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Women’s
Institute Several
members wore hats to the November meeting because Mrs Janet Courtney’s
talk was entitled “Let’s All Go To The Music Hall”. Her research
has shown that Music Halls evolved from gentlemen’s clubs in the 18th
century. The 1860s saw a huge rise in the number of theatres and variety
acts which were available for people to visit after work. Our
darts team have played in the W.I. League and members will take part in
the skittles tournament after Christmas. We are looking forward to our
birthday party in January and to the new programme for 2007. January
also sees the launch of “W.I. Life” magazine which all members will
receive by post. Diana Birch has been elected as our Northants
Federation Chairman for a fourth year. In our monthly newsletter Diana
explained that a new sub-committee, Concerns & Campaigns, is being
formed so that any worries which members have can be acted on before
they are misinterpreted. Joyce Haynes has completed her book, Shared
Memories, a history of Northants Federation of Women’s Institute
1918–2005. Through the Federation we are given the opportunity to try
new things, on January 27th some members will attend a ferret race
evening at Long Buckby. On
a more seasonal note our visitor in December, Mr. Derek Parkes, gave us
a humorous and interesting account of how Santa Claus copes with all the
parties of children who visit him in Lapland each year and how he copes
with temperatures of –38 degrees. On
February 5th 2007 Mrs. L. Harper will be talking about Victorian and
Modern Beading and visitors will be welcome. J.
E. Marshall & A Boswell A
look back at Bugbrooke Fair This
is taken from a recorded conversation with Arthur Jeffs, to whom this
piece is dedicated. Arthur's tale begins in his home village of
Bugbrooke, which in the 1930's had a population of about 900, including
those from surrounding farms and hamlets. Every
second Saturday in October was recognised as Bugbrooke Fair.... "My
father would say 'come on boy bring the truck and help me with the
potatoes', for it was the time of year to harvest them, to bring them
home from the allotment. One night we would sit in the barn and sort
them out, the ones to eat, those for seed the following year and the
small ones together with the rough ones for pig feed. "Now
you might wonder why I'm telling you all this, but you see, the small
ones we sold to a local man who owned a haulage and cattle transport
business and kept pigs, the money from this little venture was shared
amongst four of us to spend at the village fair, we had to help or there
was no pocket money. "I
well remember the excitement of waiting for the day when George
Billings' fair was due to arrive. Already the brightly decorated posters
would be on display in the shop windows, the village notice board and in
the window of the Bakers Arms public house on whose premises the fair
would be held. "I
was about eleven or twelve and I remember how we would listen whilst at
school to hear the big Burrell engine 'Lady Pride of England' come
puffing past, along with 'Lady Junior'. Most of us would be so excited
and tried to get a glimpse out of the windows that overlooked the road
to see if we could see the arrival of the trucks and the horse drawn
caravans. "How
time seemed to drag until the bell went at four o’clock when we could
at last rush out and run along to the pub yard about three hundred yards
away, passing as we went, the convoy of wagons standing in the street,
ready to pull into the yard and into the orchard at the rear of the
premises. "A
gateway with a pair of green gates situated rather awkwardly in the
middle of a big red brick wall was the main obstacle to overcome, in
order to pull into the orchard (these were, the ex-landlord told me,
knocked down on more than one occasion on the fair’s visits). The
trucks had to be uncoupled in the street and manoeuvred by the Showmen
with the help of the local children, pushed into the pub yard, then
pulled by the engines into the orchard. "Mr
Billings would pick a few lads to help fetch the water from the local
brook about half a mile away in his horse-drawn cart. Other children
helped in the build up of the immaculate Gallopers, helping the older
Showmen build up their stalls and running errands. "All
this would go on until the Showmen and their families called it a day,
we would go home and the gate was closed behind us. "When
we left we were not forgotten by this grand old gentleman. He would
remember who had helped him and the next day we would be wanted again to
help with a few more jobs. Once the fair was built up in all its
wonderful array it seemed to us to be like a small fairyland, a
glittering spectacle even before the lights were switched on. "There
stood the giant Burrell in the gateway, all set to drive and provide
power for the lighting, while behind the stalls neatly arranged stood
the caravans, the empty trucks and the small Burrell 'Lady Junior' who
was waiting until the end of the fair to do her little bit in moving to
the next port of call, which was a village two miles away. "At
long last the opening night would arrive and off we would go with a few
