We are on the fens looking over our sheep. They are suffering some hoof rot, for which sulfur and herb packs will be provided. These sheep are from a drier clime than this and do not have properly-hardened hoofs. Also, perhaps their soil was more acid; this soil is chalk soil and quite alkaline.

Some stone houses are to be built to show the locals how to construct a warm, safe dwelling using mud-covered stone. If chinked and grown to grass, a dwelling is very cozy and durable. Here there are many a mixture of wood and stone and liable to disrepair quite soon after

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building. It is quite damp here and wood does not last.

There are many local foods that are being more employed. Hedgeberries will be gathered and dried this year for next winter, at our suggestion. They are very healthy for winter and keep one warm.

The children are quite open to eating new foods and will be well employed to test the palatability of that which is prepared. We wish to see all fare the winter well now and will employ some of the ancient methods of preparation and storage.

One method introduced here will be the storage of food sealed under a layer of fat, in stone jars and earthen bowls. One can store a great variety of food under fat. Also, salt will be more employed for preservation of vegetables, meats and eggs. We make a dish like your sauerkraut employing root vegetables cut up and salted until brined and pickled. Our people grow more healthy each year with our winter food storage methods.

Our winters are colder than they have been in many decades and food storage and warm clothing are very necessary to our survival. We are making padded clothing and more woolens to keep us cozy.

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We set fires more this year in the castle and have made giant woolen curtains and brush barriers to keep out the cold. It is much warmer inside this winter and we are much more content.

(*

We wish to describe out dress of the time. Perhaps it would be useful for you to know someday. Our first garment, next the skin, was a soft linen or wool tunic, with sleeves, and usually only to the knees. Women also wore this garment, but cut shorter and deeper at the neck.

Over the tunic we, the brothers, wore a grey or brown robe, sometimes with a hood. In cold weather we also wore trousers or leggings and under the robe a waist-length woolen sweater knit of heavy wool. In summer we wore a shirt and trousers and carried a cloak or cape for warmth. We wore simple leather clogs on our feet and sometimes a knit or leather cap. Men habitually carried a walking-staff also, as did we.

The valley people wore a variety of dress as time went by, as they came from many origins. Mostly the men wore trousers and shirts with capes or cloaks and sometimes a sleeved coat, hats, and shoes. The women wore shirts and blouses and also used cloaks or capes, almost never caps or hats, except for a light cloth headdress to protect

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from sun. Some wore one-piece dresses, but this was not common. They wore aprons over their dresses, at work in the fields as well as at home. They often tied on several in the morning, one over another, and removed them as they became soiled or were inappropriate for the duty.

Children dressed much the same as their parents, though with more embroidery and more variety in dress. Much was lavished on their garments and these were often stored and handed on to other children. They wore a variety of knit and woven sweaters, capes, leggings, and cloaks.

Jewelry was practically non-existent. Except for an occasional ring, one did not see much adornment of this sort. Occasionally a woman or child had pierced ears and wore earrings, but rarely. What gems there were in our area were used for adornment of religious articles in the churches and chapels. Gems were also used in medicaments and poultices.

As man’s spirits restored themselves, his old way of using hats and shoes to express his changes reoccurred and an amusing variety of headgear again sprang up. There were hats with tassels and tails and artificial birds, worn by the men, not the women.

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We had a good variety of fabrics to choose from – some linen, silk, wool, and many varieties of colors and patterns as time went by. We no longer had to weave our own cloth after a time but began to receive in rich goods from Italy, India, China and other areas of the Isles. Toward the end of my life there was truly a wondrous variety from which you would find it difficult to choose.

(*

You are wondering how we appeared to have the threads of wealth still within our culture. There were stores of fabrics and gems left from the Death. There was comparatively more wealth per person than before because of the diminished numbers.

Due to inheritance and abandonment there were stores of goods available, though not necessarily what was needed, as the children’s fine garments.

(* )

There are many more people in the valley this year. We have immigrants from areas that have not fared as well as ours and who have heard of how our people are beginning to prosper.

In other areas of Europe there are groups similar to ours but none others that we are aware of in our part of the British Isles. The monasteries are carrying on

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programs of aid but where ours especially succeeds is in teaching new methods of farming and new trades and skills.

There are many gum diseases and skin diseases prevalent. Something is missing in our nutrition, or it is the lingering result of disease and starvation. We administer tea made of willow and inner bark of some spring trees. The children do not seem to be as much affected as the adults. The few babies are faring well, probably because they are nursed.

Our animals are doing well; they suffer some deficiencies but we are able to care for them. We are easily able to store feed for them.

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We have a metallurgist in our group; he is versed in working with metals from gold to iron – he studied and apprenticed on the Continent. He is a very desirable fellow for us as there is no one in the valley left with that skill. He sets his people to learning to cast tools and pots. They make hubs and axles and the binding for wheels, eventually.

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Emery was versed in the use of herbs for treatment of ailments, both of humans and of animals. He was often able to affect a cure. Basil was conversant with common medicine, though he disdained its practice, he at least

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knew when it was worth applying.

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We are having a lovely, sunny summer in the Isles. For some reason, our harsh winters are followed by sunny, beautiful springs and summers, much dryer than usual. We surely welcome the sunshine but it is a bit hard on some crops, particularly the flax. We are able to mulch the garden crops and the grain fares well on the moisture left in the soil from the melting snow; the roots follow the moisture down.

Children and animals seem to be healthier with more sun; they seem to make extra growth and winter better than in our usually half-rainy, cloudy summers.

More vigorous trade is beginning. Small caravans from the north are coming through to examine and purchase some of our wares. They are particularly impressed by our raw linen and iron pots. They do not have much money yet with which to purchase stock and will be back next year, fatter and richer.

Some of the surrounding areas have seen our plaids and woven woolen goods and have sought instruction. We are happy to send a teacher. Emery will winter in the vale, encamped in a large old house where he will tide the time with weaving lessons for all who wish to come from the surrounding areas. There are several young people, girls

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and lads, who will assist him, whom he has well-instructed.

As our prosperity slowly increases, the tax collector returns. We have scarce money but have sent some goods as payment. The effort is not well-organized and the king’s and duke’s men are often led astray and do not have a clear view of things.

(*

Even in these stark times there were still servants. Their life was not what you imagine; they were often like a member of the family and carried out a great variety of duties.

In some families the women servants were like mothers to some families, shopping, caring for children with love. The men were often choremen, doing routine chores and maintenance. Servanthood was a legitimate form of education in which the simple people learned the ways of the next higher class. It served a need for employment and improved a way of life for many. Many families counted themselves blessed to have their members in the service of others.

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