Childhood Pleasures

As little children, our mother used to take us on a picnic down the withy field. This was arrived at after following the footpath through the middle of the farm. Having found a suitable spot amongst the cow pats and under the relative shade of the hedge, the rug would be spread out and the egg sandwiches unveiled. A small stream ran alongside the hedge, and we would go looking for sticklebacks. In the next field, just over the stile, was a hollow oak tree just big enough for us to hide in. These were happy days of childhood, filled with the simple pleasures of smacking a crusted cow pat with a stick and arousing huge swarms of vicious looking horse flies. Dried cow pats were often used as fuel for the fire, the heat more than compensating for the ensuing stink thereoft!

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