11th August, 2008

I had an Aunt and Uncle (Lester & Clarice Webb) and their four sons, David, Ivor, John & Paul, who lived at Cross Trees in Filkins. I was born and raised in Swindon and would visit them quite often when I was a young girl. Filkins is such a wonderful picturesque village, I know how much my Aunt and Uncle enjoyed their life there. Auntie Clarice was into all kinds of community activites and after Uncle Lester retired you couldn't keep him off the bowling green.

Please always keep Filkins as it was then and lets still have that little bit of England to take pride in.

I have been living in the Unitied States for 45 years now, but whenever I come home to England for a visit, I always make sure that I go to Filkins and take a ride around the village.

Jan (nee Billingham)

12th July, 2008

I have been recently in UK for my father Bert’s 100th birthday.
Bert Spragg, my father, was the Head Gardener at Goodenoughs from 1948 until soon after the death of Sir William. He still has very strong links with Filkins even though it’s probably 60 years since he was there.

His first wife, my mother, Dorothy Spragg, is buried in the Filkins cemetery, and his second wife, local Anne Scriven (nee Miles) is buried in Broughton Poggs Churchyard.

We had a wonderful series of small celebrations for Dad’s birthday and thought you would like some photos and news items from that time.

I still haven’t quite taken it in that Dad is 100.

We used to marvel at George Swinford reaching that great age, and Dad treasures his copy of ‘The Jubilee Boy’. Now he’s a centenarian too!

While Dad is in a Care Home, he still has all his mental faculties –  and that’s so wonderful! He’s just had hearing aids, for the first time in his life, and it seems that life is opening up again for him. We had not realised how deaf he had become.

I’ve attached a few item for anyone who’s interested. I wasn’t sure whether to put them into the letters section of the Filkins website – please place them as is appropriate.

Sincerely
Dorin Hart (formerly Doreen Spragg)

Have there been many centenarians in Filkins since George Swinford?

Click here to view another article, too big to display (51K)

26th June, 2008

Further to our earlier letter regarding the bird life on the Brook - quick update on the Kingfishers which we are very happy to say have survived the flood and are back in residence. Hopefully they will have already successfully fledged their first brood and now be underway with a second. Parents can usually be seen in mid-morning flying towards Broughton Hall pond for their elevenses, so if you are walking down the road by the B4477 bridge do keep your eyes open for a very fast moving, low and flat flying iridescent blue blur. Adult Kingfishers need to consume their own body weight in fish every day, and each chick needs a dozen or so small fry each day as well, so the health of the river and its fish stock is crucial for the Kingfishers to thrive. It is estimated that here may only be 5,000 pairs in the country, and they are not very long lived birds - and of the birds that fledge, sadly very few make it through to adulthood as (given their position in the food chain) they are particularly sensitive to pollution, Fortunately food supply looks good with more trout fry in the river (particularly in the upper river above the Mill) than there have been in the past few years - a very encouraging sign for the overall health of the Brook, and we are very glad indeed to see them back in the village.

Regards,

Charlie and Avril Payne

2nd June, 2008

Dear Residents of Filkins and Broughton Poggs

I am a regular visitor to the Cotswolds but until yesterday had never visited your 2 delightful villages . The NGS event was brilliantly organised and a thoroughlty enjoyable afternoon. Everyone we met was most welcoming too. I shall certainly return again and hope to be in time for some cake before it all runs out !

Thanks for a lovely afternoon. Well done , one and all.
John Griffiths.

1st May, 2008

Hi,
I am thinking of purchasing in the area and was wondering if you would be able to answer some questions for me?

1. Has Broughton Poggs flooded any other before July last year?
2. Do you know if there is a lot of noise from the flight path?
3. Do you know anything about the plot of land for sale?

