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Andrew Elsden - stories, tales , rural and social and business issues past and present as I see them.
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Spalding and the Missing Stone of Scone
As the Stone of Destiny, otherwise known as the Stone of Scone, winds its way from Scotland to nestle below the King's posterior on the...
Apr 28, 20232 min read
The Trading of Ruffs from Spalding
The Ruff is a wader that has suffered exploitation over the years by man, perhaps the worst example being horrendous taxidermy that...
Mar 11, 20233 min read
Sat Nav Woes on Icy Roads
3rd January saw me drive to the local Vauxhall dealership in Morpeth from Amble. It was a beautiful morning but icy. Driving to Morpeth,...
Jan 11, 20233 min read
Christmas Roses and Christmas Past at Cowbit
It is December and my garden still has roses in flower. Although with last night's minus 5 frost possibly not for much longer. Nowadays...
Dec 7, 20222 min read
A postcard from Sunny Chang
Many years ago I had a client take over some greenhouses in the fens to import and grow orchids for sale in the UK. Previously these...
Dec 2, 20222 min read
Fenland Geese and Gosherds.
“A Fenman’s dowry, threescore geese and a pelt.” This saying is an indication of the economic importance to many fenmen of geese and...
Dec 1, 202214 min read
The Three Revellers ; or Impiety Punished.
In the bleak, noxious fens which to Lincoln pertain, Where agues exert their fell sway, Where the bittern hoarse moans, and the sea- mew...
Oct 30, 20223 min read
The Grave of Andrew Sharp and the Curse of Cattle Plague
In the graveyard at Gedney Hill churchyard is a modest gravestone that due to the ravages of time and growth of moss cannot quite be...
Oct 16, 20223 min read
Fenland Pike
I remember the first time I saw a pike I would be about 5 years old and asked my parents what the fish was mounted in a glass case in the...
Oct 8, 20224 min read
Lincolnshire Sturgeon
Sturgeon are almost never seen in UK waters either in the sea or inland. However, occasional non-native sturgeon species get introduced...
Oct 8, 20222 min read
Memories of an old Spalding Wildfowler the late Ken Burton.
Wildfowlers have a great love of nature and observe it with interest both within and outside their shooting activities. Ken Burton, one...
Sep 21, 20224 min read
SCRIVELSBY HOME OF CHAMPIONS
In a quiet corner of Lincolnshire lies an ancient family that holds an historic role of nearly a thousand years longevity, “The Kings...
Sep 11, 20222 min read
The Great Guns of the Fens.
In 1906 Mr Henry Pickering, then 88, revealed what it was like to pursue wildfowl with a punt on Cowbit Wash in the 1840’s: When about...
Jun 3, 20224 min read
Heavenly dogs.
I love this tale that I was told about 20 years ago. I think most dog owners will agree. A man and his dog were walking along a road. The...
May 6, 20222 min read
IF YOU GO DOWN TO THE COAST TODAY WHO KNOWS WHAT YOU MIGHT FIND
The Lincolnshire coast has many features whether it be the glorious sandy beach at Chapel Point or the marshes of the Wash. When...
Apr 30, 20223 min read
A Puntgunners Tale
There is a type of elegance in the observations of the Victorian sportsman, and whilst “offpatch” in Scotland I find this account by E.T....
Mar 27, 20221 min read
TEDDY BEARS AND HEDGE PORN – WHAT’S UNDER YOUR HEDGE?
Have you ever found porn under a countryside hedge? Recently Dr Kate Lister wrote in the “i” newspaper about hedge porn. She was so...
Mar 21, 20223 min read
ON THE BIRTH OF JESSICA MARY 7LB 12 OZ.
On the birth of Jessica I see fit to share some advice: - Firstly, all advice should be taken with a pinch of salt. Babies do not...
Feb 13, 20224 min read
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