Interview by Glynn Burrows of Mrs Barley nee Bear.
- AUD 9/2
- File
- nd [early 1980s]
Side A (track 1 on CD copies) relates to Mrs Barley's early childhood [early 1900s] in Weasenham and to various members of her family. Detailed description of immediate family history, and where various people lived in Weasenham; detailed account of being burnt all over body as a child and seeing 'Dr Highmore of Litcham'; living in house owned by 'Jack Arthur'; detailed description of school days at Weasenham [All Saints National] School, describing school Christmas parties and how the 'Dowager Countess of Leicester' would give tree from Weasenham with presents hung on it for each of the children [between 1909 and 1937], and how children refused to go to school because of unpopularity of school mistress, playing truant, names of school pupils given; how her half brother Philip won scholarship but couldn't take up his place due to lack of money; helping at Weasenham St Peter's Sunday School; describes childrens Sunday best for church; describes what she ate as a child; describes gleening and her father taking corn to [Great] Massingham mill.
Side B (track 2 on CD copies) continues describing childhood, including what she got up to in spare time, 'I was a right tom boy'; anecdote about having to right lines at school following aniseed ball incident; severely injuring tongue and risk of choking; buying fish (kippers, bloaters, white herring from man from Litcham; eating chicken, rabbit, pheasant that she had poached; going mushrooming and black berrying; selling Christmas cards; standing outside Fox and Hounds public house [Weasenham St Peter] on Boxing Day to see off hunt; describes where they got their clothes from, mother making shirts and trousers and selling them; continues talking about family members and what happened to them.
Georgina Caroline Coke; 1852-1937; Countess of Leicester