Hungerford Arcade’s great friend and author, Stuart Miller-Osborne leads a very busy life with his lovely wife Caron but somehow, he still finds the time to write brilliant articles for which we are very grateful and judging by the feedback we get from our readers, they also enjoy them.  So, on behalf of Hungerford Arcade and all our readers, thank you Stuart. Rita and all our readers in ‘Blogland.’ 

And you say to yourself.  What a strange title.  Has poor Stuart finally taken leave of his senses?  But there is a link, a very strong link between the antiques trade and the humble allotment.

Have you ever noticed that as you walk around the Arcade how many garden tools you actually see?  Some are easily recognisable, some not so recognisable and others are just downright puzzling. We have all grown up with allotments whether we were lucky enough to live in the countryside or were brought up in large city or a town.  Many, many things change as the years pass but the humble allotment does not whether you are in Hungerford, Henley or Hastings.  They are always the same.

Some of the gardeners take an extreme pride in their small patch of land and their cultivation resembles the factory farming of history.  Everything has its place, the long canes are correctly positioned, the wooden shed is pristine and even the grass borders are well kept.  Mr Smith (let’s call him that), is always at the allotment at the given time, even if the weather is foul. You can set your watch by him.  Sometimes he brings his grandchildren who are given menial but nevertheless important tasks which he insists are carried out with a military precision.

Mr Smith is a friendly person but deep down he is an allotment snob.  He cannot understand why other allotment users are not following his shining example.  He looks at the allotment that is run by Mr Graham and sighs at the sorry looking leeks and the rather porous potatoes.

 But worst of all, Mr Graham leaves his wheelbarrow out when he leaves for the day.  Does he not realise that wheelbarrows are valuable items and can be stolen?  Mr Graham is an allotment slob.  He agreed to rent an allotment as he wanted to get away from the constant criticism of his wife.  It was to be his sanctuary away from trouble and strife of everyday life.  He does not really have an interest in growing anything apart from the easy vegetables and does not really care whether his results are good when harvesting his minimal labours.  He can be found in front of his dilapidated shed in a deckchair smoking his pipe and chatting to the other allotment slobs.  Martha’s hip is playing up and she is miserable as sin so I thought I would come down here.  Your tatty’s look poor.” It has not been one my most memorable efforts maybe I will pop into town and purchase a bag and rub them in the soil she will not know the difference.  They look at Mr Smith and smile.  If he carries on the way he is going he will be adding to the GNP of this fair country of ours.  More likely he will be taken over by the Chinese.  The slobs settle down and chat for the rest of the afternoon.  They listen to the Test Match whilst poor Mr Smith works himself towards premature ill-health.

As you might have guessed, allotments were a Victorian idea. This said, there are indications that the concept of allotments date back to Anglo-Saxon times.  Our friends the Victorians soon realised that with the Industrial Revolution in full swing, it was a good idea that land be given over to the labouring poor so that they could grow their own food.  Obviously there was no welfare state so it was quite easy to slip down the slope towards destitution.  If these people could ascertain a degree of self-sufficiency then apart from nutritional values of the food and the avoidance of diseases it would, in a lot of cases, give these proud individuals a sense of self-worth.  Too often if things went wrong men would just fade into the bottle or worse.  In short allotments and other ideas of this kind helped to build the individual.

Whether this line of reasoning was right or wrong it is hard to tell as the problem was much greater than just growing one’s own produce.  This said, the United Kingdom is a land of allotments.  Wherever you travel you will find allotments.

The 1908 Small Holdings and Allotments Act appeared and this placed a duty of all local authorities to provide enough allotments for local demand.  Things did not really take off until after World War One when the Land Settlement Facilities Act of 1919 was settled to help the returning servicemen.  This was followed in 1922 Allotments Acts and the 1925 Allotments Act which really firmed things up.

 In short, the 1925 Act was the strongest because it established statutory allotments which prevented the local authorities from selling these designated areas off without Ministerial consent.  When you think of the inter-war building boom you can see how important this act was.  Also it impacts even today for even in the largest of cities you find areas designated for this purpose.  This is obviously prime building land in urban environments but the greedy developers cannot touch it and this is why so many allotments survive.

Although I am by no means an expert, I have noted that there are still allotment acts being passed the latest being the Localism Act of 2011.  In this lovely island of ours we tend to muddle through but very occasionally we come up with a long and lasting idea which benefits all.  The idea of allotments is one of the best.