pence in our pockets, hurrying along in order to get there before the
start of the fair, as we had to try to get on the Gallopers for the
first ride, which was a free one every night. "I
must say that was a good thing, as our money didn't last too long with
some of us, it was a real treat to have a copper or two. I know only too
well that some of our friends hadn't even a penny for a single ride,
which was the fare at that time. On reflection we had twice as long on
that ride as children do today for much more money. "As
we entered through the yard towards the orchard with a feeling of
excitement we'd stare in amazement as we passed the Burrell 'Lady Pride
of England' rolling her engine and hissing steam. "It
was then that we would get our first thrill of the fair, the wind would
blow her smoke downwards and round about us, and the warmth from her as
we passed would warm that cold shiver of excitement. "After
that we would walk on into the aroma that you find at the fair, mingled
with the smells of freshly made Toffee Apples, brandy snap and rock. "I seem to recall the rock stall did as good a trade in those days as any of the others stalls, nearly everyone purchased some at some stage of the fair's stay. A stick of the old-fashioned rock was to us as great a part of the fair as a ride on the Galloper horses or a win on the coconuts.
"The
fair in the village mostly comprised the same tenants each year, and
from memory it was George Billings' Gallopers (the main attraction) with
young George in control, this formed the centre-piece of the fair,
whilst on the extreme left were the families superb Swing Boats (a high
park four piece set) and also on the left as you entered the orchard the
Billings family's unique 'Stick Em's' and Cork Shooter, with some very
good prizes. "On
the right something not seen on the fair today, a nine pin skittle
table. On this particular stall you could win an amount of nuts (either
Barcelona or cobnuts). I have seen on more than one occasion my father
win some nuts on this game, and in doing so a half pint mug of nuts
would be tipped into his pocket for knocking down a certain number of
skittles. "The
stall was lit by old paraffin flare lamps and it caught the eye of all
the elderly fellows in the village who thought it was going to be easy
to win. The next stall was the rock stall with Mrs Elias Shaw in charge
with windmills, flying birds, lucky bags and sweets etc. Mr J Redden was
present with his coconuts and over the garden wall Jo Heaton with his
'touch em's' and Jim Norman with his juvenile ride and 'wheel 'em in'. "How
quickly the time would pass and all too soon we would have to head for
home before the closing of the fair as school was next morning. All the
way home we could hear the music of the Verbeeck Organ which made us
long to be able to turn back, but sadly we couldn't. On looking back in
the direction of the fair we could see the glow of the lights in the
sky. "On
the Friday and Saturday nights we stayed until the fair closed as there
was no school, and if we were lucky we could once again scramble on one
of the horses or cockerels for the last ride, as that was a free one.
Every horse would be occupied by two people. "And
so the last ride would be set in motion, and from the organ came the
strains of the music that would end each night's performance, the melody
of 'Christians Awake'. The ride would stop and so would the music, for
yet another fair was nearing its end. "One
more night was left although the people would not have much money left
to spare after spending it the last three nights –
they
still came to say their farewells, hoping that the following year would
once again see George Billings' wonderful little fun fair in the
village. "After
the weekend we would venture into the yard over the next couple of days
to see if all the loaded trucks and caravans had gone. When we went to
school we would take a peep, but sadly only to see an empty orchard with
the remains of a broken windmill, perhaps the broken shells of a coconut
or two lying in the wheel marks of the trailers imprinted in the churned
up ground. "Alfred
Barker, landlord of the Bakers Arms, would see us and say to us 'you're
too late lads, go away, come back next year' and would walk off
laughing. "These
small village fairs would pass every year, leaving happy memories
amongst young and old alike. On the weekend of the fair many relatives
and friends of the villagers would return home for perhaps the first
time in a year. In this area it is almost recognised to come home for
the fair –
and
even though a fair has not been held in the village for many years now
still this old custom of visiting is kept up. "In
1936 George Billings' Gallopers once again dominated the fair in its
usual central position, but unbeknown to everyone this was the last time
they would be seen at a Bugbrooke fair. A few months after they were
replaced by a set of Dodgems and the Gallopers were packed away. "The
year 1937 brought a totally different picture to the fair. The glory and
the atmosphere of the past as we knew it had gone and a new generation
were visiting now and nothing seemed the same now the Gallopers had
gone. "This
was to be the first blow against the fair, the first nail in its coffin.
