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Kindheartedness

Ellen had a lot of experience in washing nappies, six bairns in less than eight years. William 
Chapman had a lot to answer for. Everyone knew, or thought they knew, what poor Ellen had 
to put up with. His drinking, his womanizing, and, some said, his violent behaviour towards his 
uncomplaining wife. 

The other women in the village tried to lighten her load without appearing to pity her. That 
would never do. 

Grace, Isobel, and even Nancy left bits of worn soap and washing soda by the scrubbing 
board, and with Ellen being fourth in line, very often there was a good full boiler already 
warmed with her neighbour’s coal. Most miners’ wives had plenty coal, but Chappie was not 
above selling his allowance for beer money.

The van men from the local co-op store were also heroes in this respect. Davie the butcher 
always made sure that the soup bones Ellen bought had more than the required amount of 
meat still clinging to them. Her half pound of mince got another dollop after it had been 
weighed and the odd sausage found its way into her meagre purchases. Then there was 
Jimmy the baker who... accidentally... squashed some bread so it was not fit to sell. Ellen’s 
brood did not mind squashed bread, it went well with the very slightly overripe bananas from 
Ben McCabe the fruit man. 
~~~~~~~~~~~



Not sure if this will qualify as a poem on kindheartedness but kindheartedness is what it was 
in the 1940s

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