In our village we used to have about twenty really good characters, but as the years have ticked on we have virtually lost all of them.
What i don't really understand, is why they are not getting replaced by the next generation.
I can only think of two people in the village that stand out, but i wouldn't class them as charaters.
Maybe it is the way village life has changed in general, we used to have four working farms, a school a post office and a proper drinking pub,
we have still got the pub but it is more of a eating place now.
Although i still love the village it's not the freindly place it was. I'm sure it is the people that now live in the village that has taken the heart and soul out of it.
A couple of the charaters that stick in my mind are one called Emil a german P.O.W he could tell you a five minute story, and it would last an hour.
He was a real tough nut though, i remember he was cutting some hard board with a electric circular saw and cut a twelve inch gash in his leg. When they got him to hospital he insisted that he watched them stitch it, to make sure they did a good job.
The other one was called uglyman, he could mend any thing from a lawnmower to a watch, the last being the most amazing as he used to shake like a leaf, so how he held those little screwdrivers i never will know.
Has anyone else noted the lack of characters these days.
Kind regards the Old Herbaceous.
Theres no fool like an old fool.
Village characters
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oldherbaceous
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Compo
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Well I live in a village, next to an eccentric recluse that keeps pigeons , and an old lady who has completly lost it...........The village is strewn with characters and the parish council is an entertainment in itself, as are the neighbourhood watch meetings. We have clubs that meet in the village hall for activities as diverse as quilling (prize for the first person to post and know what that is) and Scottish Country Dancing.
The village pub sells beer first and barsnacks second, the main bar game is skittling, a grest sport of the west. We have a village drunk, two shops, a school, post office, hairdressers, pub and two village halls, and of course an allotment plot with 20-odd village idiots who tend them! of course includinge me!! I was bored stupid living in a town, this place is great!!!
Compo
The village pub sells beer first and barsnacks second, the main bar game is skittling, a grest sport of the west. We have a village drunk, two shops, a school, post office, hairdressers, pub and two village halls, and of course an allotment plot with 20-odd village idiots who tend them! of course includinge me!! I was bored stupid living in a town, this place is great!!!
Compo
If I am not on the plot, I am not happy.........
Old H,
I do cleaning once a fortnight for a lady of real character(!)
Fair enough, she doesn't believe in using harmful cleaning products - sprays, bleaches etc. and I can respect that, though it does make my job harder. BUT and it is a big but, she won't throw anything away, at all, ever. I have to dust around the spiders (honestly not joking, I'm not even allowed to move them along a bit)
You would not believe the kitchen, it's taken me two months to get rid of the thickest accumulations of mould and to persuade her to confine rotting vegetable remnants to one container on the draining-board.
What really makes me laugh, though, is that despite her insistence that she's totally 'green' and 'organic' she has bloody great lumps or coral lying round the house as ornaments
I do cleaning once a fortnight for a lady of real character(!)
Fair enough, she doesn't believe in using harmful cleaning products - sprays, bleaches etc. and I can respect that, though it does make my job harder. BUT and it is a big but, she won't throw anything away, at all, ever. I have to dust around the spiders (honestly not joking, I'm not even allowed to move them along a bit)
You would not believe the kitchen, it's taken me two months to get rid of the thickest accumulations of mould and to persuade her to confine rotting vegetable remnants to one container on the draining-board.
What really makes me laugh, though, is that despite her insistence that she's totally 'green' and 'organic' she has bloody great lumps or coral lying round the house as ornaments
Jude
There are more questions than answers.
There are more questions than answers.
Compo - isn't quilling as in paper quilling, where coloured papers are coiled to make pictures (usually on greeting cards)?
Most of our village is full of various old characters - that's why we love it.
Most of our village is full of various old characters - that's why we love it.
The cow is of the bovine ilk
One end is moo, the other, milk.
One end is moo, the other, milk.
Old H., I know what you mean & sympathise. Growing up in a village,(although one we've already established is nowhere near as posh as yours) I can remember various characters - some of them were even related to me! Ernie the egg man, various "old boys" who had allotments on the same patch as my dad, and drunk down the pub with him after. One couple who had been engaged for about 40 years but never married, the lovely old spinster who played the piano for the ballet class, - the memories are coming back. Alas, now I live in a town and whilst I'm sure there are some "characters" out there, they're more difficult to find.
I can remember Harry the Vegman who had a couple of acres of run down market garden who used to do a round with a horse and cart(1960's) and we were always told not to go near the horse as it was evil!When he died the ground was eventually sold off for building and the whole village revolted against the council's new name for the road and insisted that it was named after Harry,and it now is.
I can't think of anyone with that much character in the village any more.
I can't think of anyone with that much character in the village any more.
