Bertie, May and Mrs Fish

Bertie, May and Mrs Fish
Xandra Bingley

A lyrical, evocative and wonderfully original wartime memoir about life on a farm in the Cotswolds, seen through the eyes of a child.‘Bertie, May and Mrs Fish’ is Xandra Bingley’s account of her childhood on a Cotswold farm, set against the backdrop of World War II and its aftermath. Bingley’s mother is left to farm the land, isolated in the landscape, whilst her husband is away at war. With its eccentric cast of characters, this book captures both the essence of a country childhood and the remarkable courage and resilience displayed by ordinary people during the war. The beauty and sensitivity of Bingley’s observation is artfully balanced by the harshness and grit of her reality.‘In the cowshed my mother ties her hair in a topknot scarf that lies on the feedbin lid. At five-thirty each morning and four o’clock in the afternoons she chases rats off the mangers. She measures cowcake and rolled oats and opens the bottom cowshed door. Thirty-one brown and white Ayrshires and one brindle Jersey tramp into their stalls…’‘Two thousand acres. A mile of valley. Horses cattle sheep pigs poultry. Snow above the lintels of the downstairs windows. Her fingers swelling. Chilblains. Her long white kid gloves wrapped around a leaky pipe in her bedroom. Knotted at the fingers. She has a lot to learn and no one to teach her. Accidents happen.'Bingley tells her tale in a startling voice which captures the universe of a child, the unforgiving landscape and the complicated adult world surrounding her. Her acute observation, and her gift for place, people, sound and touch make this a brilliantly authentic and evocative portrait.

BERTIE, MAY AND MRS FISH

Country Memories of Wartime

Xandra Bingley

Copyright (#ulink_1bda595f-ef45-5c60-9e10-c5db7c03e98b)

HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

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This edition published by Harper Perennial 2006

First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2005

Copyright © Xandra Bingley 2005

PS Section © Xandra Bingley 2006

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Xandra Bingley asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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Source ISBN: 9780007149513

Ebook Edition © SEPTEMBER 2012 ISBN 9780007370917

Version: 2019-06-18

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Dedication (#ueba158e2-aa52-5dba-9cf9-f3cefe754096)

For my grandparents Elizabeth and Noel Bingley Eva and Hubert Lenox-Conyngham

Contents

Cover (#u774e0a13-4606-54fa-bd68-589e2b02d662)

Title Page (#ud3ace2de-1b22-504d-be63-83b9d3d63948)

Copyright (#uc248ff1f-b280-5407-be59-d3583f5746c6)

Note to Readers (#u59a78380-e103-5c33-946f-806ce96dcd6a)

Dedication (#ubdbcbaf3-a60c-5e5f-8744-49881a81303c)

Introductions (#ucf562553-f2b6-5413-9869-d0ea84c6e5fa)

1 HOMEFIELD (#u01ae1213-c6ff-5dd6-9cc3-649fd98ce824)

2 WARTIME (#u2b3ed762-8d9b-5bfa-b6b2-e8982fec65ec)

3 MRS FISH (#u1703bacc-2a6b-569c-9751-cd193ac4a7a8)

4 COWS (#litres_trial_promo)

5 YARD (#litres_trial_promo)

6 PATRICK (#litres_trial_promo)

7 NIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

8 BLESSINGS (#litres_trial_promo)

9 HUNTING (#litres_trial_promo)

10 KISS-ME-QUICK (#litres_trial_promo)

11 HORSE (#litres_trial_promo)

12 CHRISTMAS (#litres_trial_promo)

13 GALLOP AWAY (#litres_trial_promo)

P.S. Ideas, Interviews & Features … (#litres_trial_promo)