Category — The Wolds

The following poem has been written to be read at our Community Carol service this year. We have the most wonderful trail of sixteen brilliant  rope-light pictures,  depicting the Nativity  and telling so beautifully, the Christmas story. The route is shown on a map at the Village Hall and follows a trail through the fields and along the lanes of our tiny village.  We all gather together for the displays to be switched on and to sing carols and to watch the fun of a small play. Afterwards we enjoy a supper of festive treats. The Trail remains lit between 5pm and 9pm each day up to and including Christmas Day.

My dear sister brought these beautiful roses as a gift at the weekend, how lovely they are and how they cheered and lifted our spirits. It has been rather a sad week in our little village, losing a much loved older village member. Arthur was in his eighties and had started work at the age of thirteen on the local farm – he was such an interesting and very knowledgeable man – often winning the first prize at the village vegetable show. He knew all there was to know about growing vegetables and was a fount of knowledge for us all. He answered all our gardening questions with such grace and clarity. He had not been  well in recent years but still managed to tend his plot and produce the best tasting and marvelously ‘giant’ marrows and onions amongst all other vegetables, that I have ever seen.  We will miss him at all the shows and when on our walks, seeing him with his cheery smile, sitting in his window, waiting with a  wave. Today we celebrated his life. The village church was full to bursting  as over two hundred people paid their respects to this much loved man. He never travelled far, once visiting Skegness  but didn’t like it much there, quickly returning  to his beloved village. Arthur was honoured with a medal from the Queen for forty years service to farming but carried on for many more years after that. He was laid to rest in the village churchyard with his family and many friends around him.  We will miss him so.

From my window across the fields, the leaves are nearly gone, it is chilly and  starting to look  somewhat bleak already. Still my little firs give some  colour to the view now that Winter approaches.

It is Remembrance Sunday tomorrow and our thoughts  return to those who gave their lives for us in the first and second World Wars. We also remember the brave men who have been lost, in the Falklands War,  in Iraq and Afghanistan.  In our little village, at the service tomorrow, we shall wear our poppies with pride as we remember these brave and courageous men

They shall not grow old, as we who are left grow old. Age shall  not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun We Will Remember Them…                                     

As many of my readers know,  days for me are not always  ‘good to my heart’   Watching my husband’s  journey with the  very debilitating illness  Multiple Myeloma, does not always make for the ’sunniest’ of  days.  Still here we are, almost  as  Summer  Time  comes to an end, and over one year since Hamada underwent a Stem Cell Transplant, how fortunate we are, in so many ways. One to have made it so far when the outlook was very grim for him.  Also to be living  in this wonderful country village which I know has been a daily tonic.   These were the views upon lifting my blinds this  late October morning.  Yes, we have much to be thankful for.  

This Saturday we attended the village ‘Lincoln Red’ Roast Beef  Dinner, held in the village hall. It was a great affair with every detail of fine dining attended to. Large plates of scrumptious roast beef served with horseradish  and  jacket potatoes, salads, some very palatable wines and the most wonderful display of desserts and with the very good company,   it made an excellent evening.

Yesterday we attended the downhill challenge which is an event for gravity racers. Just a stones throw to this beautiful little wolds village  with the very long steep hill running through. Teams take place in various classes covering the downhill course of approximately 800 metres. Such fun with some novelty entries to some very slick ones indeed.

The weather was great and we marched up the hill to watch closely from behind the straw bales these wonderful ‘gravity racers’ come hurtling down the hill to their chosen music.  A fantastic atmosphere ensued, as we clapped and cheered amid such  excitement, as each entry tried to get the best time  or at least improve on their own, before being towed up to the top of the hill to do it all over again.

With the many stalls and the prevailing smell of bacon butties, hamburgers,  and sausage babs  wafting through the late summer air, it was a really lovely way to spend a Sunday with  family and friends.

Recently I started to cycle again. It is I might say a long time since I first learnt to ride and more than forty-five years since I last sat on a bike.   My sister Jenny suggested that it might be a great way of getting some much needed exercise and  a good way of exploring at close quarters, the lanes and fields that surround our homes.  Oh! such fun and great excitement and with a pounding heart as I tucked my jeans into the bicycle clips so kindly lent by a friend we passed in the village, how kind as he took off  his own clips to give to me “can’t have you getting caught in the chain on your first day dear”  So off  I ventured to  this new delight in my sixty- first year!

The first day was a real success and  returning home all in one piece I  longed to cycle again. Now having been cycling for a few weeks the delights of this pursuit are astounding, to ride on a sunny day along the lanes and see the newly harvested fields of corn and wheat instead of whizzing by in my car.  To smell the grass and earth, to see the different leaves and colours of our beautiful land.  To look at closely again, the berry filled hedges, the different views as we stopped to admire this wonderful countryside, stretching our eyes as far as we can to see across these patchwork fields of green, browns and gold. To see the little cottages nestling in their valleys and the church steeples in the distance. To pass by the huge rusty red cows and to see the geese  marching past.  To breathe the wondrous air and feel the wind on your face and hair as you freewheel down the hills after the long slog up, is quite perfect. My sister and I wave to our  friends as we pass them by and explore lanes as we have never seen them before. This pursuit  has taken me back to my childhood and yes -I know what your thinking! -  I have fallen off once, luckily on the edge of a field so the landing was soft and no damage done.

Everyday my confidence has grown, so now I feel proficient  to ride without my first fear. What a lovely pastime to start again after all these years! how exhilarating  this feeling of  freedom and how I rejoice in it all, thank you for suggesting it dear Jenny, how I love this new adventure.  

