The music of the pack is it’s

 

 

CRY!

 

 

Spring 2002

 

The year’s at the spring, and day’s at the morn;

Morning’s at seven; the hill-side’s dew-pearl’d;

The lark’s on the wing; the snail’s on the thorn;

God’s in His heaven – all’s right with the world!

 

Robert Browning

 

What a relief it was to start hunting again and to put all the dismal scenes of 2001 behind us. It is a great tribute to the Masters and Hunt Staff that we were able to progress so smoothly from no hunting whatsoever on 16^th December to hunting proper in January – and what a lot of fun has been had since then. Even better that – thanks to the generosity and hospitality of farmers and landowners - the Meet Card has been extended to the end of March with what promises to be some enjoyable Spring hunting to look forward to.

 

Thanks must also go to the large number of people who made our enforced ‘stoppage’ bearable with such a wide variety of entertainments and hosting Hound Exercise, Lunches and donation rides.

 

The political situation is, if anything, even more obscure than four months ago but whatever unfolds in the ensuing months it is extremely comforting to know that you, as members of Hunt Supporters Club, continue to give your undying and uncomplaining support towards the defeat of any moves to ban our sport. A day trip to Edinburgh starting at an ungodly hour just before Christmas is hardly an enticing prospect but the support that you gave to our hunting friends north of the border was magnificent. The ramifications of the Scottish Bill and the recently announced Parliamentary debates are discussed later on in Cry.

 

Farming remains in crisis – not only in the Foot and Mouth areas but throughout the country. There is a small item inside titled “Food for Thought” which explains in stark detail why this is so. Despite continuing demands for a full Public Inquiry into the Foot and Mouth disaster the Government keeps its head firmly stuffed in the sand, having failed so far even to identify the original cause let alone take steps to ensure that it will not happen again.

 

For various reasons I have been travelling around quite a lot over the last twelve months and inevitably bump into hunting people from other parts of the country. Time and again, when I say where I am from, they say “Oh, but you are such a friendly Hunt.” and I think that this is very true – it might not say much for other Hunts in the country – but, as is touched upon in other articles in Cry, there is no doubt that we are very much part of a family. This is perhaps best demonstrated by the number of children who hunt with us and, as each generation grows up, the continuing number who progress from leading rein to pony to horse to getting an ear-wigging from the Field Master.

 

I would even suggest, though it pains me to do so, that, having attended the Joint Scottish Meet at Kelso recently, the behaviour of our horse and car followers on the roads is exemplary compared to some – but still not nearly good enough!

 

 

 

 

A PRAYER BEFORE HUNTING

 

O Lord, give us patience,

That throughout this day we may give the hounds room,

And give us time to greet others cheerfully along the way.

Give to us all a grateful heart

that we may forever enjoy this precious countryside.

 

These things we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. AMEN.

 

 

 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

 

The 'farmer value' in our food is literally pennies: a loaf of bread - 4p; a pint of milk - 12p; a pound of mince; 20p. In processed foods it gets worse: breakfast cereals and frozen pizzas typically contain 2-5p worth of raw material.

 

Farmers produce the equivalent of all our 'indigenous type food' for a farm gate price of £12bn. The UK population, however, somehow manage to spend almost £60bn on buying food and a further £30bn eating elsewhere. The supermarket industry dwarfs UK farming - Tesco alone has a greater turnover than the entire agricultural sector. £9bn a year - 75% of agricultural turnover - is spent on sandwiches alone.

 

A year's supply of vegetables bought direct from the farmer at the prices a supermarket would pay him would cost £17 per person. An entire years food shopping could be had for just over £200 a head. UK consumers are spending he lowest percentage of income on food ever - less than 10% - and of that the lowest percentage ever is going to the farmers. As for the farm subsidies that allegedly so cripple the British taxpayer - these amount to £54 a head.

 

In effect, if everyone paid farm gate prices for their food it would cost them £254 each to feed themselves for a year, including all agricultural subsidies.

 

 

 

*****

 

 

Consider the small farmer who has never ridden to hounds in his life but with warm smile and cheerful wave invites the Field to help themselves to his grass and hedges – “And let the cattle and sheep take care of themselves….”

