Crosswords9 mins ago
Back In Time For Dinner Bbc2
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Did anyone watch this programme at 8pm tonight? A family is "going back in time" by year through the 50s and 60s etc experiencing life as it was in those days, particularly in the kitchen and eating the food which was around then.
Tonight was the 50s - how pathetic - they didn't know how to open a tin with a tin opener??? What??? Also the teenage children said "Yuk" to bread and dripping - still a rare luxury in my house!! and to pilchards ..... the same brand are still around today and I regularly buy them. The mother tried to make a jelly which obviously was a disaster as it didn't set (why didn't she use less water if she was short of time?) She went next door to use their fridge (can't remember fridges around in the early 50s, all we had was a "meat safe" and we kept milk in a bucket of water. After I married in 1968 we didn't have a fridge until the following year) The family ate liver as if it was poison, and National Bread which was a staple part of the diet in those days (which looked perfectly acceptable but they pulled faces)
In the programme they said a high proportion of households watched the Queen's coronation on a TV - but as a child at Primary school we walked down in classes to see it at the local cinema as nobody I knew had a TV in 1953.
As the programme reached 1959 the Shadows hit "Dance On" was playing but I'm sure that came out in 1961?
Will be interesting to see what they make of the 1960s in next week's programme - OH and I were disputing facts, and shouting at the TV (Wrong! or good grief what's the matter with you, eat that up, get it down you mi lad!!! ) LOL ;)
Tonight was the 50s - how pathetic - they didn't know how to open a tin with a tin opener??? What??? Also the teenage children said "Yuk" to bread and dripping - still a rare luxury in my house!! and to pilchards ..... the same brand are still around today and I regularly buy them. The mother tried to make a jelly which obviously was a disaster as it didn't set (why didn't she use less water if she was short of time?) She went next door to use their fridge (can't remember fridges around in the early 50s, all we had was a "meat safe" and we kept milk in a bucket of water. After I married in 1968 we didn't have a fridge until the following year) The family ate liver as if it was poison, and National Bread which was a staple part of the diet in those days (which looked perfectly acceptable but they pulled faces)
In the programme they said a high proportion of households watched the Queen's coronation on a TV - but as a child at Primary school we walked down in classes to see it at the local cinema as nobody I knew had a TV in 1953.
As the programme reached 1959 the Shadows hit "Dance On" was playing but I'm sure that came out in 1961?
Will be interesting to see what they make of the 1960s in next week's programme - OH and I were disputing facts, and shouting at the TV (Wrong! or good grief what's the matter with you, eat that up, get it down you mi lad!!! ) LOL ;)
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We didn't have a front room, but my posh aunts did. We could buy milk from a shop and sometimes did if the milk had "turned" due to thundery weather. It was just over the road from us, a real dairy shop, all it sold was milk, butter, cheese, cream and eggs. If you wanted milk, at first you had to take your own jug or bottle and a jug or bowl for cream. later the milk and cream was sold in waxed cartons. The clotted cream was in a big tray and the lady would mark out a square with a huge metal spoon. eggs were sold in a paper bag, you could buy just one if you wanted it. Yoghurt and sour cream was unheard of.
The shop was beautiful, no refrigeration, all white marble shelves and counter and always cool in there.
On the outside of the shop, there was a huge terracotta cow's head and when the shop closed and was turned into offices, I remember hearing someone going past tell her child that the cow's head was there because the shop had been a butchers! I didn't correct her.
Delivered milk came from a different place, it was a chain of shops and delivery services called Express Dairies. The milk bill was paid on a Friday by putting out money with the empties. I though we were no end posh when we got one of those milk holders with the little clock on to say how many pints.
When we could afford a big enough joint for Sunday, cold meat and hot veg was a great treat on a Monday night. Monday was washing day so the meal had to be something quick and easy as Mum probably wouldn't have had time to go shopping. Big things like sheets and towels went off to a thing called the "bag wash" run by the local laundry. The washing was taken to the shop in a huge white sack and came back washed and mangled ready to be dried and ironed.
As I understand it, the actual meals were taken from a food survey done at the time, I wonder whether the person who kept the record would have assumed stuff like gravy so not written it down.
The shop was beautiful, no refrigeration, all white marble shelves and counter and always cool in there.
