General Chat

Annx will be glad they've not got to go to the hospital today.
Much has been cordoned off....

Morning girls,

We have sunshine this morning but there has been a frost its 6 degrees and pc says mostly sunny. I dar'nt look at it further incase it says rainy days ahead.

I started messing around with another tiny porcelain doll yesterday but did'nt get very far.

I cancelled an appointment with the dentist for today as I did'nt feel like being poked about. Still not feeling 100% after the flu still sneezing and coughing but thats got tight now.

Hope you sleep better soon Anng, it horrid when you keep waking and lay there forever. Vera too. <3 <3

I do recall a trip to London, as a child and visiting a Lyons Corner House, but not the details, - probably a glass of lemonade and a cake?

What an interesting discussion on British Restaurants. I'd never heard of them, so it was all news to me.
We lived not far from Portsmouth in 1950s, but I don't remember hearing about them.
I don't recall going out for a meal locally as a whole family, when I was young.
The nearest we got to that was if Mum took my sister and I shopping and it turned into a prolonged trip, we would sometimes go to the main Co-op in Fratton, Portsmouth and have egg and chips for lunch there. They probably sold quite a variety of meals, but that would be relatively simple and affordable.
That shop fascinated me because they had a system where money was handed in by the assistant and disappeared up a sort of vacuum shoot contraption, then any change due would come clattering back down, the little door opened and the assistant would hand over the coins.
All very amazing to a small child back then!

Goodness Annx, what a drama at OH's appointment.
It sounds awful for the poor patient.
Good that your husband was offered a further appointment, but feels he doesn't need that now. Some departments seem better than others about after-care, I find.

I hope Mandy that you are feeling rather better and your blood tests are satisfactory next time.
I'm due one soon, so before then I must eat a bit more healthily to counteract the increased amount of Brie and chocolate I've consumed since Christmas :-0

Vera, What a wasted journey you had.
Everything stops it seems if the computers fail.
I remember going to the GP surgery to see the nurse for an annual review and their system was 'down'. Nobody knew who was due an appointment, who to see or what for.
No patient notes could be read onscreen. I had taken blood pressure readings with me and told the nurse I usually had a blood test at the review and was later told the results were normal.
What they tested for is anyone's guess...
How much worse if the problem was in a hospital setting.
I hope you are better rested today.

AnnG, It's always interesting to hear where you go on your outings locally. I used to live near Cheltenham, but not long enough to explore much, as I was only there a few months, when newly married. We did visit some Cotswold villages though, which were lovely, but I can imagine that tourists now might be rather overwhelming in the summer months.

Mel
Your meal sounds lovely and easily prepared. Just what you need if you are busy.
Any more miniatures being made?
I thought of you recently, when I saw a miniature table set with candelabras, tiny cutlery, plates and bowls of miniature fruit. So clever.

The sun is making a welcome appearance :-0
We haven't seen it for days. Yesterday was particularly gloomy, when we visited the hospital for my routine visit to the ENT nurse.
I'm back in the hearing world for a while :-D
On the way home though, I did notice many trees laden with long bright catkins, another sign that Spring is on it's way.

Good morning all 4 degrees again, looks like another day like yesterday when it rained all day although the forecast said it would stay dry so we will see. I do so hate this miserable weather it is so depressing.
My sleeping pattern is not that good at the moment. I had several weeks of good sleep and now I am waking every two hours. I am sure it is to do with the weather and not being able to get out in the air,

I did it in the microwave in its pouch with slits in the top.

Off to bed now as I am really tired tonight.

So 6 minutes Mel, what temperature? 180?

Annx is that how they met?? It sounds like they were reliving the past when they were young. How lovely.

I did my lamb shank for 3 mins and then gave it a shake and did it for another 3 mins. It was delish and I had it with mash, broccoli and carrots and made a little more gravy to mix with the juices in the sachet. It went down a treat. :-D

Well OH got done quite quickly at the eye clinic and by the time we got home it only took two hours this time. They did a scan and had another really good check of the eye and were happy with it so no more lasering needed. The doctor said OH could have another appointment in a few weeks as reassurance if he wanted, but that he was happy it was ok. OH was happy with that and knows what changes to be aware of and to go straight back if so and didn't feel he needed another visit. He said while he was in the waiting room a woman in a nightdress who didn't look at all well was wheeled in by a nurse to wait and was obviously an in patient. Next thing the nurse was shouting her name and she was unresponsive, so was quickly wheeled into a side room. Next thing OH had to tell a crash team that arrived which room she was in. He said she was wheeled out later and looked ok but had had a cardiac arrest!

Openreach were finished across the road leading to our end bit of the close by the time we got back, but had moved back further along to where they'd already been and had removed a manhole cover. Later on OH noticed they were talking to our neighbour beyond us so I don't know what they are doing next. Hopefully they will let us know if we don't get chance to speak to them. They work very short days.

I remember and didn't really like Tommy Trinder. He was a Music Hall type of performer and always wore a hat. Arthur Askey seemed another similar performer as was Max Wall. I can remember trying to copy his walk. MIL and FIL loved them all. They watched very little current tv and FIL recorded all the old films and they would watch those. He even kept records of when they watched each one in a notebook each time they watched it. (OH does the same with footie matches and grounds so it must be where he gets it from). OH's dad was a cinema projectionist and MIL was an usherette, so they must have already seen some of the films umpteen times anyway.

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.