the Suffolk Show,(beginin June) and meetin acrors the rows by the Norfolk Show(end June). Them old beet will ha’a grow suffin if they are get there by either show this year. We hev had the rain now all we want are sum warm weather. I remember a’horse hoeing beet with m’father on a warm day– the old Sky Larks were a singin and Father recon you could hear them old beet a’growin. When I were agoin t’get m’peaper t’other day I herd an old Sky Lark a’singin, du u now, thas the fust one I hev herd for a year or two. when the Missus and I were out for a drive the other day, when on the tuther side o’Watton we see a Red Squirrel run acrors the rode infront on us. When we got home I rung up them wildlife people and told them about it cors yu dont see to meny on um in Norfolk.
Last time I writ the Missus wernt to good, She’s back in harness now so I hev been able t’get out inta the garden, thas a job this year cos old mother nature keep blowin hot then cold so thas a job t’know when t’put yar tender plants out. That dont du them any good a keep a’takin them in and out o’the green house, I ha decided t’keep them in and ha made up a door frame with that green netting on so I can put that up in the open door t’let the air in and any vermin out. I ha got sum shrubs in the garden that dint stop growing much durin the winter so tha’ll want a lot o’feedin in the summer t’keep them a’goin. The rain we ha bin a havin ha kept my old water butts full so I’ll hev enough water t’keep agoin in the garden for a while.
A’time yu are a readin this them Jubilee celebrations will be a’goin on. I here there’s a’goin to be suffin on the Millennium Green for us all t’draw along to celebrate har Magesty’s Sixty years on the throne I can remember her a bein crowned. We hed a du in the village where we lived, cos thar were a wet day that hat’a be moved inta a farmer’s barn. There were a fancy dress competition for us children. Our mother spent ages a makin our costumes, me brother went as a drummer boy and I went as Sir Walter Ralegh, we din’t win but Mother was suffin savage cos the winners were the son and daughter of the farmer whose barn we were a usin. Sum folks recon we dont orter hev a Royel Family cos that cost to much, I recon we’r better orf wi them than sum president whot get changed every five years or so. Somebody say t’me once about the Queen, “That int the power she hold, thas the power she deny other folk”, I recon there’s a lot o’truth in that.
Fare ye well t’gether and du yu keep a’troshin
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The Boy Tom – May 2012
Missing Month
Well thas official, we are a’havin a drout. I recon those of us hu ha warked on the land or have a garden could ha told them that months a’go. Thas tu easy these days to just tun on the tap. If they want t’get folks a’saving water they orta tun off the taps and get folks t’start a’usin water from a well. When I were a growin up Father used t’draw two bucket full outa the well afor he went t’wark in the mornin, he draw another 2 bucket fulls when he cum home arter his dinner and another two when he cum home for his tea, and he ha’a go inta next door’s garden t’get it outa the well. When mother did the washin on a Monday he used t’fill the copper in the shud & light a fire under it afore he went t’work. We ha’a mind how we used the water cos that ha’a last til father cum home t draw some more cos the old well were suffin deep and Mother wunt able to turn the handle t’draw a full pail up a’gin.
Saturday were bath night so Father would fill the old copper agin and light a fire t’heat the water, when that were hot enough the old tin bath were put in front of fire and we all hed a bath in the same water, starting wi the youngust and finishin wi father. Our next door neighbours had their baths in the shud where the copper were I bet that were suffin cild in the winta. Arter we had all had a bath the dirty water got hulled out onta the garden to water the vegitables.
