Something I only discovered the other day: Every cow on Harold’s farm has been born there, not a single one has come from an outside herd. That’s significant enough; but one of the cows, whose mother died after she was born a few years ago and was then raised by hand by Harold, has for the last three years had a set of twins. This year another set of twins. How about that for some kind of record! Sheldon does it again!
Meanwhile silaging went ahead for much of the month with everyone taking full advantage of the great weather. Oliver and Andrew did a great job I hear helping with Ian Fletcher’s silage, working morning till late at night. Andrew didn’t even have time to unwrap his pack of four new tyres for the car he’s rebuilding! Now that’s single-mindedness for you.
BT Guy Cable
We’ve been trying to get BT to do something about a very unsafe wire strand apparently holding a telegraph pole (outside the pub) from falling down. This, we thought, is a safety hazard. BT says they would be able to remove the stay by replacing the existing pole with a fatter wooden pole of the same height and replacing the current heavyweight phone cable with a new lightweight one. We would prefer that BT finished putting the wires underground down the village from the Pub pole. We think it is really stupid of BT not to underground the whole system when so much effort is being put into the electricity cables, and indeed undergrounding the phone wires up the village last year. Anyway, battle continues.
Another of our constant battles is Parking…getting worse on our main street, our only street. We’ve been in discussions with our friendly local police about this and we’re continuing to try to work out how to avoid parking getting worse. It’s very bad in the middle of the village, and down towards the bottom, often it is almost impossible to get through between the cars parked on either side; and it is very bad when cars and larger vehicles park right up beside some of our roadside cottages, again in the middle of the village. One thing is certain: there will be no yellow lines in Sheldon!
Sheldon from the Air
Tony and Bron’s flying lesson had to be postponed at the last minute last month, cracked windscreen apparently. The rescheduled flying lesson went ahead Saturday afternoon July 3. They had one and a half hours in the air, in a four-seater plane. Tony sat in the front with the pilot, (no ideas about looping loops I hope Tony); he piloted the plane for most of the time they were up in the air (apart from take-off and landing)!! Bron sat in the back of the plane with John, who went up with them as he’d never been in a small plane before. They flew right over Chatsworth and Bakewell, then over Sheldon and Fin Cop, and Ladybower where they might even have re-enacted the Dambusters…but I don’t know that of course. Bet the temptation passed through Biggles Slack’s mind though. They took lots of photos of Sheldon (and other places) from the air. They flew out as far as the Humber Bridge and then made their way back to Netherthorpe Airfield near Worksop. Weather was perfect! A little bumpy at times, they told me, but clear skies and a fantastic view!
Reading the Gyte diaries over the years, I was always struck by the tales of the past time of year when the pigs were killed and salted in what is now our dining room but was then the village pig salting pantry. We’re reverting to history with the village stock of pigs growing rapidly. Colin and Lindsey Jones have now had a litter from one of theirs; six piglets. Colin Melland has now also become a proud owner of four porkers, two Gloucester Old Spots and two Saddlebacks.. All doing well in their specially made home, built one weekend by Colin. David Melland now has 5 on one of his fields and Wendy and Joe’s two Old Spots grow bigger and friendlier by the day. Good to see an old tradition returning to our village.
Lindsey's Produce
I see Lindsey has now branched out from lemon curd (carefully stored in its ice jacket) to strawberry jam which has been on sale at their front gate all month. And into free range eggs as well …her 25 layers are very productive, as are all the others in the village with chickens. Rural and agricultural, that’s Sheldon.
Earlier deadline date for this edition of the Jottings, so can’t tell you all the goings-on of Sheldon Day. But by the time you read this, I hope everyone managed to get to the afternoon, and enjoy it. There will be a full report in next month’s Jottings if you missed it for real.
One person we will be remembering this year on Sheldon Day is Dave Davies, who lived in the village for many years before moving with Chris, his wife, to Lincolnshire for his retirement. Before they left, they gave a trophy for the winner of the Dog Show, and this is still given every year. This year it will be given with extra remembrance since Dave died in Lincolnshire after a short illness last month. We send our sorrowful condolences to Chris, and all the family. Dave did much for the village and he will be remembered with gratitude for all his work for Sheldon. He was also the councillor representative for Sheldon when the Ashford Parish Council included Sheldon. May he rest in peace.
Bakewell Carnival had the usual entrants from Sheldon, Oliver and Andrew became St Trinians for the day…!!!
Ethel Plumtree was back in the area for a while during the month; she was here for the sale of her remaining land, fifteen acres over by magpie, which went for a very handsome amount of over £100,000 I hear. Ethel herself says she is thinking of buying again somewhere round here, possibly in Ashford if something suitable comes on the market. There are family reasons why she wants to return.
The undergrounding of the electricity, and the removal of the electricity poles on the village hall side of the village finished last month, although there is still work to be done at Maurice’s. We had a little difficulty with the restoration of Church lane which they had kindly said they would do as a gift to the village. The only trouble was the material they used…brown gritstone in a limestone village, and so much no one could drive through it let alone walk…. anyway, they agreed to remove it all. We are negotiating about how best to restore it so that it looks properly in keeping with our village environment.
I wasn’t at the vicar’s coffee morning this month; we were on baby sitting duties in Ascot, but if I had been, it would have been interesting to discuss Church lane and what was needed with everyone present. Incidentally NO coffee morning in August…the next one is 7th September in the pub.
Next Parish Meeting: Wednesday August 11th at 19h30