Category: Notes from the sticks

THEY didn’t waste much imagination when they named our local hostelries. Our neighbouring village of Waddington had The Buck and the Buck In The Vine a few hundred yards apart, … Continue readingThe Queen bobs in* for a brew**

DURING the summer there are usually quite a number of village shows in this area, probably half a dozen within a half-hour’s drive. Last year all were cancelled and this … Continue readingShow Time

IF YOU were to watch BBC and Channel 4 gardening programmes (which I don’t) I’m sure you wouldn’t hear much mention of bedding plants such as lobelia, alyssum, begonias and … Continue readingSalute to the English country garden

LAST week I mentioned that there was to be a vintage tractor rally that day. I duly went along and found a delightful crowd of enthusiasts admiring the old things. There must … Continue readingAttracted to tractors

ONE of the many pleasures of living in the country is that there are occasional tractor runs, when vintage farm vehicles parade through the village before driving around for a … Continue readingTransports of delight

WE are having some wonderful warm weather, which is very welcome. Not so welcome are the biting insects which accompany it. A few days ago a little wretch got inside … Continue readingOnce bitten . . .

IT’S decades since I saw a hedgehog, but this week a woman in our village told me that until this year she had five or six regularly visiting her garden. … Continue readingHedgehogs aren’t pets

THERE is a strong human instinct to feed wild creatures. I don’t know why but maybe it’s some primitive desire to tame them. It seems a kind thing to do, … Continue readingFood for thought (and red kites)

ONCE or twice I have turned on the telly and caught the end of one of those programmes in which a hopeless old wreck of a car is turned into … Continue readingThe name’s Bond . . .

THE picture below shows one of my most treasured possessions. It is a memento of an event which took place almost exactly 90 years ago – the anniversary is on … Continue readingFrom Sheep’s Back to Man’s Back