Many striking miners' wives themselves worked, and their wages were vital to their households. Carole Hancock, from Sheffield, worked as a home help; in Maltby, Maggie Stubbs worked as a nurse. Some women, like Linda Chapman, from Washington, Tyne and Wear, increased their hours because of the strike. Others had small children, and, like Alison Anderson, couldn't work. In Barnsley, Mandy Slater and her husband had a smallholding, and in South Wales, Tanya Dower's father started making his own wine. Making ends meet was not easy for any of these women during the strike, even if they were getting support from soup kitchens and food parcels. At Christmas, though, many were amazed at the outpouring of generosity shown to miners and their families, and many, like Aggie Currie, remembered it as a happy Christmas despite the hardship.