Recollections of Blaisdon Hall
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BLAISDON SALESIAN PAST PUPILS NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2004
It’s time once again for the pre-Christmas Newsletter and for Fr. Sean and Charlie to give you any news they have of the last few months, including the August re-union. Remember me saying in the last news letter that Danny Hayes had contacted me to let me know he was hoping to come over from Spain for a couple of months for an operation, and that was the last I heard from him. At the beginning of September I received a letter from him, saying that he was unable to get to the U.K. because he had been caught in a “Flash Storm” up in the mountains, and went over the side, and down about Fifty Meters. He said he broke his back in two places, broke his hip, and other bits and pieces. Danny says with the help of crutches, he is now getting about slowly. He says that he will have to have an operation on his hip and pelvis, he’s finding it a bit difficult at the moment, but he’s getting there. The “Good News” he says was that after a month in hospital, he had lots of friends who gave him 24 hour support for 3 months while he was flat on his back. The bad news he says, was that during that time Spain was having a Heat Wave for two months and the temperature of 39-43 degrees, in his words “A little too much” But life goes on”. Sorry to hear your bad news Danny, and we all pray for your quick recovery. Danny was so pleased to receive the last newsletter that he’s re-read it three times, one item he found interesting was the news that Charlie had written about the tie-up with the other groups, namely Anthonian Association, Feltham, St Joseph’s Enfield and Crusade of Rescue for boys and girls. Danny remembers his arrival at Blaisdon. Instead of a big stick, it was a big smile from everyone. He remembers being put on a train somewhere in London, maybe Paddington with a little second hand case, complete with toothbrush, spare shirt and socks. Changing at Gloucester for Blaisdon Halt, a very lonely platform that day. An old man directed him up to the Lodge, on up to the Hall where he was met with a big smile and a huge handshake and, “ Hello young man, Welcome to Blaisdon, Where have you come from. Everyone was smiling. It’s great to think that although Danny has suffered over the last few months from his accident he thinks of the good times he had at Blaisdon. Liam Duggan phoned me on Sunday 3rd October asking after my health, he was in good spirits although he has been in hospital to have the rest of his teeth out, but that’s all behind him now. He tells me that at the moment he’s on soft foods. Good luck Liam we’ll be thinking of you. Liam also ends his best wishes to all his friends in the Salesian family, but is saddened that he hasn’t met up with many of the old boys who were at Blaisdon in his day, that being 1948/50. That goes for me, and many others who meet up every year at the end of August for our annual re-union. It would be great if next year we were able to, for the SEVENTIETH ANNIVERSARY of the Salesians at Blaisdon Hall, make contact with many more old boys, who for whatever reasons have not been able to make the reunions in the past. The widow of Patsy Reagan (1935-1937) phoned me at the beginning of October to remind me that it would be Patsy’s Fifth anniversary on the 8th October, and would Fr. Sean say Mass on that day. Fr. Sean said the Mass at 9.30 Friday 8th . It’s great to think that after all these years that our Blaisdon family still make this special contact for Fr. Sean to Celebrate Mass for our loved ones. I had a nice card from Mick Grange (1943-45) and family, thanking me for my contribution to the last newsletter, thank you Mick, it was great to hear from you and to see you at the August reunion. The Funeral took place at the Church of Mary Help of Christians, Farnborough on Tuesday 14th September 2004 of Fr. Paul Golding S.D.B. I was sorry I was not able to travel, but it was great to know that a group of Blaisdon old boys were able to travel to Farnborough for the service. Charlie Springett phoned me to give me the sad news, and said it was nice to see that such a group had made an effort to be at the funeral. Charlie sent me a group photo of those who attended. Pat Murphy and his wife Rita were there, also Charlie, Peter Landsborough, John Ward, Eric Nutcher, Mike O’Brien, and Norman Taylor. Brother Alan, Father Jim McGuire and Father Sean were also there. John Ward sent an E mail to Fr. Pat Sherlock SDB asking him to put on the Web, the following, “It was a real privilege for a group of eight Blaisdon Past Pupils to be able to attend the funeral today of Father Paul Golding SDB. Most of the eight were under Fr. Paul’s care on Stud Farm, and some had recently been able to visit