Living in the past - Iron Age

[moolie]

I didn't hear "bland" about the food, only "boring"--I thought they meant monotonous, because they ate the same every day. Interesting comments 30 years on, seems like the project really made an impact on everyone who participated. Would have been great to have caught up with the Ainsworths, particularly the children.

Another excellent series, even better than Victorian and Edwardian, is Tales from the Green Valley. It's the first project that Ruth, Fonz and Alex did together, along with 2 other experts named Stuart and Chloe. It's the first one of the series we watched, and I actually missed the larger team when I saw the later 2 series.

Sweet! Thanks for linking to that.
I had never been able to find that online!

It was one of the "related videos" down the side of the screen as I watched Living in the Past. I was never able to find it online till now, and actually ordered the British DVDs (we have friends in England who got them for us). It's an awesome series

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

I didn't hear "bland" about the food, only "boring"--I thought they meant monotonous, because they ate the same every day. Interesting comments 30 years on, seems like the project really made an impact on everyone who participated. Would have been great to have caught up with the Ainsworths, particularly the children.

Another excellent series, even better than Victorian and Edwardian, is Tales from the Green Valley. It's the first project that Ruth, Fonz and Alex did together, along with 2 other experts named Stuart and Chloe. It's the first one of the series we watched, and I actually missed the larger team when I saw the later 2 series.

Sweet! Thanks for linking to that.
I had never been able to find that online!

It was one of the "related videos" down the side of the screen as I watched Living in the Past. I was never able to find it online till now, and actually ordered the British DVDs (we have friends in England who got them for us). It's an awesome series

ummm, its still just a preview

 

[Henrietta23]

Anything here help?

http://www.petersommer.com/travel-writing/bbc-green-valley-tales-article/

 

[Leta]

Wow, all these nifty links...

I think I may have reached a tipping point here, where it makes me less productive instead of more. But I just cannot miss shows like this.

 

[moolie]

Sweet! Thanks for linking to that.
I had never been able to find that online!

It was one of the "related videos" down the side of the screen as I watched Living in the Past. I was never able to find it online till now, and actually ordered the British DVDs (we have friends in England who got them for us). It's an awesome series

ummm, its still just a preview

Ah, bummer--sorry to get your hopes up, I though the page linked to all 12 episodes?

 

[Emerald]

I've seen several of the PBS "House" series..
Frontier house
Colonial house
Manor house
1940's house
I think that one was set in the 1800 somethings too.
and Iron Age village.
There were a couple more but I just can't think of them off hand.
My favorite was the Frontier house but I liked the others as well and sat watching the Iron Age village one thru the night as it was a marathon and I don't sleep well anyway.
I know it is easy to sit here and think of the things they did wrong or what they could have done other than what they were doing but not being right there with them.. you never know.
But the Frontier family that started running out of food.. All I could think, while they were standing next to the creek is -there are cattails right there and probably crayfish and fish and all the herbs and plants like dandelions that were right there! And when he cut dry and dead grass for winter hay for his stock,, all I could think was... if you don't cut it green and dry it there is not gonna be much nutrition for the animals..
They finally dug a root cellar near the end of the show.
I'd like to see more of these series but PBS has no plans on making more.
Like the Great Plains Indians and how they lived or The great depression(well the Waltons kinda covered that).
But thanks for the links.. was thinking of going to PBS and just buying the DVD collections.

 

[Britesea]

I'm not buying the bland food thing either. Surely someone could have learned how to forage for herbs/berries/etc and such in the area.

Also, didn't they have a henhouse? Surely the hens would create enough eggs to make variety a little better.

I agree with you on the herbs etc. But until fairly recently, chickens were like most wild fowl- laying their eggs in the spring and summer only. It was only with selective breeding that the hens that can lay 350 eggs a year came into being.

 

[ORChick]

I'm not buying the bland food thing either. Surely someone could have learned how to forage for herbs/berries/etc and such in the area.

Also, didn't they have a henhouse? Surely the hens would create enough eggs to make variety a little better.

I agree with you on the herbs etc. But until fairly recently, chickens were like most wild fowl- laying their eggs in the spring and summer only. It was only with selective breeding that the hens that can lay 350 eggs a year came into being.

You have to remember also that this all took place in England. You know, source of one of the world's shortest books: "English Gourmet Cooking" Why should it have been any different either in the Bronze Age or in the 1970's? OK, don't kick me . I have actually a great fondness for England and the whole of the British Isles and Ireland, and have eaten some good food there. And I didn't catch any reference to bland food either, just boring. For 20th century tastes I'm sure it was, even if they scrounged some herbs. On the whole I quite enjoyed the series.

 

[Wifezilla]

My grandma Marge was one of the worst cooks on the planet. We recently did a geneology and discovered she was English. It explained everything

 

[Britesea]

Now boring, I can agree with. Remember the nursery rhyme "Pease porridge hot, Pease porridge cold, Pease porridge in the pot, Nine days old"