 

Also consider the wealthy landowner who has no trouble helping himself to the aforementioned – and countless other farmers’ - grass and hedges two or three days a week, yet when it is his turn to play host “ the coverts must not be disturbed” or “ the land is too wet” or  “the grass too far advanced” or “the ewes are heavily in lamb” – indeed anything to avoid the inconvenience of entertaining hounds.

 

I have no trouble whatsoever in deciding which company I  prefer to keep and would rather dine with the greatest Vulpicide in the County than with such latter day disciples of Janus.

 

Praefectus

“Hunting Observations”

 

 

FROM YOUR CHAIRMAN

 

I would like to thank everyone for their help during the past few months and to report on what we have done rather than lament on the undone!

 

The Dinner at Bangor-on-Dee Racecourse last November with Simon Hart was a great success. Over 150 supporters enjoyed a thoroughly good evening and were enlightened by Simon’s encouraging words. John Brerton’s auction of a Charlie Warriner stick received extremely generous bids and with the reception drinks being very kindly sponsored the dinner made a small profit! I would also like to thank Mary Wynn Jones and Pip Moore for considerately arranging the Bingo.

 

We are hoping to have the dinner at Bangor this year on 22^nd November.

 

With the great help and encouragement of  Mrs Helen Edmunds we held 10 soup and cheese lunches every Tuesday from the middle of October to mid December. These hospitable occasions were very generously given by the Matson, Lloyd, Hewitt, Graham Wood, Ormrod, Lowther, Morrison, Higham and Edmunds families and they generated a great deal of amusement, fun and good spirit.

 

This year I hope we will be able to hold three Area Rides in the autumn – these events are our biggest fund raisers and have been victims to cancellation all too often in the past few years. There will also be an Inter Hunt Sports day in June for keen bowls, tennis and croquet players.

 

Finally I would like to thank Karen Slater for all her help, hard work and support that she has given this club as Secretary over the last five years. I am sorry that she is retiring but am delighted and relieved that Mrs Charlotte Purcival (nee Davies) has bravely agreed to continue her family’s tradition of service to the Hunt Supporters Club by taking up the reins. Well done the young!

 

 

AREA II (Whitchurch)

 

We had a very good evening with the “Tullamore Dew-o” last October. Over 130 of us, young and old, enjoyed the Irish / Liverpudlian entertainment. The young ones can still remember the many amusing stories!

 

David Higham challenged us with some well chosen questions at our popular and well supported Inter Hunt Quiz. The North Staffordshire won with the South Shropshire coming a joint close second with Mrs Julian Mellis’s home team, again closely followed by the Pony Club.

 

Mr and Mrs Brian Probin very kindly arranged their 12^th Farmers’ Hunt Ball in Whitchurch Civic centre at the beginning of February. This was very much enjoyed by many Young Farmers – and older ones – not forgetting the keen, faithful and loyal Hunt Supporters.

 

Alexandra Martin has bravely agreed to take over as Secretary of Area II – I hope that she finds it as much fun as I did and manages not to do it for 14 years!

 

 

AREA III (Malpas)

 

At last year's AGM which was held at the Carden Arms it was with much regret we received the resignation of Mrs Mary Rutter who has been on the committee for many years as well as having been Chairman and Secretary, we will all miss her help and support. We all wish her well in her new home in Tarporley.

 

Area III has not held any fund raising activities over the last 12 months. Partly due to the Hunt itself having to raise funds to replace income that has been lost due to a lack of hunting and the point to points caused by the FMD, I felt it was not a good idea to ask supporters to contribute to both.

Secondly due to both Area III's Chairman and Secretary now both having much bigger work commitments, which leave us with less time to devote to The Hunt Supporters, we will be arranging the AGM soon and if anyone feels they would like to join our committee we would be grateful of their support.

 

 

 

THE CAMPAIGN FOR HUNTING

 

As I was mulling over what to put into this edition of Cry I thought that the one area where, for once, little needed to be mentioned was the Campaign For Hunting. A huge vote of thanks for the many of you that managed to come to Edinburgh to support our friends north of the border  – a few words on the lunacy of the Scottish Parliament but otherwise a question of all quiet on the Political Front. Foolish Boy!

