daily_life [Echoes]

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====== Life In Little Avoning ======

>Even when empty, the Toasty Mink resonates with the the sound of cheers and chatter -- a haze of many a night spent celebrating. 

Echoes is set in 1810. This is a period of significant industrial transition. Larger cities have already been industrializing rapidly, but the changes were only just starting to affect those living in more rural towns like Little Avoning. Little Avoning is at the precipice of just such a change. The [[smithy|Smithy]] has been around for a couple decades, but by the standards of the community is still very new, and ever expanding. There’s also discussion of a new railway line that would bring more people in – and out – of the rural market town. The people of Little Avoning hold a variety of opinions on this change, seeing both the possibilities it offers and the fact that it will, inevitably, change their way of life. 


==== The Era ====


1810 is in the middle of what is usually called the “Regency” period – when the Crown Prince was regent for King George III due to mental illness. However, the people of Little Avoning are not the kind of people who would usually figure in historical fiction about the regency. They are not nobility or landed gentry, they do not travel to London or seek to marry their daughters to earls. While they’d probably know who the King is, the regency is distant gossip that doesn’t dramatically affect their lives. The early 19th century is a period of significant wealth disparity in England, but Little Avoning shows little signs of it: its inhabitants are neither wealthy landowners or the poor of industrial cities, and they form a sort of pre-industrial middle class. The town is not devoid of poverty but most people, while not wealthy, get along just fine. Protestant christianity is the main religion, but represents a relatively unimportant backdrop to life in this town. 


==== The Town ====

Little Avoning is, by the standards of its time, a large market town with a population of about 10,000 (although it would feel small by modern standards – it is approximately equivalent in size to modern Thame). It is in a rural area, serving as the commercial hub for a number of farming villages in the surrounding area. Most of the inhabitants are merchants or craftspeople, and there’s no clear distinction between the residential district and the commercial district – most people live above their places of work, or run cottage industries from their homes. The town is old, as are many of the buildings. 

==== Clothing ====

The clothing of people in Little Avoning is for the most part practical and homemade. Masculine clothing usually involves a coat, breeches, and stockings, along with sturdy boots and “smock-frocks” (which look a lot like linen raincoats). Feminine clothing includes a shift, then tied on pockets and stays, covered by a practical dress (and maybe an apron), and topped with a bonnet. Hats are common for everyone out of doors. **Please note that while dressing up is encouraged it is by no means required and we are absolutely //not// expecting costuming to be even a little period accurate – this information is only provided for those curious!** If you’d like advice on costuming, please see [[uptime|the uptime page]].

==== Travel and Communication ====

Travel and communication with the outside world is slow and costly, so a very few people may have travelled to a couple towns over but not much further. However, there is a bustling trade with the large nearby city, Leeds, facilitated by water transport on the river on which Little Avoning sits. Trade includes both goods produced by the people of the town and the surrounding farmers, and the products of the Chartwell & Bryce Ironworks.

==== Local Politics ====

Technically, a lot of the land in and around Little Avoning are owned by a local landowning family, who also serve a pastoral role in the community, but they are rarely seen in the town and the inhabitants of Little Avoning do not have much contact with them. Little Avoning is run by a Mayor – with the consent of the landowners. There’s no police as such – the concept has only just been introduced in larger cities – but there is a local constable responsible for maintaining public order, and a magistrate to serve as a judge. Community policing (yelling “stop thief” and expecting everyone else to help in stopping the thief) is common. 

==== Society ====

Little Avoning also has a lively social scene and strong community spirit. The Little Avoning Rose Festival is a major annual staple of community life, but it is far from the only time the townsfolk get together. Friendly sports games are often played (if not by rules we would recognize today). People gather to drink, dance, play cards, and play music in the local pub, the Toasty Mink. Occasionally touring shows travel through the town. For the introverted, books are occasionally imported; only about half of people can read in this period, but the rate is higher in towns, so a slim majority of people in Little Avoning can read at least a little. 


//“The Time Traveller’s Guide to Regency Britain” by Ian Mortimer was frequently referenced in the writing of this page.//