General Chat

When my dad was working as a builder and decorater he had two lads working for him and they wold go to a cafe' in South Woodford for their dinners and it always worked out that what dad had at lunchtime mum had cooked for dinner that evening. It got so bad in the end he always had fish and chips cos he knew she would'nt cook that.

Yes thats right Anng and he did radio too. Not done much today again as its been wet and dreary all day. Even the chickens are staying in their house and dust bathing in the nest box.

I am having a lamb shank tonight so I better do some mash and broccoli and carrots. that should fill me up.

I remember him but can't remember much about him, I guess he was somebody who would have made my Dad laugh. I don't remember him in Sunday night at the London Palladium but I guess as we always watched it from 1955 on I must have seen him. I do remember his catch phrase 'You luckt people' though.

Tommy Trinder now thats a name from the past. He died in 1989.

I thought this is an interesting topic so I googled it. To save you looking it up this is interesting:-

People who ate in British Restaurants during World War II were
generally not looked down on as "taking advantage," particularly as the war progressed and they became a staple of everyday life for all social classes. While they were initially intended to feed people bombed out of their homes or the working poor, they quickly evolved into a popular, cross-class dining experience.
Here is a breakdown of the social perception of British Restaurant patrons:

A "Democratic" Setting: By 1942, these restaurants were frequented by a wide mix of people, including manual laborers, office workers, civil servants, and managers. They were considered "democratic" spaces where, due to the "fair shares" ethos of the war, eating there was seen as "doing your bit".

Initial Stigma vs. Reality: While some initially feared they would be seen as charity (or "workhouses"), this stigma quickly disappeared. They were seen as a convenient, patriotic way to cope with rationing and shortages rather than a sign of poverty.

Encouraged Usage: The Ministry of Information, through campaigns and films (such as Eating Out With Tommy Trinder), explicitly encouraged all members of the public to use them.

Exceptions: There was some minor tension when the restaurants were "crowded out" by the general public, leading some to argue they should prioritize war workers. However, this was largely handled by having priority lunch hours for industrial workers,

The thing is that my Mum always worried what others would think so I think, in this case, it would have been totally acceptable to go to a restaurant offering a good meal at a cheap price (although I am not sure it was actually that cheap for those times,) maybe just food more avaiable saving rations.

Morning All,

I had a bad night too Vera, I always do when I have to get up early, so I am a bit of a zombie today too. I managed the nightmare trip into the city ok but my knee hasn't liked the stop start everywhere with all the traffic. I got this appointment time mixed up with his Monday appointment there so we were in the rush hour this morning. OH was convinced the chap in a small van in front was either drunk or on his phone. I've come home now till OH rings me to fetch him as he's no idea how long he'll be.

I imagine what Mel meant was that in those times there was more judgment by some who would see it as showing they needed charity and some were very sensitive about how others judged them. So some would be too proud to accept things that were intended to help everyone. I saw it a lot in my job when I did a stint as a visiting officer seeing elderly people. Being able to manage without accepting anything was more honorable to them and they would think others needed help more than they did. My mum being one of nine was just the opposite and would have gone for the meals. Like you AnnG she wouldn't have seen anything shameful and always tended to see everyone as equals.

Oh hubby is ready to collect so I'm off again now. BBL

Morning all,

Cloudy this morning and 7 degrees. Asda messaged me again this morning at 6 am and I could'nt go back to sleep again for quite a while but must have dropped off in the end.

Shoppping comes today between 11am and 1pm so better get ready for that. Get my box out and get dressed!!!

Good morning all 4 degrees still a bit dark but I think it is dry.

Towel wash in but I am not dressed yet.

My Mum can't have been proud then Mel, not sure what you meant by that, I meant that although we hear and see things connected to the war I have never seen any comments about the British Restaurants. I can't see anyone had any need to feel shame for using them, they were a help during rationing with providing a meal. As far as I can remember, in our case, it was a cafe like any other in amongst the shops. My parents were not well off and were not bombed out as we didn't live in Portsmouth where the bombing occurred. I suspect it was like the community cafes that you get in towns now, nothing to be ashamed of using them.

Good morning

I hope that, unlike me, you are all sleeping peacefully. I came to bed about 11 o’clock but gave up trying to sleep an hour ago and got up again. I’ve had a drink and read for a while but don’t feel sleepy. I’ll probably be grumpy tomorrow when I’ve got another busy day. I have a couple of things that need to be done in the morning, a Ladies Club meeting in the afternoon and a Tesco delivery as soon as I am back from that.

I had no luck getting anybody to answer the phone at the opticians so it looks as though I will have to go in on Wednesday.

