Ted Smith

When I met Ted Smith he was the gamekeeper on a shoot just west of Dorchester. Having been posted to Dorchester prison, and moved to Dorset, I began getting involved in the sort of things which I have followed throughout my life. So it was that having be out with the local hunt, The Blackmoor Vale, I met a chap whose mother, it turned out, worked in the prison administration department. As a result of meeting her son we would often chat about matters of a rural nature and one day, as we approached the winter, she asked me if I was interested in doing a bit of beating. I said I was and shortly afterwards was invited to go and meet the keeper for my vetting. Having been advised the said keeper was a, "crusty old sod" and could be quite rude. Well I turned up at the keepers house and was greeted by Ted. He was a very big man, probably around six feet tall and built like the proverbial brick toilet. To cut a long story short I passed the once over and was invited to join his team of beaters for the forthcoming season. Especially, it appeared as I had a terrier.

Ted was an all-round countryman having worked in hunt service as a terrier man,worked on the farm and, of course, become a gamekeeper. He was a very good keeper, always presenting a good head of pheasants and ensuring they flew high over the guns. The shoot upon which Ted worked was rented from the landowner and run by one Henry Tailor-Newton. ( Name changed as he is probably still around ). It seemed that shooting was by invitation and those that attended were all Henry’s friends. For Henry the winter was spent shooting as the system that he was a part of was built upon invitations, those whom invited friends to shoot would receive invitations in return. Each week throughout the season was, therefore, spent all around the area shooting. Nice work if you can get it. Clearly these people were very well healed as, work as most of us know it, was abandoned for several months whilst they pursued their sport. Ted on the other hand, worked from dawn until dusk for most of the year to ensure his birds provided the highest quality shooting for his employer. He was assisted by his daughter, Jill, who acted as under keeper. Jill had a passion for gun dogs and owned a significant kennel of Black Labradors. On a shoot day she would work three or four of them. During the non- shooting months of the year she was an enthusiastic gun dog trialer, a pursuit at which she did very well.

Teds team of beaters was, as these groups tend to be, diverse. Old, young, friendly, standoffish,townies and both male and female. The standoffish ones were those, whom for the most part, had been coming to beat for years this, it would appear, gave them a privileged position. New members of the group were expected to pay due respect to these dinosaurs and to take their instructions, because of course, they knew how things should be done !!

Many of the beaters brought dogs with them and these were as diverse as the owners themselves. Mostly of a mongrel type  but with the odd gundog breed. For the most part the standard of dog training amongst the beaters was not high. This was very obvious on a shoot day when the keeper could be heard shouting such things as …."Who’s ……ing dog is that ?". "What the bloody hell is that dog doing ?" and "for Christ’s sake keep your bloody dogs on the lead". 

Seldom were any of the dogs, brought along with the beaters, given praise and as a result of this my first few seasons with Ted were a little trying, to say the least. I, at the time, had a Border Terrier and, no doubt, as a result of Ted’s days as a hunt terrier man, he had a very soft spot for terriers. He would often say to me, "Let your little terrier off". Ted, for my terrier was also called Ted, would disappear into the scrub and took great delight in flushing birds all over the place. But, as can be imagined, this did not endear me to the rest of the group. Actually it was even worse when, keeper Ted began telling all and sundry, "that is what I call a dog, not one of these poncey dogs that’s afraid to get stuck into bushes". Although Ted worked a Labrador himself his pride and joy was Sadie his little white terrier. Know by the rest of us as silent and violent, Sadie wandered around and attack any pheasant foolish enough to hang around long enough for her to catch it. She never once yapped, always completing her murders in total silence, hence her nickname. It was quite usual to see Ted, at the end of a drive, with a handful of birds that had been nowhere near the guns! And, of course, "that is what he called a dog." It was the custom for Henry Tailor– Newton to come into the beaters hut at lunchtime to pay us and, apart from handing out the little buff pay packets, he would always take time to thank us for our efforts.Ted would take his lunch with the beaters and Henry would usually have some words of praise for Ted’s efforts, passed on from the guns. Having been told how brilliant, (for example ), the second drive had been and how delighted the guns were with it, Ted would reply in the negative. His usual response would be to tell Henry, "That it would have been if you had bloody well done it the way I wanted to". I don’t know why but Ted couldn’t seem to take praise. Henry would mutter something like, "Yes, well quite Ted", and leave him to get on with it. To his great credit I never once saw him lose his temper with Ted.

Ted, apart from being a good keeper, was also an accomplished gardener. He had a large plot opposite his house where he grew some amazing vegetables. He also kept a large number of chickens. I once took Ted with me to Hatherleigh market in Devon when he wanted to replenish his chicken numbers. It was one of the few days in the year he took off, he thoroughly enjoyed it but, unfortunately, kept telling everyone about it for months to follow. Nothing lasts for ever, and so it was with that shoot. A new farm manager was appointed and he had no interest,or liking for,shooting. There followed a couple of seasons during which the manager made life difficult for the shoot until, finally, Henry decided to give it up. By this time Ted was getting on and he retired. It is a great testimony to him that he was able to buy himself a house with several acres and, when I say buy, I mean he paid for it in cash, no mortgage. There he lived until his death several years later.

Edward Inchley (1)

Eddy, Ed to his friends, lived in the North Dorset village of Buckhorn Weston for all of his life save for the last months when he was resident in a care home in Sherborne. He had spent his time, for the most part, on various farms around the village and had a few gardening jobs around the local big houses. He was what could be described as a country man of the old kind. That is to say, he held those that lived in big houses and farmers in awe. Clearly he been brought up to know his place as they used to say. Ed lived in a cottage at the top of the village hill which, conveniently, was only a few hundred yards from the pub. Convenient, that is, on the way down but a major pain on the way back up. Especially so as Ed only had one lung. I don't know the history of this disability, but, one thing is for sure it did not deter Ed from his cigarettes which he continued to puff away at until he died. It would appear that Ed was no great traveller as local legend has it that he only left the village once to go to London. 

The story goes that he went there to see a lady. Be that as it may, the circumstances of his trip, no doubt, went a great way to ensure that he never bothered again to venture outside the village. On the fateful day Ed had arranged a lift to the local railway station at Gillingham, about five miles or so away. He had also arranged to be picked up at the station in the evening upon his return. The pub landlord being the designated taxi for the day. Ed got around locally by means of lifts granted by a wide range of people. However, on the day of the London trip local drinkers and the said landlord, began to become a bit uneasy when, as the evening passed, there was no call from Ed. Just the concern level was becoming a major worry, the telephone rang and a stranger on the other end imparted the good news that Ed was safe and well. The problem was, he was in Exeter. Having gone to sleep in the train Ed had slept his way through Gillingham and finally woke up in Exeter, which for him, might as well have been another planet. The long suffering landlord got out his car and drove to recover Ed from Exeter. This, of course, was a round trip of many miles and several hours. 

When we first moved to the village my daughters were the first members of the family to meet Ed, having visited the pub with friends, they inevitably encountered Ed in his seat at the corner of the bar. An ever present Ed was not one to hold back if he saw someone new in the pub. "Who be you and where do e live" would usually be followed by a potted history of all of the previous people that had lived in the house of the newcomer. In many cases he could also reveal the name of the builder that had built it. 

In any event, Ed subjected the girls to his usual enquiry and engaged them in conversation as was his wont. He especially liked girls, that is not to suggest that he was anything other than a perfect gentleman, but he just liked the female of the species and they, generally,liked him. Ed didn't change much he wore most things until they became so shabby that they were replaced by gifts from local people who "looked after him". His dress was, therefore, uncoordinated and at times rather odd, be that as it may, he always had a large collection of badges pinned to both lapels of his jacket and for good measure a few on his hat of the day. 

Having met Ed the girls duly reported back and presented the news that Ed was an egg seller. I assumed this meant he was a local poultry farmer and as such supplied local businesses with his eggs. Well, not quite, Ed did keep a few hens and he did supply some of their eggs to the pub. In fact he had a mutually acceptable arrangement with the landlord which worked upon the basis of a few pints in return for a certain number of eggs. Ed's eggs were good, he fed his birds on a great mixture of mash, bread, (which he got free from a local bakery when passed its sell by date ),and vegetables which all went to ensure a good coloured and flavoured yolk. Trust me, the feeding of laying hens does have a significant impact upon the quality of the eggs they produce. So, when Ed discovered that I also kept poultry I became the target of his attention whenever I entered the pub. There was no getting away from him, Ed would shout right across the building to get ones attention and he would not be put off. It was, therefore, much better to attend upon him on entry and then make your excuses.It wasn't that I didn't like talking to him, it was just that the conversations tended to be the same on each occasion and, inevitably involved providing the beer during the talks! 

Over the years I provided Ed with birds various, when he learned that I had some ducks he casually told me one evening he had always fancied keeping a few ducks. This was his particular code for, "Can you give me a few ducks?", which, of course, is exactly what happened. There was no question of not doing so as Ed would bring up the matter of him getting a few ducks every time he encountered me and it was easier to concede and provide the said few ducks. On another occasion Ed had learned, through another customer in the pub that I had purchased some more hens from a local poultry farm. Of course, it was just at the time when Ed himself, "could do with a few more birds!" 

The birds I had obtained had been purchased from a huge local egg producer and the hens had lived their lives in vast aircraft-hanger like buildings in horrible conditions at the rate of three to a cage. After the end of the first years laying cycle the hens were cleared out and sent for pie making etc. It was at this point that hens could be purchased for a few shillings each. However,there was a bit of a down side to doing this as the birds in question were almost naked. Having lived in an environmentally controlled system they had little need for feathers. What happened after leaving this regime was usually predictable and, to a large part,depended upon the weather. If it happened to be summer and warm the feather growing process was slower and gradual, if on the other hand, it was winter and cold the birds would go off lay and produce feathers with every grain of food they consumed. The shock of the cold could also result in a few losses. 