Fr. Paul at Nazareth House, shortly before he died. Fr. Sean was able to relate to the group how touched Fr. Paul was that these boys, from sixty years ago, had come to visit him”. Pat Young and John Plevey went to the reunion on the Friday 27th August; they like to make a long weekend of it. This year my family brought me up on the Saturday, with only a one-night stay-over. I met up with Nora and Martin Cummins at the Kings Head pub, Huntley, Pat, my wife, Julie my daughter, and grand daughter Melissa had a drink in the bar before making ourr way home, promising to come for me on Sunday afternoon. Martin twisted his back, and was in a great deal of pain, and unable to move. Nora and Martin decided to rest for the rest of the afternoon, so that they would be fit to meet up with the rest at the Blaisdon village hall later that evening. I decided to go for a little walk down to the other pub in Huntley. After a short while Peter Landsborough arrived and had a pint with me before going to the Forest Gate where he was staying for the weekend. When I arrived back at the Kings Head, Martin and Nora were ready to go Blaisdon village, and Martin was feeling a lot better. There was a great crowd at the village hall that Saturday evening, and as usual, Mandy and Paul looked after the Bar B Q, and a great job they did too. After everyone had their fill and we met up with our friends of the village, some of us moved on to the village pub, the Red Hart, Nora, Martin and I had just reached the pub when I tripped on the kerb and I lost my balance. I went down rather heavy and hit my head on the kerb, (the stars came out rather early for me that night) Nora and Martin helped me up, brushed me down, and continued into the pub none the worse except for a little blood and a big bruise and my dignity a little shaken. We had a great night in the pub and as usual we stayed there until closing time. Mass was at St. Michael’s Church on Sunday at 12.30. We met up at the village hall at 11.30; an as usual Charlie had arrived early and prepared the hall ready for the Buffet at 2.00 pm. There was a good attendance at the Mass, including many of the village congregation as well as the Past pupils and their families. Mike Turnbull and Eric Nutcher took turns to play the organ for our favourite Hymns chosen by Charlie, which everyone sung with gusto. After Mass we all congregated around the Salesian grave for Fr. Sean to remind us through prayer of our loved ones. Each year Fr. Sean has a word to remind us of all the names listed on the gravestone, and of those who have recently died. It was a wet and dull day as we stood around the grave, some had their umbrellas up, thank you Sam Hayes for sharing yours with me, it kept me fairly dry. We had a look at the bench that was made in memory of Fr. Hilton; it now has a few more brass plates on it, such as Kevin Cummins, Bro Joe Carter. I believe that Pat Young has had a small brass plate made with just his name on it and the years he was at Blaisdon. I think that is, what Kevin would say, a “Brilliant Idea”. I will have one of those done myself. Carol Tilling of Longhope prepared the Buffet, once again Carol you did a fantastic job and we all appreciate the hard work that you put into looking after us. Len Carter with a little persuasion from John Ward looked after the raffle tickets, he did a great job, in fact he did such a good job he sold out of tickets and had to ask some of the ticket holders if they would donate some of their tickets to others who couldn’t purchase any. The raffle this year was for the GB Federation project to raise our share £1,000 of the cost of providing electric generators for the Salesian Polytechnic in Liberia. Len and John were so pleased with the generosity of everyone at this reunion. John believed that they raised about £300. And one Old Boy promised that he would double the proceeds, and send a cheque for at least £500 to “Smile 2004”. This generous gesture received a rapturous applause. “Good on you Friend, very generous of you”. After the raffle, Charlie asked for silence for a couple of speeches, which is the custom. But none of us expected to hear what he was about to tell us. He has worked so hard for all of us over the last few years, with very few words of complaint. He has travelled the country visiting different old boys, when he’s heard that they are not well, or has travelled to funerals to represent the Blaisdon Old Boys. He spends his own money on the drinks that we drink at the reunions. He and Fr. Sean spend days putting the newsletters together, sending them out to everyone, at least twice a year. All for the love of the Blaisdon Association. It was a body blow to us all. Charlie was standing down as President of the Old Boys Association. But let Charlie tell you in his own words: “Greeting to you