D287
<F K7>
<S Frederick Dunster>
<G M>
<A 79>
<O RETIRED THRESHER>
<C KENT>
<V APPLEDORE>
<D 00-01-59>
<I MVB>
<L CN S136>
<T 12:15>
<FD You weren’t all you got in the job.
You know,
I ‘ve [/] I ‘ve [\] biked to # Newchurch. FD>
<MVB [!= laughs] MVB>
<FD Oh,
that ‘s about nine mile from here,
you know.
I had to get down there about half past six,
you know,
to # open the machine out and get ready for ’em,
see?
# Alright for them chaps what lived there close,
but I ‘d got to get there. FD>
<MVB [!= laughs] MVB>
<FD And I ‘d got to get home,
see?
# Well,
xxx +…
# all round here at Brookland.
Brenzett.
You know,
# uh to +…
It ‘s about a half hour’s ride.
# You know?
# And Wittersham was the same.
# And # I got up there in Wittersham,
and then # Major Neave,
I # used to be his xxx then farm,
xxx in a big farm there.
He ‘d got some xxx.
Small xxx.
And uh # he got a stack of the # long point beans.
Well,
they hadn’t got the sieves to deal with it,
you know,
we were +…
We ‘d got the tackle for ir,
because they used to grow a good bit in the marsh,
see?
# And +…
[!= clears throat]
He +…
I was threshing for him up here at Stone,
up on the cliff,
and # he said,
+” Well, “+
he said,
+” You # [/] you you [\] better xxx. “+
He says,
+” Look.
We got a stack of beans there.
Beside Small Hythe +…
Opposite Small Hythe church.
xxx xxx. “+
He said,
+” I ‘d like you to come and do that. “+
He said,
+” # They people,
they ain’t got the # sieves for it,
you know.
Only these small # winter beans.
# So,
I xxx xxx,
and alright,
but it was a tidy break,
you know.
# I went up there.
Well,
then after I done [: did] that,
blowed if he didn’t want me to go to Tenterden.
Up xxx xxx.
His farm up there.
He xxx +…
[!= laughs]
You don’t doubt it.
Keep dragging me away to +…
It ‘s alright for them,
their point of view,
but then I ‘d got to get there.
[!= laughs] FD>
<MVB [!= laughs] MVB>
<FD And # of a morning,
I used to go # up through Tenterden.
# Had to go right down through Tenterden,
turn left and go to Small Hythe.
It was atop of Small Hythe hill,
where you turned in this farm.
# Well,
but that used to take uh xxx three quarters hour.
To bike from here.
Well,
we lived up in that bungalow.
Up at the school.
# Yes.
I +…
There were some hours to put in,
I tell you.
And then # when [/] when [\] we ‘d done,
# perhaps +…
# At that farm,
# we ‘d got to shift +…
Perhaps we ‘d got two or three mile to shift.
See?
Well,
and these were all tracks and xxx,
these old steamers.
They didn’t go very fast,
you know.
I +…
You weren’t supposed to go more than four mile an hour. FD>
<MVB [!= laughs] MVB>
<FD And # you didn’t want it to go over,
that did shake so,
you ‘d shake everything all up pieces,
it did.
xxx xxx too fast,
you know.
# Yeah.
That wadn’t all beer and skittles.
That wadn’t.
[!= laughs]
# No.
# And then,
there was the other part of the time,
you know,
people ‘d be going to grow this # xxx white clover.
[!= clears throat]
And so we +…
I bought a # [/] a [\] # clover machine,
you see?
So # when I hadn’t got the corn threshing to do,
more often I ‘d got a # stack of hay to thresh,
or # xxx wheat,
see?
For people.
# And that begun to die out,
little.
# Well,
the seasons,
you know,
now xxx seen xxx,
people got some,
but such a bad season they couldn’t save it,
you know.
And everywhere was dry,
see?
And I was threshing once,
and +…
Down here at # uh # Mr. Pendreath’s.
That +…
Where that shepherd # used to live. FD>
<MVB Hmm. MVB>
<FD Down here toward the barn.
I was in there doing the stack,
and # man what I used to # deal off,
# Thurlow,
at Stowmarket.
I used to buy belts,
and sails,
and # so on.
Oil off him,
you know.
It was a very good firm.
The old chap,
old Mr Fowler,
he recommended ’em when I took over,
like.
He said,
+” You ‘ll find they ‘re decent people to deal with, “+
he said.
+” They can generally get it. “+
He said,
+” And if you pay,
they ‘ll pretty soon come when you order anything. “+
And that did.
The old fellow was right,
you know.
Oh yeah.
# And this # traveller,
he come [: came] in.
+” How are we going on,
Mr. xxx? “+
He was xxx.
Uh # he # [/] he [\] come [: came] in there and had a look at us.
He ordered us a belt,
you know,
and he knowed [: knew] me,
you know,
pretty well.
He was # broad and coarse.
If you ever wanted anything,
he would bring,
you know,
got a motor.
Well,
# he said,
+” You don’t want to sell that machine,,
do you Fred? “+
I said [/] I said [\],
+” No. “+
I turned it +…
I had then plenty enough threshing. “+ FD>
||
<FD xxx,
then I ‘d got to go to # Nicholls’s,
# xxx,
one of that chap who was in here.
