The Fernhurst Society
Tales from the Archives - 47
Aunt Sally and the cabbage
Here's another of Nigel Headland's tales:
There was a character living in the village known as Union Jack (I think his name was Jack Miles). Although he was living down at Budgenor workhouse, he still used to come up occasionally and do odd jobs to try and scrounge pints and things. On one occasion he came into the Red Lion and asked for a pint. The publican, Mrs Sarah Woodhams known as Aunt Sally, wouldn't give him one. All the men in the bar were having him on chiding 'come on Sal, give the poor blighter a drink'. She was having none of it and said forcefully 'no, no, I'm not going to give him a pint' and shooed him out of the door, she could be quite fierce.
Ten minutes later he came back in with this enormous cabbage and said to her 'can I have a pint for this cabbage?' The men all chorused 'go on Sal, give him a pint', so she gave him a pint for the cabbage. At that time Aunt Sally had a companion living with her, Ruth. Anyway, old Ruth wanted to prepare the vegetables for lunch. She went down the garden and came back in haste shouting 'where's that cabbage I've been saving gone?'
If you would like to know more about this story, or research other local topics, the Archive is open on Tuesdays, 2.30-5pm in the Village Hall. Other times by arrangement.
Christine Maynard
Fernhurst ArchiveOne of a series of short articles bringing you some of the incidents from our rich village history. Collated by Christine Maynard, based on documents preserved at the Fernhurst Archives, these originally were published in the monthly Fernhurst News.
The Fernhurst Archives
Fernhurst History