 

We may as well ascribe the timing to the recently departed Jo Moore – she is, after all, taking the rap for most Government cock-ups at the moment – but as the heat started to frazzle her ex-boss Stephen Byers the Government suddenly announced that they were going to re-arrange the Parliamentary Timetable to allow a debate and vote on hunting to be held in the House of Commons on March 18^th and the House of Lords on March 19^th. This is not the formal presentation of a Bill to ban hunting but merely a debate and vote.

 

Even those newspapers that are ‘anti’ were not taken in by this cynical attempt to divert their attentions away from the many misdeeds of members of the Government and articles and editorials in support of hunting have come from some surprising quarters. Even attempts at further ‘spin’ by timing the announcement of the debates to coincide with the Waterloo Cup were foiled when the same old picture of two greyhounds and a dead hare – all of whom must be at least twenty years old by now - was totally eclipsed in the ‘shock horror’ stakes by the dreadful pictures of the heroine addict who had died of an overdose three days previously.

 

All too belatedly, Scotland has woken up to the constitutional perils of their new Scottish Parliament where sixty MSPs can gang together and pass any legislation they feel like unopposed and unrestrained by any Upper House. Here again it took the Hunting Bill to make the media and the public understand this, and here again support for hunting came from some surprising quarters.

 

I have always privately thought that it is impossible to draft a bill to ban hunting because of the ‘Tricky-Woo Effect’ – how would you differentiate between organised hunting and Mrs Pumfrey’s two Pekineses chasing a rabbit? But even I could have come up with something better than the dog’s dinner of a Bill that the Scottish Parliament have dished up, and the Countryside Alliance and the Council of Hunting Associations’ lawyers are having a field day at present identifying loopholes.

 

Whether this be true or not, one of these loopholes has already been christened the ‘John Wayne’ effect; it would appear that normal hunting would be perfectly acceptable so long as every mounted follower carries a shotgun with which to despatch the fox. As if most of our mounted followers weren’t dangerous enough without the addition of a shotgun.

 

And then there is the issue of compensation for those made unemployed as a result of the ban. The Trade Union Officials and fighters for Workers Rights that make up a large proportion of the Scottish Parliament decided that no compensation would be paid. Not quite true, actually. They had to vote against any rights to compensation because the Scottish Parliament is not allowed to pass any laws that result in compensation being paid, so they were in a bit of a Catch-22 situation on that one. Let us see what the European Court of Human Rights has to say about that.

 

Changing the Parliamentary Timetable – and particularly when the change is only three weeks away -is not something that is done lightly, and the guessing game as to the real reasons behind this sudden change continues. What is obvious is that hunting is being used as a mere pawn in some constitutional chess game that has nothing whatsoever to do with animal welfare.

 

I have a theory – but it is only a personal theory – that runs something like this. The Government wants nothing to do with Hunting, they want it to Go Away. They have also begun to realise that the Scottish Bill is a complete can of worms and is likely to be revealed as such imminently. So introduce a Debate, cobble together some form of compromise, explain to the likes of Foster and Banks that an outright ban would be unworkable and anyway there is now no more time for it and then sweep the whole lot under the carpet. This is, after all, what they seem to have done with most of their legislation so far.

 

Wishful thinking, perhaps, but in the meantime the fight goes on.

 

 

 

HUNTING REPORT

 

The extraordinary year that was 2001 continued with no hunting until 17^th December. During that time the Hunt Staff had to amuse themselves with trotting round the lanes. Hounds were also boxed out to various locations for Saturday morning hound exercise followed by a good breakfast!

 

Eventually, and after some negotiating with DEFRA, Sir Watkin’s hounds were allowed to resume hunting. The Masters made a policy decision to invite no followers for the remaining 2 ½ weeks of December. This was in order to create a gradual start and gave Hunt Staff a very short period to try and enter some of the young entry. Hounds went well, producing good hunts in the Long Wood and Smithymoor.