What all this means is a situation where one is feeding a large number of hens which are eating for England and producing no eggs in return. This process of readjustment can take a couple of months. Having learned, over a period of several weeks, how desperate Ed was becoming for a "few more birds", I carefully explained to him where the birds came from and the obvious disadvantages of having some as egg production for him could be many weeks ahead. He, would, I explained, get a few eggs to start with followed by a complete slump until the hens had got used to their new life. This was, he assured me,no impediment to him obtaining the much needed and desired few extra birds. 

When asked to quantify the few extra he referred to I was expecting to be asked for four or five, perhaps half a dozen. I was therefore, a little taken aback when I was told a couple of dozen would do nicely. It should, dear reader, be understood that coin of the realm never featured in Ed's calculations, there was a tacit expectation that the birds would be collected, delivered at a convenient time, (when Ed was not at the pub), and payment would not be discussed. On a good day, having delivered the birds, one might be promised a pint on Ed when next attending the pub. This was one of the few things that Ed's memory let him down on, I don't ever remember being harassed by Ed to take advantage of this grand offer every time I encountered him! The hens requested I delivered and again made sure Ed was aware of the process of adjustment which would surely follow, and indeed, the chance of an odd loss in the process. 

I didn't see Ed for a couple of weeks after this event, not having been to the pub. Upon my next visit I received Ed's summons to attend him, hardly before I had made it through the pub door. As I approached his seat of office he announced to the whole establishment , ‘'they birds I bought off you ent no good, one of em as died and tothers ent layin''. Every head in the place turned and all eyes were on me.I hate to think what thoughts were going through the minds of those watching. Needless to say I was not a happy chap. Having put Ed firmly in his place, and made it generally known that no money had changed hands I did receive, what for Ed, was something of an apology. "'Oh a I forgot that"' Still we poultry keepers must stick together and Ed and I remained mates. More next month.

The Whjite Rabbit

After moving to Dorset and settling in to our new home we began, as you do, to get to know our fellow villagers. Our garden backed on to farm land and it wasn't long before I met the farmer whom owned the land. A quiet, pleasant man, John was a thoroughly decent sort. As far as I am aware he had been in farming all his life, his parents before him also farmed. Coincidentally John had grown up in the village which we were later to move to and in which we now live.

However, as a result of requesting John's permission to do a bit of ferreting upon his land, which he granted, we became good friends and I often went along and helped him out with bits and pieces on the farm throughout the years. John had a son, Tim, who was also quite keen on shooting and similar things to myself and I was soon to be allowed to shoot on the farm as well as the ferreting. Overall, the farm had a quite large, and for the most part, healthy rabbit population. So much so that the rabbits did a fair amount of damage to the corn and other crops which John grew. Rabbiting was, therefore, greatly welcomed and the more we could impact upon their population the better. 

In addition to ferreting and shooting, I would often spend an evening out in the fields with my lurcher, Toby, lamping. Toby was a master at the game he loved being out and was adept at catching the bolting bunnies with or without the aid of the lamp. Working a dog in the dark on a windy night is a very humbling experience, it demonstrates, without doubt, how greatly superior the dogs hearing, sight and sense of smell are over our own. How many times did I say to Toby, "get on there's nothing there", only to be proved completely wrong when a squatting rabbit leapt up before us and made its bid for freedom. He seldom missed his target. Although great sport, lamping is not the most efficient method of rabbit control. Obviously, a dog can only perform at great speed and on maximum energy for a limited period of time, so, the number of rabbits caught are restricted by these factors. I took the view that half a dozen good runs was enough for an evening although Toby would have kept going until he was worn out.

In addition to my efforts to help with John's rabbit problem, Tim would organise shooting evenings during the winter months. There would usually be five people involved in the team. We shot from the back of a Land Rover which had a box like structure built into it to support three guns. One shooting ahead and the other two to the left and the right. Inside the cab would be the driver and his mate who controlled the lamp and did the picking up. The vehicle would be driven around the fields and rabbits shot as they became visible. This method would account for several dozen in a period of two or three hours. We kept the time limit down to that sort of level, and the finishing time to ten o'clock in order to avoid complaints of noise, and or, nuisance. Not withstanding our attempts to keep on the right side of the village residents we did get the odd complaint.On one occasion a woman wrote a heart rending piece to the local newspaper complaining about the barbarity of the farmer and the rabbit slayers whom she saw as despicable murderers. Clearly, the good lady had no idea of farming economics or the need to control the hundreds of mouths that were, literally, eating into Johns income. John replied to letter in question and suggested the problem could be solved amicably. He would undertake to catch, in nets, as many rabbits as he possibly could and would deliver them all alive and well to the garden of the complainant. Needless to say we heard no more of the matter. 

On one occasion there appeared in the fields, with the general rabbit population, a white rabbit. Over the years, periodically, black specimens had appeared but never before a white one. Clearly visible on the banks of the fields beside the single track road into the village, the white rabbit quickly became something of a celebrity amongst mums and their children on their way to and from school etc. Each day little groups could be seen looking for the white rabbit. When, once again, we began our rabbit shooting trips during the winter months Tim took the opportunity, during his pre-shoot briefing, to make it clear the white rabbit was not to be shot. He knew if the white rabbit had disappeared on the morning after a shoot he and his father would get the blame. He wanted to avoid that at all costs. Things went well for a number of shoots and, as before, each time we were forbidden from shooting the white bunny. One of the regular chaps that made up the shooting team was the son of a nearby poultry farmer. We are not talking a few hens here, the enterprise was huge, hundreds of thousands of laying hens in massive aircraft like hangars. The chap in question, Ian, was, what could reasonably be called, a bit of a character. The life and soul of any group, Ian was always up for a laugh. When he wasn't devoting himself to getting nicked on one or other of his collection of high powered motorcycles, he was something of a joker.

So it was we found ourselves half way through a rabbit shooting session, and again having been warned regarding the white rabbit, that from his bag in the back of the truck, Ian produced a well frozen white rabbit.He chucked it off the back of the vehicle in order that it could not be seen from within the driver's cab and a few moments later he called to Tim, the driver, to circle round as we had missed a couple of squatting rabbits. As we turned back the lamp picked up the white rabbit,which appeared to be squatting in the grass, and all three guns in the back of the vehicle gave it both barrels. Well the response from within the cab was both immediate and unfriendly. The engine was turned off and Tim leapt from his seat calling us every kind of idiot he could think of. Words that can't possibly be repeated here. That was it, we were going home and the team of guns would never be invited to shoot again. All of that and what on earth would he tell his parents when the complaints started arriving? We in the back thought it highly amusing and our laughter served only to inflame Tim's displeasure. However, a few minutes later an apprehensive picker upper went to recover the white corpse. He bent down, picked up the white rabbit and exclaimed, "The bloody thing is frozen". Needless to say all concerned had a good laugh and Tim didn't seem to know if he should be more angry or not. In the event we carried on and the real white rabbit lived to a good age before disappearing during the summer months and, presumably, died of natural, causes. 

Kingsley Parish Council 24th March 7:30pm

Kingsley Parish Council meets on Thursday, 24th March 2016 in the Kingsley Centre at 7.30.

AGENDA

1. Chairman’s Opening Remarks
2. Apologies for Absence
The Clerk – Karine Nana Yonko
Cllr R. Coury

3. Declarations of Personal/Prejudicial Interest
4. Election of Vice Chairman
To consider the appointment of a vice-chairman for the Parish Council

5. Public Question Time
Public Questions
Consideration of agenda items which will be open to public participation

6. Approval of Minutes of the Meeting held on 25th February 2016
7. Matters Arising
8. Planning Applications
Applications ongoing:
Enforcement APP/M1710/W/15/3141363 Land at Forge Road, Sleaford, Bordon, Hampshire, GU35 9LL
TAG Farnborough Airport Air Space Change Proposal
Update from Cllr Lowe
SDNP/15/05743/LDE Pear Tree Barn, The Straits, Kingsley, GU35 9NT
Certificate of lawful development for existing use – The use of the building as B1C – vehicle servicing, classic car restoration. Storage, sales and distribution of vehicle parts, and manufacture of vehicle parts.
53404/003 The Wood Yard, Main Road, Kingsley, Bordon
Open fronted wood store
SDNP/16/00074/LDP 1 Orchard Cottages Oakhanger Road Bordon Hampshire GU35 9JP
Certificate of lawful development for proposed works - single storey rear extension
SDNP/16/00174/FUL Land South of Foxes Green Street East Worldham Bordon GU35 9NN
Change of use of agricultural land to provide 3 no. equestrian stables plus 1 no. tack room. New hardstanding and new vehicular entrance.
Chimney and use of industrial buildings, 4 Park Ironworks, near Churchfields, Kingsley

9. St Nicholas Cemetery & Cemetery Chapel
To receive an update from Cllr Rigden

10. Transport, Highways and Road Safety
To receive an update from Cllr Lowe for:
Main Road/Forge Road ballot
Lengthsman Scheme

11. Commons, Village Greens and Rights of Way
12. Community Resilience
To consider providing annual support of £275 + VAT (50% of annual cost) towards the ongoing maintenance of a generator at the Kingsley Centre plus a share of the fuel costs if it is switched on in a Parish emergency
To discuss the Kingsley Organisation request for increased annual contribution from Parish Council

13. Fest in the Field Event
To consider the application from FOBS for a grant of £1,200 to pay for the security at the Fest in the Field event in June 2016

14. Environment and Biodiversity
15. Kingsley Village Forum
16. Housing, Business & Commerce
17. Review of Capital Projects
18. Communications
The correspondence received this month was listed by the clerk and circulated to all councillors prior to the meeting.