Thanks very much for your time

Emily ( Emily@signlanguageltd.co.uk )

9th April, 2008

Hello there,
I was recently chatting to an old School friend and he suddenly came out with the fact that his Father grew up in Filkins. That would have been in the 1930's judging by his late Father's age.
We are planning to visit Filkins in July 2008.  If anyone has any memories or other information this would be gratefully accepted and can be sent to myself, Chris McBrien…  mcbrien410@aol.com
I was at RAF Brize Norton between 1967 and 1971 and just love to wander between Filkins, Letchlade and Burford. I would like to say hello to Mervyn Swinford who was a 'mean' Darts players back in those days. Mervyn and I played Darts in The Lamb Inn before it was converted to houses.
He was/is a fine stone mason as well.

Here's a couple of intesting links:

The Lmb Inn (as was) form the air...
http://www.192.com/maps/?lev=1&px=423825.5&py=204201.5

A selection of Filkins pictures...
http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2522179

Regards
Chris McBrien.
(Aberdeen)

9th April, 2008

Snake’s head fritillaries, Fritillaria meleagris, are one of the more unusual spring flowers to be found in the UK. In the wild their normal habitat is the floodplain hay-meadows of southern England; indeed one of their strongholds is North Meadow bordering the Thames just outside Cricklade just 12 or so miles from Filkins. Here English Nature manages the fields according to traditional pre-mechanised farming practices.

At this time of the year in North Meadow they can be seen in their thousands in both the normal, ~90%, and white,~10%, colour forms, but if you don’t wish to travel so far some can now be seen locally in one of the undisturbed low-lying areas of Broughton Poggs where these photographs were taken on Tuesday.

Snake’s head fritillaries are also locally abundant in the some of the water meadows around Oxford and in East Anglia.

Ian Bailey

I F Bailey
Taylor Cottage

Click image for larger pictures

8th February, 2008

This letter was sent to Chris & Barbara following the passing of Sandy Saunders (ed.)

Thank you so much for the donation on behalf of Filkins Theatre Club. It was very kind of you. We remember the stories told us by both Sandy and Edna of the escapades with your club. We particularly remember the story of him making the udders of a cow from a washing up bowl and rubber gloves! We are sure that you have many more stories of props that Sandy made. (as we were sorting out this week we came across the cemet mixer that Sandy had made from an oil drum and spin drier.) We both know that they loved helping out in the theatre in whatever way they could. I am sure that you will miss him and of course Edna, as we do.

With our thanks

Martyn & Linda Morris.

30h January, 2008

Sir: Following Charlie Paynes letter I understand weather and environmental conditions will be correct in July this year for a brief return of Anas Stfilicus. These native ducks will probably be visible on a Saturday afternoon and unlike some birds welcome a large crowd to observe them frolicking in the brook. They are also known for their racing tendancies, some being much faster than others.
We look forward to their return

Cris Hoad

27th January,2008

Sir: Last February there was a flurry of letters to this website noting the problems of dog mess around the village. I wrote to you offering my services (and those of the clerk: sorry Cris!) as complainers-in-chief on behalf of the Parish Council and the village to recalcitrant dog-owners. No one has so far come to me with a specific problem into which (metaphorically) I can get my teeth.

Has the problem gone away? If not, do please let me or the clerk know. This really is something we want to stamp out not in.

Best regards
Richard Martin
(Filkins & Broughton Poggs Parish Council)

11th January, 2008

Egrets and other Wildlife

Following up on Ian Bailey's really interesting letter and photos -  we saw a solitary egret on the Broadwell Brook just upstream of the Mill and not far from the Goodfellows withy beds in February 2006. Having seen them in their winter home in Africa it was bizarre to look out of our window and see one twenty feet away in the pouring rain in Oxfordshire! It was wading in the water happily feeding and quite impervious to the filthy weather. Sadly I haven't seen any since then, but our short length of the Brook supports quite a varied ecosystem - we've seen herons, moorhens (who drove off the mallards this year and successfully raised a brood of two chicks, which can now be seen wandering around both our field and over the road in Broughton Hall), kingfishers (though less so this year - we're a bit concerned that their nests were flooded out in July, so we hope that they will be back), a dipper (which actually 'flies' underwater for up to 10 seconds) water voles, and on two occasions, an otter - both times in autumn, presumably on its own having split up after mating and passing through in its way to its winter range. The Brook has a good supply of food, with populations of both small wild brown trout and crayfish - to which the otter, judging by the spraint it left, was particularly partial! Sadly the crayfish are the larger and aggressive Red Signal introduced variety, which crowds out the smaller native black British variety in a similar way to grey squirrels taking over from the native reds - it is thought they carry a virus which they are immune to but which is fatal to the British crayfish. The non-natives are easy to spot - they have clear bright red colouring on the underside of their claws, and we've seen them up to a size of 8-10 inches in the Brook. And they are very tasty...