 

In order to provide the mounted followers with some entertainment over the Christmas holidays we organised some cross country rides. These were held on Christmas Eve from Somerset House and after the Boxing Day Meet in Malpas. They were a good opportunity for people to help get their horses back into hunting fitness. They were greatly enjoyed and thanks are due to many people but principally John Storer and Mary Wynn Jones for organising them.

 

Inevitably, with the advent of mounted hunting on New Years Day, came the frost. A good crowd was still present for the rearranged day on foot from Derwen farm, St Martins. Hounds hunted well and (thankfully) quite slowly on a difficult scent. On Saturday 5^th January hounds again hunted well on an improving scent. This was the Pony Club meet at Pickhill Bridge Farm. After an enjoyable meet in the garden many children spent the day running behind hounds.

 

So Tuesday 8^th January from Edge Grange became the ‘Opening Meet.’ A large and cheerful crowd saw some local hunting and some fast hound work in the afternoon. Good days were also had from Pen y Lan, Bank Farm and Bryn Newydd. On Thursday 17^th hounds met at Stanwardine Hall. They found a fox below Stanwardine Gorse, taking it to the edge of Weston Lullingfields and then right handed along the brook to Shade Oak. From here they swung east to Stanwardine and then south east via White City, past Myddle village and Harmer Hill to Pim Hill. Here they crossed the main Shrewsbury road. The lead hounds were picked up one field short of the A49 at Hadnell. A Point of approximately 8 miles and considerably further as they ran. Unfortunately the horses lost touch at White City, on the edge of our country.

 

Busy days were then enjoyed from Scar Farm, Chorlton and Shelbrook. On Thursday 31^st January hounds met at Hardwick Hall, Ellesmere, by kind permission of Colonel John Kynaston. This was the first time that we had met there since 1936. Hounds found immediately, below the Birch Wood. They ran fast and straight to Shelbrook where we had been the week before. It was aday of mixed feelings; delight that the hounds had produced such a hunt but frustration that the Field couldn’t keep up with them – the perils of hunting in new country. It was also frustrating, in the nicest possible sense, that we had drawn hardly any of Colonel Kynaston’s covers – hopefully they are now there for next season. Particular thanks to Mrs Tellwright for all her help in opening up this patch of country.

 

Scenting in February has been very mixed and in some places we are inevitably finding short running foxes. However, as I am sure everyone agrees, it is lovely to be out again. In particular I would like to say what a heart warming welcome we have received from the farming community. Hopefully we can now look forwards and not back.

 

William Wakeham

 

 

 

FROM THE RETIRING HUNT CHAIRMAN

 

 

The Editor has asked me to write a few words on my retirement as Hunt Chairman. I do this with great pleasure as it has been a real privilege to have served with you all during the last six years. It has been an enjoyable, and busy time. It has covered changes in Mastership, Secretaries and Treasurers and has been a period when our sport has been under the severest threat. This has in turn resulted in the foundation of the Campaign for Hunting and all our various other responses to the dangers facing us. Finally Foot & Mouth has been an added ingredient which we all needed like a hole in the head. Things can only get better and it has been really wonderful to see the Hounds out again.

 

One of the greatest strengths of the Wynnstay is our ability to act together as one large family. Like all families, we are a mixed bag, which is hardly surprising, given the enormous size of our Country and the diversity of people who live within it. I am sure that the Pony Club has always had a huge influence in binding us together. May I bore you with a few reminiscences.

 

My first memories are of Lady Hanmer, the District Commissioner, emerging from a very ancient Rolls Royce which seemed to contain endless balls of string. These she used for running repairs to various pieces of tack, which given the fact that most of us had ridden on to whatever event we were attending, and were going to have to ride home afterwards, was most welcome.

 

She was served by a very able band of helpers and many of us will still remember Betty Misa, Joy Reid, Ruth Lowther and others. Betty ran our area and she always seemed to make everything great fun. Rallies were normally held either at Erddig or at Cefn Park. Squire Yorke at the former watched on benignly, propped up on the handlebars of his ancient and much travelled bicycle. At Cefn Park, Colonel Fenwick Palmer (a notable trainer of racehorses) found musical sacks, suck the apple out of the bucket and endless bending races, somewhat difficult to comprehend!

