It is now June 1928 and the sisters, Daisy and Carrie Holding continue to live comfortably together in The Bungalow in Geddington. Daisy is now 41 and Carrie 38.
This extract shows how daily life was determined by the seasons; no nipping to the supermarket to shop – people enjoyed what was in season and knew to make the most of it!
The extract from Daisy’s diary is also a reminder that self sufficiency was the rule and that services to homes were limited, with nursing based largely on herbal remedies not penicillin or antibiotics.
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The long June days fly quickly past. I wish we did not get these rough cold winds. Honeysuckle gives out its rich perfume as we pass along the path for a pail of water. Many are the peeps we take at the Strawberry Acre to see how fares the fruit thereon. We have placed glass jars in lieu of hand lights over the most forward berries and they are growing and ripening rapidly.
15th: Arrival of Nurse Borthwick and Molly. Oh! that Molly! She is a grey chinchilla kitten and has won our hearts completely. Polished floors and rush mats are her delight. She rolls a ping pong ball from end to end of the Bungalow and jumps high in the air for sheer joy.
Our sun-parlour is now waiting room and surgery where nurse sees her many patients and instead of pot pourri we sniff Lysol. I wish I could relate the many messages and calls Nurse has but some of them are ‘not suitable for publication’ Here is a wire: ‘Will nurse please come to No. 2 Weekley to give an INJUNCTURE?’
Nursing has its light and shade, for nurse has only shared our home a fortnight and she has had three deaths and a birth, to say nothing of burns, scalds, cuts, general illness and ‘injunctures’. Many are the little gifts she has and passes on to us; cabbages, lettuces, rhubarb, hay! and flowers… Those Indian Pinks! Oh! they are so exquisitely dainty, fresh and sweet. Everyone exclaims as they enter the parlour ‘how sweet your rooms are!’ Their subtle fragrance clings all around.
I have arranged them in the Dallington mauve lustre bowl and placed them in the centre of the table. This calls for Great Grannie’s lustre cups, the blue squirrel jug and Mother Dear’s pink cream jug, for we have strawberries and cream and old fashioned gingerbread made from Miss Patrick’s special recipe for Our Lord’s Day tea.
One sweet pea is out and Little Sister has made green gooseberry and rhubarb and lemon jam.
They are carting home the hay until 10 o’clock at night and it is Summer, glorious Summer!
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I hope you enjoyed a taste of summer 1928 style – I wonder what happened to that gingerbread recipe? ……