Of course every other year we also see a brief seasonal population of Anas Stfilicus, the native Filkins yellow plastic duck.

Charlie and Avril Payne

9th January, 2008

The white bird seen flying in the photo (below), taken on Tuesday, January 8th, is of one of a pair of little egrets spotted close to the withy beds bordering the Broadwell Brook in the field south of Goodfellows.

Until the early 1990s little egrets, a member of the heron family, were an occasional visitor to river estuaries in the south of England. However since that time their numbers increased, eventually taking up permanent residence in Christchurch and Poole harbours where they established colonies and in 1996 became a new UK breeding bird.

Apart from having seen them in Spain and France my first sighting of one in the UK was by chance in 1997 on the Helston River in Cornwall. Recently their spread in southern England has accelerated and in 2006 they were recorded as having bred on a gravel pit near Reading. Of more local interest is that in mid-November I heard that up to 3 had been seen several times near on the River Leach at Sheep’s Bridge just out of Eastleach. Requiring little prompting I went over and saw two of them.

On mentioning these sightings to another local observer, Ian Grey, I learned that Charlie Payne had reported seeing one near Broughton Poggs Mill. It seems that locally they are becoming much more common and are exploiting some niche in the environment which herons and other water birds such as moorhens and ducks are missing.

They are snowy white with white plumes and when in flight probably about the size of a crow.

Ian Bailey

7th January, 2008

Sir,
I have discovered that my ancestors (HAGGARD) originated and lived in the Kencot/Filkins area some two hundred years ago. I have traced my GGG Grandmother as Ann HAGGARD born 1807 in Kencot. I believe that her father was James HAGGOTT (1758 - 1851), and his parents were John HAGGOT and Ann Brown (daughter of Joseph Brown & Elizabeth Luckett. However, I have been unable to confirm this using the usual internet genealogy sites. I have visited Kencot/Filkins/Broadwell many times during my frequent visits to the Defence Academy at Shrivenham but have been unable to find physical evidence of my ancestors. This is not so surprising as they were poor agricultural labourers and almost certainly illiterate. Nevertheless, I would be most grateful for any information that anyone may have regarding the HAGGARD family and equally grateful if there should be anyone I could contact with regard to parish records. I would be willing to purchase papers/books/CD of such records. The common census records of 1841-1901 show that my ancestors lived in the Kencot, Filkins, Broadwell, Highworth, and Alvescott areas.

Yours
Mark Haggard
Gosport, Hampshire
07902 288419

13th December, 2007

I have recently learned that my Great grandfather William Higginson was born in Filkins Oxfordshire about 1838, if anyone out there could help me establish exactly when and any other information concerning him or any of his family I would be most grateful. I am hoping to come to the UK from New Zealand next year and visit some of my ancestors old haunts.
My e-mail address is lccdavey@paradise.net.nz

Regards
Lenny Davey

24th November, 2007  

Following on from Daniel’s write up of the 70’s disco which unfortunately we couldn’t attend at the last minute, we just want to reinforce what he said about Filkins being a very warm and welcoming place and how people who have moved away still think of it with fondness. 

