This Society is as much about people as scenery, and although many of those who live in the area have retired from responsible positions there are some who are still working. One of these was mentioned recently in the Press - Anthony Husher. Anthony is well known as a land-mine specialist - not laying mines, but removing them. He may not have the glamour which Lady Diana had, but he has worked in many parts of the world lifting mines, and we wish him well.
Because our mail is handled in Maidenhead, it seems hardly surprising that the post-code in Taplow is SL6, as it is in Maidenhead. Our more complete post-code is said to be Taplow , Maidenhead, Berks., SL6 0.. But that doesn't mean that Taplow residents live in Berkshire - despite the worst that the Post Office (and for that matter the BBC) can do. What it does mean is that because of those magic letters SL, which stand for Slough, our car insurance costs more. Perhaps other amenities also charge more? Of course Berks has made several attempts to take over this part of Buckinghamshire, and that county's successful take-over of Slough - which in turn has been said to be trying to grab part of Burnham - illustrates this. If only Berkshire, or for that matter the Royal Mail, was more efficient!
If there is one thing which makes the village part of Taplow look unique it is the wall. (I nearly said walls, which would be more than one thing) The story goes that some of these walls were built during times of depression just in order to help keep people employed. Whether that is true or not I do not know, but the walls certainly deserve a second look. Many of them are remarkably high, some being ten or twelve feet from the ground, and some of them are suffering from erosion, or from attack by ivy. But although they are all made of brick, they are worth a closer look not just because of their construction but because some of them are associated with entrance pillars which have to be seen to be believed. Next time you go up Berry Hill, or along to see the burial mound, or even down Rectory Road and into Boundary Road, see for yourself.
Don't ask me why, but a thatched roof invariably looks much better than any other kind. Before about 1900 probably more roofs were thatched in Taplow than were protected by tiles, shingles, or slates. Nowadays there's only one - the thatched cottage on Berry Hill. So we were all delighted when Brenda Burns, whose house it is, had the house re-thatched during the recent summer. It looks splendid, and helps to remind us of the more beautiful Taplow, as described by Heather Fenn in the previous issue of this Newsletter.
That said, perhaps Mrs. Burns will forgive me if I recount the anecdote about the man who walked into a Health Centre only to be met by a fearsome nurse who demanded: "What have you got?" "Shingles", said the man. "Right" said the nurse, "go into that cubicle and strip to your underpants." Of course he did as he was told, and when the nurse eventually followed him into the cubicle and demanded "Where have you got the shingles?" he replied in a timid voice "On the truck outside" Perhaps it's a mistake to recount a joke about shingles, which in some circumstances can be very painful.
The Victoria History of the County of Buckingham was published about a century ago had umpteen sections about different aspects of life in our County.The section on early man says a reasonable amount about this area, mentioning the circular hut floors at Hitcham, and the flints and of course the exotic spear-head discovered in Taplow. It is the section on Anglo-Saxon remains which is of more interest to us - that era being nearer to our own. Not surprisingly the volume has coloured illustrations and several written pages about the burial mound in the old graveyard at Taplow.
However on page 204 the History goes on to say: "In the British Museum are a sword and shield boss from a warrior's grave in Windmill Field, Hitcham". I have no idea where Windmill Field was, or is. Does any other reader?