If you are thinking about running an allotment then do so (I am told they are quite cheap to rent).  But what about the tools?  Be different, do not just pop down to your local garden centre and buy mass produced faceless tools. Purchase a garden tool that has been much used, whether it be a rake,a spade or a hoe.  It is likely that the tool will last longer than a newer version as it has seen history and although not unique was probably crafted to better standards.

These tools (and not forgetting wheelbarrows) are quite often seen.  Indeed here in Hungerford the Arcade and other establishments always seem to carry an interesting selection.  It is up to you but the thought of it is fun.  To me there is a certain Zen in tending to an allotment and to use tools with a history may add to the experience.

Mr Smith would not see it this way and Mr Graham would probably think I am strange but there will be some who will share my sentiments.  The next time you are in the Arcade or elsewhere just take time out to look at these tools and think of their past.  Take one by the handle and share its history there is no pressure to buy the item.  The experience is free.

I do not run an allotment (no time) but nonetheless love them to bits.  As some of you are aware, I come from Bradford on Avon which is about an hour from Hungerford.  As with any town, Bradford had its share of allotments and occasionally I would wander up just to chat with some of the people there.  

One of my favourites was a Captain Simpson who was ancient even when I was a child. He had fought in the First World War and often told me stories of the conflict possibly to educate me that war was not all about death and glory.  He had been wounded during the conflict and by the 1960s found it difficult to complete some of the heavier labours that running an allotment involved.  So I occasionally helped him (as did others in the town) to grow his vegetables.  He always offered me three pence or sixpence for my services but I always turned him down which I believe secretly pleased him.

I can remember one day in September 1967 when after football practice, I passed his allotment.  I waved but the Captain did not wave back.  He was sitting in the doorway of his old wooden shed looking a little distressed.  Fearing the worst, I ran across and found him reading Good-Bye to All That by Robert Graves.  Although there were tears in his eyes he smiled at me and explained that he had been remembering the war and the friends he lost.

It was because of them that he now enjoyed his allotment and occasionally he would think of his late comrades and this would upset him.  I had interrupted one of these moments.  He noted that the peaceful nature of his allotment gave him a lot of time to think and he felt privileged to be able to grow things and watch the seasons change.

An experience that his wartime friends could not share.  This short exchange taught me a lot about life and now many years later I can see his point that allotments do reflect a lot about the way we live.  Captain Simpson died in 1975 (by this time I had moved to London).

I can remember receiving a letter from his widow noting the sad news and informing me that the Captain had left me the Robert Graves book as I had admired it so much.  I still have the book and it is sitting next to me as I write this article.

Maybe as this is Good Friday and the weather is so pleasant, I might just walk down to the allotments between the railway and the canal and meet the people who run them and who in a way, have shaped an important part of my life.

Happy Hunting.

Stuart Miller-Osborne

Hungerford Arcade  

Model Steam Engine Show

Sunday, 26th June 2016

10.00 am to 4.00 pm

 Hungerford Arcade are holding a Model Steam Engine event on Sunday, 26th June 2016. There will be lots of wonderful working models on display. Daniel and his wife, Sarah will be there to answer your questions and demonstrate how the engines work.  This is a wonderful family day out with lots to do.

Tel: 01488 683701

E-mail: hungerfordarcade@btconnect.com

www.hungerfordarcade.com

Hungerford Arcade has once again been host to the BBC for their television programme on antiques, the Antiques Road Trip with James Braxton.  James came to the Arcade to purchase items for the programme.  

                                      James Braxton and Arcade co-owner Adrian Gilmour

                                                                      James Braxton and Rita

In the programme two antiques experts compete against each other. They get a budget of £200 with which to buy antiques and collectibles, that are then sold at auction. After each auction, the amount in each expert’s kitty after costs are deducted becomes their budget for the next leg. The winner is the expert who makes the greater profit over five legs. Each leg is a single programme.

We had a great day with James and the crew and hope he does well on the show.

Hungerford Arcade is always busy and this day, we had the television people in filming Antiques Road Trip.  Arcade co-owner, Adrian Gilmour was coming back from a unit when he noticed a ten pound note on the floor by the desk.  He asked a lady who had just been served if it belonged to her and she said that she did not think so and left.  Adrian put the money to one side just in case someone claimed it.

However, when the customer arrived home and checked her purse, she found that it was indeed her £10 note and phoned Adrian.  The very kind lady asked Adrian to please put it in the collection tin for our charity, The Mary Hare School for Deaf Children. Which indeed he did.