all and welcome to the2004 Reunion of the Blaisdon Brotherhood. It is always a great and pleasing sight to see so many old friends together again. I often wonder how many other closed school friends can claim to be together after over sixty years, and for how long will many of us be able to meet and to attend these reunions in the future? I do not wish to waste your time listening to me so I will just point out that I intend to stand down from the position of Blaisdon, as I wish to devote some time to my family, and myself and therefore ask someone else to be prepared to take on the task. It takes a lot of time, effort and costs to do the job well, so be prepared if you take it on. It can be a thankless task typing, printing, posting, sending over 300 newsletters and 50 emails three times each year, and only receiving a few replies. Attending National Council meetings in Battersea, Bolton, or Bootle, at your own expense. Travelling and visiting old boys when possible, and nm representing the Blaisdon at funerals etc. all takes time, effort and not forgetting costs of phone calls. Emails, and letters. I am sure you will understand it all adds up to weeks of hard work, also arranging the Easter Meetings and the August reunions. I do get tired.” This was the gist of Charlie’s speech. Many people stood up to thank Charlie for all the hard work he has done, and some gave some good suggestions, but I think Ceri Evans the chairman of the Parish Council spoke for all of us, including the Blaisdon village residents, when he said that the whole village would want to see these reunions continue. I think a little push from the rest of us, and a word of encouragement to let Charlie know how much we appreciate all his hard work, by phone or by letter would be enough to persuade him to carry on as President. Fr. Sean would be lost without our friend Charlie to help him with the entire running around he does. When all the formalities were over and it was time to leave, some rather reluctant made their last goodbyes, hoping that we would meet up again next year. Remember next years August Bank Holiday 27th & 28th will be our 70th Anniversary. We will want Charlie with his expertise to make it a reunion to remember. I think I had better leave a bit of space for Fr. Sean and Charlie to give you their news of the last few months. By the time this letter is sent, it will be getting very close to Christmas. I will wish you all the very best for Christmas, and a healthy New Year. Always in my thoughts and prayers. Best wishes Terry O’Neill
Hi Everyone, Time waits for no man, (why does it go so fast) again I try to put together another newsletter, and finding it more difficult each week, and my eye problem does not help. I must need a holiday, some sunshine and hot weather, such as the med area. Rome or Turin would do for a start. The August reunion again went well, it was great to see so many friends and families together again. I look forward to next August and our 2005 reunion to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the opening of Blaisdon Hall as a trade school. So many of us consider ourselves lucky to have been there in our early lives. I would like to add a copy of Norman Taylor’s latest story in this newsletter. I think it appropriate. Regarding next years reunion, we are arranging for the main reception to be held in St Peters Social Centre in Gloucester at 2pm, owing to the numbers expected and we hope attend. Mass will be in St Peter’s at 12 30 pm. We are hoping to see many more Old Boy’s and ex staff next year. We again hope to arrange the usual get-together on the Saturday evening with a bar-b-q at the Village Hall for everyone staying in B+B, camping or caravanning in and around the area over that weekend. This will be the last time I will be involved in organising and arranging the reunion and who knows!!! Maybe one of our last big reunions so let us have your support to make this a special occasion. Let us hope that some Old Boy will come forward to take over all the work involved or Alas!!! Among those attending this years reunion were; Michael McKenna, 38/41, Michael Turnbull 38/40+, Charlie Calder 46/48, Len Carter 46/48, Fred Evans 48/50, Liam Duggan 48/50, Ian Ferry 52/54, Bernard Grace 45/46, Sam Hayes 50/53, Peter Landsborough 48/50, Peter Lynch 50/51, David Metcalfe 46/48, Terry O’Neill 50/51, John Ward 46/48, Pat Young 49/50, John Plevey 45/47, Donald Whelahan 45/48, Tony Drummond 63/66, Michael Grange 43/45, Roger Alan 52/57, Paul Keirman 66/67, John Faulkner, 72/76, Lawrence Stanton 52/54, Dave Drummy, Shane Young, Tony Wadsworth, Michael Hayden, Fr Sean Murray SDB, Fr Aidan Murray SDB. Many of the Old Boy’s wives and families attended, as also Nora and Martin Cummins (Kevin Cummins RIP} and Irene Robertson (John Robertson RIP), and many villagers