The people didn't seem to patronise it as in previous years. The
following year the Showmen were to learn that the site was no longer
available. The owner of the orchard now had a large number of pigs
running about so another site had to be found if the fair was to
continue. "A
site was found but it was the other side of the village but this only
lasted two years. All the time the fair was getting less support. For
these two years it was held under the John Abbot banner who presented
his Dodgems and stalls and young George Billings with his stalls. "After
the war a small contingent of amusements once again set up in the same
field, they belonged to John Strudwick and his family. They attended for
about four or five years and their attractions comprised a set of
juvenile Swing Boats, three or four stalls and in all a very attractive
little outfit. "To
my knowledge that was the last time a fair attended Bugbrooke, talk to
any of the elders in the village today and they only remember one fair -
that presented by George Billings, his attractive Gallopers and
"Christians Awake." Reproduced
by kind permission of ‘The Galloper’. Northamptonshire
Acre Launching
new Initiative to promote local environmental projects My
name is Jane Campion and I have recently joined Northamptonshire ACRE as
a Community Development Worker focusing on Green Infrastructure.
My role is to develop a community network working closely with
parish councils, local authorities, and community groups to support the
delivery of Green Infrastructure projects within rural communities. My
‘patch’ covers the area designated as the River Nene Regional Park,
roughly Peterborough to Daventry following the river valley, and I would
like to ask for local assistance to map existing environmental projects
and help in identifying new schemes. The Regional Park offers
communities, within its boundaries, the opportunity to create a network
of multi-functional green spaces. Some funding is available for local
initiatives, via the Green Infrastructure Environmental Grant Scheme,
and I would be delighted to hear your suggestions for rural community
projects. This money can be used to enhance or renovate existing schemes
or set up new green spaces. The
type of projects that could be eligible for this funding are: · Allotments · Green
corridors, including hedgerows, ditches, disused railway lines and
verges · Registered
commons and Village and Town Greens · Children's
play space · Playing
fields · Cemeteries · Development
sites with potential for open space and links to other communities or
the countryside · Waterways
and Village ponds As
mentioned above, my task is to map existing projects and establish a
network of local people and groups to help move this project forward. So
if you would like more information concerning the Regional Park (www.rnrp.org),
the Green Infrastructure Environmental Grant Scheme, would like to
register a local environmental initiative or are interested in becoming
involved in the Green Infrastructure Network, please
contact me on 01604 825892 or -------------- U3A
– Upper Nene Villages 3rd Age Group The
next two meetings are as follows: “MY
SPORTING LIFE” FEBRUARY
19TH Geoff Allen will be giving a light-hearted life history, sprinkled
with anecdotes and humorous asides, of his time as a player and
administrator at Northampton Saints, with the occasional reference to
other sports. Geoff will include comments on the current state of
British sport. There
will be time for questions and observations from yourselves at the end
of Geoff’s talk. Gotta be worth a “try”. Get it? An added snippet:
Did you know that Geoff has been involved with the Saints in one way or
another since the age of three? “ROMAN
WAY OF LIFE” MARCH
19TH Elizabeth Morgan will be taking us back in history to show us how
the Romans lived at the time of the Roman Empire. She will explain the
life of a Roman lady through costume, food and house items of the time.
Normal family life of the period, meals, children, religion, shrines and
deities will be explained with lively and amusing physical displays in
interesting and historical detail. Meetings
are also open to non-members and will take place at Bugbrooke Community
Centre, Camp Hill, Bugbrooke on the third Monday of each month starting
at 2.30 p.m. Special
Interest Groups Genealogy,
German, French, Bridge, Literature, Scrabble, Cook and Eat, Music,
Painting, Theatre Group, Ceramics, Discussion Group. For
further information contact: Steve Saunders 01327 349870
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