There's A Calf in the Sitting Room

by Sheila Barry

When her parents were killed in an accident in 1946, 17-year-old Sheila Collins (later Barry) left her job at a factory in Ipswich and escaped to rural west Wales to live with her aunt and uncle at the farm they had just bought and ‘retired’ to. It was a very different life from the one she had known, but she took to it like a duck to water. Sheila immediately became part of the Penrallt community, where her slightly eccentric family of in-comers learned to farm. The ancient farmhouse had neither electricity nor piped water, and the sheds and byres were full of horses, cows and pigs, each with their own name and personality. In "There's a Calf in the Sitting Room", Sheila lovingly recalls daily life on the farm in the forties and fifties, when farming was almost organic and primarily horse driven. Episodes are retold with humour and descriptions of getting in the hay and corn harvests and of the old, horse-drawn implements; enticing pigs to slaughter or the boar and cows just about everywhere!

191 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

When 17-year-old Sheila's parents are killed in a car accident in 1946, Sheila leaves Ipswich and goes to stay with her uncle and aunt in rural West Wales. This is the account of her life on the farm there, at Penrallt.

It is well-illustrated with photographs from the period and is well written, although the lack of chronological structure makes it sometimes hard to know if you are hearing about an anecdote from the 1940s, 50s, 60s or 70s. Recommended for those with an interest in farming in Wales during the middle part of the last century.

[Ingrid Self · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful account of life on a farm in West Wales following the second world war. The author moved there to live with family members and as she learns about farming (then) so do we.
It's a light read, and entertaining and informative. The pictures are black and white - because they were then - which detracts slightly, but if you are interested in older farming practices and post-war life, you would probably enjoy it. I did.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young Ipswich girl moves to the Wales after a family tragedy just after the war. Its her farming memories and for a lot of people how it was when we were children. No water , no electricity and no toilets !

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting memoir of farming in Wales after WW2. The descriptions of the way of life, methods and working of machinery painted a vivid picture of life as I remember it when I spent time on the farms of friends as a child in the south of England. I sometimes found the descriptions a little too involved but I did find the book enjoyable and there were humorous moments that made me laugh aloud.

[Bella Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating to discover that places were without mains power and water so recently. The book tells tales which sound as if they come from centuries ago - yet are within living memory. Well worth a read.