19. District Councillor
20. Procedures, Finance and Payments
External Auditor
Changes to banking mandate and arrangements
Payments to be made & Accounts to accept
March 2016 Payments Schedule

23/03/2016 Karine Nana Yonko BACS Inv 0012/2015-16 clerk's March 2016 expenses 95.00
24/03/2016 Karine Nana Yonko BACS Clerk's March 2016 salary 385.00
24/03/2016 Open Spaces Society BACS Annual Subscription 45.00

Date of Next Meeting of Kingsley Parish Council -
Thursday 28th April 2016 – 7.30 pm at the Kingsley Centre

Kingsley Parish Council Thursday 28th

Kingsley Parish Council meets on Thursday, 28th January 2016 in the Kingsley Centre at 7.30.

AGENDA

1. Chairman’s Opening Remarks
Resignation of Councillor Pearson

2. Apologies for Absence
3. Declarations of Personal/Prejudicial Interest
4. Public Question Time
Public Questions
Consideration of agenda items which will be open to public participation
To consider funding requests for an extra classroom at Binsted School

5. Approval of Minutes of the Meeting held on 26th November 2015
6. Matters Arising

7. Planning Applications
Applications ongoing:

Enforcement APP/M1710/W/15/3141363 Land at Forge Road, Sleaford, Bordon, Hampshire, GU35 9LL

20050/023/5231 Unit 4, Park Iron Works, Kingsley
Change of use from B1 and B8 to B2 and B8 use (general industry) and the erection of extraction flues for a paint spray both within the unit

TAG Farnborough Airport Air Space Change Proposal

SDNP/15/05484/HOUS 1 Orchard Cottages Oakhanger Road Bordon Hampshire GU35 9JP
Two storey side extension following demolition of existing single storey side extension, and conversion of part of shed into garage with pitched roof over

24601/045 Country Market Osborne Farms, Main Road, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9LW
Replacement of poly-tunnel covered area and display with traditional barn shaped structure

22495/011 Burninghams, South Hay Lane, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9NW
Part two storey part single storey extension to rear following demolition of single storey rear extension, installation of sliding doors to games rooms

SDNP/15/05743/LDE Pear Tree Barn, The Straits, Kingsley, GU35 9NT
Certificate of lawful development for existing use – The use of the building as B1C – vehicle servicing, classic car restoration. Storage, sales and distribution of vehicle parts, and manufacture of vehicle parts.

New application:
52258/003 The Old Piggery, Main Road, Kingsley Alterations to external fenestration of two dwellings approved under 52258/002

8. St Nicholas Cemetery & Cemetery Chapel
9. Transport, Highways and Road Safety
Review the situation regarding the Main Road/Forge Road name change proposal

10. Commons, Village Greens and Rights of Way
To consider granting a wayleave for SSE to lay an underground cable across the eastern corner of Upper Green
To discuss the inspection of play equipment on Upper Green and the invitation from Selborne PC to attend a training event at a cost of £199
To consider a resolution to grant permission for vehicle and horse/donkey access along the Parish Council owned length of Footpath 6 from the corner of Rose Villa to the new gate into the land known as the paddock to the east of the footpath. This permission is for traffic in support of activities on the land associated with the new horse / donkey stables which have just been granted planning permission. The permission will be subject to the same conditions as given with the permission for access to the new builds a Greenbanks and Rose Folly

11. Community Resilience
12. Environment and Biodiversity
13. Kingsley Village Forum
The next village forum will be held on Wednesday 3rd February 2016 at the Kingsley Centre 6pm

14. Housing, Business & Commerce
To review progress on the development of affordable housing

15. Review of Capital Projects
16. Communications
The correspondence received this month was listed by the clerk and circulated to all councillors prior to the meeting.

17. District Councillor
18. Procedures, Finance and Payments
Changes to banking mandate and arrangements
External Auditor
Payments to be made & Accounts to accept

Payment Date	Payee	Payment Mode	Description	Amount
09/12/2015	Kinglsey Organisation	BACS	Annual donation	500.00
18/12/2015	Kingsley Organisation	BACS	Invoice no 12666 Room hire at Kingsley Centre for HARAH presentation	96.25
18/12/2015	Euroffice	BACS	Invoice no 2798070 stationery	67.28
18/12/2015	Karine Nana Yonko	BACS	Inv 0009/2015-16 clerk's December 2015 expenses	74.30
18/12/2015	Karine Nana Yonko	BACS	Clerk's December 2015 salary	385.00
11/01/2016	Southern Electric	DD	Church electricity bill period 26/09/15 to 22/12/15	19.68
27/01/2016	Karine Nana Yonko	BACS	Inv 0010/2015-16 clerk's January 2016 expenses	64.30
28/01/2016	Karine Nana Yonko	BACS	Clerk's January 2016 salary	317.80

Date of Next Meeting of Kingsley Parish Council -
Thursday 28th February 2016 – 7.30 pm at the Kingsley Centre

The Tandridge Mink Hounds

Having bought and moved into our first house, which was located on top of the North Surrey downs about Oxted I began to think of new challenges. Right on the Kent and Surrey border our first purchase was a flint and brick cottage, grade two listed and located right on top of Titsey Hill. What is it they say about location, location, location? Trust me that is so true. Our house was in a lovely rural position with some stunning views. It backed on to a large woods which still belonged to the Titsey Estate which had once owned our cottage. We had free access to the woods and lovely walks over and around the downs upon which our cottage was located. All this was positive, in addition, we were far away from our work in London but close enough to get in and out without much of a problem.

What we had not considered was the fact that we were living on the top of a very long steep hill with both a small pull-in and telephone kiosk outside of our side entrance. Never again ! Cars coming up the hill were in the habit of boiling up, breaking fan belts, running out of petrol and all manner of other vehicular disasters. Upon reaching the summit of the hill they seemed to regard my property as the local garage. We were knocked up at all hours of the day and night with requests for just about anything regarding car repairs on for giving the callers onward journeys to wherever. Upon being told that I was not a branch of the A.A or R.A.C. or, indeed a local garage, the callers would, for the most part, get quite stroppy. So, do not buy a house on top of a large hill with a road beside it.

One of the reasons I had been keen to buy this particular property was the fact that is was fairly isolated and would allow me to keep poultry and my pack of Jack Russell Terriers. At the time I was involved showing and working the terriers. These were hunt terrier shows not your Kennel Club type. Not having a lot of neighbours, together with the woodland around us was, I thought, ideal for my way of life.

It was around this time that mink hunting was becoming very popular and The Masters of Mink Hounds and Coypu Association had been formed. Later to remove the, and Coypu, part of their title when the Coypu had been eradicated. By, I hasten to add, Government request. Having been out with a pack of mink hunting several times in the West Country, I had taken quite a shine to it. I had a group of friends whom had a similar interest and bit by bit I formed the idea that I would like to put a pack of my own together. There are two main obstacles to so doing. The first being the registration of a suitable country over which to hunt, and the second, that of obtaining hounds. One has to join the relevant association in order to demonstrate that your pack will comply with responsible regulation and hunt within the rules etc. Registering country can only be done it you can find an unregistered area or if a friendly registered pack will loan or donate you an area. In our case there was a very large area of Kent and north Surrey which had not been registered so I registered that without too much bother. With regard to obtaining hounds, once again registration and membership of an approved hunting association is required, as it is forbidden for a hunt to dispose of hounds other than to another registered hunt. This is to ensure, as far as it is possible, that hound breeding lines are preserved and not corrupted.

This is where my previously mentioned, (last month’s edition of these notes ), friendship with Douglas Lesley came into play. I contacted Douglas, told him of my plans and asked if he had any idea where I might get hold of a few pure bred Otter Hounds to form the basis of the hunt. I had this mad idea that it would be much nicer to hunt Otter hounds than old foxhounds. After all Otter Hounds had been made for hunting water and had both the coats and feet to cope with all that the rivers could throw at them. It didn’t take long for Douglas to reply and, not only was he very enthusiastic about my idea, but he also knew the man he felt could help. He had, he told me, been in the army as a young man with Captain John Bell – Irving.

John was the master and owner of the Dumfriesshire otter hounds. Well to cut a long story short John agreed to talk with me and we exchanged a number of letters regarding my plans. Being satisfied with what he learned he agreed to draft, (give), me five pure bred Otter Hounds which would form the nucleus of my pack. He proposed giving me two old and trusted bitches, a slightly younger bitch of breeding age, a young dog of breeding age and another dog puppy. This would give us hounds to hunt with and also the ability to breed new stock for future seasons. What an absolute gent, he did us proud. All we had to do was to get to Dumfriesshire, actually to Lockerbie, which was where John lived and collect our hounds. This was, in itself, quite an undertaking and another story on its own. But the Tandridge Minkhounds were about to come into being. More next month.

Leaving Kingsley

Although a major event in my life, leaving Kingsley was not something which had been long planned or a part of any long term scheme. Like so many major events in life the move came about as a result of quite a lot of unexpected events occurring, over a fairly short space of time, and all leading up to my departure from the village. I was twenty and engaged to a young lady from Binsted and I suppose there was the expectation that we would marry, probably go into a farm cottage, and remain in the village. However, fate intervened and my middle brother caught Chicken Pox, (it could have been Measles ).It just so happened that my fiancées sister was about to get married, in three weeks time actually. It was felt by her family that I might transfer my brothers disease, and they believed the incubation period for the disease to be about three weeks. Clearly, if that had occurred, the wedding would have been ruined. I was, therefore, not unreasonably asked if I would mind staying away until the wedding day. Consequently I went into voluntary exile for three weeks. Early in the first week my friend and colleague, Tim, suggested I join him for a pint. This I did and we ended up in the Market Tavern in Alton. The tipples of the day were Courage’s Tavern Keg Bitter and Watneys Red Barrel. During the course of the evening Tim suggest we went up to the nurses home at the hospital to find a couple of young ladies to take out. I, of course, should have declined but I didn’t. Tim had  connexions within the nursing community and he quickly managed to find two lovely young women to join us. Oh dear, without going into the gory details, suffice to say I married my partner from that eventful evening and we are still together nearly fifty years later. Tim also married his partner from that evening but sadly lost her to cancer last year.