We lived in Filkins for over nine years, but due to work commitments about now find ourselves living down in Sherborne, Dorset.  Though this is a lovely Abbey town, situated in a stunning area of the South-West it is still not home.  Filkins is still home.  We have left behind friends that we made in the village some who we still see quite regularly and just couldn’t bear to part with our Filkins home either.  So, we can definitely say with some conviction that there is indeed something about Filkins which makes it a special place.  We are currently letting other people enjoy our home and the village that we have had to leave behind and hope that they, like the USAF gentleman in Daniel’s story say that they have never lived anywhere as nice as Filkins. But we will return ….

Our best wishes go out to everyone who remembers us in the village.

Sheila and Allan Phillipson

70's Disco

19th November, 2007

I have now lived in the village for 3½ years and although I have some connection with it I still feel somewhat of a new arrival. I swiftly add to that it is not because anyone makes me feel unwelcome, but just because normally a village takes some time to warm to new arrivals. As anyone who lives in Filkins or Broughton Poggs will tell you one almost immediately feels welcome and at home. Still the feeling persists, despite conversations to the contrary.

At the weekend I was yet again witnessed to the prize winning community spirit which the villages are renowned for. The party on Saturday was as usual a joy to attend. We were treated to Ian Grey with hair and white suit, Chris Bristow's college sweat-shirt (on the grounds that he still fitted into it) and Barbara's legs. Not having been in the village long enough I can not identify the couple but there was some exquisite jiving going on too. I have now been to many of the village events, and apart from a relatively harmless spat (at which Jeremy Irwin Singer's spectacles were damaged) I have always been enchanted by the company and good humour.

Judging by the letters recently displayed even people who have moved away still feel the same.

Two year ago I was at the St Filica feast, and sat at the same table as an American (from U.S.A.) who was living in Hazells Lane. After a little conversation he admitted that though he had travelled the world with the American Forces he had never lived anywhere as nice as Filkins. It is possible that there was a bit of flattery going on, but I do believe he was being sincere.

I feel highly privileged to be part of this wonderful community.

Daniel Porter.

FILKINS FOLK

5th October, 2007

In 1973, I moved from Farnham in Surrey. One day, I decided I needed a change and told my wife, Beverley, that I was heading for Langford, in Gloucestershire. Why Langford? Because my parents lived there with my younger brother and sister. My older brother lived in Southrop, having moved from Eastleach after leaving the farm life. My older sister lived next door to my brother. So, these were a few reasons, plus I was in a rut and living in a rent flat with two small children.

So, the move was easy…I got in the car and drove down to my parent’s home, Beverley stayed in Farnham with the kids. I arrived in Langford with nowhere to live and no job!

What a joy it was arriving in Langford, my parents had worked hard to get the Old Forge into shape as a home. I had spent time there the year before digging a big hole for the septic tank. Now I was there for a different reason.

Anyway, I arrived there and was prepared to go out looking for work and a home for my family. But other forces were at work and boy, did they work fast. I know gossip travels fast in small communities, but I wasn’t expecting warp speed. That same afternoon Mrs Lafford, the next door neighbour, said that Sam Webb said Chris Walker was looking for someone for summer work.

So it was that we came to live in Filkins. We moved into Priors Cottage and this was to be our home for almost four years. There was no matter of acceptance here, which would witness later in Suffolk and in Ascot.

Once we moved into Filkins, we were part of the community, and I still feel this way 30+ years later.

Okay, so now I will try to recall as many people I can remember from the village. Many will have moved on, passed on or perhaps, still be living there. I may get some names slightly wrong, so please forgive me and let me know the correct names.

Starting as far up the road from the village as I can remember were the Council Houses. There was an older lady who lived in one of the houses, her name escapes me now, but I recall chatting to her on several occasions. The family we remember most with great affection were Joan and Tim Hambridge, and their children, Darren, Tracey and Joanne. Joan and Beverley were good friends, they walked their kids to school, and Joan was a great comfort when our daughter Rebecca was born. We have visited them since we moved away, perhaps five years ago. Nothing had changed, they were as friendly and welcoming as ever.

On the opposite side of the road was Clarke’s Barn. I recall stacking bales in this small, cross shaped building. It was a relic of past times even then, now it has been converted into a home and I am sure it serves better in this form than it did as a decaying shell.

