My Mother’s Diaries – The Hiltonbury Farming Family Story 1948-1976

November_Dec 1950

November and December 1950 — The Turning of the Year Winter arrives at Hiltonbury Farm with Bonfire Night, the first snow and preparations for Christmas. There are happy family moments as Andrew returns from boarding school after appering as Alice in his school production of Alice in Wonderland. Mother is kept busy making dresses, baking Christmas cakes, preparing presents and helping to draw thirteen chickens for customers. Farm life brings both good and difficult days, including a lost calf, a determined fox among the ducks and the constant work of caring for the cattle through the freezing weather. Christmas brings church, presents, family gatherings, the Boxing Day hunt, pantomimes, dancing and children skating on the frozen ponds. As John and Mother quietly welcome 1951 with a glass of cherry brandy, they look back on a year of farming, friendship, family life and the many small moments that made Hiltonbury Farm such a special place.

The trailer for Nov Dec 1950

Winter arrives at Hiltonbury Farm with snow, Christmas preparations, family celebrations and the everyday challenges of farming life. Listen to this short preview of November and December 1950 — The Turning of the Year.

Sept_Oct 1950 Episode 18

Episode 18 — September and October 1950: Autumn Turning Autumn arrives at Hiltonbury Farm with village carnivals, gymkhanas, frosty mornings and the final anxious weeks of harvest. Jennifer proudly wins first prize at the carnival, while John battles changing weather to finish the thrashing and begin the autumn sowing. Potatoes are lifted, wheat is drilled and the arrival of the farm’s first pure Jersey heifers brings fresh excitement for the future. For Mother, however, the biggest change is Andrew leaving for St Probus School. There are uniforms to buy, blankets to wash and a trunk to pack, while his letters home soon become treasured reminders of the son she misses. Life remains wonderfully busy with dances, football, visits from friends and a memorable trip to the Dairy Show in London. But joy is mixed with sadness when the family returns to find little Smudge has died. A warm story of farming, friendship, family and the changing seasons.

Trailer for September_October 1950

And in the next episode, on Sunday  we return to Hiltonbury Farm… as the warmth of summer slowly gives way to autumn The Harvest corn is being threshed as we slowly head towards winter. Join me to Hear more of My Mothers Diaries

July August 1950 Episode 17 Harvest Under Threat

The summer of 1950 brought some of the most dramatic weeks of the year to Hiltonbury Farm. July began with long, busy days as the family prepared forthe harvest season. The crops stood promisingly in the fields, but farming isalways at the mercy of the weather, and before long dark clouds began togather. As rain threatened the ripening corn, anxiety spread across the farm.Every dry day became precious, every weather forecast a source of hope orworry. At the same time, major changes were taking place at Hiltonbury. Construction started at last on the new cowshed, one of the biggest improvements the farm had seen. With thirty-five standings, milking machines powered by a Lister engine, and Tilley lamps hanging from the roof before electricity arrived, it represented a bold step into the future for the family business. Away from the farm there were holidays, family celebrations,village events and important milestones. Andrew attended his interview at St Probus School, a moment that filled my Mother with both pride and apprehension.Jennifer enjoyed her adventures in France, while family and friends continued to weave in and out of daily life. As August arrived, the harvest reached its critical stage.Sunshine, showers, machinery breakdowns and mounting pressure combined to create weeks of tension as the family fought to bring in the crops before they spoiled. Every load safely gathered felt like a victory. Through Mother's warm and wonderfully detailed diary entries, we experience a remarkable summer of hard work, uncertainty,achievement and family life in rural Hampshire. Join me, Andy Vining, as I read my mother's original diary entries from July and August 1950 — a season when the future of the harvesting in the balance and life at Hiltonbury Farm was busier than ever. A story of farming, family, determination and community inpost-war Britan.