Having gone through the trauma of cancelling my engagement the next event hard on its heels was the death of mother from a severe asthma attack at the age of forty two. To say devastating would be an understatement. There is no doubt in my mind that the woman of the house is the home maker and the corner stone of the family. The loss of mother changed everything. The home became little more than a hotel and father, my brothers and I became like ships in the night. Each getting on with their own lives, work and business as best they could.

The next significant event was the death of my boss Mr. Nicolson owner of Old Park Farm. This had the result of the farm being put on the market and sold to an insurance company. This meant that the employees were now working for a Board of Directors rather than the individual private owner. Frankly that situation didn’t appeal to me very much. At the time I had a large Alsatian cross dog which I was in the habit of training in the piggery paddocks. These paddocks ran down beside the gardens of the three newly built bungalows which were on the left hand side of the road going down the hill towards the sports club. The point of all this will become clear. One morning when I was feeding the pigs a man in a trilby hat arrived at the piggery and introduced himself as Mr. Watson from one of the said bungalows. He was, he said, the civilian personal officer for Bordon Camp and he had a vacancy for a dog handler upon his books. Having observed me training my dog he thought I might be the man for the job. He suggested I apply and gave me the forms to do so. I did and got the job. I, therefore, left the farm and shortly afterwards found myself at the Royal Army Veterinary Corps establishment at Melton Mowbray where I undertook the, then, War Department dog handling course.

Once again, after just a few months, things were about to change. My girlfriend was to finish at the hospital and move back to her home at Christchurch which was then still a part of Hampshire, not Dorset, as it is today. Several weeks of travelling back and forward to Christchurch two or three times a week and it became clear this could not be sustained. Due then to the good offices of my future father in law I was found a position as a trainee welder at the British Aircraft Corporation (B.A.C),factory at Hurn Airport.

So my departure from Kingsley occurred. In the end it just happened. I should have known that factory life and I would not mix, it was never going to work. Apart from the environment, which I didn’t like, we were living in the times of industrial unrest and, it seemed to me, we spent as much time out on the grass in protest as we did actually producing aircraft. It just so happened, and as a result of The Mountbatten Report into Prison Security, the Prison Service were advertising for dog handlers. In those days The Prison Service offered its officers a free house or rent allowance. Since my new fiancée and I were planning to get married this seemed like a good option. The full page adverts, in all of the popular press, for The Prison Service offered the prospect of serving at your local prison which for me was Winchester. Consequently I applied, was successful, and off I went to the training school at Wakefield in Yorkshire for the thirteen week course. It quickly became clear that the Service adverts were not worth the paper they were written on, the chances of me getting to Winchester were about as good as going to Mars. As for the dog handling, well you could not do that for at least a year due to a probationary period, which did not feature very clearly in the adverts, if at all. The Service policy of sending single officers to London prisons, due to staffing difficulties, was not mentioned either. I ended up serving thirty five years in the Service at Wandsworth and Dorchester but, due to the constraints of The Official Secrets Act, I am unable to report very much of that experience. Suffice to say, it did not take long to discover, The Prison Service and its senior staff all the way into Government Ministers held little, if any, regard for the truth.

Kingsley Parish Council - urgent meeting Wednesday 30th

At the Parish Council meeting on Thursday 24th September, the Council agreed to call a further full council meeting to consider urgent matters that could not be completed.

Kingsley Parish Council will meet on Wednesday 30th September 2015 in the Kingsley Centre at 6.00pm.

AGENDA

1. Chairman’s Opening Remarks
2. Apologies for Absence
3. To consider the Transfer Documents for the sale of land near Piggeries
Sign documents, if approved

4. To consider the approval of the following changes to Standing Orders and Risk Assessment (proposed changes circulated by email dated 14 Sep 2015)
1) Standing Orders (revised April 2013).
Propose: New section ‘4 Lead Councillors’
Propose: New section ’26 - Transparency’
2) Appendix B - Financial Regulations (May 2013) Propose update section ‘5 - Banking arrangements’
3) New Appendix F Propose new ‘Appendix F - Lead Councillors as per attached document to replace the stand alone Parish Council document called ‘Lead Councillors’ dated April 2014
4) KPC Risk Assessment (May 2013) Propose all due dates in KPC Risk Assessment May are updated to June 2016

5. To consider the review of the clerk contract of employment

Date of Next Meeting of Kingsley Parish Council -
Thursday 22nd October 2015 – 7.30 pm at the Kingsley Centre

Orchards and things

Kingsley was, and I expect probably still is, surrounded by orchards. To the north and west of The Straits were large areas of land covered by various fruit trees of many species. There were also many more orchards on Rookery Farm opposite Shortheath pond and extending up Green Street on the left towards Worldham. Predominantly apples, there were also plums, pears, peaches, cherries and green gages represented within the orchards. As with all things, in the days of my childhood, orchards and fruit growing provided large numbers of jobs for local men and even more employment for travelers when fruit picking was required. Most tasks then were carried out by hand, fruit being picked from the ground and on ladders into baskets, transferred into boxes and onto trailers for removal to the cold storage sheds. During the year tasks such as pruning and spraying occupied many man hours as did the mowing of the rides between the rows of trees. As mentioned in an earlier article the practice of frost burning in the spring also provided for a large increase in manpower for a few weeks during the period when the flower buds were at risk from the cold. This danger occurred when the fruit was "setting" and, depending upon season, varied just a few weeks each year. The big worry was a late and unexpected frost which could play havoc with the with the eventual harvest. Of course, these were the days before satellites were used in weather forecasting and things were much more hit and miss. Much more local knowledge and folk lore was employed then in order to try and ensure the trees were protected from the frost.

Much like hop picking the fruit harvest provided the opportunity for local women to earn a few extra shillings and the whole operation became something of social event. Women, who would normally be at home, which was the norm then, would move into the orchards many taking children with them. Packed lunches and flasks of tea all contributed to what was something like the a scene of a village outing or picnic and generally good humour prevailed. The fruit pickers were paid by the bushel for their efforts each bag or basket of fruit being carefully checked by the foreman and noted down against the name of the individual picker. Payment was made in cash, no plastic or bank payments then. As far as I recall, the foreman would distribute the earnings in brown envelopes around lunch time on a Friday. Whilst all were on the same rate for the job, inevitably, there were those whom picked at a faster rate than others and therefore earned a bit more. I don’t think the differences were very great as picking performances seemed to level out as the pickers became more used to the work as the harvest proceeded.

Leading up to the harvest, as the fruit began to ripen, another village pastime occurred. That of scrumping. Put simply, scrumping was stealing apples. Not exclusively apples, all fruit was happily scrumped. This was, as far as I am aware, a covert occupation pursued by youngsters. That is to say, I was never aware of any adults being involved in such matters although, who knows, they would hardly have advertised the fact! In any event, I am guessing, the name scrumping was derived from scrumpy the rough cider produced by apple growers. For the most part scrumping was carried out by a group of boys, (girls didn’t do such things), and I suppose the support of the group helped some of the less enthusiastic scrumpers to overcome their reservations. However, a suitable target tree was selected as being the bearer of fine fruit and scrumping began. Evenings were a good time for such activities as, for the most part, the farm workers had gone for the day thus reducing the risk of being caught. The next problem to overcome was entry to the orchard, many had thick hedges and or stout fences. Often a suitable gap in the base of a hedge could be located and enlarged sufficiently to allow a small frame to squeeze through. It was normal for one member of the group to go in and do the scumping whilst the others kept watch. For the most part anyone approaching would have been on a tractor or other motor vehicle as the size of the orchards were large enough, in general, to make walking around them unattractive and a bit of a chore for the fruit growers. Hearing an approaching vehicle was, therefore, a sign to get out as quickly as possible and assume an innocent attitude. On the odd occasions when circumstances such as these occurred the vehicle driver, upon seeing a group of boys beside the orchard,would usually approach them and say something like, "I hope you little sods aren’t scrumping." Mention of the village policeman might also be added and the general message was one of threat and menace, no doubt,designed to cause sufficient fear by way of deterrence. Although there was a much greater respect for authority then than there is today these warnings might have caused a change of location but did little to damped the desire to scrump! It should not be assumed that scrumping involved the mass theft of huge amounts of fruit, that was not the case. For the most part each boy scrumped one or two apples, one eaten and one for later. I don’t think these predations would have made a great impact upon the profit of the fruit growers. There were, after all, far more apples on the ground known as windfalls, and no use for storage, than scrumping ever accounted for. There was no question of taking home the proceeds of a scrumping expedition as the consequences of a parent finding out were much more feared than the threats of the growers.

If caught and as far as I recall, that did not happen often, the usual result was a good old fashioned, (how can I put this ?), dressing down, if you know what I mean. Designed, no doubt,to put the fear of God into the scrumpers this was the usual method of disposal. I guess for the most part, adults catching youngsters in the act of scrumping could relate to the practice and would have understood that scrumping was a well established part of rural childhood in those days.
 

Kingsley Parish Council - Thursday 25th

Kingsley Parish Council meet on Thursday, 25th June 2015 in the Kingsley Centre at 8.00 after the AGM.