 

To move on a year or two. My Father raised the question at a Hunt meeting “why was it that the Wynnstay did not have a Pony Club Camp?” to which some Member quite rightly said “Well Guy you fix it.” And fix it he did, together with my Mother, who was then the District Commissioner, he organised the first Camp at Bangor Racecourse. My Father put a great deal of effort into securing the best instructors of the day. These included the legendary Paddy Burke and Mick Lindsay, both old Army friends. They set high standards and I would like to think that many of us riding to Hounds today still reap the benefits of those many hours spent riding around Harold Clarke’s field without stirrups!

 

Camp was always fun but at the age of sixteen, having managed on a nocturnal excursion to have bogged the Chief Instructor’s van somewhere near the Water Jump, with parental agreement I was banned for good! This brings me back to longstanding friendships and the family aspects of the Wynnstay. Out of those of us who attended Camp some forty five years ago, no less than thirty are still involved actively with the Hunt. I am not going to supply a list of names because I might have missed someone out and anyway you all know who you are! Nevertheless this must be an unbeatable record and shows clearly our attachment to the area in which we live and our esteem for the sport we learnt about in those heady days quite some time ago.

 

So much for the trip down memory lane. I wish Euan Morrison, my successor, the best of luck during the next few years. These will not be easy, but he can rest assured that he will have the enthusiastic backing of us all.

 

CHARLES LOWTHER

 

 

I am extremely grateful to John Ormrod for sending me this extract from his brother Oliver’s diary for April 1939. At the time his family were living at Coed-y-Glyn, just outside the Wrexham gate of Erdigg but spent a considerable time each year at their Grandmother’s home Makerston near Kelso. Thus Oliver, who was just 17 at the time of this Hunter Trial, was a member of both the Wynnstay and the Duke of Buccleuch’s Pony Clubs.

 

Sunday 24^th April 1939

 

Had breakfast in the Nursery as they have theirs early. Bicycled to the Humphrey’s¹ riding school and rode off to the hunter trials on Ladybird at about 9.30 or 9.45. Went down King’s Mills Hill and then turned off the main road past the Brick Works and Cefn Park. I purposely made this detour so as to pass over some of Pickhill Estate, my grandfather’s, where I could get her jumping properly over natural country before the trials. I did this because yesterday she would not go up into her bridle without a slight touch of the spurs, and spurs according to Pony Club rules were not to be allowed in the trials.

 

My plan was therefore to get her jumping at Pickhill with the spurs in the hopes that she would not notice that I had not got them on when the time came to go round the Hunter Trial course. She did not jump very well at Pickhill and I was afraid that when the time for the trial came she would start refusing. However she did not let me down and so her sticky jumping at Pickhill may have been due to the awkwardness of the obstacles, which had largish ditches which she did not seem to like.

 

At about 10.45 I arrived at the place where the hunter trials were to be held, the Stevens’ house Chetwyn Grove². Maureen³ performed before me. She was the first of her class to go round. She went with Jill (Alsop, I think, is Jill’s surname) who was riding her little grey pony, Midge, a good pony. Maureen was on Mynydd.

 

Maureen took the first few fences well but refused a number of times, especially at the ditch full of water. She is inclined to set her hands. Jill did a really good round and won this class easily. She is, I think, about a year Maureen’s senior.

 

Just before my class came on there was a very heavy storm, which finished my leathers as far as today was concerned. I kept my pony moving. Lots of the others stood still, which resulted in both themselves and their ponies shivering.

 

I went round with Eddie Robinson, the ex-huntsman’s son. Ladybird went splendidly once I had pushed her over the first fence and made up her mind for her. Everybody was sure that I had won. I was the only one to do a clear round. I rode fast and put into practise what I’d learnt at Faudel Phillip’s⁴ place. Enid Thompson was however given the prize for first, though she herself, her father and brother considered that I had done better! She ran out 2 or 3 times and got left behind and so had galloped on, she said, so as not to come in too far behind the person going round with her.

