Colin Richards.
THIS ISLAND LIFECOLIN 'Farmer’ Richards — local councillor, Jethro lookalike and sage of New-church — has been in touch following mention in this column of his old mate, the late Jack Lavers.
Jack’s book on Island dialect is admired by many Islanders and Colin was particularly taken by the word 'channick’, which was used to describe a steam engine accelerating.
He wrote: "It describes the sound beautifully. It also occurs to me it may have been a derivative of 'chank’, which is a word my father used to describe us kids chewing noisily with our mouths open."
Now, my parents always called that 'chamming’ and it remains the one sound most likely to make me resort to violence every time I hear it.
According to Colin, this word derives from an old Island agricultural term used when a thresher or combined harvester 'chammed up the straw’ because it wasn’t set correctly.
He added: "Jack died in 2005 and I have missed our chats and having someone to go to for information on the history of Newchurch parish and the people who once lived here — a subject on which he was an expert.
"I can confidently say he would have been horrified your writer described us as a 'town council!"
Jack’s wife, Jill, also made contact to say his book, The Dictionary of the Isle of Wight Dialect, sold out when it was published in 1988. She added: "My son and I have discussed getting a reprint done but it is an expensive business."
I would not be taking the financial risk, of course, but I think the book is of such quality and has created so much interest since it was mentioned in this column three weeks ago, it would sell out all over again.
I have certainly received innumerable letters, e-mails and phone calls about it and a number of people have brought it up in conversation.
Jack was always happy to share his local knowledge with anyone who showed an interest.
Angela Snow got in touch to say he contacted her a few years ago, offering stories about the old days at Havenstreet, when he heard she was compiling a booklet to celebrate the centenary of the village school.
They are fascinating yarns — and I shall be revealing all next week.
Stan's the man — but which is which?
The photograph featured in this column last week came as something of a surprise to the Stan Turner pictured and the Stan Turner (who, for the purposes of clarification we shall call John Stanley) it was intended to be.
John Stanley’s wife, Viv, got in touch to say: "If that’s my old man, who’s the bloke I’ve been going to bed with for well over 30 years?
"But if the Stan Turner pictured has got more money than mine, perhaps we can come to some arrangement …"
Oddly enough, both Stan and John Stanley used to work in the prison service and Stan’s son, also called Stan (do keep up at the back!) used to play cricket for
J. S. White’s.
Stan snr’s claim to fame is Reggie Kray mentioned him in his autobiography, calling him 'an officer and a gentleman’.
John Stanley and Stan jnr were regular opponents on the cricket field and, after one memorable encounter, the entries in the scorebook read:
J. S. White’s innings — Stan Turner bowled Stan Turner 0.
Havenstreet innings — Stan Turner bowled Stan Turner 0.
We have pictured Stan snr and John Stanley here — for the sake of clarification and Viv’s sanity.
As somebody once said: "Confused? You will be …"
Great place to learn — there's just one thing...
We are all said to suffer from some sort of obsessive compulsive disorder.
I always feel the need to stir a cup of coffee 11 times before drinking it. Worse still, it has to be five-and-a-half rotations one way and five-and-a-half the other (don’t ask).
I also find it impossible to read or watch anything without mentally editing it as I go along. As I’ve mentioned before, not even shopping lists are safe.
So a recent journey across The Solent was blighted by those little television sets scattered all over the Fast Cats.
After making a careful note of how not to drown 'in the unlikely event of an emergency’, I found myself checking all the advertisements for spelling and grammar.
There were the usual mistakes of course, including 'occuring’ and 'suprise.’ In fact, I’d have been very surprised had they not occurred.
The erroneous use of 'it’s’ as a possessive also made its customary appearance.
The advertisement for Ryde School was most impressive and great emphasis was placed on the skill and professionalism parents could expect for their money.
However, the overall effect was somewhat tainted by a reference to 'ofstead.’
Oh dear …