Micheldever - Best kept village 1977 - 2

Mabel Burgis wrote the ditty to celebrate Micheldever winning the trophy for Best Kept Village in Hampshire in 1977.

Micheldever - village fair

With personality most rare

All Hampshire doth her fame declare

Now let us all her bounties share.

The busy forge with Mr. Symes

Sending out metallic chimes

To blazing heat his furnace climbs

So redolent of olden times.

The shop is kept by Mr. Olley

We buy the goods – he takes the lolly

At Christmas time it’s gay with holly

Shopping then is truly jolly.

The butcher’s shop sells lovely meat

The fillet steak – oh, what a treat

And pork and lamb so tender sweat

Our butcher’s meat is hard to beat.

The Half-Moon and Spread Eagle stands,

Beside the green and meadow lands

The gracious hostess always plans

To welcome guests with outstretched hands.

A school where all the children go

To learn the things they ought to know

When Mrs. Rees puts on a show

Then all the children’s talents glow.

A club is called the Merry and Bright

Bravely led by Mrs. Knight

Their annual sale is quite a sight

They work for this with all their might.

The Mother’s union good and true

Do teas and Harvest Suppers too

For all the jobs they nobly do

There’s not a soul who has a clue.

The Guides meet weekly in the hall

Where Captain Webb instructs them all

The Brownies too have heard the call

Their happy meetings never pall.

The Play School is a place of joy

For every little girl and boy

Such charming teaches they employ

That no behaviour can annoy.

The clinic meets for little babies

Attended well by many ladies

Seeing how the baby’s health is

How it’s grown and what its weight is.

The library comes with caravan

All full of books for maid and man

For children too – and even gran

May take home all the books she can.

The Church is built upon a rise

Where vicar Webb on a Sunday tries

To guide his flock to win the prize

In that bright home above the skies.

In unison the church bells ring

How merrily they ding-dong-ding.

Beneath the Captain’s shielding wing

The ringers really make them sing

The Micheldever farms all stand

With such a strong, hard-working band

Their constant watch upon the land

Results in Harvests truly grand.

A building stands beneath the trees

Where workers come to freeze the peas

The cars will stop and ask for these

“Where do we go to buy the peas?”

The surgery, where the patient goes

With chesty cough or stopped up nose

With sprains of boils or sceptic toes

And backache too and other woes.

The W.I. where women come

The not so young and very young

The Hymn Jerusalem is sung

The words roll off from every tongue.

They talk of cakes and home-made jam

And how it’s best to cook the lamb

On party nights the helpers cram

Enough of food to feed Oxfam!

The Resolutions come one night

And are discussed with great delight

The topics are quite erudite,

The Albert Hall then looms in sight.

The Parish Council meets at nights

It keeps its eye on building sites

The foot-paths too must have their rights

In our good cause the Council fights.

I’ve thus described our village dear

You’ll find the friendliest people here

They welcome all from far or near

God Bless them all this coming year.