AGENDA 

1. Chairman’s Opening Remarks

2. Apologies for Absence
Chris Rigden, Carole Pearson, Robin Gregory

3. Declarations of Personal/Prejudicial Interest

4. Public Question Time
Public Questions
Consideration of agenda items which will be open to public participation

5. Approval of Minutes of the Meeting held on 28th May 2015

6. Matters Arising
     
7. Planning Applications

Applications ongoing:
56034 Grooms Cottage, Oakhanger Road, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9NJ Listed building consent - removal of window and replace with door
     
56031 Listed building consent - removal of window and replace with door 3 Bakers Barn,
Oakhanger Road, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9NJ

56084 1 Malthouse Barn, Main Road, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9LW
Single storey extension to rear

53722 Stannards, Grooms Farm Lane, Frith End, Bordon, GU35 0QR
Summer house to rear

24601/044 Vodafone, Country Market Osborne Farms, Main Road, Kingsley, GU35 9LW
Removal of the tapered top section, tower height to be increased from 15m to 18m, replacement of 3 antennas with 6 antennas, and installation of a 300mm dish antenna plus ancillary works

Appeal W/15/30005532:  6 dwellings after demolition of buildings
Land east of Karma Main Road Kingsley

Ongoing enforcement EC/51617/003 erection of building and change of use to mixed agricultural and aircraft hangar.

Land east of Sickles Lane
Sleaford unauthorised caravans

8. St Nicholas Cemetery & Cemetery Chapel

9. Transport, Highways and Road Safety

10. Commons, Village Greens and Rights of Way

11. Community Resilience
Future of Kingsley Quarry
To receive a report from Cllr Clayton on her meeting with Lafarge Tarmac

To consider the position of the Parish Council in the proposed Stakeholder Group for the development of plans if a future planning application is to be submitted to extend the quarry

12. Environment and Biodiversity

13. Kingsley Village Forum

14. Housing, Business & Commerce
To receive an update from Cllr McCorkindale

15. Communications
The correspondence received this month was listed by the clerk and circulated to all councillors prior to the meeting.

16. District Councillor

17. Procedures, Finance and Payments
To receive an update from Cllr McCorkindale on the offers received for the purchase of land for access to the new piggery development

To consider whether the offer is now sufficiently close to the PC valuations of the land (and fees) for the PC to instruct its solicitor to start the conveyance process

To consider whether the buyer’s agent should be told that “the Parish Council now feels that the offer made is sufficiently close to the valuations given by the District Valuer that the Council has instructed its solicitor to move the matter forward”

Payments to be made & Accounts to accept

Date of Next Meeting of Kingsley Parish Council -    Thursday 23rd July 2015 – 7.30 pm at the Kingsley Centre 

Foot and Mouth

Having seen a programme on the television the other evening regarding past rural matters and including an item on lime production and the uses it was put to, I was reminded of Foot and Mouth, and of the time this disease came to the area around Kingsley. Not recalling the dates of this particular event I resorted to the magic of the internet and there appears to have been two major outbreaks. As far as I can establish the outbreak which I recall most vividly would appear to have been that of 1957. Given that I was twelve at the time and travelling to school in Alton on a daily basis, I think this is probably the outbreak which came back to me so clearly. There was, however, another outbreak of the disease in the mid sixties but that seems to have been confined to areas rather more to the north of Hampshire centring upon Cheshire.

So assuming, as I am, the following events took place in the fifties. As is the case today, the Government of the day went into their standard procedure for dealing with Foot and Mouth. All movement of cloven hoofed animals was stopped within a wide radius of the infected farm or farms .This meant sheep, cattle and pigs. But in the area close to the infection all farm movements of almost every farm product ceased. Local markets and abattoirs were closed down causing a major impact upon the rural economy. It was widely believed and, the internet tells me, the outbreak in question was as a result of infected beef products from Argentina. In those days large amounts of beef was imported from that country. Not least Fray Bentos corned beef.

The standard Government policy then, as now, was to slaughter large numbers of farm animals. Not only were the infected animals slaughtered but also healthy stock from farms all around the infection zone. Foot baths appeared at the gates of all farms and anyone entering or leaving the farm premises had to walk through these disinfection sites. I can only imagine the impact that terrible outbreak had upon the local farmers. Of course the Government compensated the farmers for their imposed losses, but as with all things official the wheels of government do not move with any great speed. Since many of the farmers in the Kingsley area were livestock farmers I imagine they had a pretty tough time of it for a fairly prolonged period.

Not with standing all of the above, my most vivid recollections of this disease were the sights which met the eyes when witnessing the disposal of the huge numbers of dead animals. As far as we were concerned one of the local disposal sites was at East Worldham. Upon leaving Kingsley and travelling along the B3004 and along Green Street towards Worldham the site was on the left hand side. As one reaches the bottom of Worldham hill there is a wooded hill on the left which is known as King Johns Hill, between it and the road was a grassy field forming something of a bank. It was into this bank the slaughtered stock found their last resting place. Various diggers and bulldozers gouged out huge white trenches, white because of the chalk. Into these trenches load after load of bloated carcases were dumped from high sided lorries. Each time we passed in the bus this was the spectacle that met our eyes. Truly awful. The whole thing seemed to go on for ages but, I suspect, it was days rather than weeks. Having dumped the carcasses into the trenches they were covered with quick lime which burns when it becomes damp. This, I understand, has the double effect of breaking down the volume of the dead bodies and killing of any infection that might remain active. I don’t know if quick lime is still used for such purposes or, indeed, if it is still produced in sufficient quantities. I seem to recall in the most recent outbreak of Foot and Mouth disposal of carcasses was achieved by incineration.

My mate Tim

During my time working at Old Park Farm the boss engaged an agricultural student from West Sussex, I think Chichester University, in any event Tim arrived with us as a part of his journey to become an agricultural engineer. We quickly became good mates, due in no small part, to the fact that Tim was able to maintain and keep on the road, the series of old bangers which I drove in those days. In fact he even welded a large metal plate into my Vauxhall Velox when the rear right spring came through the floor as a result of advanced rust. This enabled the beast to remain useable for some time. There was, of course, no MOT test at that time !

Tim’s capacity to keep cars going never ceased to amaze me. As one whom had no interest at all in anything mechanical, he was little short of a Godsend to me. On one notable evening when the exhaust system fell from the vehicle, right outside Alton police station, he managed to ram it back together and secure our onward journey before we attracted any unwelcome attention from the cops. On another occasion, by means of a pair of stockings, (tights were not the thing then !!), he kept us going when the fan belt broke. Yet again he saved the day when an electrical fault kept blowing the car’s main fuse, he simple rolled up a piece of silver foil from a cigarette packet, slotted it into the place where the fuse came from and off we went.

Tim was a great supporter of The Young Farmers Club of Alton and attended most of their meetings which caused him rather a lot of problems. I imagine Young Farmers clubs remain pretty much today as they always have, and are noted for their capacity to provide and consume large quantities of alcohol. Cider being provided in particularly large amounts. This was unfortunate because Alton is located several miles from Old Park Farm and necessitated a drive home after each Young Farmers meeting, unfortunate because in most cases Tim was not fit to drive. The drink driving regulations we have today were not then in place and proving a driver was over the limit was very much a hit and miss matter which involved calling out doctors and all sorts of other methods. Walking along a white line, touching the nose with the index finger were just two of the methods used to establish guilt. It was, therefore, reasonably unlikely for a driver to be caught or convicted. In Tim’s case this was so as he was never nicked in spite of some rather hairy near misses. Turning his car upon its head between two steep banks of the road just west of East Worldham being one of them. Rather nearer to home, his regular confrontation with the hedge bordering Mr. Moore’s garden at the beginning of the drive down to the Old Park Farm house was rather more troublesome. The hedge became known as Old Moore’s hedge among the lads on the farm, and as a result of a number of rather unsporting complaints to Mr. Nicholson, the farm owner, by old Moore Tim often found himself on the carpet. The major problem, in spite of Tim’s vehement denials of any involvement with hedges in general and Old Moore’s in particular, were the very obvious signs to the contrary. In most cases a large piece of hedge had been removed from its rightful place, and more inconveniently, could be seen decorating some part of Tim’s car in the morning. I have lost count of how many times the unfortunate hedge suffered from Tim’s assaults, but suffice to say, things got to the point where a final warning was issued to Tim based upon Old Moore’s increasingly hostile complains. This resulted in Tim changing his parking place and, instead of parking the car by his flat in the farm house, he took to parking it in the farmyard. This avoided the turn past the hedge and the assaults upon it and the complaints dried up.

It was as a result of an invitation from Tim to accompany him on a visit to the nurses home at Alton Hospital, that I met my wife. We had gone out together for the evening and had our usual half pint of Red Barrel or Courage’s Tavern Keg in the Market Inn in Alton when Tim suggest we went to the nurses home to see if he could find a couple of girls to take out for the evening. Off we went, Tim disappeared around the back of the said nurses home, and after a short while reappeared with the news that we would be joined by a couple of young ladies shortly afterwards. This prove to be the case, and as a result of that meeting both Tim and I went on to marry the two girls in question. Sadly Tim’s wife Maggie died last year after a particularly nasty illness.

As a result of that fateful evening the four of us spent the next two or three years together in various parts of the country. Usually, when one of the girls went home for breaks or holidays Tim and I followed in some form of old banger which then doubled up as living accommodation whilst we remained near to our girlfriends. Great times and happy memories. After marrying and qualifying Tim and Maggie went to an estate in the West Indies for several years before returning home and settling near Devizes. Maggie remained in nursing until her final illness.

Game Keepers

During the whole of the period I lived in Kingsley I can only recall two game keepers. One lived in Kingsley and the other on the outskirts of Oakhanger. This, I suppose, reflects the fact that there were few formal shoots in and around the village. Certainly formal shoots existed at Wyck, Worldham and the Hartley Wood area. Indeed, as a teenager, I regularly went beating on the Wyck Farm shoot. That shoot, I seem to recall, was the preserve of the Bonham – Carter family. As far as Kingsley was concerned there were undoubtedly small shoots organised by various local farmers for friends and family, but these took the form of irregular and non- formal occasions. Most of the pheasants were either from wild stock or had strayed in from bigger shoots further afield. It is quite amazing just how far these birds will travel and one of the great skills of a keeper is to keep his birds on his own shoot. Obviously, in areas where large numbers of shoots border one another the problem is not so great as birds wander from one shoot to the other and a reasonable balance of bird numbers is maintained and populations remain fairly static.