and locals, such as Mr. and Mrs. Frank Baylis from St Michaels Cottage, Dick and Hilary Hawker from Stud Farm, Ceri and Sheila Evans from Blaisdon House, Mandy Hawker and family, Roger Etherington, Margaret and Kev. Cookson, (Chris. Cokson RIP) and all their families who were camping all w/e in the field by Stud farm. So good to see you all, sorry for all those names I have missed out. Mike Turnbull and Michael McKenna had not met up since their days together as boys, over 60 years ago, and Ronnie Fields and George Robb met up again after being together at Blaisdon 46 Years ago, (happy memories gentlemen?) There were other Old Boys who were unable to attend for reasons of health or travelling difficulties including Mike O’Brien, Pat Murphy, John O ‘Reilly, Jim Townley, Charlie Panzavechia, Gerry Hines, Michael Kennedy, Michael Hayden, we missed you gentlemen, again I apologise for names missed out and not mentioned. The proceeds from the raffle, which amounted to £169, are going towards the Salesian Past Pupils Water Project (Smile 2004) for the war torn school in Liberia. One Old Boy made a promise to double the amount we raised, and this week I received a cheque from him to Smile 2004 for £260, and also postal orders for a further £102, from the same person, who requests anonymity but many of us know him already. God bless you Friend, and I would ask your prayers for his health. We now await reports and photos as to the progress of the Past Pupils projects from the PP National Council. Extract of a letter from Alastair Bourne (Aus); Many thanks for newsletter much appreciated. I look forward to receiving them as I did for many years from Fr Sean and his predecessor. I remember a few of the folks mentioned. I look forward with a high degree of keenness to my trip next year when I will be at the August reunion. The great thing about Enfield was it was a pathway to Blaisdon and it made one appreciate Blaisdon even more. The grub was good, the clothing better, and among the Brothers and Priests there were men who really did care about their charges. Blaisdon was the first place in so many lives where kids got to know kindness and caring, along with firmness. I have said many times before, I am eternally grateful that I was sent to Blaisdon Hall, The standards that were instilled in us then kept me on the straight and narrow. When one meets the old boys one can see the results of attending the Hall. What a lovely bunch I met last year, most I had never met before but instantly knew. I always remembered Fr Daly’s constant reminders of good manners and dress. One of his quotes being “ Manners maketh the man. Regards, Alastair Extract of a letter from Ronnie Fields, NZ: We would like to thank everyone involved with the August Bank Holiday Weekend. It was so good to see those nice people we met 3 years back & I look forward to the next one very much, hopefully sooner than later, we really enjoyed it and had so many laugh’s. I do hope that someone will come forward to take over, so all the good work can continue. We look forward to the next newsletter but in the meantime take care. Best wishes, Ron & Evelyn Fields. Before Kevin Conner RIP (79/82) died earlier this year he wrote a letter addressed thus; -- Dear Blaisdon Old Boys, “Dear old boys my name was Kevin Connor and I was at Blaisdon from 1979 to 1982. I won the Victor Ladurum two years in a row and was very happy and proud to have been a pupil there, my class mates were Paul Priestley, Anthony Duffey, Kenton Hodgkinson, Paul Lawler, Roy Gibson, Jason Fox who has since sadly passed on and I would like to say a big thank you to all the staff who included Fr Sean Murray, Bro Charles, Bro Patrick, Bro Tom, Linda Mcdonald (RIP), Mr Phillips, Sandra Meadows and Claire Carrel who I think a lot of boys had the hot’s for. There was also Fr Skivington who introduced me to music. I played Euphonium and other band members were Mark Jenkinson the Trombone, Anthony Duffey on the French Horn, Joe Sullivan and Paul Priestley were on the Cornet and there were others whose names I have not forgotten, but not what they played. I remember that was where we all met Melanie and Joanne, two very nice girls and we used to go to the Drybrook Brass Band, and one year we were set to turn the lights on at Christmas, but there was a hitch and they didn’t work, also Fr Pilling, Bro Alan who I thank for all the fun at archery. I also remember Catherine Basson; she was from White Cross, also Mrs. Gordon, Mr. Lynch, Mrs. O’Rourke, Mr. Hickman and Mrs. Davis who was my first teacher. Thank you all. There are lots of other memories that I will always be thankful for, one was with a girl called Roslyn, she and a girl called Louise went with some of us to uni-hocky and on the way back, all me and Roslyn did, was to the annoyance of the staff, Fr Aidan