Poor as a church mouse…

WidWed’s theme is soft organic from nature but I couldn’t find anything to suit the theme in town which is where I had to be today. So instead I used the saying of the day I’d chosen as my blip. Poor as a church mouse. The pic and extra shows mice for sale in the Town Church where we had a cake and chat meet up this before I headed up the road for the community roast.

The phrase "poor as a church mouse" originates from the fact that in 17th-century England, churches were primarily used for religious services and didn't offer much food for the mice that might live in them. Churches typically didn't have kitchens or other facilities with food storage, making life difficult for any mice residing within. 

The phrase is thought to have been influenced by older expressions in German and French, suggesting a long-standing concept of poverty. Some also point to the fact that Catholic and Orthodox priests are taught to avoid any crumbs of the Eucharist falling to the ground, further reducing the likelihood of food for mice. 
This phrase seems to be a corruption of the even earlier expression “as quiet as a church mouse” from the 1300s.