Next door to our little cottage was Pear Tree Farmhouse. A large imposing building with a well built wall protecting it from the driveway into the farm. I know this wall is well built because one day I caught it with my car, it smashed the wing, but left no mark on the lovely Cotswold stone wall. Mrs Staniforth lived here and this was the one house I really wanted to live in. She showed us round it one day, and I fell in love with this superb house. I still dream of living somewhere like this.

Next, was our small, yet comfortable home. Priors Cottage was once a cart hovel, then converted into a house for Nuns? We settled in here quickly and made it our home. It was a great place to live, with its low doorways, narrow stairs and bedrooms with low window sills and sloping floors. When we first put our furniture in the main bedroom we couldn’t understand why the drawers kept sliding open. It didn’t take long to work out the floor was bowed and everything sloped towards the middle of the room. I recall sitting on the window sill watching thunderstorms, and having the landing lights of the VC10s shining in the window as they approached Brize Norton.

Talking of thunderstorms, I remember one night watching a good storm, it must have been nearly twelve and I saw a torch flashing about near the drive. It was Doug Jackson, my neighbour, the cowman on the farm. I opened the window to see what he was doing. He said he was going to check the cows, to make sure they were all safe. I guessed by the way he told me, that he wasn’t too keen going into the fields on his own during the storm. So, I soon found myself wandering around the fields at the back of the farm in the pitch black night, that was rudely interrupted by flashes of lightning.

Our second daughter, Rebecca, was born in Priors Cottage. She was rushed off to hospital hours after her birth. Later she was diagnosed with Spina Bifida. Just after her first birthday, she contracted Meningitus and was rushed to the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford. She was close to death at one time, but pulled through and was well enough to sit on Beverley’s lap to see Father Christmas. The Filkins Folk rallied round, helping with transport to the hospital and a collection for presents for her. This is something I have never forgotten.

Next door, or across the entrance to the farm was Doug Jackson’s house. I remember him as a jolly, balding man with a lovely accent. His son Derek lived with him. His other son, Terry, visited often. I knew Terry, because he was and still is a friend of my older brother. They both worked for the same company, Hintons, in Southrop. Doug was the cowman at Pear Tree Farm. We often called in at the dairy when it was hot and helped ourselves to the fresh, ice cold, milk in the refrigerator tank where it was awating collection by Ivor, the tanker driver. Our kids used to wait for Ivor and give him a wave as he called in to collect the milk each day.

Across the road was Chauffeur’s Cottage, this was where Ken the Shepherd lived. His wife/partner was Mrs Chown. Her son, Bob, the mechanic on the farm and his daughter Karen lived there also. Bob worked with David, who was the head mechanic. I don’t remember much about David except for the fact that he was building a V8 Landrover in one part of the workshop. It took ages and he fabricated an adapter plate so that he could fix an auto gearbox to the V8. Something that Landrover hadn’t done. He used to drive this brute to work and that V8 sounded lovely as it came past our cottage.
The next house down the road was Cross Trees Nursery and Mrs Webb. We took our son, Simon, there to meet Mrs Webb before he joined her nursery school. We sat and had tea with her and Lester, her husband. Gerald Webb looked in for a short while then we discussed Simon’s entrance into the nursery school. Of course, Mrs Webb was immediately taken by his long blonde, curly hair and his future was in no doubt. He was one of her favourites during his time there.

Across the road was Filkins Hall, the home of Lady Goodenough and Mr Sam Goodenough her son. Mr Sam was in theory our boss as he shared the ownership of the farms with his brother, Richard, who lived at Manor Farm in Broadwell. We, the workers, would act as beaters during the pheasant shooting season. We met up at Filkins Hall, and under the guardianship of Rodney Cresswell, the Gamekeeper, headed out to beat the fields and woods on the farm. There would be a break for dinner, a quick sandwich and beer, then back out for the afternoon. The shoot normally finished quite early and we got £6 for the day. Back home, it was quick wash, change clothes and head for Carterton or Burford to buy a few goodies like books or drawing material.

