{"id":10014,"date":"2021-08-12T10:51:01","date_gmt":"2021-08-12T14:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=10014"},"modified":"2021-09-09T07:39:35","modified_gmt":"2021-09-09T11:39:35","slug":"episode-407-yes-nolan-old-england-does-exist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=10014","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 407: “YES , NOLAN, OLD ENGLAND DOES EXIST.”"},"content":{"rendered":"
x
<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
EPISODE 407:  \u201cYES, NOLAN, OLD ENGLAND DOES EXIST!\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/div>\n
I wrote this story to my granddaughter Nolan back in 2018.  A few years before the Pandemic.<\/div>\n
 By chance One of my other granddaughters, Morgan, put the story on her Facebook where Marjorie found<\/div>\n
it today.   The story is a feel good kind of story we need on these dark days.  It is long and illustrated.<\/div>\n
Marjorie wants me to send it out today as Episode 407.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
August 2021<\/div>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Dec. 2017<\/div>\n
Jan. 2018<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
This is Nolan Skeoch who has just turned  fifteen.  Without her love  affair with horses  OLD  ENGLAND  would never have  been<\/div>\n
found.  She  was the  trigger for the search.  Not because she  was interested in the roads, pubs or folkways. But because  she<\/div>\n
owned  the  horses and  the foals for which we were searching.  This story is a birthday  gift to you Nolan.  Of course Your mom <\/div>\n
is deeply involved in your life.  Not to be forgotten for she  found this little bit of Old England.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
SIX CANADIANS IN SEARCH OF OLD  ENGLAND<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Dec.  2017<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
SIX CANADIANS in search for Old England. left to right:  Marjorie Skeoch, Kevin Skeoch, Nolan Skeoch, Morgan Skeoch, Gabriela Skeoch<\/div>\n
and below them  Alan Skeoch ending a pint of  Old  England\u2019s best bitter.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Once upon a  time two  months  ago as 2017 wound down and  2018 was about to be born six of us, Canadians,<\/div>\n
decided to see if Old England still existed.   We had  criteria.  We had  doubts that Old England existed anymore.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
1) Old  England had  to be found within a two  hour  drive of London.<\/div>\n
2) Old  England would have ancient roadways \u2026 narrow and  deeply incised with towering oaks obscuring the sun.<\/div>\n
3) Old England had to have  tiny villages with wood  bedecked bars  and  easy access to ancient ales.<\/div>\n
4) Old  England had  to have slate or tile roofed barns with pigeon  roosts  and at least one large guard dog<\/div>\n
5) Old England  had to have lots of horses of all ages<\/div>\n
6) Old England  had to have rain otherwise the deep green of the countryside could not thrive.<\/div>\n
7)  Old  England  had  to have wild creatures co existing with domesticated creatures.<\/div>\n
8) Old  England  had to have a sense  of  mystery, even tension.<\/div>\n
9) Old England must serve roast beef  with Yorkshire Pudding and trimmings <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
So we  drove  westward from Muswell Hill and  Crouch End towards the hills of  Surrey.  We passed  beneath the thundering jetways of Heath Row international airport which raised doubts that Old England could be found.  Not to worry.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
 The deeper we got into Surrey the narrower  were the roads and the more mysterious the land appeared as large oak trees spread their branches.  These were the same oaks that were harvested as timbers for the British Navy and the clipper ships that took our kin to Canada long years ago.  \\<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The road became a time tunnel.  These were medieval roads unchanged save by a skiffle of asphalt. <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
This trip was becoming mysterious…magical.   Our very own  time machine.  These  same  roads had been travelled  by Romans long long ago<\/div>\n
and centuries later medieval carts  had rumbled along in those long ages when most people lived on tiny farms and never ever saw big cities.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Then we cut through a leafy laneway where an ancient farm was protected by this Rhodesian  Ridgeback, a dog whose breed  reputation was unsavoury  But<\/div>\n
this guy was lonely\u2026glad to see us.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Looks like a pigeon apartment building.  Likely is.  There was a time when the gentry enjoyed  a  plate of baby pigeons when fine  dining.  Probably why<\/div>\n
they  drank so much  and got that foot disorder called gout.   Subnamed \u201crevenge of the pigeons\u201d  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Now  this  is  really Old England.  Look at the  roof of the barn dead centre\u2026heavy red tiles sloping almost down  to the ground.  Those white doorways  were<\/div>\n
once homes  of  small domestic animals\u2026pigs perhaps.  The harvest barn designed for a  team of horses with a wood  wagon  piled high with air dried  hay  or<\/div>\n
hand tied sheaves  of grain ready for hand  threshing.  Old England.  Is that Thomas  Hardy peering through the title window on the left?  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The intense  oak doors to the threshing floor are studded with heavy hand  made bolts (nalls>) .  Must be a reason. Escapes me though.  Maybe the doors<\/div>\n
were stolen from a moated castle long gone.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
A couple of thousand red tiles  artfully arranged on the roof.  Only oak  framing could hold this roof in place.  <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Eureka!  The horses!   Gabriela pulled  aside a plank door incised  in a huge pilaff square hay bales.  And there they were.  the foals\u2026Five of  them. Tucked away a modern corrugated iron exercise barn.  Tow belonged to Nolan and Gabriela.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
 \u201cWhy two? Was one  foal not enough? Why buy a second one?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI was afraid  he  would  be lonely.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u2018but there are five here\u2026all this years  foals.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI did not know that at the time.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u2018Are they expensive?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThat tanned coloured one certainly is \u2026 worth 30,000 pounds\u2026$50,000 dollars.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou paid that for a foal?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo mine were very cheap\u2026not everyone wants a foal.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat happens to unwanted foals.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s not go there, Alan.\u201d<\/div>\n