So to the two keepers previously mentioned, the Oakhanger keeper lived up the lane which goes off to the right just in front of The Red Lion pub. Up that road was the old wireless station, then a dairy farm and then the Oakhanger cricket pitch, all on the left hand side of the road. A few hundred yards, or so, beyond the cricket pitch was a lane in below the hanger and the keepers cottage was located there. My map tells me that the woods there were known as Hartley Woods and they were the domain of Jock Harley. I recall seeing Jock on a few occasions and he was a big man. Generally, the word on the block was that you didn’t mess with Jock. He had a bit of a reputation as a bad man to upset and poachers went on to his patch at their peril. He was a regular visitor at the Red Lion and his time on the shoot was a long one, although I have a recollection of his retirement, I no longer have any idea when that actually was. The very fact that he remained in place on the same shoot for so many years is testimony in itself to the fact that he was a good game keeper. Bad keepers don’t stay in one place very long, then or now.

The Kingsley keeper that I recall was Charlie Neal , he lived in a cottage on the common beyond Cold Harbour beside the river a few hundred yards up a track off the road just north of the Sleaford bridge. I don’t actually know if Charlie’s keeper duties were full time as he keepered the officers shoot at Broxhead and the areas beyond Oxney Farm. So I guess he was employed by the military and it might well be the case that he had other duties in addition to gamekeeping.

If one left Kingsley and travelled past the pond on up the track and over Fir Hill, crossing the stream and passing Oxney Farm on ones right and carried on over the stretch of metaled road through the fields until reaching the woods one would cross over a bridge. This bridge was just inside the woods which extended to the left and right and were quite large. These woods were also a part of the officers shoot. Moving on a few yards beyond the bridge there was a track to the right and a five bar gate into a sort of field. I say sort of because the area, although grazed by cattle, was liberally dotted with large clumps of both gorse and broom. Before Myxomatosis the area literally crawled with rabbits.

However, the most intriguing point about this area to a small boy, as far as I was concerned, was the keepers gibbet. These gibbets, in a former age, were used by gamekeepers to exhibit the vermin they had killed in order that their employers could see how good they were at keeping down predation upon the pheasant population. Long since a thing of the past there would, no doubt, be a public outcry should such a thing appear in today’s countryside. The one in question would be draped with all manner of unfortunate birds and beasts that had met their fate by gun or trap. Fur and feather, tooth and claw were all represented. Draped and hung on this gruesome frame, which was probably three or four feet wide by perhaps six or seven feet deep, would be birds of prey, hawks and owls now, thankfully, all protected by law. Crows, magpies and jays featured prominently as this group steal eggs and chicks. Weasels and stoats, foxes, and the occasional feral cat would all be displayed. Squirrels, the grey variety, could also be seen in large numbers as they, of course, are also great egg stealers. Each time one passed the gibbet new additions could be seen hanging, as they did, with the bones and rotting carcasses of older victims. As can be imagined, not a pretty sight, and certainly not an attractive aroma!

Harvest Mice

During my childhood in Kingsley the local Harvest Mouse population was healthy, I know this, because there was ample evidence of their presence in the form of their ball shaped nests in corn fields and around the hedges bordering corn fields. In addition to this they were easily seen in Bill Lamport's barn. The barn, which stood at Jude Farm, beyond the Straits opposite Kingsley Nurseries. In those days, and I don’t remember the year, the barn was relatively new. It stored bales of straw. Sitting quietly upon the bales, it would not be long before those tiny and, in my view, enchanting, little creatures appeared for the watcher to observe.

The Harvest Mouse, as a species, was first discovered / recorded by Gilbert White. Gilbert White, of course, wrote White's Natural History of Selborne which featured the wild life of his parish just a few miles from Kingsley. White being the vicar for Selborne for many years. Like many of his class of the day White wrote. There are many classic works written by vicars over the years but White's Natural History has sold and been published more than any other book. Indeed, I recently read that White's book has only been surpassed, in publishing terms, by the Bible. Quite an achievement.

I have numerous editions of the book in my collection and I am pretty certain the reason the book has obtained such a following is due to the fact that White's powers of observation were faultless. Well almost so, he did rather mess up with swallows, which he thought hibernated in the mud at pond sides during the winter months. Not withstanding this the rest of his work was very accurate. Clearly Selborne had a good number of harvest mice and White found them.

For the most part these little creatures live in and around corn fields, they feed upon the grain and nest amongst the stalks of corn. Like a lot of things, modern farming techniques dealt quite a blow to these mice. Combine harvesters had a huge impact upon Harvest Mouse numbers. It would, however, appear that they adapted to the challenge by building their nests in tall grass and hedgerows. I have no idea what the current population in Kingsley is like. I have a feeling that a lot less corn is grown in and around the village nowadays so who knows ?

During the time of which I write there was a well known T.V presenter and writer by the name of George Cansdale. George specialised in all things to do with animals and pets. He wrote several books of which his Book of Pets was a treasured possession of mine. Sadly long lost. Unlike many pet books this one dealt alphabetically with all sorts of animals, not just the normal domestic varieties. Of course, times were different, and catching wild animals for pets was nothing to be frowned at them. Most village boys had, at some time, caught fledgling birds, lizards, newts and tiddlers of all sorts. Keeping tadpoles was an annual event for many of us and some actually went to the extent of catching grass snakes. Not I, I hasten to add, I have never had much of a liking for snakes. So, the point being, for country children catching and keeping various species of wild life was not unusual or illegal. In George’s book he went into the detail of how to catch and care for all manner of wild things, including the Harvest Mouse. These tiny creatures, he wrote, quickly became tame and got used to being handled. This I can confirm to be the case, unlike other mouse species, these little beauties did not bite very much at all especially if the person holding them handled them with care and didn’t hurt them. Although I caught many I didn’t keep them as pets it was fun just to catch them and then let them go. I once had a black and white mouse bought from a pet shop and it spent most of its short life trying to find ways to die, so mouse keeping lost its appeal for me.

So, dear reader the next time you find yourself in a straw barn in or around Kingsley sit quietly for a few minutes, listen and be patient. These little creatures, in spite of their tiny size make quite a lot of noise so you generally hear them before you see them. The wait and the patience is well worth the trouble. Scampering about and using their, comparatively, long tails to climb they provide a delightful and captivating display. I hope they are still around Kingsley and that some of you get the chance to see them.

Kingsley Parish Council 23.10.14

Kingsley Parish Council will meet on Thursday, 23rd October 2014 in the Kingsley Centre at 7.30pm.

AGENDA

1. Chairman’s Opening Remarks
2. Apologies for Absence
3. Declarations of Personal/Prejudicial Interest
4. Public Question Time: Public Questions
Consideration of agenda items which will be open to public participation

5. Approval of Minutes of the Meeting held on 25th September 2014
6. Matters Arising
7. Planning Applications
Applications ongoing:
30633/024 Grooms Farm, Frith End Road, Frith End, Bordon, GU35 0QR
Ancillary building for events associated with existing hotel, together with landscaping, parking works (including waste water treatment plant) and retention of frith end quarry haul road for access to the site and hotel

SHCC/2014/0138 Sandy Bridge Farm, Main Road, Kingsley, GU35 9NQ Variation of condition 1 of planning permission F24847/015/CMA to extend the time period for tipping of inert waste and to revise the final restoration contours

21066/029 Bakers Farm Nursery, Main Road, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9NJ
Change of use for storage and distribution B8

21066/030 Bakers Farm Nursery, Main Road, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9NJ
Siting of temporary buildings (corrected proposal)

28421/004 Crossing Gate Cottage, Sickles Lane, Kingsley, Bordon, Alton, GU35 9PB
Single storey side extension forming double garage and bedroom with wet room within roof space

Appeal:
APP/M1710/A/14/2214126 Appeal by: Mr Dragjoshi
Land south and east of Service Station, Farnham Road, Bordon

APP/M1710/A/14/2222602 Appeal by: LMC of Farnham Ltd
LMC Sleaford Garage, Farnham Road, Bordon, GU35 0QP

8. St Nicholas Cemetery & Cemetery Chapel
To receive an update from Cllr Pearson
To consider the invoice from Richard Ashby for the specifications and tender documents for works to be carried out in St Nicholas

9. Transport, Highways and Road Safety
The lengthsman scheme:
To receive an update from Cllr Rigden

10. Commons, Village Greens and Rights of Way
Upper Green: To receive an update from Cllr Rigden
Lower Green: To receive an update from Cllr McCorkindale

To consider the quotation of £195 for cutting the area of Lower Green covered by golden rod
To consider the quotation of £245 for cutting the area between the track and the stream on the eastern side of Lower Green.

11. Community Resilience
12. Environment and Biodiversity
13. Kingsley Village Forum   

Kingsley Annual Parish Meeting:
To receive an update from Cllr Rigden and to consider the actions the Parish Council should take as result of this meeting

14. Housing, Business & Commerce
Hampshire Alliance for Rural Affordable Housing:
To receive an update from Cllr McCorkindale

15. Communications
16. District Councillor
17. Procedures, Finance and Payments
Payments to be made & Accounts to accept
Approval of annual return year ending March 2014
To consider the annual donation of £500 to the Kingsley Centre (Last year the donation was £475 plus £100 for the new notice board)
To consider the biennial increase in the annual rent from £325 to £350 paid for the lease of the allotment site
Enhancing the recruitment of parish councillors

    Date of Next Meeting of Kingsley Parish Council -
       Thursday 27th November 2014 - 7.30 pm at the Kingsley Centre 
      

Crime in Kingsley

Crime in Kingsley was generally rare and, for the most part, confined to the odd fight or assault caused by visiting soldiers from Bordon camp having topped up on fine ales from the Cricketers. It was normal, in those days, for the troops to walk over Fir Hill from the camp to the pub which was not a very long walk. For a period of time there were large numbers of what were known as Junior Leaders. These were aspiring leaders but were quite young and often got drunk and fought, usually amongst themselves, but occasionally with other customers. In those days they would almost certainly end up nicked! No fines, Police cautions, or Restorative Justice then, simply in front of the Beak and weighed off. Military Police would occasionally patrol the local pubs at turning out time especially if there had been a few incidents recently. They didn’t mess about either, any offender was promptly loaded into their army vehicle and taken away.