 

The judges had said that she had caught up in true hunting style but this seems unfair as though I dare say she caught up well, I was never left behind, was well in front of Eddie and going at a good pace (though not racing, which isn’t allowed) so there was no ‘catching up’ for me to do! I am inclined to agree with somebody else’s explanation, viz that I had not attended any of their rallies and learnt from them so they did not want me to be the winner and who also hunts up North, not with them. I am sorry that Ladybird should not have been rewarded for going so well. This is not my idea that I should have won – it doesn’t matter much but everybody came and told me “You’ve won!” and when I said I don’t know they answered “Of course you have – no one is near you.” I received 2^nd Prize. It just puzzles me as to what I did wrong. I concentrated on everything Rhines and Faudel Phillips had taught me and the pony went well. If ever I thought I had won it was today. I rode much better than I did at the bigger hunter trial that I won on Lucy Grey two or three years ago in Dumfriesshire. On that occasion I didn't think I had done at all well.

 

In the Associates pairs event (the previous classes had been 2 at a time but judged singly, in the pairs events one is judged as a pair.) Enid and Peter Forward were 1st.  and Charles Toller⁵ and I were 2nd. We had no objections this time as we knocked down a rail each and both dropped our hind legs in the water. I lost a stirrup too over the in and out, but I think I was too far away for the judges to see. Charles and I didn’t do badly as I had never seen him ride before, we had not practised before, nor had our ponies been used to each other, whereas the Forwards are brother and sister on stable companions.

 

I like Charles Toller. He’s at Harrow and about my age. (He attended the wedding of Mary McAlpine⁶ the other day and he is reported to have been over dressed. As much dressed as if he was the bridegroom.) They had arranged for me to pair with Cicely Benjamin, whom I like and who is a good rider. However we had already arranged with Charles and anyway Cicely never turned up. Meant to ask her sister why she didn’t, but never did so. Hope she’s not ill. Used to have great bending matches against her when I rode Lucy Grey.

Maureen was 2^nd in her pairs class. Jill was of course in the winning pair of Maureen’s class. I won a book, which I’ve already got, and some stirrup leathers. M.M.O won a pen. Margaret Ormrod was thrown and winded, however she was soon all right. She is Maureen’s great friend.

 

I did not ride home as I had to go on to see my grandfather which would have been out of the pony’s way. The poor old man had a stomach ache and was not feeling well. He liked talking to us. He said that talking relieved his ache and wants me to go again soon. I will; I like seeing him.

 

(Forgot to mention that during the lunch interval I changed my breeches in the Robertson’s horse box to please Mummy.) Mummy dropped me at the end of the road to the riding school. I picked up the bicycle and rode it home, which was reached about 5 pm.

 

After tea at about 6 pm Dr Stevens (nothing to do with the Steven’s who owns the place where the hunter trials were held and the bun shop) late 60^th Rifles came to look at my varicose veins. He is tying them. During dinner Dr Brock came to inject Mummy, but when he arrived he found he’d forgotten his injecting needle and had to go back! Just like him! It is now 10.35 pm. Must go upstairs towards my bed. Have been writing this since 9.15. Dinner never got going till 8.20 pm – a great difference from F.P.’s dinner hour.

 

Notes:

1.       The Humphrey’s riding school was somewhere near the Barracks in Wrexham. Gresley Humphrey, son of the Humphrey mentioned, lives at Cross Lanes.

2.       Half way between Cross Lanes & Marchwiel.

3.       Oliver’s sister, Gerrard Owen’s mother.

4.       Faudel Phillips ran a residential riding school in London and Rhines [mentioned later] was his instructor. Oliver had attended a course shortly before the Hunter Trial.

5.       The Toller family lived at the Elms in Gresford. Charles Toller later became a senior Jockey Club Handicapper.

6.       Mary Bell of Marchwiel Hall.

 

 

AN EYE WITNESS RECALLS…….

 

I remember the Hunter Trials vividly, and Maureen Ormrod’s shared round with me. Her pony was grey and like my beloved Midge 12.2 hh. I was lucky enough to have hunted Midge every week because Whitchurch was then the centre of our Saturday country and I could ride to all the meets.  Midge was bold and kind so the Hunter Trials did not present too much of a challenge. My classes were for 12 & under and the course consisted of cut down hedges, an open ditch, sheep hurdles stuffed with gorse, and I think a gate to open and shut. It was mostly a natural course without island fences as far as I can remember, with a bigger course for the senior classes.