and fellow school boys. Two last things I remember how Blaisdon looked at first glance like Colditz. I was expecting guards and wire fences, how wrong I was and now I wish I had the money to keep Blaisdon Hall running as a school or buy it and give it back to the Salesians as a school or refuge to all. I have such memories, Thank you Blaisdon and all who knew me. My soul will watch over you all.” From Kevin Conner. Notes for your diary. Mini meet up, W/e Sat/Sun 2/3April 2005 Blaisdon Village Hall. Reunion W/e Sat /Sun 27/28 August 2005, Sat- Village Hall, Sun- St Peter’s Gloucester. The Catholic Children’s Society (Ex C.o.R.) Benefactors Mass will be in St. Etheldreda’s Church, 14 Ely Place, Holborn Circus, London on Sunday 28th November at 3pm. A number of us Old Boy’s will be attending, and it would be great if more of you could join us even for 5 old times sake and a chat afterwards. I would bring to your attention Norman Taylor’s stories on the C.C.S website through the link via the Salesian Don Bosco and Past Pupils website, i.e. www.donbosco.co.uk/pp
Now for the unpleasant part of this newsletter. I would like to draw your attention to the necessary request to send in any contributions and your association fee of £10 for 2005, which was agreed would be from January each year to help fund the costs to keep our Association going and to help put on a good show at the 70th reunion. Please send these to Fr Sean Murray SDB. St James. Chesnut Grove. Bootle. Merseyside. L20 4LX and made to the “Salesian Past Pupils Blaisdon Association”. I thank you in advance for your help and understanding in this matter. Please do not forget we would like you to send on your items or stories and other information that you wish to share with the Old Boys through the newsletter. I had a call from Gerry Hines to inform us who know Michael O’Shea from Bodmin that he has been admitted to hospital and is not very just now. We wish him a quick recovery back to full health. Please let us know if you will be attending the 70th anniversary reunion, and how many, so that we can collate numbers and it will help us to make it a reunion to remember. An Association and attendance slip is attached to this newsletter. Alastair Bourne has already booked his flights from Australia for next year to attend. I wish you and all your families a very Happy and Peaceful Christmas and looking forward to next year in the hope of seeing many of you again at the August. Charles W Springett, Blaisdon President A DISAPPEARING LANDSCAPE Next year, 2005 we will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the opening of Blaisdon Hall as a home for boys who were, for all intents and purposes, orphans. The boys were aged fourteen and had spent the majority of their childhood in one of several orphanages run by " The Crusade of Rescue Society." For the next thirty-five years the major beneficiaries of this bridge between childhood and the world of work would be the boys from St. Joseph's Home, Enfield. In 1935, the age at which children left school and entered the world of work was fourteen years. A far cry from today when higher education is open to all, and therefore continues well into adulthood. The boys would be sheltered from the harsh world of work for a further two years. The trades on offer were limited to carpentry, boot repairing, gardening, tailoring, and farm work. Very few other options, apart from factory work would have been available to children from our background in the 1930s, apart from enforced immigration to distant parts of the Empire. Blaisdon Hall was a joint venture between the Salesian Order of St. John Bosco, and the Crusade of Rescue, whose administrator at that time was Canon George Craven. In 1935, Blaisdon village was little more than a hamlet, situated on the edge of the Forest of Dean without mains water, gas, electricity, or mains sewage. Its link with outside world was an infrequent train service that served Gloucester and Hereford via Ross on Wye. Its station was Blaisdon Halt. This lifeline was closed by Doctor Beeching in 1968. The only dwellings built since the turn of the century had been authorised by the owners of the Blaisdon Hall Estate to accommodate their estate managers. The income of the villagers would be earned working full time or by seasonal part-time work on local farms. Farming methods were those honed to perfection in the years at the end of the nineteenth century, and the early years of the twentieth century and would be termed in today’s world as "Organic.” Chemical fertilizers did not begin to make a significant impact on agriculture until the 1940s. The oil lamp lit village pub, the Red Hart was the centre of the villagers’ social life. In the pub today there is a photograph of the Publican who managed the pub from 1925 until 1958. He must have seen