Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2007 | Page 40

life

INTERVIEW

Fred Price - a real
local character who
speaks his mind
Fred Price is a familiar face in the
village of Havenstreet. As he leans
on the gate of his cottage, and
although his eyesight is failing, he
still enjoys the conversations with
locals and the toots from friendly
drivers. He’s lived in the village
since 1939 when youngsters
could play in the road because
there were so few cars. Now
it’s the rat run for commuters.
Sometimes Fred is told he
should never look back, only
ahead. He has a ready answer.
“I look back on golden memories.
When I look ahead all I see is
robberies every day, murders,
nations fighting one another and
everybody trying to do one another
down,” said a bemused Fred Price.
He was actually born in
Haylands and times were hard
for Fred’s family and all the
others in the area. There were
few luxuries in life. He did feel
like a millionaire whe n he had a
weekly job cutting a lady's lawn
with old sheep shearing clippers
to earn a halfpenny. Today it
takes 200 of them to make £1.
For a while Fred and a pal
spent a few hours in a Ryde
slaughterhouse to earn pocket
money. Their job was to keep
the water hot in the copper
boiler and they were completely
unfazed by what they saw.
One of their favourite pleasures
was to temporarily kidnap any
stray dogs in Haylands and
take them on the downs to go
and catch rabbits. If they were
lucky there were a few coppers
to be had from local butchers.
There were no trendy
kindergartens in those days and
Fred had started his local school
at the age of three. There were
even facilities for the youngsters
to lie down and take a nap if they
became tired. The rest areas were
communal and it was not until
Fred took his trousers off and got
into a hammock for a lie down
that he ran into trouble with the
teacher. He couldn’t understand

40

We asked Fred
some quickfire
questions

What's the biggest
change you have
seen on the island?
Life is now a lot easier
for lazy people.
Where's your
favourite location
on the island?
Bowcombe Valley
In your opinion
whats the worst
change you have
seen on the island?
Mainland city folk
moving to the Island
and telling us country
folk what to do.
Whats your
pet hate?
Fast drivers on
local roads.
Favourite pastime?
Hunting. It should
never have been
stopped..
Best thing about
the Isle of Wight?
Living here.

why he was called a naughty boy.
He always took his trousers off
at home before he went to bed.
The children walked to and from
school twice a day and there
were no 4x4s clogging up the
streets to pick them up. There
might have been the odd horse
and cart on rare occasions.
Fred Price is a country boy
at heart and since moving to
Havenstreet in 1939 his life
has been idyllic. He had a few
problems with girls at school,
particularly when they copied
his work, and he did very little
chasing. That changed when
he met farmer’s daughter Vera
Hamer and they were married in
1947. He does let her out to play
bingo but most of the time they
are still inseparable. Vera also is
now the chief gardener and they

spend many happy hours amongst
the flowers and vegetables. In
past years Fred did well at local
shows with his prize vegetables.
“When Vera and I worked
together at Guildford Farm
our joint wages were £5.50
a week, with no holidays or
overtime,” reflected Fred.
Fred joined the war committee
and worked on farms all over the
Island. Mostly it meant getting
to places like Binstead, Niton
and Whitwell by bike. Later
motorbikes were supplied.
Farming has taken up much of
Fred’s life and his prowess as
a sheep shearer, which he only
took up whilst recovering from
a motorbike accident, meant he
often performed the art for parties
of schoolchildren. His delightful
local accent and ability to entertain

If you could have
dinner with anyone
in the world dead
or alive who
would it be?
Henry Cooper.
Whats your
favourite garden
flower and why?
Rose. Lovely smell,
looks good and can
bloom until Christmas.

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