I think our mums probably told us these horrific stories to stop us wasting food. Sugar on ration, you couldn’t be seen just eating it, although bread and sugar was a good tea back then.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
I thought that was Yew trees, that was why they grew them in churchyards It was probably to stop the farmers using it for free grazing in the cemetery.
Yew trees are a bit more interesting than that. During Agincourt the English longbow which was made with yew and oak wood was awesome
"The massively powerful longbows were the medieval equivalent of modern machine guns. They could wound at four hundred yards, kill at two hundred and penetrate armour at one hundred yards."
To protect England and Wales Henry VIII ordered many oak and yew trees to be planted, but because yew trees were poisonous to cattle, they had to be grown in churchyards. I don't know the science, but the longbow was made using the characteristics from both woods, eg the yew because it was springy and oak because it was strong. The two woods made the longbow sort of jet propelled.
My nan, born 1920 and only died last year aged 102, had many wives tales. NEVER eat an apple pip, otherwise a tree will grow inside you! NEVER eat a cherry pip- because it will lodge in your appendix! NEVER swallow chewing gum as it will stick your intestines together!
My mother is mid 70's- and to this day, is paranoid about eating fruit seeds!
The only fruit I had as a child was a few cherries when in season, the G grocer would pick out the doubles so I could use them for earrings first. With times hard and money scarce, fruit was considered a luxury.
I’m just here putting away my Tesco order, there’s a pineapple lots of grapes apples clementines and bananas.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Old wives’ tales. A man in our village died after eating tomatoes with the seeds still in them. They bunged up his appendix and did for him. All the local housewives dutifully picked out the seeds after that. 🙂
That's where I get it from!!! As a child (in Sheffield) I was only given tomatoes without seeds, still can't eat the seeds today. And rhubarb. I was told you can only eat the red bit because the green bit of the stalk was poisonous.
Same with us @Lyn - fruit was a luxury and not something we could just help ourselves to when we felt like it. I think many of us have heard the apple pip one!
I'm sure my mum always peeled apples when we were little. I can't remember the reasoning behind that. Probably thought the skin was too tough for our delicate little tummies. My older daughter used to eat the entire apple - core and all.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I was informed when I got married,not to give my husband a meal with both pork and rhubarb e.g. roast pork dinner followed by rhubarb cobbler for instance Apparently if I did he would get worms . Mad !
I thought that was Yew trees, that was why they grew them in churchyards It was probably to stop the farmers using it for free grazing in the cemetery.
I always assumed it was the berries growing after people ate them and died
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
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"The massively powerful longbows were the medieval equivalent of modern machine guns. They could wound at four hundred yards, kill at two hundred and penetrate armour at one hundred yards."
To protect England and Wales Henry VIII ordered many oak and yew trees to be planted, but because yew trees were poisonous to cattle, they had to be grown in churchyards. I don't know the science, but the longbow was made using the characteristics from both woods, eg the yew because it was springy and oak because it was strong. The two woods made the longbow sort of jet propelled.
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
NEVER eat an apple pip, otherwise a tree will grow inside you!
NEVER eat a cherry pip- because it will lodge in your appendix!
NEVER swallow chewing gum as it will stick your intestines together!
My mother is mid 70's- and to this day, is paranoid about eating fruit seeds!
With times hard and money scarce, fruit was considered a luxury.
And rhubarb. I was told you can only eat the red bit because the green bit of the stalk was poisonous.
I think many of us have heard the apple pip one!
I'm sure my mum always peeled apples when we were little. I can't remember the reasoning behind that. Probably thought the skin was too tough for our delicate little tummies. My older daughter used to eat the entire apple - core and all.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”