many changes during these years. The local children attended the village school, and the numbers of children attending must have been sufficient to satisfy the local education authority. These children would have been the offspring of farm workers and other similar poorly paid employees. The childrens' prospects in life were little better than the boys attending Blaisdon Hall. Landowners and rich farmers would have had their children privately educated, ensuring that their childrens' view of life was not tainted by the harshness that the majority of the population had to endure. It would also ensure that that these privileged 6 children did not acquire the broad Gloucestershire accent that would identify them as children of the rural poor. Many of the boys who arrived from Enfield speaking an almost indistinct form of cockney, went to work on the farm and then worked locally, also acquired the local accent. I was one of these boys. Horses were still the prime source of power for the heavy farm work. Tractors were beginning to make their appearance on the land of farmers who could afford them. Most farms were mixed, that is dairy cattle, and beef cattle were kept, and part of the land was set aside for grazing, grain, and root crops This made farms very labour intensive. Agriculture had been a distressed industry during the twenty years preceding the Second World War. Rural poverty had did not have the high profile that was given to urban poverty during the inter war years. For ambitious politicians there were not many votes to be earned in publicising rural deprivation. Very few motorcars drove through the village. This was Blaisdon village as I experienced it when I arrived there in April 1942, and how it remained during my time as a boy at Blaisdon Hall and working on Stud farm. I left Blaisdon in March 1944. I did not make a return visit to Blaisdon until the early 1960s. Outwardly the village had changed little. Blaisdon Hall still received boys into its care; these boys were no longer the victims of parental death, marriage failure, or abandonment. The boys had been sent to Blaisdon Hall for various reasons by local authorities, and not by the Crusade of Rescue Society. At the end of terms they went back to their parental homes. The first small signs that the village was changing began to appear. In 1958 Stud farm was sold. No more would the villagers see the Hall boys making their way to and from the farm. Also the practice of loaning out the boys to work on local farms must have ceased around the same time. During this time mains electricity reached the village. No longer in the depths of winter, would the high elevation of Blaisdon Hall, with its in house electricity generating station, illuminate the uncurtained rooms with electric light and through a sea of darkness be seen as a beacon in the distance. Electricity would bring the availability of television to the villagers. A window on the outside world. The steam locomotive hauled trains had given way to diesel. The line was soon to become one of the first victims of closure, isolating the villagers without cars. New farming practices began to be introduced. Bigger and more powerful tractors began to drive machinery that removed the need for potato pickers and similar seasonal work that provided income for local people. Farms became production units, specialising in arable, dairy or beef production. The need for the all round farm worker ceased. Hedgers, Ditchers, Milking hands, Rick Thatcher’s, and the many skills that had served generations of farm workers were now obsolete. European Union subsidies made farmers more selective in the crops that they produced. This in turn produced a down turn in farm gate prices, reducing further the number of workers required, forcing more workers to seek work in the towns and cities. The post-war drift from the land had begun in earnest. The headstones in the Blaisdon church cemetery reveal the names of villagers who were known to me when I was a fourteen years old boy. These men and women were the backbone of the village. They would be invited to attend as guest of the Rector to the plays and regular entertainment production that enlivened life for the boys and staff living in the Hall. Father Payne, who was the Rector during my time at Blaisdon, would go down to the village and collect the elderly and infirm villagers in his car. This was a great act of kindness by Father Payne as it was possibly the only time these people they were ever entertained outside their homes. In wartime Britain it was also a drain on the meagre petrol allowance that was permitted to Father Payne for parish work. The wooden building that served as a theatre would be full to capacity. Its audience would rock with laughter at the antics of the actors on the stage or gasp with anxiety during