by John Glover
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Episode 22: "Godfrey's Cordial" (May 18th 1998 4.40pm)
Yaxley
Farcett relaxed in the armchair as Anne Worthington continued with her rehearsal
for a talk she was to give the Banham Historical Society, 'Opium Eating in
the Fens'. She took a sip from a glass of water and began...
'The so called 'Fen Syndrome' has a history that begins in the nineteenth
century. In those days, many farm labourers took cold 'poppy tea' with them
to work for their 'Dockey' which, for those of you who don't know, is the
Fenland term for a mid morning break. This tea would probably have kept them
stupified for most of the day and would have been produced from opium poppies
grown in their own back gardens. A Doctor who wrote a book based on his
experiences of working in this area said that he believed the tea was the
cause of the amount of feeble minded people to be found in the Fens.
Until 1868 when the Pharmacy Act was passed, opium could be bought from Chemists,
Grocers, Drapers, Bootmenders, Iron Mongers or a Bakers. One of the common
ways of taking the opium was in a tincture called, 'Godfrey's Cordial'. The
origin of that quaint name is unknown, but I suspect and my friend Mrs. Laurie
Robertson backs me up on this, is that it's a play on "God's Free Cordial'.
Well, I know enough of you refer to Water as 'God's Wine'...' At this
point, Mrs.Worthington looked embarassedly at Yaxley Farcett. 'Ooh. I don't
mean you love" Yaxley smiled. 'I can see you're getting into this. Pretend
I'm a packed Village Hall; two hundred eager amateur historians hanging on
your every word. I know I am' he said encouragingly.
Anne Worthington peered at her notes and continued...'After the 1868 act
was passed, Chemists were able to carry on
selling opium
as they had complained that a ban would cause them 'financial hardship'!
During the 1800's Chemists kept stocks of up to forty gallons of Godfrey's
Cordial which they willingly dispensed to the addicts of The Isle of Ealham,
Wisbech, March, Chatteris, Littleport and all the associated hamlets and
Droves. But I'm sure the good folk of Barnham never touched the stuff' she
added with a very cheeky, thought Yaxley, grin....'And ' finished Mrs.Worthington
' this was a hundred years before Grange Hill and 'Just say No!'
At this point Yaxley held up his hand and asked her a question. 'Did any
of your old relations ever tell you about any of this stuff ?' Anne picked
up the cassette from her desk. It was the recording of her husband John's
Grandmother, Joan, that she had made years before. 'Well, on this tape she
hints that her mother in law had been a bit of an amateur Nurse in regard
to the 'quietening' of children. If any of the women came to work on the
land and hadn't got anywhere to put their kids, Joan said that Old Millie
would see to them and make sure their mum's could get a full day's work done
on the land. Joan reckons that Millie kept her own stocks of Godfrey's Cordial
here on the farm somewhere. She could tell what was coming with the new laws
being passed so she kept some by for the future, being a bit of a wily old
woman by all accounts' Yaxley found this hard to comprehend. It certainly
clashed with his image of drug dealers looking like extras in an episode
of 'Miami Vice'. An old woman in a cardigan and wearing fingerless mittens
with a stock pile of Category A drugs took some imagining...
The prologue -
Episode One -
Episode 2 -
Episode 3 -
Episode 4 -
Episode 5 -
Episode 6 -
Episode 7 -
Episode 8 -
Episode 9 -
Episode 10 -
Episode 11-
Episode 12 -
Episode 13 -
Episode 14 -
Episode 15 -
Episode 16 -
Episode 17 -
Episode 18 -
Episode 19 -
Episode 20 -
Episode 21 -
Episode 23 -
Cast List and Epsidode Index
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