A Wander down Hoe Lane - Flansham
It's time to celebrate the work of Gerard Young, the author of Down Hoe Lane. He was a well-known resident of the tiny hamlet of Flansham, near Felpham. His beautifully observed pieces from the 1940s and '50s make him something of a Laurie Lee for this small corner of West Sussex. He captures the spirit of the place perfectly with his descriptions of lambing, scything and the arrival of a threshing machine. He wages a ceaseless war against the rampaging weeds in his garden. He introduces us to local personalities, to a benign ghost and helps a child build a snowman. He describes adventures into amateur dramatics, records braving winter storms as well as cycling to the local beach for a swim on a balmy summer night. Here's a taste of his writing, topical after the recent spell of freezing weather: The Giant in the Snow - Extract from Down Hoe Lane by Gerard Young I could not break my promise to him. ...