Bobservation No. 100: A New Year’s Wishes

Bobservation No.100*

The New Year 2023
I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year and can only say I do hope it is better than 2022! It has been a sad year for Fulking , the passing away of Baz Parmar, Mick Gaule, Nick Bremer and Sheena Trist all of whom, in their various ways, were important contributors to village life. Externally Covid has continued to harass us, although not as badly as at its peak and village social life has been gradually getting back to normal. This has culminated with the very successful village annual Christmas party, with which Sally has really taken over the reins of directing the Social Committee with great enthusiasm and a very good band of helpers.

My New Year’s Wishes
My hopes for 2023 are: 1. Ukraine winning the war against Russia. 2. The Government agreeing to talk to striking unions about pay. 3. An end to Covid. 4. Inflation reducing to a low single figure. 5. The needy receiving social benefits that enable them to live reasonably. 6. An end to Tax havens and all tax evasion. 7. Demolition of the Houses of Parliament and building a completely new House of Commons in the centre of England. 8. An end to the House of Lords and the aristocracy. 9. A technical reduction in the size of the Royal family and a modernisation of the Monarchy to include normal taxation. 10. A total return to remaining in Europe. 11. The church being reasonable about the sale of the Village Hall. AND 12. ENGLAND WINNING THE ASHES!.

* not out

Bobservation No. 99: Friends Departed RIP

Watercolour - view from stile across meadow southwest towards Downs
Watercolour by Nick Bremer- view from stile across meadow at Perching Sands

‘Baz‘ Parmar

My very good friend Baz passed away on the 4 November. He fought a quite horrific type of cancer some years ago and until quite recently had been clear. Regrettably he suffered another bout which eventually proved to be fatal. A quiet, modest, helpful and unassuming man who had been a most successful orthodontist, my respect for him was great. He was part of one those remarkable Asian families who came to Britain as a result of the crisis caused in East Africa by Idi Amin. We should all consider these national advantages before criticising any form of immigration to our shores.

Nick Bremer

So hard to know what to say about the passing away of an old chum. Both Nick and Jill contributed more to the social life of Fulking than anyone in the past 30 years and were my inspiration for getting involved in this wonderful village. Nick was a fine artist who designed and produced the so attractive village pictorial signposts. Even though old age has made it necessary for us to move to Henfield we still have a fine watercolour of the bluebells at Furzefield that we commissioned Nick to create, reminding us of happy days with them in Fulking. Wonderful sense of humour, golf addict, terrible cribbage player, great friend and colleague on the Parish Council. See you next Tuesday you old devil!

On the market

Barn Cottage, Poynings Road

In the 1930s, this site was where the village blacksmith’s shop stood. It was here that the farm and dray horses were shod and all the hardware (gates, hinges and wrought iron railings) for the Shepherd and Dog and the village houses were forged. It was originally part of the Bungalow Farm, known today as ‘Four Acres’ and it was later partitioned off from the farm as a separate property. The buildings comprised a wooden house with a corrugated iron roof and the oldest walls were constructed of horsehair, dried leaves and daub. Some of the original beams still form a feature of the interior of the house. An adjoining lean-to was fitted with a large, sliding door where carts were stored and behind this was a yard and stable.

Mr. Ernest (Ernie) Wingham, who kept cows off Holmbush Lane, occupied the house for many years. Ernie operated a milk round at the north end of Fulking. He also kept a stock of shotgun cartridges at the house and some of the older residents of the village can recall being sent to purchase these for their fathers’ guns. When Ernie later moved to Littledown Farm, he sold the property to the local builders, Ridge & Franks, who used the building to store their materials. They later rebuilt the property, converting it into a single dwelling and sold it. In the 1980s the site was enlarged to include an additional area of land to the east, which provided a garden and parking area. Parts of the old farm walls still survive as testament to the origins of this small cottage with its wonderful views south to the Downs.

Passages quoted from Anthony R. Brooks (2008) The Changing Times of Fulking & Edburton. Chichester: RPM Print & Design, pages 142-143.

And Barn Cottage, in the north west corner of old Hut Farm? Exactly what it says: a bungalow built ‘inside’ a barn when planners said ‘no’ to proposed demolition.

Passage quoted from Gill Milner (2013) Hugh Rapley at Hut Farm.

Bobservation No. 98: Democracy Quiz

Image of St Andrews with inset of Rishi SunakSt Andrews Quiz evening
This annual event, with a brilliant quizmaster, always so well organised and with a delightful supper, has been a great pleasure for quite a few years now. Last Friday the Furzefield Four, comprising the recent and current owners of that property, had a disastrous attempt at answering most of the questions but in spite of that had a most enjoyable evening. This really is a fixture on the local village calendar. Long may it reign!

Democracy?
Considering the ghastly mess that this Government has got all of us into, it is worth reflecting that the poorest will suffer the most and the wealthiest the least. I count myself as one of the more fortunate citizens and am enthusiastic to change this imbalance as soon as possible. Our nation has staggered along under a system that is flawed from top to bottom. Because change should start at the top I suggest the following changes should be considered. The Monarchy should be modernised and be subject to same laws as the rest of us. The Parliament buildings containing the Houses of Commons and Lords should be sold off and the proceeds invested in a new and modern parliament in the Midlands, which after all is nearer the centre of England. Members of Parliament should be elected by proportional representation and the House of Lords members should be similarly elected by the voting public. The Prime minister should only be chosen by the electorate and the enfranchisement age reduced to 17 for all elections. All remuneration and expenses for elected representatives should be carefully scrutinized and either reduced to acceptable levels or scrapped. The revaluation of domestic property should be updated as soon as possible for council tax purposes with second properties subject to double that tax. Having moaned about all that, and to be completely apolitical, I do sincerely wish the new Prime Minister the very best of luck. He seems a decent sort of man and I am delighted we have a leader who, for the first time, is a person of colour. He faces a very difficult journey but, so long as he has support from his own party, he may be able to lead us put of this mess.