Grove House, once the seat of Jack Ramply, Grove Farm
Grove House, once the seat of Jack Ramply, Grove Farm

A very enlightening and motivating session with Mr Jack Ramply of Southoe, formerly of Grove Farm Little Paxton, who shared his historic scrap book with me that was first complied by Benjamin Inwards as a row is growing over the decision to suppress the BBC programme on a security surveillance project

To bed after midnight, but slept well to make up for it and was only awoken at 8.00am. Sat in bed with my morning tea and was disappointed to hear that the England cricket team had lost an evenly balanced 1-day match to Australia in the latest cup competition. They were tired in the field, after 2 days running temperatures of 100degF+. Quickly washed and dressed ready for breakfast of fried egg, bacon, mushrooms, bread and tomato and today the children were given a fried breakfast too and enjoyed it. To my office after and read the Sunday paper, before it was soon time to get ready for my trip to see Mr Jack Ramply. Quickly fed the doves and ducks and loaded up the car with my folders etc and set off for Southoe. Found his house (the last on the right hand side, at the top of the hill part of the church) and he greeted me in a friendly way and we settled down on the dining room table in front of a log fire.

He had the folder ready, but we spent from 11.00am to 1.00pm talking about Little Paxton and his past memories of it. I tape recorded the interview (they are always a bit uncomfortable about it, but it is so necessary with such diverse and important facts tumbling out) and he then kindly lent me the scrap book to take home and study. A very pleasant session and highly informative. The scrap book is a gold mine of information from throughout the 18thC. How it came together, I do not know, for much of it must have been ‘borrowed’. Its creator, Benjamin Inwards, seemed to anticipate the needs of a historian one/two centuries later and even collected scraps of paper with writing from the notable persons of the time. A little late back for lunch and we were glad of the heated trolley as a means of keeping the meal in tip-top shape. A nice meal, but the beef was of poor quality and did not cook well. Time to wash up and put the china and silver away and then to feed the doves, ducks and light the fire in the lounge, before Di’s parents arrived for a showing of the cine-video. A nice chance to see them, sit in front of the fire, and see the old films, but the girls were very noisy and excited and we had to send them out of the room in the end. Tea in the lounge from the trolley and similar problems with the girls again. Our visitors left and I continued reading the scrap book and was still more fascinated by it. Caught up with my journal this evening, but I am still way behind with correspondence. This latest find has added weeks onto my studies and I do not quite know how to cope with it all. The news today is of two air crashes. In Devon a light plane crashed, killing three people inside, after being guided by air traffic controllers and radar – it is thought that its wings etc iced up. At the East Midlands airport that I use to travel to Wick, a three man crew on an aircraft training course crashed, but the men were saved from the wreckage in a remarkably lucky escape. The 10 year old victim of a stabbing, Catherine Humphrey, has described the attack to the police, but she is still in a poor way after receiving a dozen wounds. Trade & Ind Minister, Paul Channon, is coming under increasing attack for his decision not to intervene in the BTR takeover of Pilkington. The hapless Channon is also a member of the Guinness family and so is having a rough time at the moment. A row is growing over the decision to suppress the BBC programme on a security surveillance project and we have not heard the last of this one yet. Another frosty night is in prospect and so the snow lingers on.