When the Green Woods Laugh - H. E. Bates - Bog

Pop Larkin - junk-dealer, manages to sell the nearby crumbling, tumbling country home to city dwellers Mr and Mrs Jerebohm. But the Larkin's new neighbours aren't quite so accepting of Pop's little eccentricities. In fact, it's not long before a wobbly boat, a misplaced pair of hands and Mrs Jerebohm's behind have Pop up before a magistrate.