railer – Christmas & Winter at Hiltonbury Farm | Nov–Dec 1951 | My Mother’s Diaries

I’m Andy # Andy Vining… and this a trailer for My Mother’s Diaries. on Sunday 16th AugustIn this next episode, we return to Hiltonbury Farm for the final two months of 1951.And November begins… with rain. Lots of it!The farmyard is muddy, the hens are bedraggled and Mother is once again drying the washingin the kitchen.But life at Hiltonbury certainly doesn’t stop.There’s a huge Guy Fawkes bonfire and fireworks party…John travels to Reading and comes home with an important new Jersey bull…The farmhouse kitchen continues to fill with friends, neighbours, cups of tea — andplenty of farming conversation.Then there’s a very special school concert at St Probus… and somehow find myself appearing on stage as Princess Marina!As December arrives, preparations for Christmas begin in earnest.There are Christmas puddings to boil…cakes to bake…presents to buy and wrap…and around thirty home-reared cockerels to pluck, draw and prepare for Christmas.Meanwhile, Hiltonbury’s young hens produce an extraordinary 128 eggs in one day.Christmas brings church, family gatherings, a Boxing Day meet, a pantomime in Bournemouth— and Jennifer even gets the chance to ride a circus horse.Then, as New Year’s Eve arrives, there is time for one final dance before saying goodbye to1951.Family life, farming, friendship and the small moments that made up everyday life more than seventy years ago.Join me,Andy Vining, for November and December 1951…in the nextepisode of My Mother’s Diaries — The Hiltonbury Farming Family Story.