The Big Picture
Nurses stir a Christmas pudding at Guy’s Hospital in Southwark, Central London, November 1938
Nurses stir a Christmas pudding at Guy’s Hospital in Southwark, Central London, November 1938
During this pandemic we have been reminded of the value of our key workers, including the nurses who work so hard on their patients’ behalf. This was no less true in 1938, when these nurses were photographed in the kitchen at Guy’s, a teaching hospital founded in 1721. Christmas puddings are traditionally made on Stir-up Sunday, five Sundays before Christmas, with whole families helping to mix the ingredients. The name comes from the Book of Common Prayer which, for that Sunday, has the line “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people”. A reminder for families to get their pudding ready!