VV_October Web 20-compressed

top end. He would get
the ladder over his head
and walk up the
underside with his hand
till it was vertical.
Wo-betide if we moved
or got off the bottom
rung during this
operation! The ladder
would be suitably
lowered into the trees. As
the birds began to spot
the ripening cherries
grandad would make
‘whim-whoms’ to scare
the birds away. These
were made from wood
and consisted of a simple four bladed
propeller about two feet across. A tail
board kept them facing the wind. A long
pole supported the whim-whom which
was erected well above the trees. Two or
three appeared in the orchard. They only
seemed to last the season, the more they
spun round in the breeze the more the
spindle clattered and eventually self
destructed. I recall laying in bed and
hearing them chunter away through the
night!
The cherries were picked by neighbours and
even my mum Enid took her turn. The wooden
trays were filled, weighed and stacked in
grandads workshop. Early each evening Jimmy
Atkins who was a builder and lived at
Rushmore corner, bought round his Austin A55
pickup and the cherries were loaded up in the
open buck. A special railway fruit wagon was
waiting in the bay platform at Wycombe
Station. The cherries were transferred and a
massive sliding door closed up on the wagon. I
remember the excitement as a steam train went
through the station pulling red Underground
rolling stock. The locomotive was called King
John and I was called King John for ages
afterwards!!
Bearing in mind I was only six or seven at the
www.pennandtylersgreen.org.uk
Village Voice October/November 2020
time, I can remember climbing to the very top
of the ladders. I could see Tylers Green School
from the top and the giant Wellingtonia fir tree
in front of the school looked tiny. I recall giving
my grandad a real fright when he found me at
the top. It was a golden rule only one on a
ladder and he was scared it might move in the
tree. He mildly scolded me when I eventually
and reluctantly came down. It didn’t matter too
much to me as the cherries and the view were
magnificent There were many such orchards in
Penn and Tylers Green. The village would
compete with Holmer Green where there were
also many similar orchards. I think the ladders
were made there. One of our ladders went to the
Chiltern Open Air Museum. I hope they have
looked after it. It’s a little bit of history now.
Jonathan Wheeler