Dave Beckett sits in his back garden. and his next door neighbour Roger Ash has come to visit, bringing his own cup of tea. We have met Dave Beckett before. He was very pleased to know I remembered his dad Cyril, who was the baker in Winslow when I was a boy.
The Distance Project 9
There’s a huge amount of community spirit in the small village of Little Horwood. The villagers have pulled together to make life as pleasant as possible under lockdown. I have more photos from the village, which I'll most likely show you next week.
You can see all the other Distance Project photos on the North Bucks Wanderer here. In the project I'm photographing what people are doing differently under lockdown.
(Edited, September 2021)
This is just one of many posts from The Distance Project. That link will take you back to the very first posts, but if you want to see them in reverse order, just click on the link in the categories list that's on every page. The project ran from April 2020 to September 2021.
Chrissie Beckett, wife of Dave, has put out chairs so that villagers can come and chat while remaining at a safe distance. This is Penny Davis (left) and Karen Jones (right) Chrissie has organised quite a bit for the village, but is too modest to be in any of my photographs.
At the rear of Dave and Chrissie’s camper van, there’s a bring and take box. Anything you don’t need? Put it in the box. Anything you’d like? Just take it away. Today the box has a collection of books and toys for very young children, but anything might be in there. Back during those long hot days in June, you could bring or take clothes, too; they were hung on a rail by the side of the camper van. The kitchen bin labelled ‘Aluminium’ is for drinks cans; the local scouts are collecting metal for fundraising.
Annette put out some eggs for sale one day on a table near the green. They quickly sold. Then she was asked if she could get some flour. Then people started asking for all sorts of things, and now she runs the village shop in this trailer.
The shop is converted from a mobile bar, that was lying unused because of the lockdown. Annette opens the shop a few days a week, at the same times as the village post office. That means that the elderly and infirm, or those who feel anxious about going out during lockdown, only need to go out once to get what they need. Annette and her husband Rob will try to get anything they are asked for.
Another customer at the village shop.
On the green.
This customer had to come back for something, and stood chatting for a while to Annette and her dad (right).
The children can’t have birthday parties, so instead their parents take them for a walk round the village, to see all the happy birthday signs and soft toys in windows set out for them. Here’s one.
Here's a teddy left out from a previous birthday.
This is the cellar queen, who cares for the beer in the village’s Shoulder of Mutton pub. She told me her name but I neglected to write it down. These are some of the casks emptied by the pub’s delivery sales since lockdown.
Four young men playing football at a social distance, in the enclosed court up behind the church.
Loved seeing the local pix.
Little Horwood is a brilliant village. Did a lot for me personally when I was shielded. Particularly Chrissie. Thankyou.
Posted by: Delia | 06 July 2020 at 11:06 AM
Back in the early seventies, the Shoulder of Mutton was an important venue in the folk song revival. Many acts used to squeeze into the singers room awaiting their turn to sing, including me. It was a very warm spot to sing in, in that you had to stand in front of a fire in the ingle nook. the audience sat at your feet and a microphone above your head relayed you to the singers room. Quite an ordeal.
Posted by: Ron Adams | 14 August 2021 at 09:48 PM