They were a little taken aback but most people were happy talk to me.

Chris – not Krzysztof, but another Chris –  head chef in a village pub,  said: “I would like to see more British boys and girls working in my kitchen.”  His wife, Jane, who works for the district council, said: “I’ll probably go along with him.”

Derek – remember, he owns the nearby gym and health club – said: “The European Union is wasting our money. The accounts never add up.”

Melanie said: “Most people know nothing about the EU. They should never have been asked.” Norman just said: “I have no enthusiasm for the project.”  I think that means he will a vote a different way from Melanie.

Melanie’s friend, Karen, another lawyer, is a prosecutor in criminal cases, said: “I don’t like us being told what to do by ‘Europe’.”

Dennis said: “British firms are good. They’re well-regarded and respected. We don’t need the European Union.” Sue agreed. Their married son lives in Australia.

Alan, retired and in his 80’s, was a planning officer, said: “I am a citizen of Europe now. They want to take away my European citizenship. It’s outrageous”. His wife was a district councillor for a while. They are Liberal Democrats.

Donald, who  teaches modern languages, is a Remainer. But his father Ted, now in his 80’s, says: “We joined a common market not a federal union”.

Rachel cleans, and is keyholder for two houses let through AirBnB. Brian is a painter and decorator. He doesn’t want to see “even more immigrants from Eastern Europe”. 

Calvin is owns a ride-on mower and looks after gardens: “Neither of us has a passport. Why do we need one? There is plenty for us here.  It used to be called the Common Market. Then it turned into the European Union. What was that all about? We have our own Queen and our own Parliament.”

Heidi and Mike are both paramedics in the ambulance service. They said: “It might be difficult without European nurses and doctors.” But they added that most of their friends seemed to be voting Leave.

Deirdre, a primary school teacher, says: “I love being part of a larger world. It is interesting and fun – our pupils get a chance to meet children from other countries.” Pete nodded, but said: ”I’m still thinking…..”

Heather Atterbury was the only person in the village with a Remain poster in her window. (But there were a lot of Leave signs in the fields along the main road that runs past the village.)

Clive, an IT expert, who works in London during the week, seems to know more than most about how the EU “works”. He says: “The best option, if we leave, would be to become part of the European Economic Area, like Norway.” He would not tell me what he is going to vote, but I presume he is a Remainer.

Amanda will be home and Hadley will use her postal vote.They are strong Remainers. So is Maureen who says: “Europe is a civilised place. We are lucky to live here.”

Jess would not tell me how she is going to vote. She said: “I have to think of my parishioners…”

In general the Remainers were more emphatic than the Leavers.

I texted Jamie about the little survey.  He said: “The result of an election or referendum is just a line of best fit through a scatter of ignorance and error.”

That’s Jamie.