Frugality.

I am one of the baby boomers. Born shortly after the war ended.

I was one of a family of seven kids, so as you can probably imagine we were not a well off family by any means.

Both food and money were in short supply and my mother had to be very frugal with both.
Like most families in those times, cheap cuts of meat were used for meals, all bulked up with staples like spuds,barley, veg and bread. Nothing was wasted, even the bones and chicken carcasses were used to make soups, stock.

I seem to have reverted back to that frugal way of thinking.

Even to the extent of adding a little water to my milk to make it stretch further, saving all my slivers of soap and squeezing them together Lots of other small savings too.

Not knocking the younger people as most will never have experienced shortages in their lifetime.
And there is an element who seem to live on fast food and takeaways, which are far from cheap. And money now being in short supply, I was wondering if any of them had naturally adopted a more frugal approach to how they are living and do you suppose they will appreciate just how easy they have had things up to now.

Probably be a big shock to them.

Food was rationed until circa 1954, so you HAD to make it stretch.

Speaking of slivers of soap, during the war all soap, be it the large household block or the odd block of luxury soap was melted down in a tin. A sardine tin was good. Left to cool it was tuned out looking as good as anything bought. The luxury and household was mixed together. The sardine tin was used over and over.

I too was a 'boomer' brought into a family of 8 kids and conditioned in the same way as you jathbee, Ive never lost the, waste not want not, rule of life, All eight of us are still alive and kicking and a thing thats always noticeable at family do's, our plates are always emptied, some might pick at the food offered and leave it if they don't like a certain food, ours always get eaten, whether we like it or not, I still get mad at the grandkids when they say, " I can't eat that grandad ", And now Macdonalds are closed, they might start to understand a bit more,

I was born just as the war started,so what I didn't know about wasn't missed,I used to go to our registered butcher once a week for our ration,no idea what was in it until it was opened,somethings we also had,pigs trotters,elder ( oows udders)and lots of tripe,and pigeons,chicken was once a year for Christmas.

A funny thing my wife and I have noticed over the years. Our kids, and grandkids are not like us when they eat a meal. When we eat we always save what we consider the best of the meal to the very last, we always polish off the veg first, then the meat, or fish say. But they don't! They usually scoff the best bits first, then leave the rest. If we leave anything, it must really be bad, or off.

I do that as well Dave. Someone will say “ how is that pork cooked for you”and I haven’t even touched it.

broady.

Too right, obviously, you can tell they have never had brown sauce, orange, or sugar butties for tea. I recall once when I was about 10 and at my auntie's house, she asked me what I had had for my tea the day before. I told her "chips", chips and what? she said, slightly confused for a second, and not understanding the question, I answered,"just chips", I can still see the look of surprise on her face.

There wasn't a lot of fruit either,I remember my first banana,I tried to eat it with the skin on.

We used to have Jaffa butties.

I hated sugar butties, couldn't stand the grittiness of the sugar. I did love brown sauce and still do.

I was a baby boomer and for some reason not popular with the younger generation, especially when I mention what we had to put up with, rationing, very little money, dad going out on split shifts driving a corporation bus, gas lighting and no bath.
Clean off ya plate before you leave the table, whatever you were given, all basic but wholesome foods.
Would I want to go back to that noooo, but I think it made me a more resilient person for it.

Mam's response to me pulling my face at Spam was. "There's nowt else, eyte it or starve"

I detest the stuff to this day. Never had it in the house.
But my husband sneaked it in occasionally as he liked Spam fritters 😂

I have plenty footwear I can boil down and make a lovely soup or stew out of.

First Australian I worked with told me that his dad told him that the Aussie used to save there meat bones and ship them to England so we could make stock mmmmmm

Jathbee,
Go to Hawaii and they have every flavour ofSpam you can think of. I have a recipe book using just Spam. They even have spam flavoured ice cream. It is a throwback to WW2 when everything was delivered by boat.

