I forget my own name sometimes but I never could forget Reverend Barnard. He was quite a character in his day. Here is a brief extract from Who’s Who of Grunty Fen.
According to Barnard’s new calendar, by which many Fen folk now live, the standard week runs Sunday, Unday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
Who’s Who? BARRY “BARMY” BARNARD, The Rev.
By some force of nature, we are unable to remember the events of an Unday. Mankind lives and goes about its business on Undays but is forbidden forever from remembering what it did on that day. That slice of cold pie missing from the larder sometime between Sunday and Monday was eaten on Unday. That otherwise inexplicable graze on one’s skin was suffered on an Unday. That stranger towards whom one feels an unjustified antipathy is because of something he or she said on an Unday. That strange sense of sadness or gladness we sometimes feel for no good reason springs in fact from the events of Unday. All strangenesses, all mysteries, all odd dreams and curious happenings, and, above all, that impression one has of having “been here before” are down to Unday.
It goes without saying that you can read more about the thoughts of the Reverend Barnard in the book written by Christopher South called Who’s Who of Grunty Fen.
Hello there. Many people think that the Grunty Fen General Stores have been here for ever! But before my sister and I took over the little post office Grunty Fen was visited by characters such as this gentleman who would deliver and sell all matters of comestibles. Everything from cement to elastic for under-clothing. Just you read the chapter on Old Rep in Christopher South’s latest book.
Just to let you know that if you are in Soham you can now purchase Chris South’s book Customs and Folklore of Grunty Fen from Soham Books. Two of the nicest people you can meet work in that shop; Richard and Joy. Such a lovely little town too.
The cassette version of volume 5 featured Dennis with one of his rude root pictures.
We are all very pleased at Grunty Fen to hear that Dennis’s shop is now able to supply the Best Of Dennis Vol 5 on CD or a digital download. This is a collection of Dennis episodes originally released on cassette tapes.
To quote Mr South “This compilation features a wide variety of subjects involving mince, custard and gravy, army life, tortoises, the mysterious spirituality of the hadnabinfers, strange offerings in supermarkets, Gran’s bloomers, budgie cages and the light harvest festival. ”
Dennis spoke on several occasions about the hadnabinfer problem but I’m no closer to an understanding. Listen to Volume 5 yourself and then perhaps you can explain it to me.
Volume 5 is only available from Dennis’s shop in this location.
This rather racy young lady is Noreen Coldwick who was was once elected Queen of the Carrot Scrubbing Sheds. Her title (if you can believe what Christopher South says in “Customs”) was “Miss Scrubber”.
If you ask me this shows the kind of behaviour that wouldn’t be tolerated in my day. Smoking in a carrot shed indeed!
Grunty Fennery and Mr South are delighted to announce that :
The Customs and Folklore of Grunty Fen
Customs and Folklore of Grunty Fen covers
is now available. This is the third book in the series written by Christopher South and is even more enjoyable than the previous two.
The nice young person, Annabel, at Burrows bookshop in Ely was the first to stock Customs closely followed by Toppings. In Cambridge that lovely little bookshop, David’s, is your shop to visit for a copy.
Meanwhile, those lucky people that live in lovely Saffron Walden will be able to buy Customs locally; both the Tourist Information Centre and Harts Books now have stock.
And of course you can buy direct from Dennis’ shop:
Miss Edwards tell me tha’ there were a lot of folk talkin’ ’bout me at Burwell Museum on Sunday. Thank ye vaar much for goin’ along an’ listenin’ to Mr South an’ fer buyin’ some stuff from Miss Edwards’s stall. Much appreciated.
Hello there. Many people think that the Grunty Fen General Stores have been here for ever! But before my sister and I took over the little post office Grunty Fen was visited by characters such as this gentleman who would deliver and sell all matters of comestibles. Everything from cement to elastic for under-clothing. Just you read the chapter on Old Rep in 
This rather racy young lady is Noreen Coldwick who was was once elected Queen of the Carrot Scrubbing Sheds. Her title (if you can believe what Christopher South says in 