We all gathered at Filkins Hall in June 1977 for the Jubilee celebrations. These were held on the lawns at the front of the house and gradually spread out into the village, with a pram race and other events. How I wish we had digital cameras then, I had a cheap 110 cartridge camera and took too few photos. It was 13 years later that I bought a decent SLR film camera. Today we use digital cameras and computers and amass hundreds of photos at no real cost.

Below Cross Trees was Home Farm? This was derelict and had been for quite a few years, this is now the Weavers Centre. We visited there a few years ago and were so impressed with the whole setup. What a bonus for the village.

The next place I recall was the shop and Post Office, run by Mr Waring and his wife. We place a weekly order there and only used the Co-op in Carterton for extras. What surprises me now is how we could do a weekly shop at Mr Waring’s, get a few bits from Carterton and still have money to go to Burford for books etc, or go for a ride out to Bibury to see the trout  and ducks. Nowadays there is little money left from my wages as a Gardener for any sort of luxuries!

So, now I am in no mans land. It is just names.

Maureen Truman, I believe she lived in Saxons Close. She was the main driving force when Rebecca was born. She helped Beverley and was the main instigator for the collection that provided Rebecca with some lovely toys when she returned home from hospital. We meet Maureen when we lasted visited Filkins, she hadn’t changed and remembered us! Hopefully we can head down again soon and meet up.

There has to be the Museum and George ‘Old Mr’ Swinford. I think within a couple of weeks of moving in to our cottage we met with George and he insisted we visit the Museum, which we duly did and found it very interesting, but more interesting was George himself, he regaled us with stories of days gone by, how the village had changed and how farming has changed over the years. All in all, a very worthwhile visit. And yes, I do have a copy of his book.
There were the Coxheads, they lived at the Gassons, I believe Craig was only a youngster then. I wonder where he is now and what he is doing?

The local surgery was the practice of Doctor Groundspeace, I don’t think I ever had to go to visit him for any illness to myself, but we had a lot of contact with him as a family, with two youngster to begin with, then with Rebecca and her problems. In fact, we probably taught him a lot about Spina Bifida!

I know Simon, my eldest used to go to the Cripps home and play with the twins. Apart from that, I don’t know much else about them.

I think the last person I can recall had a small space in one of the barns at the Broughton Poggs end of the village. He did car bodywork repairs and all I know is he was called ‘Tulip’?

Of course, living in Filkins and working for Chris Walker involved people from surrounding villages as the farm covered Filkins, Broadwell and Kencot. Most of these people worked on the farms. There was John Smith, cowman at Lower Manor Farm, Broadwell, and relief at Pear Tree Farm.

Rodney Cresswell, gamekeeper and furniture dealer. Lived with his wife and two sons. One I worked with, Richard. I saw Richard last time we visited Filkins and although older, he was still the same.

Richard Goodenough was the owner of Manor Farm, brother to Mr Sam. I don’t think I had any contact with Richard, but his son ‘Owl’ worked with us one summer. He was called Owl because he was a university student, very good at his subject, but had no idea about everyday life and work!

My best mate was Bobby Hobbs. He worked with me, Richard and Nigel Walker, Chris Walker’s son. Bob and Janet lived between Broadwell and Kencot, they had two children by the time we left Filkins. The only one I remember was ‘Sparrer’! as he was known. I can’t remember his proper name. I can’t do justice to Bob in this short account, but he remains embedded in my memory after all these years. I would love to hear from him again.

Well, that about drained my memory banks of names, but not events.

So, who am I? I am Steve Jones, married to Beverley for 37 years. Our children are Simon, Samantha, Rebecca and Amy. We now live near Ascot, Berkshire. I worked at Ascot Racecourse for 13 years, now Beverley and I work on a 72 acre private estate as part of a 9 man team of Gardeners. We are considering a move in the future and may one day end up in Filkins again.

I can be contacted at steve_k9@btinternet.com

That’s all for now. Keep smiling.

