Memories of Hullavington - The Weather

by

Mary Greenman

The winter of 1963 brought the village to a standstill - we were snowbound and icebound for weeks. Vin was then teaching at Commonweal School, Swindon, and there was no M4 through then. Once the ploughs had made a way through, traffic was all single-file through Malmesbury and Brinkworth for weeks. It was May before the snow finally thawed from the ditches.

The drifts at cemetery corner were a magnificent sight. At this time, I was heavily pregnant with Ruth, and I waddled down with Vin, to see the sight. Howard was taken care of at home - it was quite impossible to use a pushchair or battle with a toddler as there were deep ruts of ice either side of the main street.

Nurse Kent was due to deliver this baby - she lived at 'Nurses Cottage' (Peter and Elizabeth Parry-Williams' home). On 12th February, she was called out to deliver a baby at Anson Place - the other side of the airfield. That night, a blizzard was raging, and Nurse walked (or rather, battled!) with her niece, over the airfield for the delivery of this baby. Her niece carried the heavy 'gas-and-air equipment. Returning in the early hours of the morning, Nurse decided to leave the 'gas-and-air' behind as, she thought, Mary Greenman wouldn't be in need of it for over a week. Ruth decided otherwise and put in her appearance the next day -thankfully very quickly!

1975-6 were both drought years, 1975 being particularly serious as it followed on from a very dry 1975, and little snow in the winter to replenish the reservoirs and keep up the level of the water-table. We opened up one of the two wells in our garden - we had filled in both of them when we moved in. We wonder why we should have two wells in the garden, and quite close to each other as well! The one we opened up is a bottle-shaped well and about fifteen feet deep. When we filled it in around 1961, Alec Fry used it as a wonderful dumping-ground for much in the old garage that he wanted to dispose of. We had our own Aladdin's Cave! What treasures will be unearthed if we ever open up the other well? It really needs it, it's sinking badly. Amongst the rubbish, we found seven bicycle frames, thirteen wheels, and two ornate brackets from a Rolls-Royce luggage rack - these now adorn one of the beams in the lounge.

Mr Bill Fry was very interested in this project and came round at various times to watch. He lived at Copper Cottage, Frog Lane. His musicianship was truly remarkable. Many times I have been there, playing his harmonium, while he played the violin or 'cello. I believe he also had a cornet, although I never heard him play it. However, the thing at which he excelled was the playing of his one-string fiddle. It showed what an innovative man he was, besides possessing a wonderful gift of playing it and producing some beautifully rich tones. He had taken a tea-chest, and flexibly mounted a broom-handle at one corner. A 'string' (wire) was attached to the top of the handle and the centre of the top face of the chest. By pulling back on the handle, he changed the tension in the string and hence the note. Bill would either pluck the string, or play it with the bow belonging to the 'cello. Either way, it was a sonorous and pleasing performance!

The winter of 1980/81 was the last time I believe that we had a good quantity of snow. Sledges were made or repaired, and Windmill Hill was the busiest I have ever seen it. Along the top of the hill towards the railway bridge, the drifts filled the lane. It was great fun walking on the top of them, and even greater when a softer drift gave way and there were a few disappearing acts.