CONSTANT progress and modernisation in the countryside means that the scenes we view during our explorations and outings are always changing. This is especially noted by visitors who travel from towns and cities, perhaps exploring particular places only once or twice a year. They are likely to note that where once there was an open view may now accommodate high-rise flats while local folks seem to tolerate it.

Where once they noted a hayfield some years ago may now have been transformed into a housing estate, and where country lanes once passed through, there may now be a motorway or high-speed railway line. What was formerly a chapel could be a community centre or dwelling house and old railway routes might have been transformed into footpaths, while canoes may be seen on smooth rivers where salmon once reigned.

Having spent most of my life in rural surrounds, it might be said that country folk like me are slow moving and slow thinking, perhaps trying to resist enforced progress. Some of the changes may have occurred so gradually that we have failed to notice them. It is arguable whether or not such changes were necessary but nonetheless we tend to regard them as unavoidable because we are powerless to halt them.

These thoughts were generated as I was researching aspects of bygone country life in one of my many reference books. It was a birthday present from an aunt when I was only 12 years old, and over the past 66 years it has provided me with invaluable glimpses into aspects of rural life that no longer exist.

For example, a diary for the month of January shows a ploughman at work with seagulls flocking behind him, seeking morsels in the newly turned ground. We might think there is nothing odd about that – it is a regular occurrence in the countryside – except that the ploughman is working with a pair of heavy horses as, on foot, he guides the plough behind them. Now ploughs are hauled by massive tractors with protective cabs and powerful hydraulics that can be operated with ease and comparative simplicity. But seagulls will still be in attendance.

The same pages show a shepherd, pipe in mouth, standing with his crook at the ready as he protects his flocks by night, while the February sequences depict a workman heading home at night in a downpour, protecting himself with a coat draped over his head and shoulders. For active workmen at that time there were few waterproof garments.

In later sequences, three men are seen resting beside a huge haywain with its load hanging over the sides as its pair of heavy horses also rest. They are standing idle as they feed from their nosebags in the dying moments of a hard day at work.

In the autumn scenes, men are climbing ladders to pick apples by hand, and then storing them in large round baskets until they are needed, while a ploughman behind two heavy horses is turning the ground on a field that has recently yielded its unspecified crop. But the gulls are still in attendance.

November shows a man laying a hedge, an old and well-tried technique for ensuring the continued growth of the hedgerow, while at the same time making it stock-proof. If hedges are allowed to grow without such attention, they quickly develop into trees which afford no protection for livestock at ground level. Hedge-laying is an ancient rural skill superseded by metal or wire fences which afford no shelter for wild life.

Other illustrated scenes portray a mighty thrashing machine at work while powered by a traction engine, as well as a load of three huge tree trunks being hauled home by a team of three heavy horses. A shepherd is shown caring for his flocks by night and we round off the year with a scene depicting carol singers and musicians entertaining a village community.

These small line drawings are by an anonymous artist; all are in black and white with no colour photographs in the book but they do combine to present an atmospheric display of country life in times past. But there are two interesting aspects to those illustrations.

One is that no women are featured at work in the countryside. I found only two women in the scenes, one skating with a man on a frozen pond and another singing carols alongside five men. Does that tell us anything about rural life at that time?

Of further interest was the attire worn by the working men. In our modern times we would probably regard their clothing as very formal and smart, even if they are working out-of-doors doing manual labour. Smart jackets with pockets seemed popular, even for shepherds and ploughmen, but those working without their jackets wore shirts with the sleeves rolled above the elbows. I do not know whether any shirts with short sleeves were then fashionable, but it was quite common to be told “Roll up your sleeves and get to work.” Which we did!

A murmuration

In recent weeks we have been entertained by our own small murmuration of starlings. In some places during the winter months, they congregate in their thousands shortly before sundown, and then fly around in dazzling displays before finally settling down to roost as the sun disappears in the west.

In our case, we can sit in the conservatory with our afternoon tea as we enjoy their performance, albeit with only some 15 or so birds as a general rule. However, a flock of around 100 did recently appear to give a memorable demonstration, but they have since gone elsewhere.

However, a large flock of smaller birds suddenly appeared as we watched the starlings. There would be several hundred but with the setting sun behind them it was impossible to see any distinguishing features. They were mere silhouettes. Nonetheless, there were clues.

They flew in a huge flock in much the same way as a large murmuration of starlings; they were probably winter visitors as we have not noticed such a large flock at other times – and only days earlier we had seen a smaller flock of waxwings in trees not far away. The behaviour of waxwings is often compared with that of starlings at this time of year.

Slightly smaller than starlings, waxwings are beautifully coloured with cinnamon-pink plumage, brightly coloured wingtips with black, white and red markings and a dark tail with a yellow tip. The bird also has a crest which is often visible, and they do tend to congregate in large numbers where food, such as berries, is available. Arriving here from the Arctic in November, they are often seen upon or near the east coast but are surprisingly tame and will permit humans fairly close by as they try to identify them.