The 34th Annual Flower and Vegetable show was held this Saturday in our village. A great bustle filled the air as the villagers took their wonderful produce to the village hall to await judgement. The eighty categories make it a fabulous affair.  The hall was filled to bursting with all manner of  superb vegetables with the Onion Competition displaying some of the biggest and best onions I have ever seen.  Every vegetable from the common potato and carrots to the not some common kohlrabi,  very popular in Germany and known as the German turnip, it dates back to the 16th century.  Also on display  were the marvelous  victoria sponges, fruit cakes, plum breads, apple pies,  jams and preserves, such wonderful jars of pickle onions and mint jellies. Mostly all the items are auctioned at the end of the day, selling at  the most reasonable prices and the villagers snap up the  scrumptious cakes  and first class vegetables. On arriving home I  made  a very  good leek au gratin for supper and some  butternut  squash and chili soup for freezing.

It has not been a very good summer  this year and yet these amazing village gardeners always managed to produce the most wonderful vegetables and should be so proud of themselves when collecting their various plaques and trophies.

It is such a nice social afternoon with tea and cakes or a glass of wine for those who choose.  Long may this wonderful show continue, I look forward to the 35th Flower and Vegetable show, in our really lovely little village.

Towards the end of June, seems to be the most popular time for the Village Fete, it really is such a wonderful English Tradition.  Our small village had theirs yesterday, as usual on the last Saturday in June.  The large Marquees were erected in the centre of the village, and with all the bustle and preparation an excitement seems to take over.

The ladies of the village start their wonderful baking  in the days before, and the cakes are duly assembled, some are selected for selling and the rest are displayed in the refreshment tent ready to serve our visitors a wonderful tea. Wines and gifts are packed onto tables for tombola and raffles, and all manner of stands, and games, filled the meadow.  The ‘Honey’ man was there with his wonderful little pots of goodness and his  special sheets of  bees-wax, which can be rolled and made into candles. Delicious homemade Jams and Marmalades filled the tables. Local  ‘very tasty ‘ Eggs were gathered up very quickly. With the  Ice Cream Man and Bouncy Castle doing a roaring trade, a festive air took place.  Great plants for sale, and an impressive display of vintage cars  filled more spaces.

The local school Band played  wonderfully and with such great  accomplishment and aplomb, and later with the catchy tunes of our village group, I found my toes tapping as some great music filled the meadow.

The weather was kind to us and seeing all the cheery faces and the happy smiles and laughter of  the children, it was a most pleasant afternoon.  Long may this splendid tradition continue.

Unusually strange weather in our little Wolds Village today. The Sun is shining brightly but the wind is charging through, blowing sun umbrellas  and summer – swings about. With potential  gusts of  55-65 mph and isolated gusts of  70 mph  it seems a strange June Day. Not one for gardening I feel.

Saturday was our ‘Lincolnshire Fayre’ supper held in the village hall.  A really nice evening, enabling us all, to get together for a good chat and sample some wonderful local produce.  Each table of  twelve was so prettily set with flower centre pieces and laden with some really tasty fayre.  We all started with Egg mayonnaise, the delicious taste of free range eggs and local salad made this, a most agreeably piquant start to the main meal.

The main course was succulent local cold cuts of Ham, Pork, Beef, local butchers Sausages and tasty Pork-Pies, of course the famous and very unique Pork Chine was also present. Pork Chine is salted neck-hind of pork, taken from between the shoulder blades of the pig, salted for up to ten months and then stuffed with parsley, the other ingredients are normally kept secret, it is served cold. Some may say an acquired  taste  but I like it very much. Huge bowls of fresh salad and new potatoes completed the main course.

We then had a seriously amazing choice of simply wonderful desserts. All home-made, by some of the best cooks in the Village. Ranging from strawberry and chocolate Pavlovas, the wonderful Italian dessert of  Tiramisu, creamy Rice Pudding,  Bannoffi Tart and Assorted Trifle’s etc. Absolutely a wonderful display and a heaven for the sweet tooth brigade, which rather looked like all of us, seeing  the weighty bowls carried back from the dessert table!

Finally to finish, the large trays of Plum Bread, which is another Lincolnshire speciality of dried fruit bread, consisting of raisins sultanas and currents, sometimes soaked in tea and always served with slices of good strong cheese. This particular bread  made at one of our local bakers, has now been chosen by British Airways to serve in  first class on selected flights.

Then Teas and Coffee for those who wish. What a great meal all served so beautifully, on prettily dressed tables with care and many smiling faces. Sharing  all this with good friends, it was a most pleasant evening and enjoyed by all. One little point this evening was all produced  for the grand sum of  £6.50 !

“For me it’s the breathtaking skies” my answer is always the same when asked,  “and what brought a Southern girl to the Lincolnshire Wolds”  These giant skies, the backdrop of this gentle, graceful green vista, is for me, the stunning beauty of this enchanting part of  England.

I had for some time previously lived in an Oasis town in the  Middle East and had become accustomed to the large skies of the desert and had embraced the wonder of such open spaces. So it was with delight, on one warm July day that I came across the charms of  the Lincolnshire Wolds, and this place with it’s immediate sense of tranquillity stayed in my memory and heart and  drew me years later to my home, in a lovely village which nestles in a valley, alongside  the River Bain.

My home overlooks pastures  amongst these peaceful farmlands and although now through trouble times – my husband is terminally ill with Multiple Myeloma see http://www.susiehemingway.blogspot.com  - I have at last found the tranquillity I craved.

I shall write of my life in this charming English Village and of the joy and sometimes pain each day brings.  I am a Country Lady now and I shall remain so.

The View From My Window.