As far as the civilian population was concerned it was usually gypsies that were responsible for trouble. It was common then for gypsies to travel around the countryside engaging in the seasonal work that the farms provided. As has been previously mentioned, most work was done by man power, the complex farm machinery of today was yet to be invented. The fields were, therefore, full of toiling bodies. Both men and women joined in the various tasks involved. The gypsies would camp up somewhere in the area, sometimes on ground provided by an individual farmer but often anywhere there was room for their caravans and livestock. Many carried chickens with them,(in specially provided boxes below the floor of the caravans), they almost always had an assortment of dogs and, of course, the horses which pulled the caravans. At the end of the day’s work it was the norm for the menfolk to make their way to the pub. Drink and gypsies always seemed to be a pretty lethal mix and trouble was often the end result. For the most part they confined their fighting to themselves. The extent of this sort of behaviour can be gauged by the fact that many pubs in both town and village displayed large signs telling the world, no travellers or gypsies would either be served or admitted.

Away from the pubs crime was very rare, the good people of Kingsley led blameless lives. The village had its policeman who lived amongst the community. In Kingsley’s case the police house was at the east end of the row of houses that began with Church View, I think, at the west end which was situated on the right hand side as you entered Woodfield. The policeman knew everyone on his patch and what was going on throughout the area. He spent his days in and around the village and was seen, I have no doubt that this contributed to the general good order of the day.

Houses, our own included, were left unlocked, it was unthinkable that anyone would walk in and rob the occupants whilst the property was empty. People didn’t travel as they do now and many of the villagers spent their whole lives in the village thus everybody knew and, I suppose, trusted one another. Strangers would stand out like a sore thumb so, again, I suppose the opportunity to get away with a criminal act would have been unlikely.

During the whole of the time I lived in the village I only recall two incidents involving village people that reached the courts and were one off’s. There may have been others but if there were they passed me by. The first was a straightforward theft which involved a woman. The lady involved was the mother of one of my friends and took the opportunity to relieve Woolworths, in Alton, of some small item. I seem to recall it was a card of buttons. In any event she was caught and found herself in front of the court. I do not intend to reveal the identity of the lady as there might well be relations still residing in the village. I do not recall the sentence which was handed down but I do clearly recall the overwhelming sense of disbelief and indeed shock that my parents and many of our neighbours felt and expressed. Quite simply, in those days, village people just didn’t do that sort of thing.

The other incident which caused a similar amount of shock in the community involved a mate of mine. Although several years older than me, we had spent a lot of time together due, in no small part, to the fact that he kept cage birds and often took me with him when he went to Aldershot market on a Saturday to buy new stock. We went up on the train from the Halt down near the Straits. However, as a teenager, the chap in question got himself a girlfriend, and no doubt, finding the delights of a young lady a greater attraction than cage birds he found himself confronted with the somewhat less delightful prospect of becoming a father. Sadly this caused him to abandon the relationship. It should be remembered that those were the days when, if a girl, "got into trouble" the shame was quite terrible. The rich would have sent their daughter off abroad to avoid scandal. The less well-off had to endure the social stigma that went with the situation as they had nowhere to hide. It is difficult to believe how much times have changed, today young women purposely have a child for the benefits that go with single parenthood. Back then they were on their own and if mum and dad did not help they really were in trouble. Often these events caused family breakdowns and long term feuds that never healed. Happily, I don’t recall any other such events in Kingsley but the local and national newspapers bore witness to these circumstances in the wider community. I suppose the fact that far more of these type of situations did not occur was quite simply fear. The swinging sixties were to change all that!

Anyway back to the case in point, after some time the young man was brought to account for his indiscretion. He found himself the subject of a court hearing at which it was intended to decide the level of support he would have to provide for the young lady. He denied responsibility and contested the case. I don’t recall exactly how many hearings there were, but at the final one, the young fellow failed to appear. Incredibly, it was reported, that police cars were driving around Alton calling his name over the loud hailer and summoning him to attend the proceedings. The details of what followed I cannot recall but his fatherhood was established and, no doubt, payment obtained. Again the sense of outrage and disgust amongst the community was palpable and the sympathy totally with the young lady. These matters were all a matter of public record and anyone wishing to research village history in greater depth can, I am sure, find full details in the archives of the local newspapers. Suffice to say, "things ain't what they used to be".

In addition to the two single offences outlined above there was also a young man who got into trouble and appeared to embark upon a life of crime. He was several years younger than I but I knew him very well. Sadly, he got into trouble at a young age and continued to offend for as long as I knew him. The last time I encountered him was after I had joined the Prison Service and had been sent to H.M.P. Winchester for my initial training before going to the training school in Wakefield. One day I happened to hear my name being called from above and upon looking there smiling down was the chap in question. We exchanged a few words and that was that. In those days if a member of staff knew a prisoner it had to be reported. Usually this resulted in the individual, prisoner, being moved to another establishment. Since I was about to depart to Wakefield I believe that did not happen in this case. I have not seen him since. However, as far as I am aware, he was the only one of the youngsters that grew up in the village at that time that went on to visit the prison system.

GUNS

Of course the world has changed dramatically since my childhood days in Kingsley. Many of the things we did as children have been banned by useless politicians who resort to banning as the first port of call when anything goes wrong. Experience tells the world at large that the banning policy never actually works. In the case of guns, it is now, not possible to legally own a pistol in the U.K. if you are an ordinary citizen. Problem solved, well not quite, as there is now more gun crime involving pistols than there ever was before the ban was imposed. The only people inconvenienced have been lawful gun owners whom held licensed weapons. Criminals don’t apply for licenses or ` obey the law, sadly politicians don’t seem to understand this simple truth. I have never had, nor do I want to own a pistol. Just in case anyone thought I was banging the drum as a disgruntled ex-pistol club member or something similar. The point being that the only people inconvenienced by the banning culture are ordinary decent and law abiding citizens, banning makes not a jot of difference to the criminal fraternity.

So, as far as I, and many of my childhood friends were concerned, we began our association with guns at an early age. In those days western films featuring cowboys and Indians were all the rage and consequently most little boys had toy guns and holsters just like their cowboy heroes. These, quite fancy, pistols fired caps which made a crack rather than a bang. They did not discharge any sort of missile. The first gun I had that actually shot something from its barrel was a very basic pistol. Known in those days as a pop gun, it had some sort of plunger. A cork was pushed into the end of the guns barrel and when the trigger was pulled the plunger was released and the cork fired by the compressed air which had been released into the barrel. The cork left the gun with a loud pop, hence the name of the gun. All very harmless but it was the beginning of the process of teaching us the correct way to handle guns. Even with such a harmless toy, the principles of gun handling were rammed home to me by my parents. In short, you never, ever point a gun at a person. This simple rule was drummed into me and, I am sure, my mates. There were no half measures, break this rule and the wrath of God would have descended upon you. So it was that those of us that had guns learned to handle them safely and with respect, I do not recall a single accident or injury involving a gun in Kingsley during the whole of the time I lived there.

From pop guns most of us acquired an air gun. These came, in those days, in two forms, pistols and rifles. The operating principles were much the same in that the barrel was broken and pulled back to compress air in a cylinder which was released after the barrel had been closed and the trigger pulled. Thus a lead pellet was fired. Depending upon the size and power of the individual weapon a pellet could be fired quite a long way and with enough force to kill rats, birds, squirrels and rabbits etc. As children (and with a resident village Policeman) we were able to wander around with our air rifles unhindered. Just imagine the almighty fuss if a child did that today. I am sorry to say, for the most part, we used our rifles to shoot living things and whilst rat shooting was seen as a bit of a service by farmers I regret having shot some of the non-offensive birds which fell victim to us. Although crows, magpies and other egg stealing species were considered fair game.

Later in life as I became a teenager I acquired my first shotgun and was then able to shoot some rather more edible game in the form of rabbits and pigeons with, very occasionally, a stray pheasant. I still have the first twelve bore I owned. This was given to me by my grandfather Charley Gilliam. It is an old hammer gun of extremely dubious condition. The old barrels are worn very thin and there is much slack when the weapon is closed. Beneath the under lever is a washer which grandfather had fixed there in order to take up the slack.There are also other modifications, no doubt, designed to make good the general wear and tear of this old gun. I didn’t fire it many times as, realising that the gun had been made to fire black powder cartridges, I considered the modern nitro cartridges had a very good chance of bursting the barrels. None of this really mattered, the gun was, and is, a treasure for me. For many years it graced the wall above our fireplace in our old Dorset farmhouse, but of course, that is now banned and the gun remains securely locked away in a steel gun cabinet bolted down so as to be immoveable. It was even suggested by the Licensing Officer that I should destroy it!

I doubt very much if the boys of today’s Kingsley are able to wander the fields, woods and commons with any form of air rifle. Sadly, if they did, I expect within a very short time there would be a police armed response team, helicopters overhead and a major incident declared. Without a doubt those of my generation had the best of it, this free and pleasant land of ours is now subject to multitudes of freedom restricting rules and laws all courtesy of politicians whom consistently fail to deal with the real problems and causes of crime and violence. Have things got better or safer, if they have I will eat my hat. Enough said.

Kinsgley Parish Council - Thursday 26th June

Kingsley Parish Council meets on Thursday, 26th June 2014 in the Kingsley Centre at 8.00pm.

