Figure 7.5 Neighbours, by L.L.Brooke. King, the roadman (right) broke up stones to help make the base of the Harwell to Didcot road. “all day in the hot sun he worked hard from early morning to nightfall.”
(looking at photographs)
That’s Tommy Slade’s grandfather, old Bob Thorne. Willy Slade, he was your shepherd, wasn’t he? He used to sit under that yew tree up there in the summer, and he had a dog that was named Rose; rather a nice dog. I was only butcher’s delivery boy in Didcot, and I had no more sense than to let this dog loose, and that dog followed me about delivering round Didcot. ‘Course there wasn’t the traffic then as there is today.
That’s Gordon Bosley, Tom and Bob Slade.
That’s Alfie Bosley. His mother was very ill, Ben, d’you remember? They put some straw in the road to stop the horses makin’ a noise.
We had a harvest-home supper up in the granary round at Prince’s once.
We had one at Bishop’s. I can remember it.
All the workers used to come along and join us; that was very good cooking.
Johnny King used to sing a song …
Hang the vegetables in a net and boil up legs of mutton all in the copper. Made some very good stock, y’know.
John Thorne, well he was in the cherry business, and he must have earned some money out of it; he said “We must have a Cherry Supper,” and he had it in what was the old slaughter-house on the old premises up there.
Boiled mutton. Good food. Where’d you find a leg of mutton now? All lamb, isn’t it?
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