Farmer’s Wives and the Women’s Institute, England 1950s
I originally published this in Word of Mouth in 1995. It was a short-lived newsletter (remember those) written by Johan Mathieson who was one of the sharpest commentators on food I have ever run across. If you ever run across one of his newsletters, grab it.
And did those feet, in ancient …..
Do I denote a hint of nostaligia in this story?
Sure. Seemed like a good moment for nostalgia!
There was a group like this (but not too active or well known) when I lived in rural West Virginia. Can’t remember how I heard of them, but it was the same thing. I spoke to one of the women on the phone once and she told me they were really hoping for new members as the group was mostly in their 80’s and nobody new was joining. Crafts, preserving, gardening – rural home life. I’ll have to see if I can find out if they are still around . . .
No, I never joined. I was too busy trying to figure out how to make little square bales of hay out of the big round ones. Hah!
The CWA is still going strong in rural Australia and “The CWA Cookery Book and Household Hints” is still being up-dated and being sold.
You know there are quite a few recipes that use cowslips, I grow some in pots and from this I reckon that you would need a huge amount of area to get enough for the recipes.
Eh, I am slightly embarrassed to mention that to day I picked and cooked a bucket of sweet briar hips and made rose-hip cordial. Basically they had been hit by frost for the last two nights and had bletted (gone soft) perfectly. I would think that they would be fit for preserving for only a day or two. I guess this is the type of information that the WI passed on previously. I intend to use it for cocktails, not sure the WI discussed cocktails?
Sounds like an interesting book, will have to look for a copy.
No mention of “The Calendar Girls?” They created a calendar, not a cookbook, but made a lot of money — real story, touching film.
The Irish equivalent was the Irish Countrywomen’s Association, which had a big part to play in campaigning for improved rural water supplies and the electrification of rural Ireland in the 1950s (only 9 per cent of rural households had running water in 1946). Their actions had a huge impact on rural people’s lives.
Yes, these groups were so important. I realized after writing that post that their origin was in Canada, designed to offset the loneliness of rural women. And yes, mains water came to the village I grew up in only in the late 1940s. The wealthier took it from the stream and watched freshwater shrimp turning pink in the bathwater. Out on the farm we never had it, always spring water. Have a post on water in mind once I’ve finished cuisine and language.
Where I grew up, we had piped water but also a well with a pump. We drank the well water by preference, and would pump bottles of it to keep in the fridge because it tasted better.
I love the image of freshwater shrimp turning pink in the bathwater. I’ve stayed in places in Scotland and the west of Ireland where even the mains water is brown with peat – it’s like bathing in hot tea.
If you run across my post on tea at my grandmother´s you´ll see they preferred well water too.
Thanks – will have a look.