Did you know that today, being the first Monday after Twelfth Night, was traditionally called Plough Monday. This was the the start of the agricultural year, the day Ploughman and their horses went back to work after their Christmas and New Year break...... usually their only holiday of the year.
Nowadays fields are not often ploughed every year, just rough cultivated straight after harvest and drilled immediately after that or even at the same time.When we used to have barley straw small baled for bedding we were often in a race to get the bales done and home before the farmer cultivated! If sugar beet is in a farms crop rotation then the fields will be ploughed that year because the beet harvest compresses the soil .
Mentioned this book below the other day and had a comment from Anonymous asking for a review. It is a new book, published in 2016.
Anne was in her late 20's and working in London when she holidayed on Skye in 1989 and spotted an ad in an Estate Agents window for a primitive cottage for sale on Soay.
She'd not even thought about moving and even less to a tiny island, in fact she didn't even realise it was an island and accessible only by small boat!
Although she went back to London without finding out more, the picture of the cottage nagged away at her until she finally arranged to go and see it.
The book covers the years 1990 to 1998 in detail, her naivety as she moved there and how she was helped by other islanders........there were 17 permanent residents when she arrived. She finds out about the history of Soay and crofting, struggles with refurbishing the cottage and lack of cash. She finds a way to earn money by collecting winkles and buys a boat of her own. Several of the islanders pass away or move away over the years until the winter of 2000 when she would be left almost on her own.
In her early years on Soay the island was used for army manoeuvres and a she met a civilian photographer Robert Cholawo who always came with the men. She began to rely on him for advice and help and when his marriage broke up they corresponded until she went to stay with him in Devon for the winter of 2001 moving back to the island again in the spring.
The years from their marriage in 2002 to 2016 are covered in just a couple of chapters. Maybe she'll write another book to tell more about how Robert bought and modernised the neighbouring house on Soay and their story up to date. They now have their own hydro electric power and keep goats and grow a lot of vegetables. Climate change means that winter weather now is much windier and they are unable to leave the island for months at a time so have to stock up with coal, animal feed and everything else they need to last a long time.
A good read but I was left wanting to know more..
One thing I discovered while reading was that a couple called Comber rented a cottage on the island in the 1960's and the lady wrote several lovely books under the name of Lilian Beckwith. I'd always wondered how near to biography her books were ( A Loud Halo, The Sea for Breakfast, A Rope in Case etc) and it turns out Not at All!
On Saturday I actually found something in the sales
Had a trip out to
Felixstowe as they are another place with The Works and I was still
searching for the 4 in a box game. (have come to conclusion The Works in
our area didn't stock these as they had lots of the other wooden games
but not that one and had no idea what I was talking about - just like
the lady in Ipswich branch but Suzanne at Life at Number 38 has found it for me 'up North', she's a star!)
Anyway
Felixstowe also has an Original Factory Shop like Saxmundham and that's
where, last year, I got the shred and cellophane for the Christmas
Hampers. Luckily they just had a few packs left reduced from £2 to £1
again so 2 purchased plus on the counter they were selling off the
final few boxes of 10 Christmas Crackers for £1. I bought one. That's my
January Sale shopping done!
We thought we had better
get some quotes for removal companies, so we can get boxes and start
packing. 3 quotes varied by nearly £400 - how on earth can one man look
round and decide they can do it for £700 and another says it will cost
over £1000? I pointed out to the man from the company who moved me in
that he'd charged us £200 extra last March when his was the only company available after other arrangements with firms fell through because of changed
dates. I think he looked slightly sheepish and has priced it less
than our move here. The lads were really good in March so we'll probably
go with them again - this time they weren't the most expensive.
Welcome to a new follower.........a nice round 450 now.........goodness me. Thank you for all the comments for and against Yellow Sticker shopping.
Back in a jiffy
Sue
From that first visit,
once I had set foot on Soay the house no longer became my primary
obsession, but merely a means to an end. I had never experienced a place
like it in my life. After only 10 minutes on the island I had fallen
under its unfathomable, magical and enthralling spell. Unbelievably, I
had found my longed-for childhood “middle of nowhere” and apparently,
completely by accident.
Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/essentials/lifestyle/island-fling/
From that first visit,
once I had set foot on Soay the house no longer became my primary
obsession, but merely a means to an end. I had never experienced a place
like it in my life. After only 10 minutes on the island I had fallen
under its unfathomable, magical and enthralling spell. Unbelievably, I
had found my longed-for childhood “middle of nowhere” and apparently,
completely by accident
Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/essentials/lifestyle/island-fling/
From that first visit,
once I had set foot on Soay the house no longer became my primary
obsession, but merely a means to an end. I had never experienced a place
like it in my life. After only 10 minutes on the island I had fallen
under its unfathomable, magical and enthralling spell. Unbelievably, I
had found my longed-for childhood “middle of nowhere” and apparently,
completely by accident
Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/essentials/lifestyle/island-fling/
Yep, plain cream crackers are cheaper but a bit boring.
.First published in 1948 the story spans 40 years in the 14th Century and tells the story of a convent through that time. It's a bit odd and I actually borrowed it last year and sent it back unread for that reason, but having read this below which is reminiscences of the authors Edwardian childhood
I felt up to having another go at her fiction.
