Lancashire folk tale (almost on topic here):

A couple of hundred years ago, the harvest failed in the area around Grange over Sands in NW Lancashire. The small supply they had ran out early in the winter, and being poor, they had no way of buying in more.

So the vicar gathered everyone together in the church, and they prayed for relief.

That night, a fearsome storm blew up, and in the night the cry went up "A ship is aground!". The sandbanks around Morecambe Bay are fearsome in the daylight, but the villagers knew them well, and their heroic efforts eventually brought the crew ashore safe and sound.

As soon as it was light, the whole village set to to salveage the ship's cargo. It turned out to be mostly dried peas, which were gratefully hauled ashore. The village was saved from starvation, and that winter became known as Pea Soup Year.

The opinions of the neighbours are not recorded.

Paul Burke