On behalf of the Mary Hare School for Deaf Children, we thank this very generous customer for her kind donation.  Adrian.

Hungerford Arcade is always proud to have the fabulous West Berkshire Classic Vehicles Club show twice a year in front of the building.  May is the first which we have just had and the next one will be Sunday, 25th September 2016 (a note for your diary).

                                                                       Stunning Ford GT40

Many fabulous vehicles arrived and everyone had a fantastic day.  Two of the highlights were a vintage Dennis Fire Engine (I will be doing a separate, very interesting blog story on this) and a stunning Ford GT40.  I don’t think I mentioned that Mike and Colleen brought along their newly acquired, gleaming Austin Allegro – it was lovely and I will feature this in Part 2.

 1986 Dennis Odium Fire Engine Dennis RS with a Devon Body Photograph taken by Colleen Kent

We had three Jaguars, two XJS’ and one XJ6 Sovereign – stunning cars.  One XJS was on its way back from a show from the previous day, having won the Best in the Pride & Joy Class.  The trophy was presented to owner, Karen Turvey (who is a welder and engineer) by Lady Ashcombe.  Karen noticed our event and just had to join in which we all thought was marvellous.

I was very fortunate in that XJS (my dream car) convertible owner, Clive gave me a drive to Marlborough and back in his sleek machine.  We did have to stop and put the roof up with the touch of a button as it started to rain, but it could not put a dampner on my day.

                                                                 Beautiful XJS owned by Clive

We had an immaculate mini Clubman arrive after owner, Trevor Powell heard about the

show and came along.  He had a great time.

This immaculate Sierra Estate was stunning in its gleaming white coach work finish.

                                                              Gleaming Ford Sierra Estate

A huge thank you to Mike and Colleen for all your hard work in getting this show together and to all the West Berkshire Classic Vehicle Club Members who came along with their beautiful vehicles making it yet another great success.  Can’t wait for September’s show. Thank you from Rita, Adrian, Alex and everyone at Hungerford Arcade.

Look out for part two with lots more photographs and stories.

Hungerford Arcade puts a great deal of  importance on anything with a connection to Hungerford’s past history.  

When one of our customer’s spotted a skip filled with building rubble from a house being renovated, he was curious to notice an old photograph in amongst it.  Upon inspection, he saw that the photo featuring over 300 soldiers was of the 180 (MT) Coy, Army Service Corps stationed in Hungerford between January and July 1915  before they went off to fight on the Western Front.  He was so excited at this extraordinary find, he immediately brought it to Arcade co-owner, Adrian Gilmour.

(left)Dr. Hugh Pihlens receiving the photograph from Arcade co-owner, Adrian Gilmour

Covered in dust from the skip, Adrian cleaned it off and immediately contacted Dr. Pihlens of the  Hungerford Historical Association and told him what he had been given. Today, Adrian proudly presented the photograph to a very happy Dr Pihlens who will now research the history of the photograph which will, in time be published.

We would like to thank the customer very much for kindly saving the photograph from the skip and bringing it to us.  unfortunately, he did not leave his name.

You can see more by clicking on the link to the Hungerford Virtual Museum below:

http://www.hungerfordvirtualmuseum.co.uk/index.php/9-events/57-1914-18-first-world-war

Diana Birchall with her good friend, Roz Cawley

Hungerford Arcade never ceases to amaze us.  We had a very talented lady, Diana Birchall visit us on her way back from the Chawton House Library in Alton, Hampshire, where she had acted out a play written by her for the bicentennial celebration of the works of Charlotte Bronte.  Diana played the role of Charlotte and Syrie James played a witty Jane Austen.

Diana Birchall worked as a story analyst for Warner Bros Studios, reading novels to see if they would make movies. Her years of reading popular manuscripts have been conducted side by side with a lifetime of Jane Austen scholarship, and have resulted in her writing Austenesque fiction both as homage and as close study of the secret of Jane Austen’s style. She is the author of Mrs. Darcy’s Dilemma and the story collection Mrs. Elton in America, both published by Sourcebooks, as well as In Defense of Mrs. Elton, published by JASNA. Her play The Courtship of Mrs. Elton has had reading performances in ten cities, and in New York featured Tony Award winning actress Kathleen Chalfant. She also has a story in the Random House anthology, Jane Austen Made Me Do It.

Diana is a very vibrant, happy lady.  She said one of her favourite sayings is, “You are passionate Jane” from the famous Charlotte Bronte novel, Jane Eyre.

You can learn more about Diana at www.lightbrightandsparkling.blogspot.com