A great deal has happened to change the lives of women living in the countryside since 1960 when this book was last published, and it is fascinating to note the changes. But we have also lost or forgotten so many rural skills and pleasures. Following the four seasons, here are dozens of different tasks and hobbies covered in this 1960 WI Country Woman's Year book:
- cider and mead-making
- indoor bulb planting
- public speaking
- making Christmas decorations
- Durham quilting
- flower arranging basics
- wallpapering
- smocking
- painting for pleasure
-- and of course jam-making!
Six decades on, modern readers may no longer wish to live like their countryside sisters of two generations ago, but they will be struck by the happy gusto with which the then-450,000 members of the WI went about enjoying their busy country lives throughout the year.
