A Busman's Holiday - sort of!

Betley Court's contribution to the scarecrow trail - any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental!!!!

It was a bit of a different weekend for us, this week. We’ve needed a break for a while, and haven’t been able to, due the Coronavirus pandemic and lockdown. Out of the blue, Nigel suggested we camp at Betley Court, in the gardens. This was a regular occurrence when the children were young, pitching up on Grandma and Grandad’s front lawn, if we wanted to attend local events and the house was full. Over the years, we’ve had parties and sleepovers, like the times we attended music festival that used to take place at Betley Court Farm. It was good to give our ancient tunnel tent an outing too.

The trusty tunnel tent, in its own little camping pitch

We’re never quite sure when our grown-up children will grow out of holidaying with us, and the poor old tent has provided us with years of cheap holidays. It’s even survived being pitched on a beachside campsite on the Kintyre peninsular during a ‘named weather event’ which saw gale-force winds batter it into a crooked shape.

Although the weather on Friday was good, Saturday was atrocious! Heavy rain, on and off. We needed a wet-weather activity on Saturday. The Professor had received an invitation a few days before, to take part in the second year of the Betley scarecrow trail. So, we decided to take part, and with the topical theme of ‘Key Workers’ we set to work with a bin bag of old clothes, some burlap, and a couple of bags of straw.

Stuffing tights with straw to make limbs

Scarecrows enjoy a long history, with evidence for them dating back to ancient Greece, where effigies of Priapus (Aphrodite’s ugly son) were tasked with keeping birds from newly sown crops. In the Middle Ages in Britain, small children worked as ‘crow-scarers’. They would clack pieces of wood together, and run around sown fields to scare off the birds. Towards the end of the Medieval era, as plague reduced the population, farmers took to stuffing old clothes with straw, topping them with a turnip for a head and standing them in fields on wooden poles. And so, a rural tradition in Britain took off.

During the Covid19 pandemic, the making of scarecrows, as a boredom-buster, and creating scarecrow trails has become a bonding activity within communities. In Nailsea, in Bristol, the scarecrow trail currently boasts over 300 entrants, and celebrates the role of key workers like nurses, carers, fire fighters, as well as poking fun at political figures and celebrities. My favourite is a tribute celebrating Sir Tom Moore, the 100-year-old war veteran from Bedforshire, who raised nearly £32 million for NHS charities, through a sponsored walk.

Making a head and stuffing a shirt

Our scarecrow celebrates carers looking after the elderly. We would be lost without the wonderful team at Alpha, caring for the Professor, and keeping him safe during his self-isolation. To them, a huge “Thank you!” I have to point out the disclaimer that ‘any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental’. If anyone thinks they resemble someone - then that's up to them! Our little old man scarecrow, dressed in a checked shirt, with a drink, in front of his carer, fully kitted out with PPE now takes pride of place in the forecourt, peeping through the railings on Main Road. Judging takes place this weekend. The scarecrows I’ve seen so far have been masterclasses in clever repurposing of materials, so it’ll be interesting to see who does well!

Our little old man and his carer

Elsewhere at Betley Court, the lawn has recovered from the near drought conditions earlier in the year. Shane and Melvyn, the handymen, have started work on the mammoth task of restoring the long path.

Work starting on the long path

This includes realigning the edges, putting in an edging strip and relaying the gravel. It’ll look fantastic when its finished, creating a long, straight, unbroken line of view from the house down to the gazebo. Just as it was in the 1910’s when the path was created.

We had the opportunity to get a view from the top of the house at the weekend too.

PPE all present and correct, as we make our way up to the top

Fully ‘PPE’d’ up in hi-viz, hard hats and safety boots, we climbed up to the top of the house to a scaffold platform up in the roofline.

The backside of the crest - the front is visible from Main Road

The views were stunning, until you comprehend, we are looking at the burnt-out shell of a 300-year-old house, our beloved Betley Court, that it used to be the Brown family home, and home to a community of residents.

Gosh - this makes me sad! The void space that was the Brown family home for over 40 years

We took lots of photographs, important for our family records, for the architect, and, I suppose posterity. It was a somewhat unsettling experience, and it left us in no doubt whatsoever about the scale of the task ahead.

The top of the three-storey part of the house, where our top floor flats were. Rubble yet to be moved.

At least a sign of progress is the new contractors have begun the process of building new scaffolding. Elsewhere, Buildzone, have started clearing the top floor of the three-storey part of the building, known as ‘the factory’ or the old servants’ quarters.

View over the bay window, where the fire started, into the garden. At least the lawn's looking good!

It will be good to have the clearance and demolition stage finished. Here’s to looking ahead, and the prospect in the not-too-distant future of beginning the rebuild.

All best wishes

Ladybird Su