Cover: June 1960
♦ 50 years ago
EA Davies looked back to a time before widespread agricultural mechanisation, when the traditional method for getting in the hay harvest in the border country was the use of scythes.
“For years even before the First World War our hay was getting cut by horse-drawn machine, but we preferred having it mown in the old-fashioned way whenever possible.
“It used to be good to watch a row of mowers sweeping rythmically through a crop. There was in their movements a seeming uniformity, as of soldiers at drill, yet each man had his own style and the best mower was he in whose long, easy, even strokes was the least apparent effort, though much seemed also to depend on the art of whetting - a knack of which it is said that not everyone, even of experienced mowers, seems to be past master.”
Mr Davies also passed on his recipe for herb beer, “my temperance drink that seemed appreciated by teetotallers and non-teetotallers alike. Ten herbs went to its making: two handfuls each of nettles and dandelions, some ‘herrif’ (phonetic spelling of our local name for ‘goose-grass’ or ‘cleavers’), two sprigs each of agrimony and ‘hare’s eyes’ (common avens), wood betony and hore-hound, two leaves of ‘dail llydain y fordd’ (broad-leaved plantain, sometimes called ‘wavery leaf’ in Shropshire), balm and a bit of burdock.”
Cover: June 2010
Aside from the articles you can browse on this website, the print magazine contains a wealth of fascinating feature pieces and regular items to keep you entertained and informed. This month, you can also read about:
A Young One grows up . . . Actor Adrian Edmondson has turned his back on the comedy world - at least for the present - and has embarked on a career as a folk-punk musician. Andy Richardson catches up with him on tour
Village voices: Cheswardine . . . Ben Bentley continues his crusade to meet the people who make the county the great place it is: You!
Ludlow looks forward . . . The end of the month sees the start of the 51st Ludlow Festival season, with Shakespeare (Othello this year), a Queen tribute band and a chance to create the next Wallace and Gromit, among a hugely varied programme
Cheswardine, where Ben Bentley stops off to listen to village voices
Royally entertained . . . And if you’re not interested in the royals, there’s still plenty to do on a trip to the capital, discovers daytripping Shirley Tart
Education . . . How the academic world is sitting up and taking notice of a county deputy head
Out and about . . . Shirley Tart’s social round-up, and our photographers’ pictures from your events, the length and breadth of the county
Food and drink . . . This month’s Wine Club; Neil Thomas enjoys a weekend of fine food and sound advice at a B&B with a difference; We celebrate the Great British Strawberry; The dining delights of The Walls, Oswestry are spotlighted in our ‘eating out’ pages; and Inn-Former enjoys a welcome pint
Fashion . . . Susan Cushing sees fashion designers going to extraordinary lengths, with the return of the maxi cut
Gardening . . . We preview Ludlow’s secret gardens, which are opening for the 21st time this year, while Ken Tudor enjoys the extensive and unusual garden of Angela and Peter Unsworth at Church Pulverbatch
Antiques . . . A round-up from the salerooms, including the sale of a notable collection of Caughley porcelain
Travel . . . Jocelyne Fildes and family delight in a break on the north Cornish coast, while Andy Richardson experiences a trio of unbelievably luxurious Gulf hotels
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