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MENDIP TIMES
West Countryman’s diary
HALFWAY through January and moving into February. I’m conscious that I shouldn’t be wishing my time away, but how I want the spring to arrive! Someone told me the other day that it’s only six weeks off, which sounds almost do-able when I think about it. February always was a wet month and from With LES my days in the orchards that is well known DAVIES MBE to me! Thankfully these days I can pick and choose my days and don’t have to be out working in all weathers . . . I’ve done my time! There is always something else that needs attention, apart that is from writing the next column for Mendip Times. Things that need to be repaired, prepared and planned for. I have also been on the look-out for movement in the hedgerow and field as the odd “cheeky” plant pokes its head above ground. As always the primrose is in the vanguard and the snowdrops will be close behind. How different it feels when the sun shines and how we all feel uplifted by the warmth of some winter sunshine that lulls us into the hope that those six weeks may be shorter than expected. There is however the reality of wet and windy times still to come. On days when I don’t have to venture outside in such conditions, I won’t. Instead I can take in the warmth and comfort of my living room and the log burner. Wet Sundays take on whole new meaning as I sit in the warm glow, looking out of the window as the rain beats against the glass. Raindrops chase one another down the window in a race to the bottom. Some even join together to form a large droplet and crash through those smaller ones in their path like a phalanx of Roman soldiers pushing through the ranks of their advancing adversaries. While this drama unfolds, the beef is in the slow cooker, the potatoes and sprouts are peeled and prepared as the Sunday roast cooks itself and I sit back and relax! Until that is, the gentle crash of a burning log on the fire stirs me into the action (as much as it can on such days) and I pull myself off the settee to place a fresh one into the fire. We are conditioned to slow a little during the winter months, but today’s society is more urban based and less reliant on an agricultural, outdoor existence. Even those who work the land are better cared for these days. Tractor cabs have led to quieter and warmer (or cooler) working conditions. Older members of the Mendip Times readership will remember the day of open tractors, ex-military great coats with high collars, trousers and overall tucked into Wellington boots that we all used to turn the tops down on. Why? Was it in an attempt to look cool, or was it because they were too high? I always remember cold feet because there were no linings to the boot, no neoprene as there is today. However when the boots were holed you could put a patch over it and carry on. There were brands such as Stone Henge and Argyll and later a plastic boot by Nora. This was a dairyman’s boot with no lining at all and a criss-cross moulding on the sole that was designed for working on wet concrete. These became the height of fashion, light green in colour and no need to turn the tops down to look cool! I have no PAGE 44 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2022
OUTDOORS
regrets in taking on modern outdoor garments. Whereas classic will always be classic, everyday outdoor wear needs to be both warm and dry. All the wassailing will be out of the way, although I have a couple of late ones, which I have spoken to the Green Man about and received special dispensation! I am therefore hoping for a good blossom and pollination in April, but have to get through March yet. This month will see Candlemas day on the 2nd when traditionally new candles were installed in the church and Valentine’s Day on the 14th. You men out there with wives, partners or girlfriends will ignore this day at your peril! Looking at February, even Edith Holden in her book The Diary Of An Edwardian Country Lady can find very little to say about it compared to some other months in the year. However, the poet Hartley Coleridge wrote in February 1887: “One month is past, another is begun, Since merry bells rang out the dying year, And buds of rarer green began to appear, As if impatient for a warmer sun; And though the distant hills are bleak and dun, The virgin snowdrop, like a lambent fire, Pierces the cold earth with its green-streaked spire, And in dark woods, the wandering little one May find a primrose”.
Finally, I heard about the death of another Mendip character. Colin Patch from Stanton Drew, recently died in a London hospital following a heart operation. Colin was a long-served member of both the Mendip Ploughing Society and the North Somerset Vintage Tractor Society. Visitors to the shows will no doubt remember his tractor and trailer rides, which he had only recently given up. He worked right up until his recent admission to the Bath Hospital, where apparently he was delighted with the three meals and puddings he received every day. As always such a passing leaves a big hole with family and friends alike and a little more of Mendip history is laid to rest. This month’s picture is the snowdrop, “like a lambent fire”. I had to go and look this up… It means a soft radiance, a flame or light that touches the surface without burning it. So here it is!
