The humble hop cone once offered thousands of underpriviledged Londoners the annual chance to leave the City's smog in August and September, migrate to the healthier countryside and live happily for six or seven weeks in near squalor, whilst sleeping on straw-filled palliasses crawling with mice, earwigs and spiders and cook their dinners on open fires - even in the pouring rain. Apart from this type of escape there was little opportunity of a break for many city dwellers. When mechainisation took over the holidays stopped, and so did the chance to earn extra money for Christmas and clothes for a growing family. This fascinating collection, compiled from memories of former hop pickers and their families, is Hilary Heffernan's fifth book about the annual hop. It will provide a reflective read to those who were involved in hop picking and those who would like to learn more.

Before the advent of machines in the late 1950s, hop-picking was undertaken by an army of people, many of whom saw the countryside only during these four to six weeks of picking. It was work and a way of earning some much needed extra money, but it was also their annual holiday, an opportunity to which they looked forward all year. For the 'home-dwellers' (the people local to the farms) it meant extra work, sometimes unpaid and always hard. This fascinating and informative collection of reminiscences has been compiled using the contributors' own words. It captures the lives of the hop-pickers in every detail, from the preparation and anticipation before departure, through the epic journeys to the hopfields and tiring work during the harvest, to the evenings and days off spent at the pub, round a fire or with the family. Throughout, the collection is brought to life by numerous anecdotes, both humorous and moving. Despite hardship and poverty, there is a deep-rooted nostalgia for a way of life that no longer exists. One-time hop-pickers miss the warm camaraderie, the open honesty and the satisfaction of working together for a common purpose: to harvest the hops. These emotions are all recorded here.

This fascinating collection of over 200 old photographs illustrates, in heart warming detail, the traditional working holiday of London EastEnders which was known, affectionately, as the 'Annual Hop'. As a welcome escape from the poor working and living conditions of the city the annual trip to Kent was for many families an important event. It was a chance to earn some extra money in the hop gardens but was also a 'community event' to be enjoyed for its opportunity to breathe country air and share open space for a while with friends and neighbours. The work was hard, especially in the extremes of weather, but most of those who went hopping remember those times fondly. The early part of the book sets the scene by showing examples of the working and living conditions that were typical of some parts of inner London in the first half of the century. The stark contrast between these views adn those taken in the fields of Kent in summer illustrates clearly why the Annual Hop was such an attractive prospect. The author has collected the stories of Hoppers from London and across Kent and has borrowed photographs from family albums as she travelled. The unique collection she has assembled forms a timely record of a traditional way of life that is gone forever. This intimate record of the hop-picking tradition will appeal to all ex-Hoppers and anyone who would like to see and hear more of this once important annual event.

This book is part of the Images of England series, which uses old photographs and archived images to show the history of various local areas in England, through their streets, shops, pubs, and people.