Rural community

This small hamlet is not far away from us and we were visiting this afternoon trying to find a beef animal that had escaped but without much luck - the search goes on. We even had to phone the railway authorities to say it was up on the line at one time and the train passed by very slowly I am glad to say. We now think it is in a field the other side about half a mile away. Simmentals can be extremely wild when they escape and go through hedges and fences and keep on running as if there is no tomorrow! T and his girlfriend are still out searching but will call it off shortly until tomorrow. The animal will hopefully quieten down as the evening progresses and start to graze.

In the picture, the stones on the left are staddle stones that have lost their mushroom-shaped tops. They were used to raise the granary off the ground to prevent rats from eating the feed and to prevent the damp rising into the building. The tractor belongs to a farmworker and that is his bungalow. The stone building behind that used to be the school many years ago and on the right are two farmyards.

The Census day today. A hundred years ago this little corner was much more populated than it is now!