Food and drink | Yesterday Remembered

When You Wish Upon A Stir

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Get a wriggle on

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Cider with Cuthbert

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How clearly I still remember cosy afternoons in that old Yorkshire kitchen of childhood days. Can it really be all of 60 years since I sat rocking to and fro in Mum’s comforting chair by the fire, while cinders fell plop into the ‘asnuk’ (ash—nook for those with no Sheffieldese). What better place for that […]

THE GYPSY WAS RIGHT!

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In a dark, dank, sunken shed next to the chicken house and en route to the orchard, my grandfather made wine, which he brought to the table in a pint jug. Every wasp in Warwickshire seemed to get wind of his activities, and I can see him now beating them off with his Panama as […]

Dandelions in Heaven

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Eliza Alice

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A Promise in a Cup!

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Snapshots and films from the 1940s give the impression that most of the population was lean. Arguably this was because of the way we lived, devoid of the technology which came later. Manual work including house chores was taken on with the proverbial ‘elbow grease’ still in fitting with the Victorian era. The horse and […]

Getting Along in the Lean Forties

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Lancashire winters were dark and bleak in the 1930s. The foul smell of stale chimney smoke remained trapped in the still fog-filled air of industrial towns, lingering until fresh winds blew it away. Snow was intermittent and frost frequent. We were warm children both inside and out as we walked to school. Mother had prepared […]

Lancashire Winters in the 1930s

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Toasted to Perfection

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Clutching a penny in my hand, I stood transfixed by jars of striped humbugs, liquorice laces, aniseed balls and fruit sherbets, their glass shells reflecting the lights of the corner shop. Inside Mrs Taylor, philosopher, counsellor and occasional money-lender, waited with infinite patience. If she was busy she would leave me enjoying the intense pleasure […]

Bottom Shop

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Shopping Days to Dream About

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When you look at snapshots and films of the 1940s it’s immediately apparent that most of the population was lean. Arguably this was due to the way we then lived, devoid of the technology which came later. Manual work, even house chores were taken on with the perverbial ‘elbow grease’ still in fitting with the […]

The Lean Forties

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During the early part of the war, the government decided, in the interests of both health and morale, to empower local authorities to operate low-cost restaurant facilities. These dining establishments, known as British Restaurants, were usually located in existing municipal premises, although in some towns, temporary buildings were erected. The provision of meals was not […]

British Restaurants

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Co-op Days Remembered

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IN the February issue of Best of British the Editor asked for poultry memories when concluding an article about Karswood Poultry Spice. While turning out some family heirlooms, I came upon a national publication for the week ending December 15 1917 with the title Eggs Wanted. On the front cover is a photograph of one […]

Eggs wanted -The National Egg Collection

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The Street Where I Lived

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A wartime childhood in Brighton

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Self-service shopping is meant to be fast and convenient, but it’s not quite the same as service with a smile, is it? I am not smiling while steering a trolley through pyramids of pre-packaged items in some heat-sealed emporium. I can still remember the old was of shopping that went before. There were those high […]

You can’t beat service with a smile

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As a schoolboy I spent my summer holidays at my grandmother’s in Devon with my family, and have loved the area ever since. It was a thrill to get on to the train at Bristol Temple Meads station for the journey, listening to the steam engine and the clickety-clack of the carriage wheels over rail […]

Holidays in Devon – and a German fighter attack

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