a drama. The Hall is now a private residence. It is no longer visible from the road. Hedges have been allowed to grow so eliminating views from the old vantage points. Sixty years of happiness and laughter are now locked away within its walls. The Hall can only be seen from the old railway bridge. I now view Blaisdon Hall in the distance as mirage in a beautiful green landscape. A landscape that is slowly but surely disappearing forever. Its edifice can be seen, but not reached or touched. Perhaps one day the now elderly men who spent the happiest years of the childhood there, and make their annual pilgrimage to Blaisdon village to celebrate the best years of their disturbed childhood will be permitted to once again walk through the lodge gates. Blaisdon has been fortunate in that very little new house building has been permitted. It has been spared the housing estates built by speculative builders in so many of England’s villages. These 7 estates now blight much of our countryside, with their mock Cotswold exteriors. It is however rare to see a working farm in the district. Cattle are rarely seen grazing in the fields. A few sheep can be seen dotted around the fields. Stud farm stands silent, as a monument to E.U. policy of set aside. It is rare to hear the soft burr of the local accent in the village pub. It is now little more than a rural dormitory for people employed in administration or the service industries. Many of the residents have moved in from outside the area. The changes that have occurred in the last sixty years have evolved slowly. This has been a blessing. It has allowed the village and its people to move slowly from an agricultural based economy to one that is more in keeping with modern urban dwellers aspirations. Standing in a bleak cold windswept field in winter, cutting sugar beet, or lifting by hand mangolds from semi frozen earth would not find many takers today. These tasks are now performed by ingenious machines, and are now almost exclusively confined to the eastern counties of England. High powered tractors trundle through Blaisdon village. The tractors and their driver’s perform the old skills of hedging, ditching, and ploughing. The driver sits on a comfortable seat in the tractors heated cab. The landscape of Blaisdon that we knew and loved has now almost disappeared. The boys who spent their formative years learning the agricultural skills that have now long since replaced by new technology will continue to return each year to Blaisdon to celebrate what was for them the happiest time of their deprived childhood. Like the landscape the staff and boys who were resident in Blaisdon Hall have in recent years disappeared year by year. On September the 5th this year Father Paul Golding died. Father Paul looked after the farm boys over sixty years ago. His was a hard task. He had to take a group of London boys, not noted for their disciplined ways and teach them the rudiments of farm work. Lesser men would have declined this thankless task. As an illustration of the respect and affection that the boys who were in his charge over sixty years ago is this. Earlier this year our Chairman received news that Father Golding was resident in a nursing home in Hammersmith. As soon as this news reached his former charges, who are themselves now in their mid to late seventies arrangements were made for a group of them to visit him. Four old boys made the journey from the midlands, and one from London, and they visited him on two separate occasions. Seven of his former now elderly charges attended Father Paul’s funeral. Again most of them travelling long distances to be there. Also attending were many elderly priests that we knew as young Theologians. Each year the numbers of these elderly priests is reduced by death, as is the numbers of old boys from Blaisdon's early days. At our reunions our group was the majority. Now we are the minority. Like fossil fuel we are a finite resource. Both the staff and boys like the landscape are slowly disappearing. It was at Blaisdon Hall during its early years that the real work of St. John Bosco was done. Norman Taylor September 2004 _
Blaisdon Salesian Past Pupils Association Subscription Fee 2005 ( Agreed Amount £10. ) Enclosed my Annual Subscription Fee of £10, plus Donation of £…. Cheque payable to Salesian Past Pupils Blaisdon Association.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Enclosed my donation of £…. Cheque payable to ;- “Smile 2004” Please return this form and cheques to, Fr Sean Murray SDB. St. James. Chesnut Grove, Bootle. Merseyside. L20 4LX ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Please make payment to;-; .................................................................................................................. |
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