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The Village had two families whose surnames could be traced back years and years. There were the Kerleys and the Framptons, with the latter being most represented. Some of the names of grown-ups I can recall are Tommy Cake; Granny Frampton; Bob Frampton; Granny and Granfer Hathaway; Louie Goover; Kate Boyt, who looked after the Church; Sid Marsh; Tommy Lowe; the Frampton sisters, Xena and Phyllis; Phillip Pembridge; Gordon Richards; Ginger Jewell; the Clarkes; Granny Monkton; the Chalks; Stan Kerley; Ginger Jewell...
Some of the children of the day were Roger Spooner; Micky Jewell; Gord Wigmore (my Uncle); Michael Cuff; Dave Kerley; Terry Frampton; Shirley and Hazel Crabb; Pat and Norman Maynard; Paul Large; Terry Lowe; Terry Dickerson; Kenny Parratt; the Way kids and Michael, Charles, Maureen and Kathleen Clarke.
One of the more colourful characters in the Village was Stan Kerley who worked at Bishops Court Farm, run by the Cave family. He always reminded me of "Popeye", but I can't imagine why! Stan drove a tractor, and it was the habit of tractor drivers to take their vehicle home mid-day for dinner. Stan's first tractor was a Marshall - a massive green machine with a giant flywheel, and orange road wheels, that we kids called "pop-pop" due to the distinctive sound it made. We all knew when Stan had finished his dinner and set off for the fields, because of the slow beat of the Marshall when starting up - one "pop", then a pause, then another "pop" and so on, rather like a steam train starting off. It seemed an age before the revs were high enough to start moving. Stan had other talents, too. He was the Village barber. A visit involved being marched to the bottom of his garden, sat down on a wooden kitchen chair, a pudding bowl stuck on your head, and a tea cloth round your neck. Then, Stan would set to with hand clippers and scissors. But I imagine it was cheap at a tanner a time... "Ochie" mentioned on the Football page, was another character, mainly due to his odd nickname, and his habit of twisting his head when saying "Hello". He was the football team's groundsman, and spent hours wheeling the creosote-laden lining machine across "Champ". He lived next to the Pub, and I believe worked at New Barn Farm, run by the Purchase family, where he cycled to and from twice a day. The local shop - just "Shop" to locals - was run by the Boniwell's. He was a tall bespectacled man who wore a white coat during shop hours. He seemed stern to us kids. Mrs Boniwell seemed friendlier, and was always well presented. Latterly, they had a "Vauxhall Cresta" - a big car - and seemed pretty well off. "Shop" was also the post office, which was tucked away between the sweets and the bacon slicer, behind a gold-coloured metal grill. The smell in that shop was wonderful. They sold everything in a room no bigger than a living room. A sight that always entranced me was that of Bob Frampton and his border collie, setting off across "Hawkpit" for the downs to attend to his flocks of sheep. He lived in an old thatched cottage on the corner of High Street and Piccadilly, and always crossed the road, dog at heel, straight through the Chalk's garden opposite, through the fence and away into the fields, where the dog had a bit more of a run but constantly returning to heel. That was when I knew it would be a border collie for me when I have a dog - since have had four!
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