Mel, I certainly remember bread and dripping and we regularly have bubble and squeak now. I wish I had recipes for some of the cakes my mum used to make when I was little.

Well, I am going to get back to bed now and just lie quietly. With luck I’ll doze off and sleep for a couple of hours.

People in those days were very proud and would'nt want anyone knowing they had gone to a place like that Anng. Those who lost relatives in the war and their houses etc would welcome a hot dinner for 9d. I can remember taking 9d to school for my dinner, a sixpence and a thrupenny joey. I liked those cos they had dandylions on them.

I was looking at something on youtube about lost recipes. They talked about bread a beef dripping (introduced to me by a school friend I used to go home with at lunchtime when I was in senior school. Bubble nad squeak, eggy bread and other things I have had over the last couple of weeks. So not forgotten recipes in this house. I have even done bubble and squeak with sausages for Stu when he came once. He calls my cooking proper cooking!

Strange isn’t even those not born until after the war tend to know about things during the war but even I have never seen anything about British Restaurants, they are never mentioned.

I was'nt even born then.

I have had a day of doing nothing..............................................................I hav'nt even sorted dinner and its 7.44pm.

Evening All,

It's been dull here today and quite chilly.

No Mel I have never heard of the Lyons Corner Houses or the Nippies although OH has! I never even visited London till I was in my mid twenties and that was a bus trip with my first OH's workplace to have a tour to see the buildings they had built or restored in London. We lived in a tiny village till I was nine years old and the only cafe I remember or went in with mum was at the Green Bus Station and it's only delights were white bread, curled up cheese or ham sandwiches with the thinnest fillings. It even had teaspoons hanging on cords so people didn't steal them. I think I would just have a bottle of Vimto while we waited for our bus.

That was interesting AnnG and something else I haven't heard of so I will ask OH if he has when he gets home.

Oh Vera, what a wasted journey as you say. Everywhere is getting too reliant on IT now, so that we can't do anything when it stops working. I hope the fresh appointment will arrive soon. I'm finding more and more that there's no answer when I ring places. I tthink either staff numbers have been cut or they are working from home and not answering. I went for a little drive to the shop today to check how my foot is with driving and just on one short road there were seven dogs being walked by people who were working age. OH met a friend at a cafe this morning and said it was full of people using laptops. How nice to see the Blackbirds as we haven't seen one for years now and I miss their happy evening songs.

Mandy I keep forgetting to ask you how your head is now and I hope the BP readings you handed in had improved. I think it might be a good idea for me to do another painting while I can't do a lot else.

The little, self set, pink Cyclamen under the arbour are flowering. I think I may have to dig them out and put a few in a pot to bring out each year once they go over, as the patch has trebled in size and I don't want them spreading across the gravel next.

Evening all,

It's been a dreary cold day here but its nice the mornings and evenings are really pulling out now and we can now say we alter the clocks next month.

I had heard of the Nippys but I don't remember ever going out to a restaurant until I was in my teens and later when I was going out with Colin , we had our engagement party at the Norwood rooms in Norwich its long gone now but I always remember the waitress spilling gravy all down my uncles jacket .

Oh Vera that was a wasted journey ,I suppose everyone turned up through the day as they had no way of letting anyone know because they didn't know who had appointments, oh dear I hope another appointment soon comes through fairly quickly .just think how many appointments were cancelled in ons day throughout the whole hospital as it affected all departments.
Hope you had some luck getting through about your glasses.

Got a few jobs done today some hoovering ,gave the kitchen a good clean on the worktops and a little ironing .
Tomorrow I have a blood test in the early afternoon so we're hoping to go there and then on to Tesco's.

British restaurants
Originally called "Community Feeding Centres", the name British Restaurants was suggested by the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill in March 1941.[3][5] They were set up by the Ministry of Food under Lord Woolton[6][7] and run by local government or voluntary agencies on a non-profit basis. Meals were sold for prices up to a set maximum of 9d. (equivalent to £3 in 2023). No one could have a meal of more than one serving of meat, game, poultry, fish, eggs, or cheese.[8] In one in ten restaurants the meals were prepared at central depots. Schools and churches were often used because they had dining halls and kitchens. In London, mobile canteens delivered meals to air-raid shelters and on the street in the aftermath of air raid

I think I must have been about 4 or 5 and it was in Portsmouth.

Good afternoon
Another grey, wet, miserable day. It’s 7 degrees but as it’s so wet and looks so dark out it somehow feels colder. I did sleep a bit better last night so that’s one good thing.

