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1960s: The story of Greta and her life at the Cadbury factory in 1960s Birmingham
The Bells of Bournville Green
What you need to know before your trail
Greta is only 17 but has never had a happy or stable family life. She has no father and her mother has an awful new boyfriend so Greta feels life hard and uncomfortable. Sister Marleen is missing. Her escape, in fact her only escape comes in the form of work where she spends her time at the Cadbury factory in Birmingham where she has many friends and is popular with the boys.
But then her missing sister returns during the icy cold winter of 1962 and Greta decides she needs to escape if she is to have any chance of living the life she wants to lead. A new life leads to new tragedy however and so Greta must face up to one of the biggest challenges of her life.
Travel Guide
This story continues that of Chocolate Girls, but set later on in 1960s Birmingham.
In ‘The Bells of Bournville Green’ we see the return of the ‘Chocolate Girls, with the focus on Greta, Ruby’s daughter. Greta now is working in the chocolate factory and is grateful for a job in a place where she has work, purpose and friends.
Cadbury through the ages and the changes compared to the Those in Ruby’s Generation for example are interesting. The factory, the way chocolate is made and the way the factory is run (modernization and new products to name but two) are changes in a modern world.
“….wrapping machines for sixpenny bars of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk. One of their friends was on Chocolate buttons which had only been launched the year earlier”
When circumstances force her to leave however, life of a woman and her limited choices are detailed and evoked with style. Married women, lone pregnant women, in fact women in general did not have choices or freedom and the limited opportunities they did have were often not opportunities at all.
Many women would still see marriage as the only way out of their lives and despite women having more freedom in the workplace (they were allowed to stay on after marriage now) they are still relatively restricted. Other conditions are changing however as the pill is now an option instead of pregnancy so their lives are rather different from their mothers’
There is an interesting angle too with the Israeli family – David – a man experiencing a new country and a new identity and all the changes that come with both.
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Web: anniemurray.co.uk
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