MY PUB LIFE

Early in January this year my family got together and took me to the Pelican Inn at Froxfield to celebrate my 87th birthday, and it set me thinking about my early days.

I lived with my parents at the hamlet of Rudge, situated on the hill between Ramsbury and Froxfield.  When I was 5 years old I started school at Froxfield.   That school is now a private house

But on summer Saturday evenings my parents used to take us to Froxfield with them to the Pelican Inn for my dad to have a pint of bitter and mum a glass of stout, but us children had to sit outside the pub then as children were not allowed in.  My dad used to bring us out a large arrowroot biscuit, which was about the size of a teaplate, which we had to share between us.

Time moved on and in 1946 I married my sweetheart Nora.  We went to live at Witcha where in worked on Membury Farm as a tractor driver and where my son Fred and daughter Carol were born.

On Saturday evenings we used to go and see my parents at Ramsbury.  On the way back home we would stop at the Halfway Inn on the outskirts of the village and the landlady, Mrs Pike, used to say “Nora you leave them children in the kitchen with me, you can’t take them into the bar”.

Fred is no longer with us and Nora passed away 8 years ago

So you see by going to the Pelican to celebrate my birthday my pub life has turned full circle.   But what  a difference, my 3 great grandchildren were allowed in and we all enjoyed a Sunday roast.   I expect that if I would have asked the people who ran the pub for an arrowroot biscuit they would not know what I was talking about

H.G. EDWARDS

Since George wrote this piece he has become a great grandfather for the fourth time as his granddaughter Julie and her husband Bob were made parents on 9th February by the arrival of Heather.

So CONGRATULATIONS to all.