November and December 1949 bring winter to Hiltonbury Farm, as fires are lit and life moves indoors.

Days are filled with sewing, cooking and preparing for Christmas, while outside the farm continues its steady work — threshing, tending livestock, and working through cold, wet weather.

There are dances, family gatherings, and small celebrations, alongside moments of worry and winter illness. As Christmas arrives, the house fills with warmth, laughter, and tradition.

Through my mother’s diaries, these final months of the year capture the comfort of home, the strength of community, and the quiet closing of 1949 on the farm.

Winter settles in — firelight, family, and the gentle close of a year.

A little about moving into the cold winter of 1949,when the frost gathers and the house grows dark slowly moving towards the end od a decade that has moved from war to a quiet resilience to build a farm and a family

The last of the harvest is gathered, threshing begins, and autumn slowly settles over the fields. There is good news with prize-winning crops and new calves on the farm, while the children begin their new school life.

As October arrives, warm days give way to storms and darker evenings. Yet life continues with dances, village gatherings, farm work, and even a memorable trip to London for the Dairy Show.

Through my mother’s diaries, these months capture a time of change — from summer’s warmth to the steady rhythm of autumn life on the farm.

A brief synopsis of the beginning of Autumn at Hiltonbury Farm in 1949.Please jopin me Sunday for the full episode

July and August 1949 bring the height of summer to Hiltonbury Farm — long hot days, busy harvest fields, and a farmhouse full of life.

Pea picking and haymaking fill the days, while evenings are spent with friends, tennis, and village gatherings. There are trips to the seaside, a memorable visit to the Shrewsbury Show, and simple moments of laughter shared over tea in the garden.

As the heat builds and the land begins to dry, August brings change — the harvest draws to a close, a new calf is born, and the family escape for a holiday by the sea at Bracklesham Bay.

Through my mother’s diaries, these summer months come alive with warmth, hard work, and the everyday moments that made up life on a Hampshire farm in 1949.

A short taster to what is coming on Sundays episodes of My Mothers Diaries as we head into the height of summer 1949

Summer arrives at Hiltonbury Farm — and with it, a season full of life, laughter, and change with the Farm in full rhythm — busy, lively, and full of change.

The fields are green, the garden is growing, and the farmyard is bursting with new life. Chicks arrive in their hundreds, a new pony named Smoky becomes part of the family, and Lassie’s puppies bring excitement to the farmhouse.

Days are filled with haymaking, sewing, washing, and constant visitors, while evenings bring dancing, tennis, and time spent with friends and neighbours.

There are moments of joy, small worries, and the steady rhythm of everyday life — all captured through my mother’s own words, as summer unfolds across the farm join me as I read from My Mothers Diaries. Thank you for listening

On Sunday I will be reading about the happenings May andJune 1949…at Hiltonbury Farm because life is now in full of bloom.

The fields are green again…the garden is growing fast…and the farmyard is alive with noise, movement and new life and Lassie is also quietly preparing for something very special

And yet — through it all —life continues in its steady, beautiful rhythm.Work… laughter… family…and the quiet unfolding of everyday life on the farm.

So join me on Sunday, as we step into May and June 1949 of My Mothers Diaries when the farm is at its busiest,summer stretches out before us…and in the middle of it all, a young family is living each day —Jennifer, Janet, Andrew and Heather not knowing just how precious those ordinary moments will become.