I’m not that much younger than AnnG but I don’t remember British Restaurants. That might be because we very seldom had even a cup of tea out. I do know about the Lyons Nippy. We lived in a London suburb and I have a faint recollection of going into central London on one occasion and eating in a Lyons Corner House, possibly the one on the Strand. The only thing I can remember is my father looking at his plate and saying “They must think I’m a rabbit”. He had ordered a salad and it came with exotic things like grated carrot! To my parents carrots were something you cooked in a stew. Salad was ordinary green lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and beetroot from a jar and was usually served with tinned salmon when visitors came to tea.

Around 1956 or 57 a friend and I ventured on our own into a Lyons Rea Room and I picked up a what I thought was a slab of ice cream from the glass fronted counter. When I sat down and started eating it I couldn’t quite work it out. It was cold but definitely not ice cream. It was soft and set but not quite blancmange. I had just had my first taste of chocolate mousse.

Well, today has been completely wasted. We left home at 9.30 for OH’s hospital appointment and got there about 10.05 am. We had been told to park in Car Park A which is the largest car park at the front of the hospital. It was choc-a-bloc and we were just going to drive out and go to the car park near the eye treatment centre and walk back when I spotted a space. Tbh, I wouldn’t have attempted to put our car in there as it was really tight but OH jiggled back and forth and got it in. After climbing up stairs and walking through endless corridors we found where we were meant to be and went up to reception. By now it’s almost 10.30, OH’s appointment time. A somewhat harassed reception lady then told us that all the computers were down and we had a choice of waiting and hoping they would be up and running soon or going home and being sent a rebooked appointment. OH asked if she had any idea how long the wait would be likely to be and she said it could be 5 minutes, it could be 5 hours. She then spoke on the phone to the IT department and they told her that they couldn’t fix it and had sent for Openreach. OH said to her that he was having a physical examination that didn’t involve using a computer at all so couldn’t that go ahead and was told that without the computers the consultant wouldn’t even know his name, let alone anything about his past history. It seems that if there is a computer outage the hospital grinds to a halt as absolutely everything is now computerised. At that point OH decided we could be there all day so we came home and are waiting for a new appointment. We got back at about midday, having had a 40 mile round trip and all the stress and frustration to achieve nothing.

Next job was for me to ring the opticians and ask about my glasses. They said it would be about a week and they would call me when they were ready. It’s now nearly 2 weeks and I have heard nothing. I rang the local number for our branch and got a recorded voice with numbers to press. I pressed the relevant number and the phone rang…………and rang………..and rang. After several minutes I put the phone down. I’m about to try again. I really don’t want to have to ask OH to drive me to town again, pay a parking fee and walk up to the opticians just to ask if my glasses are ready yet. What happened to customer service? You can tell I’m cheesed off, can’t you.

I’m trying to think of something more cheerful to end this post and I thought of one good thing that happened today. We used to get quite a lot of blackbirds but for the last year or two have hardly seen any. I know the blackbird population has been badly hit by a virus. Today I saw a male and a female blackbird in the garden so I’m really pleased about that. I also saw a dunnock which I haven’t seen for a while either so I’ve got something to smile about.

Morning Anng and all,

Its 5 degrees here this mroning but when I went to bed last night there was a very heavy frost and it was still there when I got up in the night for the loo but gone when I got up this morning.

Anng I am not quite old enough to remember British restaurants after the war but I know it was a treat to go to a Lyons and yes the meringues were huge but I did'nt like the cream in the middle. I did'nt like real cream or the fake stuff when I was little. Didnt eat cheese either but loved my milk.

Good morning all 4 degrees so colder again this morning. very grey out there I think it is supposed to be showery today here.

Mel, I am almost sure that I did go to Lyons corner house might have been as a child post war as my aunt lived in Acton London, Mum's sister and we used to visit. I can also remember going for tea to a big department store in Portsmouth, may have been Handleys, also post war. I think poached eggs on toast was on the menu. But possibly tea and cakes too, Mum liked a creeam cake. And yes I knew what a nippy was,

I used to like Cadena cafes/shops and favourite was a meringue, in my memory they were huge. and also eclairs.

At the other end of the restaurant, cafe eating scale. Anyone else old enough to remember the British restaurants during and just after the war? I remember going to one with Mum in Portsmouth and my memory is of the smell of cooked cabbage!! :-(

Really Annx I thought everyone knew what a Nippy was. You must remember Lyons corner houses. I can remember going with mum and dad to a place in London and having a tea with sandwiches and a dish of various cakes and dad would always have the cream horn.

Do any of you remember the cafe's you used to go in and pick what you wanted from glass fronted cabinets. I always remember the jellies and fruit perhaps because thats one thing I would eat. I did'nt like cakes as a child, the only thing I would eat was a sticky bun or an iced bun. I think these were Lyons Tea Rooms.