….Shrimp with her apron and infectious smile….see below

The annual Harvest Supper was held, as always, on the eve of the Harvest Festival Church Service. Rather as at the village school parties of yesteryear, diners provided their own plates, knives and forks (all marked with pieces of coloured wool?) and bottles of wine, merely to drink a toast or two, of course. Cheerful queues soon formed at the tables laden with cold meats, quiches, salads and hot potatoes. The now traditional fruit sweets with meringues followed, after which I had the pleasure of thanking Shrimp and her helpers as follows: “….our wonderful summer now seems to be fading, somewhat reluctantly, into autumn. Harvesting was completed in record time and so here we are once more to celebrate one of the village’s most regular events – the traditional harvest supper. Earlier today I had a look through almost ten years of website photographs of previous celebrations. I was saddened to see how many of our former friends are no longer with us but was heartened to see the youngsters growing up to follow the old traditions. However, the one thing which struck me most forcibly over the entire period was the ever present image of Shrimp with her apron and infectious smile. Without Shrimp and her helpers there would be no harvest supper. I am sure we have once more enjoyed the offerings set before us and the companionship of our friends and neighbours and so I would ask you to join me in expressing your appreciation in the usual way…..

Colin Wootton

For photographs of this year’s supper and access to those of some previous events, click on “…read the rest of this entry..”

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In order to celebrate the proposed acquisition of the Castle Hill Scheduled Ancient Monument for the village and to raise funds for that purpose, a “Michaelmas Fair” was held on Castle Green on Saturday 29th September 2018. The weather was simply perfect, with bright sunshine from start to finish with a light breeze. Throughout the four and a half hours of the event, a continuous stream of villagers arrived to enjoy the traditional rural pastimes of bowling for a pig*, throwing the sheaf*, wanging the wellie, ferret racing and tractor rides for the children. A barbecue and a tent for teas and cakes provided the necessary sustenance. Drinks were also available from a bar organised by the Star Inn. A demonstration of wool spinning from sheep fleece using the traditional wheel and spindle, powered by a foot treadle, attracted much attention, as did the various knitted garments made from the wool. A further attraction was a wide range of seeds from the harvest, in containers allowing the seeds to be handled, always popular with the children. Also on display was a fascinating variety of old agricultural implements kindly loaned by Marton Museum of Bygones, Warwickshire and two vintage tractors. A cider press in use could also be seen, with samples of the finished product available. Visitors were entertained at regular intervals by live music from the village’s own “Donna and the Delleretts”.

The highlight of the morning session was the appearance of the Lord of the Manor, Lawrence Washington himself, to tell of the harvest in Tudor Times. Equally remarkable was the sight of the Saxon Thegn of Sulgrave himself, making his first visit for over a thousand years, leading the people up on to the mound which covers his one time prestigious wooden hall to tell of life before Ghilo de Pincquini and his followers arrived after the Norman Conquest in 1066. Full details of the history of the site, as derived from archaeological excavations in the 1960s and 1970s, could be seen on display boards in a small exhibition tent.

*As a youngster in the 1940s I attended many local fetes where one of the highlights would be bowling for a live pig – actually a small piglet which lay squealing in a hessian sack until triumphantly carried home over the shoulder by the winner. Farm workers in those days were adept at throwing sheaves of wheat high on to wagons or ricks at times of harvest and threshing (then a separate activity) and there was always fierce competition in this event. Sheaves are now nowhere to be seen and so in the photos which follow it will be noted that a sack of straw was used as a substitute. There were no wellies for wanging in those days since they were repeatedly repaired using bicycle puncture outfits until they fell apart.

The committee wishes to thank the many people who made this event such a success, including those who provided the excellent prizes for the draw.

Colin Wootton (Member of Castle Green Management Committee).

Photographs of this event can be seen by clicking on “read the rest of this entry”.