Cos the farmers want sum rain as well, a time you read this they will ha bin drillin them old sugar beet agin, I hear they hav done all right outa the 2011/12 crop, that’ll make up for what they lorst to the frost the year a’for. If farmers want t’keep moisture in the soil they ha gotta get humus mixed in, that were alright when most farms carried stock and they hed plenty of FYM (Farm Yard Manure) t’plough in. Now accors most farms dont have any stock on um, I recon that yu can drive from Carbrooke t’Norwich and not see any cattle or sheep out in the fields. Not puttin any FWM on the land make that hungry and that wunt hold moisture. I see one o’the farms in the village ha started cartin in pig muck t’use on their land. The land here about is right on the edge of the Brecks and have a lot’o sand it so that soon dry out, they used t’recon that sort’o land want a shower o’rain on it every day and a shower of FYM on it every other day only they dint say FYM but the wud they used is too rude t’use here.
Old Turnip Townsend knew what he were a doin all them years ago (about 1750) when he invented the Norfolk Four Course Rotation: Wheat, Beet (Turnips), Barley and Hay. (Grass). Sheep fed of the turnips and grass, the droppings they left behind were ploughed in and provided nutrients and humus for followin wheat and barley crops. They dint call sheep the “Golden Hoof” for nuthin.
My old water butts ha still got sum water in but I ha told the Missus that if we dont get n’rain I am a goin t’open up our old well in the garden and a start usin the water in there cos they might stop us a usin hose pipes in the garden, I am a lookin for one of them two wheeled water barras, they hold twenti five t’thirty galluns, that ul be easier than a jammin about wi a little old two gallun waterin can
Them old evenins are a’pullin out so I can get out inta the garden arter tea. In Norfolk we hev our food at different times t’the rest on um. Dinner time for us old Norfolk boys and is in the middle o’the day and we hev our tea in the evenin. If yu hev anythin t’eat or drink durin the arternoon thas called foursus.
Well I ha betta close now cos the Miissus ent to good at the moment and I’m doin a lot o fetchin and carryin for her till she get back inta harness agin.
Fare ye well t’gether and u yu keep a troshin
As I am a writin this (mid February) thas suffin cold outside, that got down’t minus 12 outside my old greenhouse last night, I dussant open the door t’have a look inside as that’l only let the heat out. We had sum cold old winters afor. I remember the fust year I started warkin arter I had bin to farming collage we had sum rum weather, I recon the freezin rain were the wust. The tractors we were a drivin had canvas cabs on with a glass windscreen, well, the rain that froz on the screen and the only way you see where yu were a’goin was to open the door and stick yar head out, yu cont do that f’long cos the rain holy stung yau face, still that were worsa for one o’the other tractor drivers I were a’warkin with, he were a wearing glasses so when he stuck his head outa the cab door t’see where he were a goin the rain fros on his glasses. That tractor driver, he were a master one for losing things, one year when he were a ploughin he lorst his leather Jerkin , (that were like a body warmer) he recon that must a’fallin orf the back o’the tractor and he ha plough’d in, du you know the next year when he were a ploughin the same field he ploughed it out agin it out a’gin……. and that were good enough for him still t’wear.
Yu ha’a put up w’the cold if yu ha’a drive a tractor w no cab on at all, thas how that was a’for they ha’a put safety cabs on tractors. Yu might have a canvas cab but they were drafty. I remember askin my Boss (in 1966) why he dint hev cabs on his tractors, he recon that yu shount be a warkin on the land when that were a’rainin so there wernt any need for cabs, he dint ha’a sit on the tractor when that were a blowin from the North Pole and all yu ha’a keep yu warm were an ex-army great coat: thas another one o’them ‘good old days”I dont want t’see back agin.
I hear that the Watton air field ha bin sold back t’local farms, they’ll hev a job a breakin up all that contrete and a’gettin rid on it, perhaps sum on it will be used when they start a buildin the new bit of the A11. One farm I were a warkin on in the 1960s had part of a old air field on it, when we started a ploughin on it we dragged up sum cables that still alive so when yu ploughed through um sparks were a comin orf the back o’the plough, we ha’a stop until somebody cum and turned orf the current.
