Hamptworth and Landford - our Tucker agricultural labourers

Last Tuesday, we spent some time exploring Hamptworth and Landford, the villages near Downton where my Tuckers were agricultural labourers in the early 1800s. I have posted some photos at http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/JohnMoxon1/HamptworthWiltshire , mostly of the Cuckoo Inn, where doubtless my great great great grandfather (1805-1886) and his sone George (1832-1914) would have partaken of an ale or two, and also some of Landford where there was a John Tucker, yeoman, farmer of four properties between 1735-1812 and presumably his father also John Tucker who was a village constable in 1736 at http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/JohnMoxon1/LandfordWiltshire

I am still trying to link John Tucker of Landford with my Tuckers. I suspect he was my William Tucker (1730s-1784)'s brother.

In the evening we went to Totten in Southampton, where we were invited to dinner by Ange & Paul and Ange's sister Ali, who is over from Florida where she lives, but is constantly travelling with her businessman husband. Luckily he is working in the UK at the moment, so she sees a lot of her sister. We entertained them in Sydney last December. We had a very enjoyable evening there. We will put some pictures up soon.

On Wednesday we set off for Horsham, and avoided the motorway, which would have been quicker. We travelled via the A272 instead, and it was very pretty. We stopped for refreshments at one of the myriad of old pubs on the side of the road.

We are still rather unnerved by the narrow roads, and unfortunately, I scraped the side of the motor home on the A36, due to a commercial truck being illegally parked with his side leaning into the road - on a curve - and I had nowhere to go. There was oncoming traffic. I thought I'd avoided him, but I was more conscious of the bottom of the van than the top, and so I came off worse for wear. We have taped the worst of it up with gaffer tape (what would we be without it) but bang goes our extra deposit we paid in case of such eventualities. (These motor home hirers ain't stupid!).