I live fairly near to Eyam, the plague village in Derbyshire. One of their leaflets says the following
"Ring-a-ring of roses, A pocket full of posies, Atishoo, atishoo, We all fall down. This children's nursery rhyme is a reminder of the plague. The ring of roses refers to the body rash : the pocket full of posies were the nosegays or bunches of herbs carried to ward off the disease. The sneezing was a symptom of the disease which, once caught, would lead to falling down dead" Hope this helps Edith North Nottinghamshire [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