I hope a lot on’yer took part in the bird watch at the end o’January, I did, well that meant I could sit down for an our t’do that with out the Missus a findin me a job cos I kept a’tellin har I were a concentratin on a countin the birds, I tried t’stretch the our out as long as I could an all. The trouble is w’this cold weather I cant get outside so the Missus keep a findin me inside jobs t’du……..the trouble is as fast as I knock the jobs orf t’list she keep a’’addin more on.
Fare ye well t’gether and du yu keep a’troshin.
A’time yu read this we’ll a’started another year. We’ll ha’a see whot old father time ha got in store for us this time round. We know we got a’celebrate her Majesteys Golden Jubilee, yu can say what yu like but I recon she ha done a good job, I know there are them whot are all for a’gettin rid of the royal family but I say du yu hold hard, that int the power she have… thas the power she stop others a’havin, we better of with har than sum president or dictator.
I recon sum on um are now a countin the cost o’Christmas, that seem that these days if the youguns keep a crazin their parents for suffin they get it.
When I were a’youngun my old dad used t’say t’me “what yu want and what yu get are two different things” .
I see thar a’gettin them selves in a muddle over the water with their money, thas all acors their ha bin a spendin money whot they hant got and they hant a’bin puttin anything in the mattriss for a rainy day.
The weather still cant makeup it’s mind what that want t’du, as I am a’writin this in early December thas got mild agin but they recon we a’goin t’get sum rare winds t’night and then thas a’goin t’tun cold agin.
The fust year I started wark we had a rare winter. That started t’get cold and we had sum sharp frosts up until Christmas and then on New Year’s Eve that started a snowin and by new year’s day that were a driftin. We dint get a bank holiday then so I ha’a travel t’work on my little old mota-bike and that were eight miles from where I were a livin to the farm, there were snow drifts every where but I got though where cars were a gettin stuck. They recon I looked a job when I got to work cos my old army great coat were a’covered in snow and sum snow had frose on m’ eyebrows. I recon the wust weather we had that winter wus freezin rain. The tractors we were drivin had canvas cabs on with a glass windscreen, well the rain frose on the screen and yu count see where yu were a goin so yu ha’a open the door and stick yar head out, yu count do that for long cos the rain holy stung yar face, still that were worsa for one of the other tractor drivers I were a warkin with, he were a wearin glasses so when he stuck his head outa the cab door t’see where he were a goin the rain frose on his glasses.
Cos if you had livestock t’look arter in the winter frost & snow made the job harder. Stock allus ha’a have fresh water so if the water troughs were frozen yu ha’a get the old blow torch t’thaw the pipes, if that dint wark yu ha’a cart water to the stock in milk churns Gettin food to um were hard wark, cuttin marrowstem kale was the wust, that grew t’over six foot tall and when yu bent down t’cut it orf at the base the snow on the leaves fell onta yar head and shoulders., yu ha’a be careful yu dint cut yar self when yu were a’doin this cos yar hands got s’cold yu wont ha felt it. If the weather were moderate that were good t’be in a loose box or barn with cattle as they made the place warm. When yu cleared the muck outa the bullock yard during the winter y’always left a foot or two of muck in the bottom of the yard so the cattle still had a warm bed t’lay on for the rest of the winter. The old cows warmed the cowshed up when yu got them in t’be milked although that wernt s’good if they slapped yu about the head with their cold mucky tails when yu got down to put the milking machines on.
There ent a lot yu can do in the garden this time o’year, just a bit o’tidying up and I ha’a make sure the missus’s tender plants in the greenhouse are alright. I ha’a keep an eye out for vermin cos moderate weather is when they draw inta buildings, they recon yar never more than six foot from a rat, the trouble is they arnt frightened on us and they recon these more o’them in the world than us.
While I carn’t get on outside the missus ha got a list o’things she want me t’du indoors………….. the trouble is as fast as I keep a knockin the jobs orf the top o’the list she keep a’adden others on the bottom……….I hope spring int to long a’comin so I can draw back inta the garden.
Fare ye well t’gether and du yu keep a’troshin.
