From Our Files: Hunter gatherer, Forest notice ‘too polite’, first sex shop open
75 YEARS AGO
A REMARKABLE story of a hunter mare stealing a newborn calf from its mother and defending it from the latter whenever she approached, comes from Deemster Farm, Tiptoe.
Mr Fred Feltham said “On going out about 6 o’clock this morning I noticed that one of my herd of cows was alone on one side of the field, nearly frantic.
“Looking round to see what had upset her, it was soon apparent that she had calved in the open with the herd during the night. And I then saw the calf in the company of my nine-year-old hunter, which was making a great fuss of it, some 500 yards from the real mother.”
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BROCKENHURST Farmers’ Union branch, passed a resolution condemning the arrangements announced by the Ministry whereby only 20 percent of wheat and barley which has already been threshed may be retained by farmers.
“This is grossly unfair to the small farmers who have little opportunity to thresh and who, as the result of earlier expectations given by the Ministry, have increased their stock and are dependent upon home grown corn” stated the resolution.
The branch asked Headquarters to insist that the Ministry honour their earlier expectations that 20 percent of all home grown corn would be available to farmers.
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QUITE a number of local gardeners, who are pipe smokers, are growing their own tobacco, and several report growing leaves over 20 inches in length.
Mr L. Follett, of Walkford, who must hold the record as “grower-manufacturer” in this district. He had about 50 seedlings, some three inches long, given him which he planted in his garden last June, and he has been filling his pipe from the finished article and enjoying the smoke for the past month!
His three-inch seedlings reach a height of 4ft in less than two months, with some leaves 27 inches in length, and he has grown enough to last him a year on the basis of smoking two ounces a week
50 YEARS AGO
A NOTICE in the New Forest was described as “too polite” by Mr D. Polack (Ramblers’ Association) at New Forest Consultative Panel meeting. He said the notice on the track leading to Foxhill Pond at Stoney Cross stated “No cars please’.
“Some people do not take any notice of politeness, because they still go down there,” he said.
But Deputy Surveyor of the Forest, Mr Donn Small, said politeness paid. People resented notices which constantly said “no” to everything in the Forest. “We have found the polite approach pays off.”
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SGT. Terry Warner whose parents, Mr and Mrs Bernard Warner, live at Lymington, has just been awarded the Army Air Corps “Tie of Merit” for a piece of outstanding flying. A staff clerk in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps stationed in Germany, on attachment to 655 Squadron Army Air Corps. On July 31st he was pilot of a single engine seized up at 7,000 feet over Denmark and his vision through the windscreen became obscured by engine oil. Using only a side window, he landed the aircraft in a cornfield without injury to his three passengers or damage to the aircraft.
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AS an experiment, warm air hand dryers are to be provided in connection with the modernisation by Lymington Council of the public conveniences at New Street, Lymington, and Hurst Road, Milford. Cost per unit, including installation, is £110 and the contract price in each case will be increased by £220.
25 YEARS AGO
AN Ashley woman has become one of the first Europeans to take part in an organised trek around China since the country opened its doors to foreign visitors. Elspeth Wickets spent five days trekking around.
The mother of two recalled how the first day of her 50-mile walk was spent climbing up a mountain track in temperatures of 80 degrees. A walk through a gorge entailed scrambling over boulders, up and down steep rises and criss-crossing a shallow river. The Great Wall was, as she had expected, a difficult walk for part of the way until she reached the renovated tourist part.
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MORE than a thousand small bits of plastic rope and cord were found during a clean-up of the beach at Hordle Cliff. “They were only about four inches long and presumably they were from sea fishermen,” said Milford Beachwatch 98 co-ordinator Marcia Baker. There were also in excess of 500 plastic caps and lids, making it the most prevalent and long lasting material on the beach.
However, Mrs Baker said the 1,500 metre long stretch of beach was in fact clean, and the 34kg cleared away compared with a similar quantity last year.
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THE opening of the New Forest’s first sex shop has prompted district councillors to consider adopting legislation which would enable them to control it and any others that may spring up in the area.
However, with Forbidden Desires recently opening its doors in Rumbridge Street, Totton, the issue found itself back on the agenda of NFDC’s Environmental Services and Licensing Committee.
Licensing officer, Tony Hetherington, told members if they adopted the Act the licensing sub-committee would have the power to decide how many sex shops there could be in the Forest, adding that each application would have to be considered on its own merits.
Coun. Len Harris said he was worried that “girls of the night” may start appearing, leading to a gradual decline of the area.
However, Coun. Chris Beeton said if members refused to adopt the provisions of the Act “it would just drive it underground,” adding that interested parties could go to Southampton as there were five shops there.