You are all so lucky to be living in villages, in the country. I have to admit to being slightly green with envy around the gills 
Me and Grock spent many a brill holiday in the countryside and remember the characters that we met there. There was the farmer who had a pig called Henry VIII who had 6 sows and numerous piglets. He was big, ruddy faced and as kind hearted as they come. He could drink for England and would let you borrow anthing of his for a fiver!!! He taught me and Grock loads about the countryside.
Then there were the storytellers who would keep us amused for hours with tales. There was one old bloke with a dog who told a great story. Told us it was true but I have my doubts.
There are many more but I won't bore you. Just remember how lucky you are. Try living where you are surrounded by houses, left, right, front and back. I probably see more cars in a day than you see in a month. I'd swap anytime. Just give me half an hour while I get my animals and a few clothes and I'll move in tonight.
Any offers?
Me and Grock spent many a brill holiday in the countryside and remember the characters that we met there. There was the farmer who had a pig called Henry VIII who had 6 sows and numerous piglets. He was big, ruddy faced and as kind hearted as they come. He could drink for England and would let you borrow anthing of his for a fiver!!! He taught me and Grock loads about the countryside.
Then there were the storytellers who would keep us amused for hours with tales. There was one old bloke with a dog who told a great story. Told us it was true but I have my doubts.
There are many more but I won't bore you. Just remember how lucky you are. Try living where you are surrounded by houses, left, right, front and back. I probably see more cars in a day than you see in a month. I'd swap anytime. Just give me half an hour while I get my animals and a few clothes and I'll move in tonight.
Any offers?
Lots of love
Lizzie
Lizzie
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oldherbaceous
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lizzie i feel quite sorry for you, i have always lived in the country and really do appreciate it.
I just couldn't imagine living in a built up area, and i don't suppose they would like me banging about making a sheep trough at six o'cock on a sunday morning.
Do you and grock ever go back to where you used to stay in the country?
Hang on theres another car just gone past, thats the second one today, i suppose it's busy today being a bank holiday.
lizzie, you and grock can always come and stay, as long as you don't mind staying in the old servant quarters, they will need a bit of dusting as no one has used them since i had to let the servants go.
Kind regards a very lucky Old Herbaceous.
Theres no fool like an old fool.
I just couldn't imagine living in a built up area, and i don't suppose they would like me banging about making a sheep trough at six o'cock on a sunday morning.
Do you and grock ever go back to where you used to stay in the country?
Hang on theres another car just gone past, thats the second one today, i suppose it's busy today being a bank holiday.
lizzie, you and grock can always come and stay, as long as you don't mind staying in the old servant quarters, they will need a bit of dusting as no one has used them since i had to let the servants go.
Kind regards a very lucky Old Herbaceous.
Theres no fool like an old fool.
Bit like Holly Cottage then Lizzie !
Dear Old Herbaceous....
I was trying to portray JUST what you're saying a few weeks back in terms of TODAY I WAS MOSTLY thread.
There's a completely lovely elderly bloke next door to us, and every day Trousers and me 'make time' to talk to him, even if we have no time. He's the character of our world, and without him, our lives would be very much poorer....
It's actually talking to these lovely peeps when they're WITH you that enriches your life...
Once they get chosen for a sunbeam, they're gone forever....
And the other side of things, is that you have NO IDEA what difference you actually make to THEIR LIFE.
Just think about it...... You could be 'making their day' without even realising it...........
Wellie
Dear Old Herbaceous....
I was trying to portray JUST what you're saying a few weeks back in terms of TODAY I WAS MOSTLY thread.
There's a completely lovely elderly bloke next door to us, and every day Trousers and me 'make time' to talk to him, even if we have no time. He's the character of our world, and without him, our lives would be very much poorer....
It's actually talking to these lovely peeps when they're WITH you that enriches your life...
Once they get chosen for a sunbeam, they're gone forever....
And the other side of things, is that you have NO IDEA what difference you actually make to THEIR LIFE.
Just think about it...... You could be 'making their day' without even realising it...........
Wellie
I remember Rose Cottage Wellie, fabulous.
Well then my Herby friend. The Grock goes and stays quite often near to one place we stayed which was our favourite holiday. We stayed in a cottage with a stable door at the front. Nearby by was an old steam railway, loads of woodland ect ect. I think that was the one where me and Grock went missing for hours cos we were in the field watching field mice climbing the wheat. My mum nearly killed us when we came back!!!
When we go away it has to be somewhere quite remote with lots of greenery, hills ect. Not bothered where but it has to be away.
As for your kind offer to Grock and I, thank you. How does tomorrow teatime sound?
Now, where did I leave my maids outfit?
Well then my Herby friend. The Grock goes and stays quite often near to one place we stayed which was our favourite holiday. We stayed in a cottage with a stable door at the front. Nearby by was an old steam railway, loads of woodland ect ect. I think that was the one where me and Grock went missing for hours cos we were in the field watching field mice climbing the wheat. My mum nearly killed us when we came back!!!
