The Old Ball and Chain

 In January 1930, Mountfield Women’s Institute (Sussex) held an interesting meeting at the local village hall (pictured below). Mrs Egerton presided over a debate entitled


“Married Life v Single”

I was very disappointed to read that married life took an easy victory, with the single status receiving a paltry two votes. A sign of how difficult it must have been to be single in those days, where one was typecast as sad, lonely and having missed the boat. Strange that this was such a predominant view so soon after the end of the Great War - a time when many had lost husbands, fiancés and boyfriends and when women outnumbered men. The unmarried must have felt disillusioned with life. The freedom of a single status that we take for granted today just did not exist then, we really have come a long way. I would definitely vote single and I know many other women who would too.

On a lighter note, Mrs Pike won the competition for the 6 best plain buns.

“The meeting terminated with the singing of the National Anthem.”


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