Women, Neighbours & Medicine– part 4/7 of “In the Same Boat”, (1990)

Description

As so many of the men went to sea and worked for many months at a time away from home, the families in Barry came to depend very heavily on the women, who became emotionally strong out of necessity. The economic struggles drew people together, leading neighbours to rely on each other and offer help in every circumstance, especially when all parts of life (including births, weddings and funerals) occurred within the confines of a single street.
Without money to pay for a visiting doctor, people very often practised their home medicines, and struggled through illness by depending on those who lived nearby.
Leeches too, were a common remedy, available to buy from a jar in the chemist’s.
“In the Same Boat”, 1990
Oral history interviews with residents of Barry, discussing the cultural development and many diverse aspects of society from the beginning of the 20th Century until 1990. This short film has been divided into 7 parts, each of which deals with a different aspect of life in Barry’s society.
Interviewees:
Phyllis Caldwell, Maureen Flipse, Pini Hicks, Violet Jones, Frossini Moran, Johnny Palmer, Gwen Payne, Elsie Phipps, Betty Pring and Ronnie Smith.