In late autumn there are still many places where the annual ‘bringing in’ of the harvest is celebrated by a village gathering in the form of a festive supper. Although these days they more often involve just a handful of elderly folk sharing a light tea of sandwiches and fruit scones going back a few years they were somewhat grander affairs. They often involved the whole village coming together and a visiting speaker of some note would be invited in to address the assembled folk. A few years ago whilst visiting the rectory in the marshes I encountered a parishioner who, over afternoon tea, recounted a curious tale of one such harvest supper he remembered and which occurred in a nearby marshland parish some forty years earlier.
It appears that on that occasion it was decided to invite a renowned Methodist preacher from a village some sixty miles away. The problem was that the preacher being quite senior in years and no longer having any transport of his own would therefore need to catch the train. Arrangements were then made to convey the visiting speaker from the town station on the Great Eastern mainline, by pony and trap, to the village hall in time for the harvest gathering. All went well until they arrived at their destination when for some reason the pony shied as the speaker was descending from the gig. In the kafuffle the old chap fell over and his upper denture plate became dislodged and flew out onto the ground breaking in two. The old chap was gently shepherded into the hall but although a little shaken by the incident he was otherwise uninjured. As he had eaten on the train he excused himself from the chine and plum loaf tea to prepare himself for his after dinner speech. It was then that he discovered that he couldn’t possibly deliver his address without his upper dentures. They were past repairing so he beckoned his host and explained his dilemma. The host in turned summoned his wife to see if she could make any suggestion regarding the problem placed before them. They knew the nearest dentist was back in town, some six miles away, and there wouldn’t be nearly enough time for another journey back there before the supper ended. Then the host’s wife made a suggestion that perhaps they could try Josh Scarbro. The host agreed and promptly got on his bike and rode off down the marsh road. The supper proceeded as planned whilst the speaker sat nervously in the kitchen being plied with cups of tea. After half an hour or so the host arrived back carrying a small leather case. He immediately placed it on the table and opened it up to reveal dozens of dental plates of various shapes and sizes.
The old preacher set to work trying them out eventually finding one that fitted perfectly. “That’s amazing!” he said, “This fits better than my original plate.” Right on time he picked up his notes, entered the hall and delivered a most rousing speech to the assembled crowds unlike any they had heard in many a year. In fact over tea and biscuits many commended the preacher on his clear delivery and inspirational address. After a short while the host drove the old preacher back to town just in time to catch the last train home. As he shook hands the preacher offered to return the dentures he had borrowed and which had served him so well. The host said it wasn’t necessary as Mr Scarbro didn’t expect them back and was only too pleased to have been of service. The preacher thanked his host and as the train started to move along the platform he leant out the window and declared that the good Lord himself had indeed blessed them that day by providing him with a dentist at such an opportune moment. At this his host replied, “Oh! Bless you sir, Josh Scarbro ain’t no dentist, he’s our local undertaker!
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