AGENDA

1. Chairman’s Opening Remarks
2. Apologies for Absence
3. Declarations of Personal/Prejudicial Interest
4. Public Question Time:Public Questions
Consideration of agenda items which will be open to public participation

5. Approval of Minutes of the Meeting held on 24th April 2014:Matters Arising
Encroachment and bins on Sandy Lane
To receive an update by Cllr McCorkindale

6. Planning Applications
Applications ongoing:

30633/024 Grooms Farm, Frith End Road, Frith End, Bordon, GU35 0QR
Ancillary building for events associated with existing hotel, together with landscaping, parking
works (including waste water treatment plant) and retention of frith end quarry haul road for
access to the site and hotel

22959/005 Unit 4, Kingsley Business Park, Main Road, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9LY
Change of use from B1 and B8 to B2 use (general industry)

20136/047 LMC Sleaford Garage, Farnham Road, Bordon, GU35 0QP
Extension to part rear, part side workshop and parts storage building; enabling removal of
existing ad hoc detached storage buildings and containers (revised application including Flood
Risk Assessment and Highway information further to 20136/045)

52947/002 Land to the East of Kingsley Sports Club, Sickles Lane, Kingsley, Alton
Installation of 5mw photovoltaic (solar) farm with associated equipment

55450 Area 1 and 2 Kingsley Quarry, Main Road, Kingsley, Bordon
Variation of condition 3 (working scheme) of planning permission F24847/014 (Plans available
to view on the HCC website)

24601/042 Country Market Osborne Farms, Main Road, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9LW
Roof mounted PV solar array

24601/042 Country Market Osborne Farms, Main Road, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9LW
Roof mounted PV solar array

SHCC/2014/0138 Sandy Bridge Farm, Main Road, Kingsley, GU35 9NQ Variation of condition
1 of planning permission F24847/015/CMA to extend the time period for tipping of inert waste
and to revise the final restoration contours

Farnborough Airspace plans
Appeal:
APP/M1710/A/14/2214126 Appeal by: Mr Dragjoshi
Land south and east of Service Station, Farnham Road, Bordon

New applications:
55585/001 Fenris 1 Sickles Lane, Kingsley, GU35 9PD
Demolition of existing bungalow and erection of replacement two story dwelling

54919 Land at Kingsley Golf Club, Forge Road, Sleaford, Bordon
Retention of access from Kingsley Golf course onto the B3004, erection of gate and close board
fencing

7. St Nicholas Cemetery & Cemetery Chapel
To consider instructing Richard Ashby to survey St Nicholas to produce specifications for remedial
work for water ingress and death watch beetle damage and any other things that need doing, at a total
cost of £2,250 and to use these specifications to obtain quotations for the required remedial works

8. Transport, Highways and Road Safety
Road Safety:
To receive an update from Cllr Rigden
Consider the lengthsman scheme

9. Commons, Village Greens and Rights of Way
Upper Green:
To receive an update from Cllr Rigden

10. Community Resilience
11. Environment and Biodiversity
12. Sports, Recreation and Leisure
Allotments:
To consider the provision of extra rabbit proof fencing for the allotment site at a cost of £300

13. Kingsley Village Forum
14. Parish Plan
15. Housing, Business & Commerce
Hampshire Alliance for Rural Affordable Housing
To consider whether to request housing needs survey for Kingsley
Parish representative on Whitehill and Bordon regeneration consultative tier
To receive an update from Cllr Rigden

16. Communications
17. District Councillor
18. Procedures, Finance and Payments
Payments to be made & Accounts to accept
Date of Next Meeting of Kingsley Parish Council -
Thursday 24th July 2013 - 7.30 pm at the Kingsley Centre

A pig called Dorris

During my time at Old Park Farm I was in charge of the pig and poultry units and the pig unit or piggeries were located opposite the village shop. 

I note with a degree of sadness that planning permission has been put in for on the site of "the old piggeries". The last time I passed that site the buildings were in a pitiful condition, particularly so the oldest unit which runs parallel to the track. 

That unit in my day was a very nice old building with a tiled roof. It housed weaners and at the end of the building, to the east, were two boar pens. The main building was a Danish type piggery in which large numbers of pigs were reared to both pork and bacon weights with just a few going on to make heavy hogs. The other set of buildings ran down the eastern edge of the property from north to south and backed on to Mr. & Mrs. Daws’ garden. Built in one long row these were the farrowing pens into which the sows went when they came in from the fields to give birth. The sows spent most of their time roaming in the series of paddocks which ran behind the piggery from the rear of the then, newly built bungalows, to the east and to the west as far as Mr. Inwood’s property. These paddocks were planted with various seed mixes which produced varieties of greenery considered to be beneficial to pigs. Chicory and dandelions formed the base of those mixes. The sows stayed in the paddocks throughout the year and were provided with the round type of pig arks for shelter.We had very little in the way of health problems and the animals all seemed to thrive upon this regime. Whilst they were out in the paddocks they were moved up and down the row as they cleared each paddock of its vegetation. For most of the time they had a boar running with them in order to ensure that all of the sows were kept in pig. By and large boars are reasonably placid and during the whole of my time working with pigs I was never attacked by one. 

At Kingsley we had a mix of Landrace and Large White pigs, the Large White boars were huge. It was the accepted wisdom that lop eared pigs were less dangerous than prick eared breeds, the theory being the lop variety could see less as their ears dropped over their eyes. In my opinion this idea was spurious to say the least. Make a piglet squeal in front of a lop eared sow and she will undoubtedly come at you like an express train lop ears or not. As with most animals the best way of staying safe is to gain their confidence by petting, rubbing, giving tidbits and generally treating them as pets, this works just as well with pigs, and stood me in good stead throughout my time with them both at Kingsley and Lindford. Today I have a Berkshire boar called Norman who, since he lost his partner, has become something of a pet and is a gentle pig. However, the golden rule must always be, never take anything for granted and handle with care. 

But back to Kingsley,a female pig is known as a gilt until she has had her first litter, after which she becomes a sow. I suppose in many respects pigs are no different than any other animal and, like other females, can be nervous and unsettled when producing their first offspring. It is also the case that the number of piglets produced in a first litter can vary widely. Generally the pig breeder will hope for a litter in double figures but gilts can, and often do,produce litters in the lower single numbers. Added to this the nervousness and restlessness experienced by some gilts will go to ensure that piglets are trodden or laid upon. The pig called Dorris came into the world as a result of such an event. She was born into a litter of three from a mother who was a gilt. Within a couple of days mum had reduced her family to one. In economic terms it is not a good idea to keep a female pig with one piglet, it is better to cut your losses, take the piglet away from its mother and put the sow back to the boar. The sow will come into season within a few weeks and the whole process will begin again. Deprived of her mother, I began feeding the piglet from a bottle. Pigs reared in this fashion become very tame if not precocious. This one was no exception and she followed me around as though I were her real mother. Demanding food as and when she felt like it she would jump up and dig her snout into my leg in order to get the attention she required. She also quickly discovered that I stopped for my lunch each day and the sandwich box contained goodies which she became very partial to. In addition to all of this the local children became aware of the piglets presence and the piggery became a regular stop off for them on their way to and fro school. Being very tame the piglet would allow itself to be stroked and picked up by the children the numbers of which increased daily as the piglets reputation spread. 

At the time the village shop was located on the far side of the road exactly opposite the piggery and the owner, Mrs. Pethybridge, Dorris, was working within the shop. Dorris was a font of information regarding all things in the village and was kept fully abreast of all doings as a result of the numerous customers entering her shop each day. The Alton / Bordon buses all stopped outside the shop on each side of the road depending upon direction of travel. Thus the sources of information available to Dorris were indeed great and it would appear that she maintained a considerable knowledge by which she was able to answer most queries that came her way. If she did not have an immediate answer she could be relied upon to get one,usually, within a matter of hours. Such was village life. In any event, Dorris became aware of the regular and quite large groups of children visiting the piggery, right in front of her eyes, and on a regular daily basis. It became clear that the good lady was tempted out of her shop front door in order to observe this daily event and, no doubt, to familiarize herself with the cause thereof. Consequently the children became aware of this attention and, children being children, they quickly decided to name the piglet Dorris. Needless to say, the more I tried to dissuade them the more popular the name became. In so doing it caused me considerable embarrassment. I used the shop most days and I got the feeling that the human Dorris fairly and squarely blamed me for this turn of events. It became, you see, the daily practice for the visiting children, upon arriving at the piggery, to call out in high voice, "Dorris" both to summon the piglet and no doubt to annoy Mrs. Pethybridge which clearly it did. 

Sometimes you just have to admit failure and so it was with this matter, try as I would to dissuade the little devils from using the name they continued to do so. Dorris, then …….the four legged one, became something of an attraction and inevitably the general farm manager, Tony Hicks, became aware of the matter. He visited the piggery most days and was obviously aware that the piglet existed and had free range of the area. One day whilst visiting Dorris came snuffling around him and he said, "I want you to get rid of that pig". We couldn’t, he said, have a piglet running around the place it wasn’t right. What, I asked do you mean by, "get rid of it ?" He made it pretty clear that the pig had to be put down and I made it pretty clear to him, if he wanted it put down, he was the one to do it as I would not. It, therefore, transpired that it didn’t matter how I got rid of it as long as it went, just take the wretched thing away. I was aware that our piggery neighbour, Mr. Inwood, had a number of vacant pig pens. He had some years earlier kept quite a number of pigs himself. I approached him and asked to use one of them, to cut a long story short, we reached an agreement whereby, in return for the use of the pig pen, I would keep down the nettles which had got out of control. So it was that Dorris left the Old Park Farm piggery and took up residence in her new pen. She remained there until reaching maturity. I sold her to my uncle who then had a piggery at Bordon and Dorris went on to live a long and productive life thereafter.