There is something about a true British eccentric.
For me they are addictive and fascinating personalities. which, in this age of mediocrity, are as rare as hens' teeth.
For me, the "Red Faced Welsh Farmer" is such a character.
Dressed invariably in a tweed jacket which has seen better days and a deer stalker-esque hat ( which looks as though it's been used to clean the Church brass) I see him most days shooting through the village in his red land drover with his stubby thumb sticking up in a somewhat jaunty "joie de vivre" manner.
Well into his 7th decade, he has the look of a hill farmer with weathered cheeks that resemble corned beef and a smile which makes his face looks almost perfectly round.
Deafness makes his everyday talking voice boom like a Welsh Brian Blessed, and every day we meet up, especially when I feel somewhat jaded after night shift, his words often jangle my nerves as if I was waiting in shocked anticipation for a twenty one gun salute to go off!
The "RFWF" has a story about EVERYTHING. He also has an opinion about EVERYTHING ,so I have learnt long ago that if he stops to say hello, I am not going anywhere for at least 30 minutes....the dogs understand this rule when we are out now, and will automatically sit patiently at his feet when he "booms out" one of his tales.
The RFWF is a rare creature. He is the perfect example of "what you see is what you get!" No pretensions, no airs and graces, no apologies and no bullshit.The booming voice, the meandering stories, and the knackered old tweed hat , for some, the whole package is an aquired taste......
But for me......it is all great fun
Oh John, I love to see these characters and think it is so sad that they are gradually being 'phased' out by our one-mould-fits-all modern society. x
ReplyDeleteI agree with you John, I love these old characters. When we lived in Devon many years ago there were still lovely old characters like this to be found, lovely old fishermen, trouble was you needed a translator! It is so sad they are on the demise.
ReplyDeleteJo xx
Just like Papy in the first place I lived in in France.
ReplyDeleteThe car would draw up beside you, the half window would fall off, you would pick it up and hand it back to him and the story would already have started.
Decidedly not PC....
Don't lament their demise just yet... I meet plenty. Have you ever visited BRIGHTON? The last time I was there, it was overflowing!
ReplyDeleteAnd a great reminder that it's OK to spend the unscheduled half hour just listening to someone like the RFWR.
ReplyDeleteHe sounds like a great old guy and a source of many interesting posts.
ReplyDeleteThese characters make life interesting. I'd rather spend time with someone "off the track" than listen to the same old, same old.
ReplyDeleteA long time ago someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up - and I said 'eccentric'. I'm still working on it.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMargaret Rutherford was a wonderful character actress...and was most likely a "character" in her own right! I find it quite heartening to know that there are still "characters" in the world like your RFWF. And like MorningAJ I always wanted to be an eccentric too...perhaps I am and don't realize it LOL
ReplyDeleteHis name is George here in the midwest. In his late 60's he knows everyone on town as he has owned every kind of business (snack shop, video store, car repair) and he has an opinion on everything. I used to go the other way when I saw him. Now I stop and visit. I'm only one decade away from BEING him.
ReplyDeleteSounds like the perfect person to visit with...
ReplyDeleteI love a true British eccentric and I'm glad to hear they are still around, albeit my age now, those who seemed so old when I lived in England in the early 1960s. Of course, they still live in books for me, but how lucky you are to encounter one of them so often.
ReplyDeleteI should have said several, I know from reading your blog that there are more of them in your village.
ReplyDeletei used to lead walks up in the Cheviots. Every time I went through a particular farm a RFNF (Red faced Northumbrian Farmer) used to come out and talk at me - I used to catch the occasional word but never a whole sentence!
ReplyDeletehas a story about EVERYTHING. He also has an opinion about EVERYTHING ,so I have learnt long ago that if he stops to say hello, I am not going anywhere for at least 30 minutes
ReplyDeleteI have a neighbour like that. When one of us staggers in, looking wind swept, half starved and frazzled having been missing for half an hour or more, the other will roll their eyes and ask "Chaz attack?" ...
I like people with no back doors too
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful character. Wish there were more like him. :)
ReplyDeleteWe used to have three in our village, but sadly only one left now. I love to meet him when we are out walking. His knowledge of the local wildlife is without equal.
ReplyDeleteMy tweed hat will not be knackered, but my face is pretty much the same as the photo. We have an old eccentric here in Bath, but I cannot help thinking he is a bit too studied to be genuine. He wanders around singing at the top of his voice (in a bettered tweed hat) and used to be the principal of a London Art School. I think he's a pain in the arse.
ReplyDeleteyes Tom, true eccentrics like the RFWF aren't contrived in any way and couldn't give a fucking stuff!
ReplyDeleteWhat's the difference between being an eccentric and being a complete fooking barm pot?
ReplyDeleteI dont know chris....
ReplyDeleteyou'll have to tell me!!!
I'm just a normal guy. I a long way off from getting my tweed cap.
ReplyDeleteHey. Guess what?
We have them in NZ too. I realise that I'm in the same age group as them now - one of my school mates has become one! I remember my mum having daily encounters with our local RFNZF, her Brummy accent intensifying to match his long slow Kiwi drawl - 'Enee-waaay,' he would say as he reclaimed the airspace from her. Once I timed them (being hungry and wanting my mum to come in) three hours they stood talking while his sheep took themselves off to new pastures.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a man I know here in Yass - great fellow, booming voice full of bon homie and well known around the town for his involvement in a diverse number of local organisations.
ReplyDeleteLooks like most towns have (at least) one!
You lucky man John.
ReplyDeleteWhat what life be without them?Who will take over when they have gone?Our country is full of them, bushies, old drovers,men and women of the outback who did heroic things but see themselves as ordinary.Long live 'the fringe dwellers'!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely hundreds of ancient eccentrics blogging away , I meet them all of the time, there is on old crow who lives in France with a comrade of his in the Bath ;-)
ReplyDeleteSounds just like my old veterinarian, always had a story to tell, red-faced and drove a landrover, reminded me of the James Herriot character Siegried Farnon, I loved being in his company and wanted to be his tech when I finished school.
ReplyDelete~Jo
without them though, this world would be a lot duller, from a red faced British woman on the other side of the pond,
ReplyDeleteGill in Canada
I love your description of that farmer's cap - I shall use it at the first opportunity as I describes exactly the farmer's caps - he has four - best, second best, third best and (frankly) mucky. As he is muck leading today he is in cap 4 - don't know about brass, more like the floor.
ReplyDeleteI like your authentic RFWF character. We have a 'character' a few houses down from us. The only problem with her is that she only ever talks about herself...she's more like Tom's version than yours I think John...too affected for me.
ReplyDeleteI want to be an eccentric when I am older in years, so I am practicing for when that time comes now!
ReplyDeleteAnd who better to play to true British eccentic than Margaret Rutherford....a true eccentic in her own right.
ReplyDeleteWhen i worked at a local bank in my last location, i met a number of eccentrics. Since i was new to that location, they saw me as a fresh pair of ears, and someone whose eyes wouldn't roll when they shared a story they'd shared a thousand times before.
ReplyDeleteIn my new location, i'm not in such a public position, which has definitely crimped my opportunities, but there are one or two here who have shared some stories, and i'm always glad when we meet, and i give them a chance to chat.
megan