Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Sally Howard

‘Inferior port, bad salads and hangovers’: newly discovered 1935 diary offers invaluable view of England’s festive past

Passengers enjoy Christmas dinner on a London Midland & Scottish train in 1935
Passengers enjoy Christmas dinner on a London, Midland and Scottish train in 1935. Photograph: Fox Photos/Getty Images

On 23 December 1935, a woman called “Mouse” set off from her home in Earl’s Court in search of Christmas in England.

“In some remote corner of this island there must be a shining blazing hearth, beams laden with holly and mistletoe, and bustling happiness when the turkey and the plum pudding are cooking away in the big, old fashioned oven,” Mouse writes of her festive road trip in a diary that has been bought at auction by the Dorset History Centre with funding from charitable organisation Dorset Archives Trust – and is an invaluable source for social historians.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.