Missing Month
I don’t now what I were a runnin on about last month a talkin about them clock’s a changin at the end o’ September instead of October, The Missus recon thas du with me age, I recon age han’t got nothin t’du with it, I recon thas t’du with the weather we a gettin. Yu used t be able t’tell the time o’year by the weather yu were a gettin. Arter harvest the sun started t’lose its heat, leaves started a droppin orf the trees & nights a’started t’draw in and y’new where yu were. Derin the last few years the summer weather hant bin nothin like that, this year we had hotter weather at the end o’ September than we had durin July an August, no wunder I were a’gettin in a muck wash about the clocks a changin.
That were a job in the early 1970’s when thay put the clocks back two hours in the autumn, thay recon that wus t’make it safer for chrilden a comin home from school. Thay din’t think about them what were a workin early in the morning a trough feedin cattle in the field, I used t’go inta the field with a bag o’feed and a little old torch, as soon a the cattle heard the nuts a rattlin inta the trough they cum a runnin, I could a hear um a’commin but I could’t see um until they were a’top on me, I never got knocked over but cum clus a time or two.
Acors this is the time for Guy Fawkes, I know I ha got that right cos I asked the Missus. Cos we lived on a farm when I were a boy we din’t ha’a build a bonfire, when they were a hedge trimmin on the farm arter harvest they used t’burn the trimmins as they went but Dad used t’save one lot for us to burn on November 5th. In them days fireworks were only sold in October, my brother & I were given five shillins each (25p) t’buy our fireworks. We would bike three miles inta North Walsham and buy our fireworks, what we bought used t’ fill a shoe box, the box were a biggun cos we both had size 9 or 10 feet even then. On November 5th Dad would get the bonfire a goin with sum waste oil or derv. and we und the other children who lived at the farm would let orf our fire works, we all had a good time and no body got hurt or were a botherin about health & safety.
By the time yu read this the Missus and I should ha bin away wi’ our caravan agin, not over the water this time but down t’the other side o’London. Thas a job a’gettin there cos yu ha’a drive on them motorways, yu ha’a keep yar eyes on the road all the time cos if yu start a farming over the hedge thas likely yu’ll soon end up over the hedge an all. While we away, if we get sum decent weather, the Missus and I want t’visit some gardens t’ see the Autumn colours & t’get some ideas we can use in our garden, I know we han’t got a big garden here in Carbrooke but in the big gardens where they a usin a hundred plants yu can use five or seven in yars. Yu got t’remember that a garden is a livin thing & that were here afor we come along and that’ll be here arter we’r gone.
There’s allus plenty t’do in the garden puttin it t’bed for the winter although as I were a’sayin earlier thas a job t’now when winter will be a startin. I got on by a sivin out the leaf mould I put inta a big bag last Autumn, that ha made inta sum lovely stuff. I am a fillin the big bag agin wi this years leaves, I collect um w’me mower cos that chew um up a bit and thas easier than usin a rake and barrow. I ha given the hedges a little trim & shredded up the trimmins for mi compost heap & cleared the green house out ready the stow away the Missus tender shrubs, Durin the summer I allus try and take sum cuttins orf these in case some on um don’t make it through t’next spring.
The Missus were suffin savige t’other day, she buy her Christmas cards from one of them charities and so far they ,since August, ha sent har six Christmas cataloges, she ha rung them up and ha give them a piece o’her mind. They recon thay are a doin it so she don’t miss out on any new items. I’m suffin glad the Missus din’t get me out of a cataloge cos if she had she might a found a better model when a new cataloge come along .
Fare ye well t’gether and du yu keep a troshin
By the time you read this the clocks will ha’ bin put back & that’ll be to dark to get out inta the old garden arter tea.
Duin September another day whot mean a lot t’farmers will ha’bin an gon, thas Michaelmas day.
