Ffynh 6L

The outstanding fact about many of these homes was that the men in them appeared to have higher standards of personal cleanliness than those reflected by their living conditions. It seemed,very largely, their women folk who had lost all pride in personal appearance and the appearance of the home. Men folks were obliged to go out of doors, even if only to the Employment Exchange; this was a reason for washing and dressing up. The women had not this incentive. Their outings extended little beyond the small shops at the corner of the street, and to these they could ‘slip-down’ without washing. To them there seemed little point in washing the children, as they just got dirty anyway. All this is highly regrettable and, quite apart from unemployment and bad housing conditions, many of the women, even if given the opportunity and money for improved standards, would find it an exceedingly difficult task to breakaway from their acquired habits. But we must face the fact that to live constantly on a depressed standard of living, where life is a hand-to-mouth existence, is, except for the bravest souls, to experience the bitterness of defeat.

(Pilgrim Trust,Men Without Work, Cambridge,1938 [Tip: daliwch Ctrl a chliciwch dolen i'w agor mewn tab newydd. (Cuddio tip)] )