 

I think Major Kearsley, our Hunt Secretary who lived at Rose Hill may have judged together with Captain Fred Bulkley of Broughall Cottage. Mrs Mainwaring of Oteley was District Commissioner. We had no transport to attend the hunter trials so Mr Pickering of Kiln Green (father of Reg and Mary) kindly offered me a lift in his trailer. It was most exciting as we didn’t often travel very far and I was not allowed to compete other than in Pony Club competitions!

 

I have a photograph in the family album taken by Mr T W Godsal with my mother holding Midge, my brother Giles, Mary Pickering on her pony, Martin Godsal together with John Wycherley – my pair – and his good pony Gypsy. We are all eagerly watching the pairs compete. At the end of the day, and to my real astonishment, we won two first prizes; Midge had two blue rosettes thanks to her hunting experience and good tuition.

 

At that time I belonged to the Malpas Branch of the Pony Club. Rallies were held at Ebnal, then the home of Major and Mrs Darcy Rasbotham. Their neice, Helen Johnson Haughton (nee Walwyn) – Dawn Ritson’s mother – taught me and other members including the Pickerings, Joy Sherwin (nee Simister,) Dennis Probin, Jack Walker, Margaret Lloyd Williams (nee Parsonage,) John Wycherley and many other old friends too numerous to mention. We had enormous fun and were given much help and encouragement.

 

I was sometimes lucky enough to ride Miss Walwyn’s Welsh ponies which she made to sell on. We all rode to Rallies and my route took me through Tushingham and No Man’s Heath on the A41. There was practically no traffic and I used to allow over an hour for the journey.

 

Jill Hutchinson Smith (nee Alsop!)

 

THE AREA II QUIZ

 

In November the Area II Quiz has become a not to be missed event and as usual was a sell out with teams coming from far and wide. The questions in each section were intended to be in ascending degrees of difficulty with those marked ***** having 5 bonus marks attached.

 

WHERE DO YOU FIND:-

 

1.   The Canal Turn

2.   The Long Room

3.   Six Mile Bottom 

4.   Smith’s Lawn

5.   Tom Smith’s Walls

6.   The Knavesmire

7.   William Wakeham when it is his round.

8.   The Junction Pool

9.   A Tupp’s Indispensible

10. A Bonspiel *****

 

AUTHORS Who wrote:-

 

1.   Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony

2.   The Thomas the Tank Engine Books

3.   Jorrocks’ Jaunts and Jollities

4.   Paddington Bear

5.   Memoirs of a Foxhunting Man

6.   The Importance of being Earnest

7.   My Family & Other Animals

8.   The Passing Years

9.   The Ghost Heath Run

10.  Purcell’s Trumpet Voluntary

 

COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING LINES

 

1.   I have lived my life, I am nearly done, I have played the game all round,

      But I freely admit that the best of my fun……

2.   Izzy  Whizzy

3.   A Horse! A Horse!  

4.   Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens

5.   He sends the snow in winter, The warmth to swell the grain

6.   James, James, Morrison, Morrison, said to his Mother said he

7.   Bring me my bow of burning gold, Bring me my arrows of desire

8.  And gentlemen of England, now a-bed, Shall think themselves they were not here;

9.  My candle burns at both ends, it will not last the night

10. When the last fence grows near, I am ready, And I hope, when the rails of it crack

 

Occupations

 

1.   Dick Turpin

2.   Joe Coral 

3.   Mr Jorrocks

4.   W G Grace

5.   The original breeder of the Jack Russell terrier

6.   Mr Brigg of Swaine Aidney & Brigg

7.   Major Horace Hayes

8.   Harry Potters Uncle Vernon

9.   In The Archers, Ruth Archer’s father.

10. In the Cartoon strip Peanuts, Charlie Brown’s father *****

 

Colours

 

1.  A disgracefully inept ex-minister in the now defunct MAFF who kept maintaining that the foot & mouth situation was under control when it plainly wasn’t.

