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ProvidingNewsandViewsformorethan30yearsPage18ThequarterlymagazineispurchasableatJWalsh(Newsagents),(Continuedfrompage14-HolmerGreenFCNews)So, who is going to have use of the pitch?Well, the main tenant, HGFC will of course have first dibsbuttheconditionsrequireustomakeitavailableforthecommunitygenerallywithanemphasis on grassroots football, women and girls, seniors and those with disabilities.We already have trouble fitting in every group that has applied to have access.I have to say that the last four years has been a roller coaster (for my wife as well as me!) but lightcanbeseenattheendofthetunnelanditwillsoonbetimetopullupachair andwatchHGFC and the local community have fun on what we think will be the best sports facility in Buckinghamshire!RobShed-Nov2024[Therearesomeimagesonthebackpageshowingtheexcavation](Continuedfrompage11)MOREMEMORIESFROMTHESCRAPBOOK!V.P.A.JUBILEEYEAR1944-1994TheNeedforFoodTosaythat1939 wasayearofchaosistosaytheleast.Weall had to come to terms with the fact of war. From life in London, my family and I settled in a farm at Holmer Green -then a true village. Roads were unmade; there was no streetlighting;village-family namesonlyappeared orthegravestonesinthe churchyard andtherewerefewofthose.Therewasnomain drainage but the rural walks were beautiful.Farmlivingofferednofacilitiesforgrowingfood,soIcontactedMrSidWallerwhofixedmeupwithanallotmentat the Beech Tree crossroads. Holmer Green Village Produce Associationhad notbeenborn at thistime. That came in1944 when Sid Waller roped me in. I had cultivated the allotment now for several years. It had been poorly worked by its previous owner to produce crop after crop of potatoes and peas. The ground was peppered with old jam-jars let into the level ground to trap the mice that fed on the peas. The unfortunate mice fell into the jars and drowned. One day, removing one of these jars that had been broked by winter frosts,Imadeadreadfulmessofoneofmyhands,andwalked back to the farm leaving a trail of blood behind me. Bill, the farmer, seeing my state, with a pitchfork removed a cobweb from the roof of the cowshed, draped my hand with the cobweb and lo! the blood was staunched.Living at the farm meant an unlimited supply of farmyard manure, from which the allotment benefited. Fertility improved in the soil and the allotment began to produce excellent crops. Water was a problem. When I went to the allotmentmywheelbarrowwasfestoonedwithgardentools plus all kinds of utensils filled with water.Onionswerethemostprizedcropastheywerealmostunbuyable..Onions generally prefer a rather better climate than we enjoyin England. I recall sales of goods at the conclusion of our Annual V.P. Harvest Suppers when onions received the most enthusiastic bidding even a single onion! One year I had grownasplendidcropofonionsontheallotment,sooffIwent with the wheelbarrowladed with sacks to collect the excellent crop, only to find the whole crop gone...stolen! Such was the lot of an allotmenteer.In those faraway days, there was a compactness, a unity, about Holmer Green, typical of a true village. Cherries dominatedthe summeractivities.Thedischargeofgunsto frightenthebirdsrenttheairfromdawntodusk.Landwas cheap and easy to obtain. I was offered: the use of a smallorchardonwhichthewindmillstoodforthepeppercornrentof a shilling a year! The V.P.A. was a great blessing to village life. Slide shows were unknown. However, meetings with speakersandsoonaddedtothe:socialactivitiesofthevillage. Mr Hill from, the Bucks Agricultural Farm at StokeMandevillewasverypopular.SidWallerandIfrequentlywent to Stoke Mandeville. We also went in groups. Sid had a car so we visited neighbouring associations, such as Jordans, Seer Green etc. Sid would collect me and the 'props' for the evening's entertainment. Often we found the hall where we were to speak with great difficulty as the lanes were so dark.Sidleftittometo'set-the-going'fortheevening'sevents.We had no rehearsal other than a short chat on the telephone beforehand.An Annual Garden Party held in Sid's house or garden was also popular. Mrs Waller a large and bounteous lady made excellentrefreshmentsandranaband.WhenMrsWallerdied, life was never the same for Sid. Alas, now he has also gone.However,theV.P.A.goesonandflourishes,thisfiftyyearson!LanceThornton