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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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6 hours ago2 min read
22. An Insight into Agriculture Labour in Spalding in 1867
They lie as thick as thieves, and they live like pigs.
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Jan 82 min read
My Identity - Home is where the curlews cry.
What of my identity? It is interwoven between marsh, fen and town but the world changes. My roots and ancestry is firmly in the Fens....
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Dec 31, 20248 min read
Migration in the Fens - Two Great Lies
The local anger to this was huge and Professor Beard suffered an horrendous personal attack and an inappropriate backlash. In the meantime,
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Dec 30, 202423 min read
Water - Wet and Dry
It is ironic that whilst typically being the driest area of the country in terms of rainfall the Fens of South Lincolnshire are also...
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Dec 25, 20246 min read
Economy - looking back to the future.
I have emphasized earlier that the countryside of The Wash and the Fens inland effectively serve large towns and cities. The fisherman...
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Dec 23, 202423 min read
Urban Bias
Urban bias could be seen as an antidote to parochialism. But, like parochialism, urban bias can be bad thing as well as good. Urban bias...
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Nov 29, 202442 min read
Migrations in the Twentieth Century
The town centres of Spalding, Boston and Wisbech saw massive changes to their town centres dominated by a new generation of migrants.
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Nov 17, 20243 min read
Inheritance Tax - The Experience
Here I explain the reality of inheritance tax . In 2007 I was outside my son’s school when I bumped into a local farmer – at least I...
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Nov 16, 20244 min read
Inheritance Tax “only the largest estates will be effected”.
Most farmers consider the statement a lie. Whether it is or not is to be proven. Here I examine a take on inheritance tax that may be a...
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Nov 15, 20243 min read
Spalding Canning Factory
November 1930 saw the following announcement that was to herald further establishment of the food processing industry in Spalding hot on...
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Nov 15, 20244 min read
"Inheritance Tax will not affect Small Family Farms." What is a small family farm?
“Only the richest estates will pay – not small, family farms.” This is the repeated phrase parroted by the Chancellor and other Labour...
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Nov 14, 20243 min read
Farm Inheritance Tax Relief – It needed Reform but this is flawed.
My experience with Inheritance Tax and especially with Farm Inheritance Tax Relief is that it appears to be applied inconsistently and...
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Nov 13, 20245 min read
Farm Inheritance Tax - Not Just Land
In this second post I will demonstrate how inheritance tax can affect a tenant farmer by referring to a real life example from my past...
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Nov 12, 20247 min read
Business and Agricultural Property Relief Inheritance Tax Changes - email to my MP
In the Chancellor's Autumn budget of 2024 changes were made to Inheritance tax Relief that reduced this relief on the value of both...
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Nov 11, 202414 min read
Spalding Sugar Beet Factory
Modern sugar production from sugar beet owes its origins in the Prussian Empire of 1801 which saw the first beet sugar factory opened in...
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Oct 28, 20245 min read
The Evolution of Spalding Market - Livestock leave the Streets
The recovery of the livestock market post World War I was not without its interruptions. In 1922 foot and mouth disease reared its ugly...
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Sep 26, 202416 min read
Land Use, The Green Belt and the Abuse of Land Holdings
Every so often I share some writing that did not make the cut of Marsh Fen and Town. In this case I look at land use, how agricultural...
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Sep 9, 20249 min read
Agricultural Labour - Gang labour accomodation and its modern failings
Improvements in the living conditions of farm labourers were slow and largely depended upon the willingness and abilities of the larger...
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Sep 6, 202413 min read
Agricultural Labour - Increased mobility and gangs.
Agricultural Labour - increased mobility and increased concern over child labour and the employment of women. The increased mobility of...
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Sep 2, 20248 min read
Agricultural Labour - May Hirings
In May 2019 a meter high statue was unveiled in Hall Place, Spalding commemorating the times when Spalding had a May Hiring Fair where...
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