I says,
+” I got two or three more days of it.
A week,
# perhaps yet. “+
I said,
+” If I did sell,
you wouldn’t be able to have it for a week,
but +… “+
# xxx xxx for price,
and so on.
And I let him have it.
But I says,
+” I ‘m gonna finish this threshing first. “+
+” Well, “+
he said,
+” That ‘s alright.
But, “+
he said,
+” You xxx xxx # put her on real soon as you can. “+
And that ‘s what I done [: did]. FD>
<MVB Hmm. MVB>
<FD And got rid of that.
sold that.
Pretty near finished me thresh it.
[!= laughs] FD>
<MVB [!= laughs]
Hmm. MVB>
<FD Yeah.
# And then I ‘d got a little +…
# A couple little bits of ground,
# out here,
what I bought.
Down at the xxx xxx,
I # used to have it +…
Well,
I [/] I [\] done [: did] that for +…
throughout the time when we went threshing,
see? FD>
<MVB Hmm. MVB>
<FD And he kept what I had xxx,
well,
I had to find him job,
sometime,
you know. FD>
<MVB Hmm. MVB>
<FD Not where we ‘d done altogether,
because he used to go out summers no bounds what he was up to. FD>
<MVB [!= laughs] MVB>
<FD But # what I mean to say,
if we ‘d got a day or two or anything,
in a week,
we wadn’t going threshing,
well,
uh we used to have +…
xxx been to help me dig,
and # xxx,
see?
# Yeah.
We had to # do the best we could.
You know,
about it.
# Yeah,
but +…
You know,
# during the war,
# during that war,
they advised people to +…
# The government did,
not # bump these stacks up,
like they used to,
because they had had their stackyard.
They ‘d got a tiny stackyard some of ’em.
Perhaps they ‘d got eight or nine days’ worths.
# Oh,
there was just room to get between ’em with your machine,
and that,
and thresh ’em,
they ‘d have a +…
Oh,
a couple of stacks,
perhaps three.
# At the time,
see?
# Well,
# uh they was dropping these here incendiary bombs,
and so on,
at that time,
you know.
# To # set things alight if they could.
# So they advised ’em to # stack ’em out if the fields.
Have one stack here,
you see.
Another one # half a mile away,
and all this kind of thing,
in different fields.
So that if they did hit one,
set it alight,
it didn’t have it all,
xxx,
you see. FD>
<MVB Yeah. MVB>
<FD Well,
they didn’t xxx xxx +…
They did a little better for us,
because # I know in the winter,
down here uh this here man had a barn,
uh new buildings.
# Uh man name Ashby has it.
And uh # he uh # [/] he [\] used to have uh # eight or nine days’ xxx every year,
you know. FD>
<MVB Hmm. MVB>
<FD He used to have the old barn down there.
A big old barn.
Full of pigs. FD>
<MVB [!= laughs] MVB>
<FD And we had to thresh them out first.
# See?
And that used to take three days.
# And he ‘d got some in there.
It was a tidy place,
you know. FD>
<MVB Hmm. MVB>
<FD That used to take us three days,
to get that out.
And # then he [/] he [\] ‘d pack up then.
# Well then perhaps after three weeks he ‘d want # another turn threshing.
# After he ‘d got rid of his corn,
did peas in it,
you see? FD>
<MVB Hmm. MVB>
<FD He xxx out before he could thresh xxx to put the corn in.
Don’t you see? FD>
<MVB Yes. MVB>
<FD xxx xxx +… FD>
<MVB [!= laughs] MVB>
<FD # Yeah.
# But # you know,
they uh +…
When the war was on # properly,
like,
# that lasted three four year,
you know,
that fourteen war.
# Uh the County Council had to do with it,
you know.
# And instead of meeting in +…
I used to go over to xxx Brookland,
and so on,
you know,
I didn’t dare to go xxx xxx.
# Round here,
see? FD>
||
<FD Nobody knows,
you know. FD>
<MVB Hmm. MVB>
<FD And uh # anybody walked from there to # the # railway line,
here.
xxx xxx.
# And he says,
+” Oh.
Alright. “+
# And he said,
+” Uh # and then you ‘d go xxx,,
don’t you? “+
I said,
+” Yes. “+
+” Well, “+
he says,
+” You want to go further than # uh +…
I forget the name of the place now,
where Ben Coleby used to live. FD>
<MVB Hmm. MVB>
<FD I says,
+” Oh. “+
And then he said,
+” You [/] you [\] go down there,
atween Woodchurch and here,,
don’t you? “+
I said,
+” Yeah. “+
I said,
+” xxx xxx, “+
I [/] I [\] says,
+” He ‘s got a farm down here xxx xxx, “+
I said,
+” And he ‘s got some # xxx xxx by the Woodchurch. “+
# He says,
+” I see. “+
And he said,
+” Then there ‘s another lad in there close. “+
I said,
+” Yeah.
Well. “+
I said,
+” xxx,
from xxx,
he +… FD>
Transcription by Juhani Klemola and Mark Jones, 1999 See http://digital.library.leeds.ac.uk/381/1/LSE_1999_pp17-30_Klemola_Jones_article.pdf and http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/ach-allc.99/proceedings/scott.html
