These are responses to a competition advertised in the local paper in 1937, which asked for correspondents to describe how they would spend their ideal holiday. The responses were collected for a Masss Observation book on holidays, as yet not produced. Documents from the past are innately poignant;even the the idiosyncracies of the typewriter used to transcribe these letters adds a filter of pathos. The letters written by, and the information gathered from the mill workers of Bolton repeatedly express the simple desire to holiday in a quiet place, away from the sound of the mill machinery. They also talk frequently about the worry of the holiday, knowing that when you return to work that you and your family will have to manage for a week with no pay at all. The Mass Observers specifically asked the people of Bolton if they could imagine a time when they would receive pay for their holiday week: most people answered that it was inconceivable.
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