Ive been to Hawaii but didnt have spam ice cream, I think it was mostly pineapple.
I did ask have you any Magnums ice cream woman said we have Tom but you dont see him down town so much

You mustn’t have looked hard enough Mick. Didn’t try it because I get freezer burn ( I think that is what they call those severe yed warch)

...Just heard that Whittles have commandeered the back of Galloway's shop at Halfway House and are selling pies at lunchtime.

Broady now called Brain freeze

Broady. I fear he tried to make a joke about Magnum.

Jarvo, their old shop?

Thanks Peter P,
Just realised freezer burn is when something hasn't be packaged too well in the freezer and left too long.

firefox,
I had twigged. If you remember the original (and best) Hawaii Five O where Jack Lord is stood on a hotel balcony, I have stopped in that hotel. An interesting story I got told. Hawaii was slated to become the 49th US state and then they discovered oil in Alaska and that got the honour. Hawaii then became the 50th state. as the cab driver said " Hawaii 49" wouldn't have had the same ring about it.

Never watched it, sorry. but I still laughed at the Hawaii 49 reference.

Have yoo ever had Chinese burn

Had a chili beef once

TTS,
Who was the girl from America that Tonker used to wind up about Chinese burns?

Was it Erin broady? "MadameHMurray"?

That’s her. Happy Birthday. Hope you are having a good one.

At the time my husband bought the car on my avatar my mother knitted me a jacket as it was open top motoring. That yarn has been undone several times and is now in its fourth incarnation albeit with a little boost. A throwback to war years which is difficult to dismiss.

Thank you broady.

Pretty quiet as I'm sure you can imagine.

Bill: Yes.

My dad used to bring his grenades home when on leave for us kids to play cricket with.

That was another throw back.

Funny you should say that, Terry. My brother found a live hand grenade.

Dad was very angry. He called the police, and they sent a car, and took it away.

Three months later, they informed us that it had not been claimed, and asked us to come and get it!

Hahaha! I think I could guess the reply your dad gave.

It did look very dangerous: the 'pin' was extremely rusted and crumbling!

If it was a British WWII grenade/Mk II Mills Grenade the pins and base plugs easily rusted over time making them very unstable, plus the seven second fuse delay had been standardised to four seconds in WWII which wouldn't help for a quick getaway.

That's right, Terry. I would have called it a Mills Bomb, but I assume the term hand grenade would be more widely understood on here.

I agree. It's not surprising they keep turning up, about 70 million were produced from 1915 to the 1980s, same grenades different models. Wasn't until the 70s we, the Brits, changed to the new model L2 oblong shaped ones and fazed out the Mills pineapples.

There still out there folks so just watch what you go magnet fishing for.

Not that anyone is bothered but I've found this thread a pleasure to read at saying this but true, -------
embarrass

Shergal Farkey.

Frugal Sharkey!

Rodney off Only Fools And Horses called him Shergal Farkey.

I did get your Frugal quip, Tonker. I just thought it was rubbish.

I remember some American soldiers coming to school after the war had finished,and giving all of us a bag of milk chocolate
powder.

Terry, just as you warned, another tuned up today in Wigan.

click

I know a lad who has a selection of grenades, ammunition and mortars in a cabinet in his mum's house, all live, all found with his metal detector! I think I sent the photo of it to Tomplum and Mac?

I once knew a bar owner in Saigon who had a box of grenades in his back room, he said they were for chucking at Vietnames kids who at that time just before the fall, where out robbing anything they could get there hands on.

When I was a kid my grandma would put food at the front of me and make me sit and eat it including cold lumpy mash This had a negative effect because there is food I will not now eat because I have the choice.

Here's a photo of Dave's Grenades and Mortars, all live in a cabinet, in his mum's house. Them's his bayonets and guns too.

Aren't Wiganers daft?!

He must think he is a real soldier.

PeterP why did she not warm them up and put a knob of butter on the top

Thanks, Priscus. They're out there so be careful you gardeners.

Don't try and rob Dave's home

He has a very good metal detector which he uses to find these things. I've got a few photos of other stuff he's found and a photo of that mortar, full of clay, when he dug it up!