BBC Archive

Okay not really, but apparently Sinead O'Conner actually liked this rendition of her

Talks about poverty being a generational flux (born poor, have lots of kids, they bring in money, wealth goes up, kids have their own families, wealth goes down)

Also about how seamstresses were paid by quantity, not by hours, so you'd bring your work home with you and sew on the sofa an extra 6 hours whilst providing for the family

State of homes were pretty bad: mould and damp creeping into the furniture. Heating one room only to counter it. Breathing problems for small kids

Getting public assistance is limited: some kids get meals at schools, but have to compete with others. A single income is not enough in 1960.

Sweet little lady moves her house brick-by-brick

She talks like it's no biggie. You have to respect her casual grit

Pretty interesting, and the old man is well spoken:

• They shouted the moment they had to go over the trenches, and kept shouting as they ran. It was the only way to overcome the fear
• Initially rations were hard in the early days, due to both Germans and British bombing each other's supply trucks. This then stopped by an unstated mutual agreement, and both sides let supply trucks through.
• Bodies could not be left out, rats would come and bite the living whilst they slept which lead to death by infection. Perhaps many undocumented deaths happened this way, given the sheer number of rats.
• 7 days leave was granted briefly at the beginning, but no one deserted. Loyalty was a big factor, but not to country, but to your troupe.
• No remorse for killing, it was kill or be killed.