Page 46 • The HERALD • 11th December 2025 v THE HERALD - Proud to be part of your community FOOD FOR THOUGHT You’ll nd all manner of festive goodies jostling for position in e Farm Shop, most of which are sourced from our wonderful local producers, growers, and suppliers for a true festive taste of Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight. Firstly, let’s talk turkey! e centrepiece of the traditional Christmas lunch, it’s important to nd a quality turkey, and we are proud to o er Paul Tanner turkeys. Lymington-based Paul has supplied his turkeys to the Farm Shop pretty much since it opened, and year a er year, the Farm Shop customers place their repeat orders for the quality birds. During their lifespan, Paul’s turkeys are treated with respect, with high levels of animal welfare observed. Paul has a wealth of experience and prides himself on producing quality poultry, full of avour. All Paul’s turkeys are traditional slow-growing strains which take longer to mature. ey are then dry-plucked and hung for a minimum of 10 days in a refrigerated barn to develop tender meat with a full avour. Locally sourced venison will be in abundance during the festive period, so if game is on your menu, there will be partridge, pheasant, and ducks readily available. Newhouse Venison will, no doubt, be creating their seasonal special: a 3-bird roast - a popular alternative for a Christmas lunch. If you prefer a roast, joints of beef, lamb, and pork will be available. Whatever your preference, you are strongly advised to pre-order for the big day to avoid disappointment. Needless to say, the chiller will contain a large selection of tasty local cheeses ready to serve on the festive cheeseboard. e choice of awardwinning cheeses includes favourites from Lyburn Cheese, Isle of Wight Cheese, and Snowdonia Cheese. Serve alongside a selection of local crackers and some Isle of Wight Garlic Farm butter. Of course, all the usual festive musthaves such as vegetables, fruit, nuts, mince pies, Christmas cake are instore, and special treats too. A popular purchase at this time of year is the Farm Shop hamper. ere is a wide selection to choose from with sizes and prices to suit everyone. e everpopular Honey Hamper and Garlic Farm Hamper will be on display and ready to buy o the shelf, alternatively hampers can be made to your own speci c requirements and budget, including fruit baskets in various sizes. Celebrate with a local avour this year and call into the Farm Shop, or phone to order. (Turkeys and 3-bird roasts by order only.) We wish you a very happy Christmas and a New Year. Wayne, Rich and Lisa Longdownfarmshop.co.uk All Your Festive Favourites at the Farm Shop from Longdown Farm Shop Don’t forget to order your Christmas turkey from Longdown Farm Shop Fruit Hamper THE SHIP INN AND THE PLUM PUDDING by Robin Somes, Fawley and Blackfield Memories In case the reader gets the impression that the entire history of the Ship Inn at Lepe was one long tragedy at sea, we should conclude with a lighter episode. Alcohol and high jinks have always gone hand in hand, and this was no exception. In April 1874 a band of labourers from Cowes sailed across and landed at Lepe, just before 6pm on a Sunday, saying they were travellers and asking the landlord’s wife, Harriet Rowe, for ale. On being served, the six, omas and Henry Cox, George Oakley, Barney Lane, Henry Angel and Henry Taylor went into the parlour, and set about making a racket. e parlour being reserved for four gentlemen from London, with the table laid for dinner and a plum pudding cooking in a saucepan on the stove, Harriet asked them to be quiet, and said if they wouldn’t behave, they should leave. Behave, they did not, but kept on with their merry-making, giving her a share of abuse in the process. Hoping they would eventually settle down, she le the room, but when she returned, she found they had thrown the silver cutlery all over the oor. Remonstrating with them again, she le the room once more, and soon the group departed. Going back into the parlour, she found the saucepan was overturned onto the oor, with water and grease splashed all around, and the plum pudding, in its basin, was missing. Looking out through the door of the Inn, she saw them making for their boat on the shore, so she called out for her husband, and sent for the coastguard and police. As the coastguard, William Burgess, reached the scene, he found them setting o in the boat, but almost as soon as they got a oat and headed down river, the boat got stuck on the mud. He, and six coastguardsmen, quickly apprehended them, and as they went aboard the boat, they saw one of the group drop a basin overboard. e basin was quickly retrieved, with remnants of pudding still attached, and the men were taken ashore and held at the Inn until the police arrived. Swearing that they knew nothing of the pudding, they were taken to Hythe police station, and brought before the magistrates a couple of days later. e Bench said (as the Hampshire Independent reports): “… there was no doubt about their guilt. It was evident, however, that it was a foolish lark, and as they had already been imprisoned, the magistrates sentenced them to be locked up for one day only”. A lenient sentence for a trivial o ence, perhaps, but probably not the ending they had planned for their little trip from Cowes. A plum pudding cooking on the stove (image by ChatGPT) Community Cinema Listings Tuesday 16th December Hythe Cinema is showing e Man Who Invented Christmas at Hythe and Dibden Parish Hall, at 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Tickets are £6 and available from Mockingjay in the High Street or on the door. Please note: from January Hythe Cinema showings are moving to the 4th Tuesday of the month. e rst showing of 2026 will be Downton Abbey e Grand Finale on Tuesday 27th January. CHRISTMAS PARTY Fawley/Holbury u3a are a group for retired people and meet on the 4th Tuesday of the month at e British Legion, Exbury Road, Black eld at 2pm. e monthly speakers cover many topics, and a erwards there is co ee/tea and biscuits and an opportunity to meet new friends. ere are several interest groups, e.g. history, photography and quiz a ernoon, that members can join. If you would like to join this friendly group please go along to a meeting, you will be very welcome, visit their website: fawleyholbury. u3asite.uk or call: 023 8084 5883 for further information. eir next meeting is on 16th December for their Christmas Party with refreshments. 15 IN 15 Railway Correspondence and Travel Society (RCTS) and Mid Hants Railway, Solent Branch meetings are held in association with Mid Hants Railway – Southampton and Waterside Group. Meetings are held at Junction Church (formerly Eastleigh Railway Institute), 2 Romsey Road Eastleigh SO50 9FE and commence at 7.30pm. e room, on the rst oor (sorry no disabled access), is usually open from 7pm. A bar is available for refreshments. eir next meeting is on Wednesday 17th December for ‘15 in 15’ from 7.30pm-10pm. A donation of £3 is usual to help with the costs of the speaker and room hire. Non-members are very welcome at their meetings. Further details can be obtained from John Godfrey on: 07850 220009 or email: solent@rcts.org.uk
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