Dog Mess

I do agree with the three letters concerning "dog poo". Surely a responsible owner does not take a dog into a children's playground let alone leave its mess behind.

There are many residents suggesting a dog bin, however if these owners are not willing to pick it up in the first place there is no way they will pick it up and put it in a bin.

Who would empty the bin??

I can find no excuse for fouling our village, the furthest walk to open countryside must, after all, be at least 1 minute.

Yours, 

E. V Hopeful

Sir,

I notice that in the latest issue of your St Filica Society newsletter that the announcement of the Society's Annual General Meeting is headed "Our Village Shop".

Will the supermarkets stop at nothing in their quest for world domination ?

Yours etc.

D M Kerliss

Sir,

As a dyslexic (I'm not even sure how to spell that; thank god for spell
checker ~ sometimes) I always struggle with spelling in general. It is
amusing to see everyone getting hot under the collar about the use of one
consonant in a word. I wonder if it will take more than a gener8tion before
numbers become an accepted form (what with phone txt and such). I thought
the following bits might interest, but I doubt whether the debate will cease
because of it.

RSCHEEARCH AT CMABRIGDE UINERVTISY

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht
oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist
and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you
can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not
raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?

1. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid cliches like the plague.
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
11. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
12. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly
superfluous.
13. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
14. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
15. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary.
16. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
17. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
18. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth
earth-shaking ideas.
19. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
20. Who needs rhetorical questions?

[Aye m knot shore 2 hoom this shud B tribbutid. NE bodi clame rispon . sorree aye carnt doo this werd - Ed]

Sir,

It seems an appropriate moment, as we celebrate (or otherwise) the 1707 Act of Union, to comment on Mr Renault's use of the expression "British English".

Given the extraordinary mangling of what is arguably the world's richest language that is often heard north of the border, it is to be hoped that there is no such thing.

Yours etc.

Cathkin Peabody (Mrs)

Sir: That's a jolly interesting jaunt through the evidence, but you do not have to go back to 1901 for a definitive ruling so far as British English is concerned.

'The Times In-house Style Guide' of 2005 states unequivocally: 'practice (noun); practise (verb). It is an inexcusable practice for sub-editors to confuse the two; writers should practise getting it right.'

That's good enough for me!

Best regards

Louis Renault

[It is sad that somebody with apparently distinguished French ancestry should be so willing to settle for a ruling from such a source. Readers may be interested to know that the Strine equivalent of either the verb or the noun is usually spelt with a k. - Ed]

Sir: If one pedant may intrude on the turf of another, 'practised' (not
'practiced') surely?

Best

Louis Renault

[This raises an interesting and long-running issue in the study of English language. The current Oxford English Reference Dictionary says practice with a c is either a noun or a verb, but with an s it is only a verb unless you live in the United States. Webster, predictably, therefore, allows either a c or an s for the verb but only a c for the noun. Eric Partridge in Usage and Abusage notes this, commenting that Webster's "preferred" spelling of both the noun and the verb is with an s, but nevertheless argues that, properly, c is for the noun and s is for the verb. In Modern English Usage, that other great grammarian, Fowler, slightly more cautiously, says the c is "better" for the noun and the s is "better" for the verb. But one has to go back to the Chambers English Dictionary of 1901 to find a definitive statement that practice with a c is the noun and practise with an s is the verb. Other useful words which follow the same rule include licence, advice, device and prophecy. I hope this intervention has been helpful - Ed.]

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for a socially responsible, minimum stress, non-addictive, environmentally conscious, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday (for the northern hemisphere), practiced within the traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all...

Also a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2007, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make England the great country it is today (not to imply that England is necessarily greater than any other country), and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith, beer preference, choice of computer platform, or sexual proclivity of the wishes.

*Terms and Conditions

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting the attached terms and conditions. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal, it is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting, it implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first. Warranty shall be limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

Following the villages' very pleasant encounter with Wing Commander Tony Turner from Brize Norton a few weeks ago, here is a fascinating extract from some recent website correspondence which aptly recalls life in Filkins half a century ago.

