I recently came across some photographs of my Aunt Sally.
Here she is, in my old kitchen.
Each year the village of Tetney would hold a Scarecrow Festival. It attracted huge crowds of people and was a great fund-raising event which brought together the various factions of the village. As ever, there were a few who wouldn't join in, but we didn't miss them.
There would be a Flower Festival at the church, Cream Teas in the Village Hall, events on the Village Green and the Playing Field, Horse Rides, Open Gardens, Tug Of War, Tombolas, Raffles, Craft Stalls, etc, etc.
As with most villages there were the Village Hall people, the Mother's Union, the Church people, the Women's Institute, and somewhere in the middle were the village people. We all worked together,
but there were undercurrents...Midsummer Murder scenarios were never far away!
The idea was for every household to make a scarecrow or two and display them in their gardens. Then the public would walk around and view them before being asked to vote on the 'Best in Show' ... and to spend their money on the many other attractions we had provided to empty their pockets, purses and wallets.
We had decided to do good old Aunt Sally and Worzel Gummidge. I think we were rather more successful with our attempt at Aunt Sally than with poor Worzel. This is how they should have looked...
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| This is how Aunt Sally and Worzel appeared in the TV programme |
...but this is how poor Worzel ended up
..unfortunately I don't have a photograph of Aunt Sally in all her finery.
The scarecrows were left out for the rest of the week and gradually the village returned to normal.
Coffers had been filled, squabbles and resentments would fester ready for the next fundraiser.
I also came across a huge pile of old letters. I'll do a post about the letters another time, but it is the price on the stamps which fascinated me today, especially given the enormous price rise which is about to hit us.
These letters date from the late 1960's when the cost of sending a letter was 4d.
That is four old pence, as it was pre-decimalisation!
The cost of a first class stamp is set to rise to 60p - that is 12 shillings, pre decimalisation - 144 old pence.
I wish I could get out of the habit of converting back to £ s d!
I'm still harrumphing and tsk-tsk'ing about having to price letters according to girth and width and colour of envelope as well as weight -ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteI'm busy stocking up on the little books of stamps that say first or second class now...
ReplyDeleteHi Green Dragonette, I understand they have started limiting the number of stamps you can buy now. Funny old world.
DeleteHello Owl, We've decided to use carrier pigeons.
ReplyDeleteHello Elaine....wonderful new photos in your blog header. Do you know, we also have a Scarecrow Festival in Texas? It is in the fall. I enjoyed your story....Is Tetney your previous home?
ReplyDeleteBy the way, it is not just stamp cost that is on the rise. Here, our grocery prices are jumping up along with gasoline! I need to wipe the dust off my bike....
Hi Meggie, I shall look forward to hearing about the Texas Scarecrow Festival. We used to live in Tetney - the cottage we had there was supposed to have been my 'forever' home..! That particular festival was a number of years ago - how time flies!
DeletePrices are terrible both sides of 'the pond' .
It seems that life gets ever more complicated, doesn't it? You can't just stick something in an envelope and mail it off without giving thought to all those details. The US Postal Service has been losing money for years and cutting back on locations while increasing postal rates little by little. It got to be a hassle for them to print and sell one-cent stamps to use up with your old stamps, so they now sell "Forever" stamps. These stamps will always be valid postage no matter how much rates increase. Finally, a little bit of wisdom!
ReplyDeleteRules and regulations - we have our mail assessed by size and thickness of envelope, as well as weight and destination. You are so right - life was much simpler - and not so long ago either.
DeleteI think the price rise in stamps is scandalous when you think what they used to cost. Love your photos.
ReplyDeleteHi Molly, When i discovered that box of old letters I was amazed at how many we used to write. These days we use other methods, which are faster - but they don't necessarily bring the same amount of pleasure as receiving a good old fashioned letter.
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