(end of  conversation)  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cIs htis the $50,000 foal\u2026colt is better name  now\u2026getting bigger.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYes, beautiful.  Rare colour\u2026reason for price.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIs he  going to bite Marjorie?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t you know difference between nuzzling and  biting, Alan. These cols<\/div>\n
are all nuzzlers.  They like people.  They think they are people.\u2019<\/div>\n
\u201cBelieving that is akin to believing in UFO\u2019s, Gabriela.  He is eating Marjorie\u2019s scarf\u2026smells silk worms maybe.  Keep him the hell away from me.””<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cThis is  our colt.  Knows us and loves us.  From the moment he dripped from his mother we have been with him.<\/div>\n
Horses  are smart and  have wonderful memories.  Raise a horse with love and gentleness and he will respond  in kind.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhen can  Nolan  ride him?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThat is a slow process\u2026perhaps  a year or more.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThen what can  you do now?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHug him.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHug?\u201d\u201d<\/div>\n
Here give him a hug.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHorses do not like me. Sorry, not a hugger.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHe knows that\u2026see how he looks  at you.\u201d<\/div>\n
(end of conversation)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cAlan, tis is George\u2026a Spanish show horse\u2026fully trained\u2026has more dance steps in his  head than Fred  Astaire had in his feet.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhy are you spraying him with cold water?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cCool him down.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhy would  he need cooling?  Is he hot tempered?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou can be a  pain, Alan.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow can I get out of this barn?  He may bite  or kick me.  Marjorie\u2019s horse tried to kick me one.  Jealous,  I think.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhy would  a horse  be jealous of  ou?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHe had been gelded.  I had  not.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cStupid  comment.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIs  George a gelding or a stallion?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u2018Go take your pictures\u2026we are busy.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBut how  can I get by?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSit on a  bail of bedding and pout\u2026but stop your infernal chatter.\u201d<\/div>\n
(end  of  conversation)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This is me on George in the exercise ring.  He was trying to throw me off but I had a grip of steel. My knees pressed tight to his ribs. He got quite agitated.<\/div>\n
See that white rail fence?  Well, he got up to speed and  took a gallop right at the fence\u2026then flew in the air clearing all  three rails  and  landing on spongy creek<\/div>\n
bed just below.  Being an  expert rider I leaned  forward when we cleared the  rails.  Then we splashed our way up a creek doing threes and  jumping boulders.<\/div>\n
George knew I  was  boss by then.  Fearlessly we climbed through the pastures  going at a clip so fast that it seemed we were doing the steeplechase at<\/div>\n
Epson Downs\u2026with the Queen watching and  Philip cussing.  \u201cWho is that ass  on Georg? Rides like a western cowboy\u2026giving George the Go Go  Go with his  knees in the ribs.  The bastard  might win for God\u2019s sake and  my money is  on another, damn it.\u201d  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Imagination is a wonderful thing.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Really tis is  Kevin exercising George in the show ring.  I was safe cowering behind the fence.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
All the horses on this  farm were cared for by a man and a  woman who rented  the barns. They are not<\/div>\n
wealth landlords more members  of the horsy set at Epsom Downs.  They live in a small cottage<\/div>\n
beside the stables.  Really one big room.  A really comfortable room rich in colour and redolent<\/div>\n
with the aroma of horses.  Comfortable.   Nice people.  \u2019Twas always  thus  in Old England as well.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Then our visit came to an end.  Slight rain fell as  George went back to his  big room with new straw bedding spread and<\/div>\n
old straw had been  trundled to the manure pile.  Raising horses is not all riding and  jumping.  Most of the time<\/div>\n
Nolan spends with her horses is spent cleaning out the stalls so the  horses live in comfort.  Remember that if<\/div>\n
you buy a horse.  You need  to like  the smell of horse  manure.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
So, this  part of  our search for Old England ended and we  \u2018saddled up\u2019 the Volvo, tightened the reins. hollered \u201cGo\u201d and<\/div>\n
ambled  our way out the farm laneway to the tunnel of time below.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Much of  Old England  still exists\u2026if you have the time to ramble around.  It helps to own  a few horses.<\/div>\n
But Old England pub dinners\u2026a must.  So we galloped the Volvo to a nearby village with narrow  laneways<\/div>\n
and  whitewashed walls.  And  shop\u2019s with quaint names like \u2018Mad Jak’\u2026see below.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
What about the beef?  Coming below.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Plates piled high with slabs of well done beef slithering in fat accompanied by huge Yorkshire puddings and as many pints of<\/div>\n
ale that the police would  allow ( one pint )    Old England lives!<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Post Script:  Kevin giving George his exercise.  Seen it before.  But look beyond. Look at the tangle of trees\u2026places where<\/div>\n
the wild  animals of England  can coexist with humanity and  domestic  creatures.  That is where a family of badgers lives right now in  2018.<\/div>\n