On the outside of the shop, there was a huge terracotta cow's head and when the shop closed and was turned into offices, I remember hearing someone going past tell her child that the cow's head was there because the shop had been a butchers! I didn't correct her.
Delivered milk came from a different place, it was a chain of shops and delivery services called Express Dairies. The milk bill was paid on a Friday by putting out money with the empties. I though we were no end posh when we got one of those milk holders with the little clock on to say how many pints.
When we could afford a big enough joint for Sunday, cold meat and hot veg was a great treat on a Monday night. Monday was washing day so the meal had to be something quick and easy as Mum probably wouldn't have had time to go shopping. Big things like sheets and towels went off to a thing called the "bag wash" run by the local laundry. The washing was taken to the shop in a huge white sack and came back washed and mangled ready to be dried and ironed.
As I understand it, the actual meals were taken from a food survey done at the time, I wonder whether the person who kept the record would have assumed stuff like gravy so not written it down.
I do not remember National bread, but mum used to bake her own which was delicious with honey, my mum had seven children at the time, a 15 bed house, no idea how she managed to clean it all, boil wash on a monday in "copper", we were always tidy and clean, only had baths twice a week, and we had "crust days" when we would eat the crusty end of a loaf, mine was Mondays, and loved it until she bought sliced white, yuk! No snacks as such but baked rusks for when we came out of school or a slice of cake, certainly were never allowed to help ourselves to any food. On a Thursday mum and dad went to the theatre so we had to squares of cadbury's choc and a boiled sweet for a treat. No TV, we listened to "Journey into Space" which teriffied me!
I don't remember the national loaf either but my sister (who much prefers wholemeal to white bread even now) does and remembers the disgustingness of it. My Mum didn't bake bread, as I said the gas pressure would have been an issue, also the size of the oven and the amount of manual effort involved for such a small return. We had bread and cakes from the local baker, he would slice the bread for you if asked, and yes, you always had to ask "please may I have" although I can't remember ever being refused unless it was too near "dishing up time"
@ moneybags...I don't think the woman was stupid...but as she admitted to not doing the cooking,she was both inexperienced and not very practical. Those of us who do cook would most likely be able to figure things out,and find ways to make the food more appetising...even if it was with things wed never seen before.
Being in November 42 I remember the 50's quite well. I thought the programme was O.K but surprised that bubble & squeak, with cold meat from the Sunday roast, wasn't mentioned for the Monday meal. Never had cold liver but that's not surprising as I hated liver!
I also thought they missed a trick by no matching each year with the music of that year. To start 1951 with the Everly Brothers was daft. It should have been Al Martino or Frankie Laine et al. It seemed as though the producers just couldn't be bothered!
I also thought they missed a trick by no matching each year with the music of that year. To start 1951 with the Everly Brothers was daft. It should have been Al Martino or Frankie Laine et al. It seemed as though the producers just couldn't be bothered!
//I also thought they missed a trick by no matching each year with the music of that year. To start 1951 with the Everly Brothers was daft//
We said the very same Mike - they didn't research the music very well did they! Also the Shadows hit was in the wrong decade as everyone noticed.
The thin blancmange poured over the cake was just so ridiculous. Blancmange, always pink was made in a "rabbit mould" and turned out on a plate in a perfect shape!We always had icing on cakes in the 50s and synthetic cream which we fetched from the bakers in a clean jam jar.
It was stupid beyond words to choose a silly family which seemed to poke fun at living in the 50s, I look back with great fondness at my childhood and we certainly didn't starve, we had no money but said "grace" in thanks at every meal for the food in front of us. Someone mentioned rusks - how I loved Farleys rusks as a cereal for breakfast and "Welfare Orange" which was like squash which you diluted.
We said the very same Mike - they didn't research the music very well did they! Also the Shadows hit was in the wrong decade as everyone noticed.
The thin blancmange poured over the cake was just so ridiculous. Blancmange, always pink was made in a "rabbit mould" and turned out on a plate in a perfect shape!We always had icing on cakes in the 50s and synthetic cream which we fetched from the bakers in a clean jam jar.
It was stupid beyond words to choose a silly family which seemed to poke fun at living in the 50s, I look back with great fondness at my childhood and we certainly didn't starve, we had no money but said "grace" in thanks at every meal for the food in front of us. Someone mentioned rusks - how I loved Farleys rusks as a cereal for breakfast and "Welfare Orange" which was like squash which you diluted.
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