This sort of survival is priceless

Saturday afternoon. A warm and sunny day (a heavy shower at lunchtime and then the sun came out hotter than before, so that the air became humid). I drove into the central hills.

I arrived at a tiny village - so small it does not feature in Mee, and Pevsner only gives it a paragraph. The little valleys here are remarkable for the way in which they have preserved specific natural features - goshawks (although no-one admits to having seen them), crested dogs tail grass, shelled slugs that only come out on damp nights etc.



Above: the landscape is composed of steep ridges inbetween small valleys that are alternately wooded or given over to crops. The small population of this area has distinctive physical traits (particularly hair and eye colour, and also a shortish wiry build) indicating intermarriage among the farming families over the generations. I visited five farms, and was received very well (three I had written to previously, the other two I had to knock and explain myself).



Above: field of goats. According to local tradition white goats are served at wedding “breakfasts” (this was last done in 1965, so not sure if we can say the custom is still extent). The butter made from goat’s milk is white.



Above: the architecture of the area consists of small square farmhouses and cottages. Incomers are relatively rare, and naturalise very quickly. Note the washing streaming in the wind (the wind is a continuous presence on the ridges, even on fine days, and when the wind drops the stillness and silence becomes a little unnerving).



Above: typical church in the area - simple structures, towerless (except for one village) and without aisles, built at high points on the ridges. Scots pines planted in the churchyard. The deciduous tree in the foreground cast shadows that made the sunlight shimmer in the wind.



Above: inside the church was a display of original old photographs, illustrating local characters and the cycle of valley life. This sort of survival is priceless to the amateur historian and anthropologist. Ideally each of the pictures should be followed up and the subjects interviewed (but when would I have the time?).



Above: the celebration of Empire Day was abandoned in 1959. The day seems to have been an attempt to perpetuate the memory of Queen Victoria (it was instituted immediately after her death, and held on her birthday 24th March). Possibly this is a example of the compulsive and instinctive ancestor worship of tribal chiefs mentioned by Sir James Frazer. Locally the day was characterised by a half-holiday. Schoolchildren took part in tableaus. Chocolates and books were given as gifts.



Above: along the altar rail in the church were a row of hand-embroidered kneelers. They were very faded and seem to date from the 1940s. I must apologise for my appalling photography which makes them look even more washed-out. The kneelers contained eighteen views of village life. Landscapes, buildings, people all appeared in an idealised format. The borders were filled with the birds, animals and insects seen in everyday life.



Above: I found the survival of this embroidery very touching. It allowed me to look at the local environment through the eyes of its people. At a time of (relative) hardship they chose to represent their world in a lyrical visual style - starry nights, rainbows, sheep grazing peacefully. Again this artefact should be thoroughly documented. I barely had time to take these photographs, but someone should go back and record it properly. I wondered whether the molluscs featured on the border included the “shelled slugs” of damp nocturnal appearances.