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Those prices would increase a little further in the new year, it is interesting to read the mention of offal, it remained very much in demand for so many throughout the first half of the twentieth century, particularly in wartime.

djb wrote: From the diary of William Watson, Ladysmith, November 1899:

December 24th - Christmas eve. No shells about so far, the rebels are, or pretend to be religious, so they don’t fight on Sunday. — Cigarettes formerly 3 pence a packet, now cost 3 shillings. — Small tins condensed milk formerly cost 5 pence now they cost 3 shillings. — Tobacco cost 3 shillings a pound, formerly the price was 1/3 a pound. — Offal such as sheep’s heads, bullock’s liver, hearts etc. now in much request.

1899 - From the diary of Major George Tatham, Natal Carbineers

Heavy musketry and pom-poms fire all day on Helpmakaar Post. Weather exceedingly not, nothing of consequence to relate. Patrols etc. going on as usual.

1899 - Diary of the siege of Mafeking by Edward Ross

Sunday, 24 December

Tomorrow being a weekday we do not know if the Boers will hold it as a Sunday, so that under these circumstances the military authorities have issued an order that today is to be kept up as Christmas Day.

The Gymkhana Club are going to have some sports on the recreation ground.

A large Christmas tree for the children has been arranged to be held in the Masonic Hall this afternoon, under the auspices of the Colonel and Lady Sarah Wilson. This eventually passed off very successfully, about 250 youngsters each getting some little present, and going home in a highly delighted state. Great credit is due to Lady Sarah for the keen interest she took in the matter.

Two runners arrived from the north this morning, but they brought in no fresh news, their latest date being the 25th November, exactly a month old. It must have been exactly the opposite with the enemy, and they must have received some good news, as right up to late last night they could be heard in the brickfields shouting, cheering, and hurrahing in a very excited state.

I am sorry to say a very regrettable accident occurred this afternoon. A man named Hooper, who was in charge of one of the Maxims on the east side of the town, was showing his gun to some townspeople and it must either have been that he was slightly inebriated, or possibly forgetting it was Sunday, he fired a round out of the gun; both our outposts and the enemy’s, up the river, were walking about in full view of one another when the Maxim went off, and the speed with which both made a rush down their trenches and grabbed their rifles was remarkable.

The Mafeking Hotel arranged a Christmas dinner today and the menu was really a remarkable production considering the complications surrounding us and their inability to get what was required. A very pleasant evening was spent, everybody trying to forget there was such a thing as Boers and guns in the world, and as a matter of fact, I think a good many were artificially compelled to forget these things.