Wealhtheow’s Reviews > Fenwomen: A portrait of women in an English village > Status Update

Toothache was treated by tying a scraped horseradish round the wrist.A piece of red flannel tied over the throat treats a sore throat.

The sovereign remedy for whooping cough used to be mouse ried on a fork of wych-hazel

The over-60s club gives a dinner for 'people who have helped us through the year. Like the shopkeeper who gives us cut-price Ovaltine...'

'I had 1/2 a shoulder of lamb. That were £1.7p. And I used to buy a whole shoulder for half-a-crown. It's wicked.' Old people make me cry

They [the children] knew that once they'd had their midday meal on Friday, that was it until Saturday and pay day.

And after the war, people moved in and got cars, so our own entertainments all died. That were a shame. We had some lovely times...

'Please God...'I was crying, picking these potatoes up and 'Please God, let me keep up so I can keep this job.'

'9 children Hory gave me. 1 dies in the war. 25 he were. I've had a hard life. A very hard life. I don't want them days back no more.'

Food in the fens used to be better, but now the fresh produce gets shipped out and tins and frozen food is shipped in

Children miss school for:fieldwork, picking walnuts, gleaning, stag hunt, cleaning house for Whitsuntide, potato picking, bird scaring,