To be wondering when The Village will lighten up a bit?

[Squarepebbles]

X posted, Rosebelle. Yes, the woman in the pub bit - not sure about that. But the Temperance movement was strong and some of the suffragettes were very militant in the cities at the time.

And they were middle class mostly.

I like it :)

Showofhands hats off to your great great grandmother if she actually managed to make it out of the workhouse even once let alone more than once with all her children. That would almost be unheard of and it might be that even if her H was a scrote he must have had means and the desire to secure her release, because you were property of the workhouse once you were in there. She would not have been permitted to walk in and out of there like a hostel, there would have to be a person on the outside to help them. Perhaps there is more to her H than you know. Very interesting.

Solopower1 good point, but I'm not convinced how strong the suffragette movement was in a village like that at the time . I didn't get the impression she was campaigning in a suffragette kind of fashion for temperance in general, she wasn't saying the landlord was immoral for selling alcohol in general, she was making a plea specifically to stop selling alcohol to John Simms (and his suffering wife).

And I get the idea people didn't talk about feelings so much then - wasting words. I like the way it's not Catherine Cookson (though I like that too).

A lot of cross-class shagging went on ..

In the whole of two episodes the only bit I really really liked was when the boys/men were all tramping off to war through the village, and one asked his sweetheart to marry him as he walked past. Her reaction was lovely and I wish we had seen a bit more of their relationship or something similar - flegling romances cut short by war. instead of dead dogs on beds, boys masturbating on hilltops (I mean really, what boy would do that, there?!) and sucking dirty scrubbing brushes

I though she was on a mission - the vicar's daughter perhaps (but I didn't see the first episode or all of this one).

No I don't think there were many suffragettes in villages like this one. I just meant there were strong militant campaigning woman around at the time.

Boys masturbate on hills all the time! (Didn't see that bit.) And in those days where else would they get the privacy? I bet people did a lot of outdoor shagging too.

She is a busybody (not sure who) who has been away (not sure where) and has come back to the village (not sure why) and knows John Simms quite well enough to boss him around a bit (not sure how).

Hope that clear that up for you

That's very accurate Rosebelle :o

Solo Where else would they get the privacy... um.... oh this is hard... I just don't know. Let's see. In his bed perhaps, in his own bedroom in the massive old farmhouse he lives in? Behind a bush? In the hayloft? Absolutely anywhere else than literally standing up with wind blowing around on the top of a hill right next to his farmhouse in full view of his family?

I can tell you didn't see last week's episode

OK OK I get the picture!

Sounds a bit weird though. Still it is based on someone's memoirs, isn't it? There's nowt so queer as folk. Etc.

Were his family watching? eeew.

teacher/suffragette woman - did I hear she was related to vicar? Good looking man at posh house likes her and knows her as he said "Do I have no chance" has admired her for a while then. She must be local/long time in village so related to someone.

Missed first episode - does iplayer show 2 weeks ago for Drama like this? Think prob. not.

She said her dad (vicar) had moved there and she decided to as well.

Read the review in the Guardian and am wondering if I can stand watching ep2. Still at least I've been warned

There's a reference to arsenic poisoning in ep1 - I don't remember/didn't notice it. Anyone else?

at the Guardian review.

I wonder if we all had any input into that Guardian review ? - I'd like to think we could have done

I don't think Maxine Peak is the landlady of the bath house though? As that busy body girl tried to get her a job with the boot guy. I neither like it nor loathe it yet. I don't like that Caro character though so if she appears on the screen too much I might switch off next week, is she sane or not? I have no idea?

I think it's really good and an accurate portrayal of what life was like for most normal people - hard work, hunger, cold and misery.
Things really were that desperate for many families.

So many tv dramas show the affluent side of life in days gone by like Downton, Mr Selfridge, Upstairs Downstairs which wouldn't have been the norm for most families and its nice to see a different side for once.

Cwtchbach, it showed her wandering around administering in the bath house last week. She was definitely in charge, not there to have a bath. Or so I thought.

racmun even with hard work, hunger, cold etc - it's a very one sided portrayal of life. Even in poor, hard times, people still courted and (just about) managed to celebrate, saved up for special occasions, had "best dresses", had their children christened, had wedding celebrations, makeshift parties and outings, people who would have been very poor by today's standards went on Bank Holiday outings to the seaside once a year. Cider with Rosie children are poor but there was plenty of self-made fun and mischief. Winifred Foley (b. 1914, same as The Village) - her childhood as part of a large, poor mining family as described in A Child in the Forest was tough but they still had spots of lightheartedness and fun. People then were still, y'know, people just like us .

you have convinced me rosebelle bit I wonder if writer is trying to dispel oldy -worldy romnatic myth that it was better in the olden days.

Defintately nned a bit of light heartedness for viwers to bite according to this thread.
Guardian review? someone give it me in short please.

Rosebelle, my g g grandma was actually only in the workhouse once (with 3 of her children). Other children in varying groups dependent on whether they were employed/ill/away at the time were in there for different periods of time on four separate occasions. Their release was secured by their uncle (my g g grandma's bil) who was a tailor and of good social standing. All of this was a mystery to me (I could only find odd census listings where the family seemed to be split up or scattered on two separate occasions) until I traced the grandchildren and g grandchildren of my g g grandma's brother who had all of the details about the workhouse. The workhouse was over the county border and filled in a LOT of gaps, as did meeting several relatives I knew nothing about who had family postcards, letters, workhouse documents (copies) and many, many tales which all fitted in with everything I'd found out so far.