[rowlandwells]

I was looking on another site and I seen this photo of a gang of women standing  on the back of a farm  lorry going to harvest something or other they all looked very cheerful probably today health and safety officers would have done there nut but those where the days the days when women worked on the land I can remember as a boy going with my mother and others potato picking every one knew each other plenty laughing and joking

and I'm sure they where  giving the tractor driver some good old tales I remember the women used ware a scarf tied  round there heads like turbans the farmer use to collect the women from the village and they always ended up at the end of the day with a shopping bag of potatoes to take home for tea that was part and parcel of the job in those days so who ells remembers those long forgotten  years 

[Kleftiwallah]

Good afternoon rowlandwells,  I remember 'tattie howkin' with a gang of Polish disposesed persons.  A bottle of cold tea and a cheese sandwich in the bag.  The length of each persons section was marked out with twigs or branches stuck in the soil.

Grasping our wooden swills we set off, by lunchtime I was beat, but refreshed off we set again and towards the end of the day the Polish ladies were slowly reducing my section by moving the twigs. As you say, part of the payment was a bag of spuds, and as small/young as I was the farmer was always amazed how much I could lug away after a hard days 'tattie howkin'.          It was always sunny weather!

Cheers,  Tony

[mumofstig]

As a young mum, I used get me and toddler up early to make sandwiches, then to catch the mini-bus that came to the estate to pick up us soft fruit pickers. The babies and young children used to be looked after in the barn, while we picked. Good quality berries into baskets/boxes for the shops and squashed ones into our buckets to take home for jam making.

So not only did we earn some pin money for the days we worked, we also got lots fruit for jam as a bonus. Those were happy days 

[wighty]

I too have done spud picking as a teenager and strawberry picking for the farm that supplied Wimbledon.  This was when one daughter was at school and youngest at nursery.  Again, we were given fruit that couldn't be sold to take home.  I didn't make jam though, the girls got ice cream for tea with a strawberry 'mash' over the top.

[jaydig]

I remember being about six and going with our neighbour to a farm about two miles away to pick strawberries. We left for the fields at about six in the morning, walked to the farm, spent all day picking strawberries then walked home.  We all had a big safety pin on our tops and each tray of fruit that passed inspection warranted being given a token to fasten onto our pin. Each tray held about eight punnets and had to be finished off with "toppers" - big, juicy strawberries.  If memory serves me right every ten tokens were worth about half a crown. We used to pick the peas too.  Much easier than strawberries because we had to pull up the entire plant then strip it of pods while holding it upside.  Never did potatoes, though.  A bottle of water and a chunk of bread and dripping got us through the day.  Happy days!!

[Goosegirl]

What wonderful memories you all have. Never did it myself but my husband's auntie used to be a land girl and worked on a farm in Oxfordshire so I assume she did the same.