For how long?<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
THAT FOREST IS ALIVE?  MAYBE NOT!<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cAny sign  of wild  animals around  here?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhole bunch of badgers.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\"Image<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cBadgers? How  do you know?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSee them sometimes \u2026 like when we came back suddenly one day \u2026 whole family of them right here at the stable \u2026 seemed to be  playing.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThey took off fast for the hill \u2026  wooded \u2026 lots of badger holes up  there.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI thought they were nocturnal.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThey are\u2026it was  dusk when we saw them last.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cmaybe six or seven\u2026more.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI read in the Guarsdian that they are dangerous.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNot to us.  Used  tp be dangerous\u2026blamed for spreading  bovine Tuberculosis\u2026whole milk right from the cow\u2019s udder was linked  to TBin humans\u2026 milk was pasteurized by force in 1950 …Badgers linked to the spread of  bovine TB\u2026killing cows is  not popular\u2026better to kill badgers.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAll the badgers?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBig cull underway\u202620,000 to  be killed\u2026kiliing on right now right now\u2026\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo kidding?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNope a few years ago  the plan was 5,000\u2026farmers  wanted more, conservationists wanted less.  Looks like<\/div>\n
the farmers won.”<\/div>\n
\u201cHoly  Smoke..how many badgers are there?<\/div>\n
\u201cWho  knows for  sure\u2026estimate is 40,000\u2026half of  them  to be killed\u2026gas and snipers.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYour badgers?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo the cull has not reached  us\u2026ours  are safe for now.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo cows around here just lots of horses\u2026and badgers.”<\/div>\n
(end  of conversation\u2026beginning of deep thought)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\"Image<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cSad isn\u2019t it?  No one is even sure  bovine TB is spread  by badgers.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThey are secretive creatures\u2026mind there  own business.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBut they do  carry the T.B.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou know, our world is  getting more  and more frightening.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDo  you still believe Old England  can be found, Alan.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cOnly a tiny fragment\u2026like this horse farm.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo room for the natural world  anymore.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNatural  world\u2026what do you mean  by that?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThe world of Old  England where there remained untended forest and moors and  miles and miles  of stone <\/div>\n
fences shielding  all kinds of  life not just badgers\u2026and thousands of  hedgehogs.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cRoom  for all kinds of creatures in Old England.  Not so many people back  then.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u2018Victims  of our  own  success are we not?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat do  you mean?\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cIF  ALL THE LIVING CREATURES ON THIS  PLANET WERE PUT ON A PERCENTAGE  GRAPH, DO YOU KNOW<\/div>\n
WHAT PER CENT OF WILD ANIMALS REMAIN?\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cNo Idea, but lots I assume.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cWrong\u2026dead wrong.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cTHREE PER CENT\u2026AND GETTNG SMALLER\u2026a tiny diminishing fraction\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cWHAT ABOUT THE OTHER 97%?\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201c30% IS  HUMAN BIOMASS AND  67% IS  DOMESTIC  ANIMAL  BIOMASS.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cWhere did you get that?\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cread it the other day in Scientific American… magazine for  scientists and  people like  us.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cSo  what should  be done about the badgers?\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cVaccination\u2026some are being  vaccinated\u2026but thousands are being  culled\u2026nasty word \u201cCULL”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cAre scientists sure  badgers  are at fault?\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cNobody is sure of anything.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
TEST QUESTION”: WHAT PERCENTAGE OF  LIVING THINGS ON EARTH ARE CLASSED AS WILD?<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\"Image\"Image<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cI wonder  how Badgers were treated  in  Old England?\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cNot much  better than today.  People  would catch  badgers, put them in cages, then let them go<\/div>\n
in the middle of  a bunch  of dogs.  To see who would die first.  Betting money.  Outlawed in 19th century.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat about those nice children\u2019s books about Billy the Badger?\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cJust that\u2026children\u2019s stories such as  Wind in the Willows.  Children grow  up which  does not mean they necessarily get better.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Note:  The history of  badgers is fascinating\u2026I  have  barely touched the surface.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Feb.  2018<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n


<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n


<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

x EPISODE 407:  \u201cYES, NOLAN, OLD ENGLAND DOES EXIST!\u201d I wrote this story to my granddaughter Nolan back in 2018.  A few years before the Pandemic.  By chance One of my other granddaughters, Morgan, put the story on her Facebook where Marjorie found it today.   The story is a feel good kind of story […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10014\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}