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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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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
BRING BACK AMY SEDARIS -LAUNDRY EXPERT
If there is one advert I miss at the moment from TV it is the Lenor advert with the hearty, chirpy greeting, “Hi! I’m Amy Sedaris,...
Feb 12, 20223 min read
From My Rechabite Grandmother to Fit Bits
I remember my grandmother, Alice Parrish as a fierce old lady. In my childhood she lived with my grandfather in an Agricultural tied...
Feb 3, 20224 min read
THE NEW DOG
This story was told to me at a pub in Norfolk: A wildfowler took his new dog onto the marsh for the first time. He sat down in a creek...
Dec 19, 20212 min read
IT COULD ONLY HAPPEN WITH RELOADS
This is a story from an old Spalding wildfowler recounted in the 1960’s, a time when many wildfowlers loaded their own shotgun shells :...
Dec 18, 20211 min read
Not a Partridge in a Pear Tree.
FRENCH PARTRIDGE LAYING IN A TEAL’S NEST The following curious circumstance was remarked in the summer of 1871, by a gentleman, who, as a...
Dec 17, 20211 min read
A Day on the Marsh
(Or never trust a stranger if he lets you buy the Ale) There I sat quietly drinking my ale When this fellow Wells started spinning the...
Dec 16, 20212 min read
A Norfolk Game Stall December 1890
W Durrant’s Game Stall 8th December 1890 This game stall in Yarmouth market in 1890 was recorded to have the following dead birds for...
Dec 16, 20211 min read
Rural Policing of Yesteryear
Lincolnshire has long been blighted with rural crime. Going back as far as 1793 Arthur Young commented on sheep thefts near Crowland:...
Nov 4, 20216 min read
Two Halloween Ghost Stories from the Fens
As Halloween approaches I thought I would share a couple of ghost stories. Although the first is from my childhood I do believe I have...
Oct 29, 20213 min read
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