11-13 Yrs Non Fiction

Popping the Weasel – A History of Spending and Lending in England

Under Research

Synopsis

Retail Therapy, Sport, Fashion and Pop Music are the major drains on the finances of the young in 21st Century England, and when we can’t afford what we want, we borrow.  When we’re at school we tap up mum and dad, and when we’re at work we use plastic money.

Nothing stops us buying what we want today, but when the first British pound came into being, many things influenced what we could do with our money.  During the very frequent occasions when our country was dealing with war, plague, changes in monarchy, fear and oppression greatly governed how we were able to live.

From the days of Henry II, the first man to call himself King of England, when a chicken cost a penny.  If you borrowed in those days and couldn’t repay the debt, you risked losing a hand or the lower half of your leg, or sometimes even your life. 

This learning without noticing potted history takes snap shots of buying and borrowing from the middle of the 12th Century.  Taking a look at what was happening in England century by century, what we were wearing, what we could get for our money, the games we played and the music we listened to, right through to credit cards and internet buying. 

Popping the Weasel and Stoat, or Sunday best coat, originated in Cockney Rhyming Slang, borrowing on Monday to pay back on Saturday; the same game has been played since ancient Mesopotamia and is still being repeated.