This is the day is when farms changed hands, Harvest ha finished & most o’the land will be a lain falla so the new owner or tennent can take over & sow the next crops. When there were a lot o’smaller farms in the county that meant that arter harvest & afor Michaelmas day there were a’lot of farm sales when the live an dead stock(machinery) were sold orf. I used t’like a drawin along t’a farm auction, besides buyin suffin you met other farmers & werkers for a mardle, there used t’be a beer tent at most auctions, acors as farms ha got bigger there arn’t so not s’meny t’change hands now so there arn’t so meny auctions t’go to.
We’r lucky cos there’s an auction every week up at Watton sale yard, I draw up there most weeks t’have a look, If yer a lookin for suffin arter a while that ull tun up, I’m a lookin for suffin at the moment, I arn’t a goin t’tell you what that is,cos if I du, when that do tun up yu might be there & bid agin me.
They keep a sayin that we ha gotta recycle things more, well I recon farmers ha bin a’doin that f’years cos farm sales are a way of recyclin stuff, I remember on one farm I were a werkin on our master took over another farm & when we were a trimmin back a big hedge we found a set of harras & a rib roll what had bin put in the hedge t’stop up a gap so the cattle dint get out, we dragged the harras & roll out of the hedge und got um t’the blacksmith who tricolated them up so we could use um again on the land, now that were 45 year a’go so recyclin ent nothin new.
Durin the harvest they ha bin a cartin a lot of straw through the village, with them big bales that don’t take long t’clear a field. That used t’take a lot longer when we were a usin them little old bales, before there were machines hung on the back of balers t’drop the bales out in groups balin were a 2 man job. There were a man a drivin the tractor a pullin the baler & another bein towed on a sledge behind where the bales cum out. When I were a younun this were a job I used t’do. The sledge were several long planks o’wood bolted t’a head stock that were attached t’the baler by a chain. You ha’a stand on these planks & as the bales cum orf the back o’the baler you stacked them up & when they were 4 or 5 high you stuck a iron bar inta the ground between the planks & pushed the bales orf, you ha’a try & get the stacks o’bales in a’line acroos the field cos this made it easier when the men cum to load them onta trailers. That were a dusty old job a standin on the old sledge a tryin t’keep yar balance & movin the bales about with-out a fallin orf, acors Health & Safety wont allow that t’happin now.
Thas a good job the H & S men wern’t about when my father boss built a bale sledge t’go behind the combine. When combines fust cum about you could have a straw buncher on the back, as the threshed straw cum orf the back o’the combine that tied it inta bunches, rather than hev the bunches layin about all over the field Dad’s boss built a sledge to be towed behind the combine so a man could stack 50 -60 these bunches on the sledge, when yu ha got a full load instead of usin a metal pole t’push the bunches orf the sledge you ha’a pull a lever & the floor behind where you were a standin tipped up like a cart & the bunches slid orf & then swung back inta place so you could start a stakin the bunches again, now that were a filthy job cos you got all the dust, chaff & coulder that the combine were a chuckin out, that wernt s’bad if there were a cross wind a blowin. You ha’a look out cos if the front end of the combine got blocked cos the driver would stop & reverse the combine t’clear the blockage, you ha’a jump outa the way or the combinw would ha driv over yu.
Well I ha better be a gettin outside cos there are one or two jobs I ha got t’get dun before the old weather stop me. I like t’try & keep outside cos I can allus find suffin t’do, if that tun wet I draw inta my shud or the greenhouse cos I am a already thinkin about what I am agin t’plant next year. My old strawberries dint do to sharp this year so I am a goin t’build m’self a wooden trough on legs. I’m a goin t’fill this wi sum soil & compost & plant me strawberries in that and put um somewhere where they’l get more sun. Bein orf the ground ull make picken on um easier un all. I arnt a goin t’tell the Missus I am a goin t’build it cos she recon now I hant got any more room. I keep a tellin her there’s plenty o’room upwards.
Fare ye well t’gether & du you keep a troshin.