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The midday Helen Blaby show on BBC Radio Northampton features a variety of music interspersed with interviews with people from chosen Northamptonshire Villages, invited to “share your stories from where you live, with conversations, advice and topical items”. Sulgrave was chosen for Monday 24th September 2018 and the following “did the village proud” in respect of their particular interests: Steve and Nikki (Star Inn), Robin Prior (Village Shop), Shrimp Christy (the Church), Will Priestman (Parish Council), Emma Canterbury (Sulgrave Manor Learning Engagement Manager), Martin Sirot-Smith (Former Director, Sulgrave Manor and Chairman of Sulgrave History Society).

If you missed it, click here to listen again (available for 29 days)

As there was no show last year, it was a great pleasure to attend the resumption of this popular event. Given the near drought which has persisted up to the show day, a remarkable variety of vegetables, fruits, flowers and baked items were on display, with special classes for the youngsters. As usual the show was organised by Maureen Jeffery and Janet Smith, ably assisted by Graham Roberts and daughter Shelley.

Click on “read the rest of this entry” to see the winning entries and some of those who took part:

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A reminder of Satellite Compounds and Construction Traffic Routes in the vicinity of Sulgrave. More details on the website HS2 Page.

Parish Councillor Anna Faure writes:

Carol Churchill writes (in respect of the “Pimms and Tea Party” held on Saturday 1st September):

Many thanks to everyone who attended, provided delicious cakes and
sandwiches and donated money to the Pimms & Tea Party on Saturday.
It was a huge success with over 50 villagers enjoying the warm weather and
a massive £660 raised for the Pocket Park and St James the Less Church.
Also, many thanks to Hywel and Ingram for kindly hosting the party in their
beautiful garden!

A few photographs of the event on the next page (click on “Read the rest of this entry)

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In the hot summer of 1976 I was working in a Daventry office which had a patio with flower beds. One August morning, someone discovered a new and unusual looking plant which had appeared in the flower bed almost overnight. It had something of a sinister appearance and fortunately, as it turned out, none of us touched it or lingered near it. At that time we had periodic visits from a qualified landscape architect and he immediately identified it as Datura Stramonium, commonly known as Thorn Apple. He explained that the seed could lie dormant in the soil for many years until suitably hot conditions occurred so as to replicate its South American origin. He also described its toxic and hallucinogenic properties, forbade us to go near it and promptly disposed of it.

When just such a plant appeared a few days ago in our garden at Dippers Cottage in Little Street my mind went back to that amazing summer 42 years ago and the alien plant. I took photographs and eventually found comparable ones on the Royal Horticultural Society website, which contained the following information:

Datura Stramonium, also known as Devil’s Apple, Trumpet or Snare has large, pale, trumpet shaped flowers and spiny pods. Its leaves give off a pungent nauseating odour and the flowers smell sweet, but both are narcotic and can induce hallucinations or stupor if breathed in for too long. The plant, which could grow to 12ft high, is said to create an inability to differentiate fantasy from reality, causing amnesia, hypothermia and even violent behaviour. A member of the Deadly Nightshade family, its poison causes dry mouth, blurred vision, heart irregularities, hallucinations, and eventually coma and death in severe cases. It is traditionally used by South American Indians to poison their hunting spears, arrows and fishing hooks. In sacred Hindu ceremonies it is revered by monks for its hallucinogenic properties. A spokesman for the Royal Horticultural Society, said: “These plants are not native to Britain and we think it arrives in bird seed sold to feed wild birds and is generally grown in hot countries where datura is a very common weed indeed. “They belong to the same family as Deadly Nightshade and are highly poisonous if eaten, but they should pose no threat if treated carefully and unwanted plants can be consigned to the compost bin or green waste collection.”

As recommended by the RHS, we promptly and carefully disposed of the plant before it could seed, after taking a number of photos. We tend to buy packs of seeds in Banbury or Brackley on a weekly basis to feed our garden birds and this seems to be the most likely source of this strange and alien plant. I suggest that villagers who do the same thing should examine the neglected corners of their gardens closely before the invader reaches its full height of 12 feet!

Note: Do not bother to report any such occurrence to the local authorities. I tried environmental health departments hoping to get advice from someone. I simply got a recorded message asking me to leave details of my inquiry and my telephone number. I sent photos by email. Needless to say, no-one has responded!

Colin Wootton