David Ready
David Ready was born in Silver Street, Burwell, in 1940. He is the tenant farmer of Slade Farm, as his father and grandfather were before him. ‘In the village we had three fish and chip shops … five butchers … three hairdressers … two bakers … and ten pubs. There were the general stores, we even had a shoe shop … It was different then, you could walk down the street and out of ten people you’d know nine.’
Part 1 of 3
| Time | Topics described |
| 00:00:00 | Family background |
| 00:01:20 | Early days. 1947 winter. |
| 00:02:55 | Mixed farming. |
| 00:03:00 | Turkeys for Christmas. |
| 00:04:14 | Poultry farming. |
| 00:04:50 | Pigs and cattle. |
Part 2 of 3
| Time | Topics described |
| 00:00:00 | Keeping a farm diary. |
| 00:00:58 | Making changes on the farm. |
| 00:02:25 | Childhood, David’s birth, family history. |
| 00:05:00 | Germans bomb train. |
| 00:06:28 | Planes on Newmarket Heath jettisoned bombs on their land. |
| 00:08:00 | School, St Mary’s and Burwell Secondary Modern. |
| 00:09:40 | Left school at 15. Father’s accident on farm, with a loaded gun on the tractor. |
| 00:11:30 | Changes again on the farm. Physical work of sack lifting |
| 00:14:10 | Different crops. Mustard for Colmans. |
| 00:15:00 | Changes to the crop growth. |
| 00:16:15 | Crops today – barley, wheat and oil seed rape. 3 year rotation |
| 00:17:20 | Field Margins |
| 00:10:07 | 1975/6 drought |
| 00:20:25 | Local meat for Burwell |
| 00:21:30 | Family butchering skills |
| 00:22:30 | Horses on the farm |
| 00:23:50 | Self sufficiency |
Part 3
| Time | Topics described |
| 00:00:00 | Amenities in Burwell |
| 00:03:00 | Village Life |
| 00:04:40 | Fetes, carnivals, feasts and fairs |
| 00:06:50 | Cinema at Newmarket |
| 00:07:20 | Entertainment in the 1960s |
| 00:08:29 | Excursions to Great Yarmouth |