". . . my earliest visit to your region was as a young airman with the US Air Force when I was assigned to RAF Brize Norton in early 1957. So, belated apologies to you and your neighbors for the disturbing noise levels we must have dumped with our medium range and, at the time, new B52 bombers."

If you have any memories of your own from these days which you would like to share with the writer, please let us know and we will gladly forward them to him.

Webmaster

Digger

I have a friend who bought a digger from Ebay. It is a bit larger than he expected, but he is willing to lend it to anyone with a need.

Daniel Porter

Dear Webmaster,

What a delight to discover your wonderful website.  And what memories it brings back. Let me explain:
In 1984 I had the privilege of visiting England and Scotland with a group. We would fly to Scotland after a visit in London and drive back to London through the English countryside. Preparing for the trip, I read some of my old National Geographics and found the June 1974 issue had a lovely story about the Cotswolds and a certain Mr. George Swinford and his museum. So when I planned our route back, I made sure that Filkins was on the itinerary. My fellow travelers made a joke of it since Mr. Swinford was 86 years old at the time of the 1974 National Geographic article. They said he was probably long gone by then, after 10 years. I just told them that Mr. Swinford was waiting for me to visit him and his museum.  I was just absolutely sure of it.

We stayed at a lovely renovated carriage house inn called the Swan and drove to Filkins, arriving early in the morning. The village was everything I had imagined and more. Where to find Mr. George Swinford? We stopped by the post office and I went in to ask about him. Imagine my wonder and delight when the postmaster said in a very British voice, "Young Mr. Swinford or Old Mr. Swinford?" I told him Old Mr. Swinford and he directed us to his home. 

He was working in his garden when we arrived. I explained who I was and why we were there, that I was from America from the state of Louisiana, which is way down South, about 45 miles north of New Orleans. 

He ushered us into his home, showed us his fantastic carvings - chairs, picture frames and his famous blackthorn walking sticks. Ever ready to share his museum, we walked the short way there and he showed us the artifacts he had acquired or found during his years as a stone mason and slate roofer. What treasures we saw!

When we went back to his home, he commented that he still heard occasionally from the nice young man who wrote the article for National Geographic (James Cerruiti). When he were ready to leave, he gifted me with a lovely blackthorn walking stick and I treasure it to this very day. I probably could not bring it on the plane in this day and time, but back then I would not let it out of my sight and it flew close to me all the way back to the USA. 

I still have the National Geographic magazine, but haven't looked at it in many years. But, I was cleaning and reorganizing  my home office this morning, and there it was under some books. I enjoyed reading it all over again, and dreaming about the beautiful Cotswolds and the village of Filkins.  

I have attached some pictures of me and Mr. Swinford taken so long ago. 

Thanks for the memories,
Donna R. Mollere
Ponchatoula, Louisiana USA

Sir, Re: WHOSMYBOBBY

We’ve had a look on the Internet at this latest example of a civic cop out and would like to make the following observations:

1 We’re not sure we actually want a “Neighbourhood Manager” who writes press releases and monthly updates (of what ?)

2 We don’t really want a whole Pick ’n Mix team of no doubt very nice constables but whose pictures are only marginally more flattering than mugshots

3 We certainly don’t want the only means of communication on offer to be by e-mailing a faceless individual called “the officer dedicated to policing your area”

We would like a village bobby that we can call our own and occasionally say hello to face to face. We don’t mind sharing him or her with a few (only a few, mind you) other villages, but we think a sense of belonging to and being part of the community is important to everyone.

It might also be good to get to know and sometimes see the Sergeant as well, but please don’t get too far ahead of us – the last thing we’re suggesting is another website called WHOSMYBOBBYSSERGEANT.CO.UK

One thing we would very much appreciate, though, would be someone at the expensive end of this extraordinary, taxpayer-funded exercise who knows how to spell Filkins.

Yours etc.

The Gentlemen