When we go away it has to be somewhere quite remote with lots of greenery, hills ect. Not bothered where but it has to be away.
As for your kind offer to Grock and I, thank you. How does tomorrow teatime sound?
Now, where did I leave my maids outfit?
Lots of love
Lizzie
Lizzie
Dear Herby
Living in a village as we do can also have it drawbacks!
You cannot stick your nose out of the door without meeting anyone!
We have the knitted hat man with dog-he goes by at least 6 times a day, we always have a similar conversation about how 'the maids' getting on (Lily)
The mad bat across the road who's only in her 40's; but looks about 90 and chats about anything and everything.
The old 'dear'next door who acts like butter wouldn't melt; but has a steely core! wo betide anyone who parks in her spot!!
There's the huntsman who stops and waves for Lily almost everyday-we don't get onto the subject of hunting, me being a townie and all that!
Then there's 'hello, hello' I haven't the foggiest what her name is; but she's ever so friendly!
There's loads more; but my day would be taken up just typing!
Oops nearly forgot beardy weirdy-he walks around the moors for miles and can tell a few tales a very educated man!Used to write for Private Eye so I believe!
Lizzie & Grock I have a maids outfit you can borrow from the last time i visited OH
Living in a village as we do can also have it drawbacks!
You cannot stick your nose out of the door without meeting anyone!
We have the knitted hat man with dog-he goes by at least 6 times a day, we always have a similar conversation about how 'the maids' getting on (Lily)
The mad bat across the road who's only in her 40's; but looks about 90 and chats about anything and everything.
The old 'dear'next door who acts like butter wouldn't melt; but has a steely core! wo betide anyone who parks in her spot!!
There's the huntsman who stops and waves for Lily almost everyday-we don't get onto the subject of hunting, me being a townie and all that!
Then there's 'hello, hello' I haven't the foggiest what her name is; but she's ever so friendly!
There's loads more; but my day would be taken up just typing!
Oops nearly forgot beardy weirdy-he walks around the moors for miles and can tell a few tales a very educated man!Used to write for Private Eye so I believe!
Lizzie & Grock I have a maids outfit you can borrow from the last time i visited OH
"Happiness is the sense that one matters"
We were city kids but moved to the country 30 years ago because we could buy a house here for the same price as a tiny flat in the city. Our first house was in a small village and now we're in a hamlet, so whilst we do have neighbours, they're scattered. Most of the old characters have gone now, but the new ones are developing their own little ways. We have a chap who runs around the lanes on a fitness training programme, but never makes eye contact with, or speaks to anyone. There's a man down the lane who writes to the RAF each week to complain about their planes going overhead. We've got a publican (the only facility in the area except for the post box) who has banned all the farmers because he doesn't want muddy wellies or overalls in his pub - he's banned most of the rest of us too as we objected to his application to change the pub into a house. (Guess who won? Hee hee.)
When we first came here, our nearest neighbour was reputed to have been a getaway driver for a gang of thieves. Don't know if it was true or not, but he was certainly good at making our produce disappear.
As for the previous generations, there was a lady up the lane who had lived here since she was a child. She had records of fruit sales to Robertson's going back generations, as this area was known as Damson Valley. She used to go to school in a cart, with a potato to put in the classroom fire to have for her lunch. She died just before Christmas. My OH believed she had a personal radar system because she knew everything about everyone, even when she was housebound.
As a contrast, there was another lady (ex farmer) who was well known for her socialising and bridge parties. She was always immaculately dressed, slap and jewellery on at all times. She was killed in a car crash last year whilst driving herself to a lunch appointment, aged 99!
Goodness knows what they say about us. I suspect they may consider me to be barmy - especially as I garden in all weathers, at all times - including in the dark armed with a torch - and often wearing things which are inappropriate for my age and shape.
When we first came here, our nearest neighbour was reputed to have been a getaway driver for a gang of thieves. Don't know if it was true or not, but he was certainly good at making our produce disappear.
As for the previous generations, there was a lady up the lane who had lived here since she was a child. She had records of fruit sales to Robertson's going back generations, as this area was known as Damson Valley. She used to go to school in a cart, with a potato to put in the classroom fire to have for her lunch. She died just before Christmas. My OH believed she had a personal radar system because she knew everything about everyone, even when she was housebound.
As a contrast, there was another lady (ex farmer) who was well known for her socialising and bridge parties. She was always immaculately dressed, slap and jewellery on at all times. She was killed in a car crash last year whilst driving herself to a lunch appointment, aged 99!
Goodness knows what they say about us. I suspect they may consider me to be barmy - especially as I garden in all weathers, at all times - including in the dark armed with a torch - and often wearing things which are inappropriate for my age and shape.