2.  A description for an inexperienced horse

3.  Title of a book by Anna Sewell

4.  A type of top boot or tree

5.   Fired to summon a lifeboat crew

6.   A 19^th Century poet and author who was killed out hunting and who donated the income from his hunting novels and verses to a London Hospital for crippled children

7.   A breed of ram crossed with a Scottish Blackface or Swaledale to produce a Mule.

8.   A Texan extremely useful if your oil well caught fire

9.  The nickname of a Member of the House of Lords, Master of the Woodland Pytchley from 1881-1885, the Quorn from 1893-1898 & the Cottesmore from 1907-1911 & 1915 - 1921.

10. A fashionable hunting tailor who’s coats gave rise to an expression describing a smartly turned out person.

 

NUMBERS

 

1. The number of the road from Whitchurch to Shrewsbury divided by the number of days in a week.

2. The height in inches of a 16.2 hh horse divided by the number in a cricket team

3. The number of John Buchan’s steps

4. Number of yards in a mile divided by the number of goals scored by Malpas in their match last Saturday (November 24^th 2001) or alternatively the number of furlongs in a mile

5. The number of trombones in the hit parade

6. The form you are given when you get the sack divided by the motorway running from Birmingham to Exeter.

7. Two fat ladies minus clickety click equals?

8. The number of False ribs in a horse minus the number of True ribs

9. Atomic weight of Oxygen

10. Avogadro’s number ******

 

Initials . What do the following initials stand for?

 

1. M F H A

2.  P A Y E

3. M R C V S

4. V R on a Post Box

5.  D E F R A

6.  V W H

7.  M A (Cantab)

8.  W R A C

9.  N A S A

10. D N A

 

RAGBAG

 

1.   What was the intended date of the Liberty & Livelihood March that had to be cancelled due to the Foot & Mouth    epidemic?.

2.   Who lived at Hamsterley Hall

3.   What is the only major sanction that the Jockey Club can use to enforce the Rules of Racing..

4.   In which Olympic Games did Britain first win a three day event Gold Medal?

5.   Name the six packs that hunt both in England and Wales.

6.   On 4^th April 1931 the Queen, then Princess Elizabeth, had her first day’s hunting. At the same time the huntsman of the pack she was hunting with was having his last day. Who was this famous huntsman?

7.   What unique feat did Rachel Bayliss and Gurgle the Greek achieve at Badminton?

8.   Who was the jump judge at this fence?

9.   Name the two Americans who became two of the most celebrated English hound breeders, authors and authorities on hunting.

10. On the Edge estate near Tilston there is a cover who’s name is pronounced   ‘Brownwallet.’ How is it spelt on the Ordnance Survey Map?*****

 

THE HUNT SUPPORTERS CLUB

 

Patron: Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, Bt.                           President: Mrs D.W. Hutchinson Smith

 

Vice Presidents: A.R. Hewitt Esq.; J Chantler Esq.; P. Robinson Esq.; Mrs G. Lea, J.P.: Mrs J. Taylor;

                               J.C. Barnett Esq.  Mrs     J. Chantler.

 

Chairman:            Mrs G Hanmer 01948 710 634

 

Hon. Secretary:   Mrs C Purcival 01829 782 585

 

Treasurer:            P Lawrence Esq.

 

Editor of Cry: David Higham, Rose Farm, Coddington, Tattenhall, Chester CH3 9EN 01829 782 420          

 

Area I (Wrexham)

 

Chairman: Mrs B Jones 01978 780 870

 

Secretary: Mrs Linda Maurice, Cinders Fm, Overton Rd, Ruabon, Wrexham LL146HL 01978 822 424

 

Area II (Whitchurch)

 

Chairman: S.N.R. Brunt Esq. 01948 710 678

 

Secretary: Mrs S Martin, Lyneal Wood Farm, Lyneal, Ellesmere, Shropshire SY12 0LE  01939 233 227

 

Area III (Malpas)

 

Chairman:  Mrs J Davies 01829 250 212

 

Secretary: Mrs Trudi Teasdale-Brown, 12 Heronbrook, Whitchurch, SY13 1BE     01948 662 0356

 

 

THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS