I was five weeks old on VE Day. My mother told me they had some gin, some plum juice and alka seltzer that they mixed and drank. My mother said it was the first night I had slept through. Gin related I suspect. They lived in Victoria Street in Central London.
Oh wow I love this Liz, thank you for sharing. Gin, plum juice and alka seltzer sounds pretty desperate! Victoria Street must have changed enormously since 1945.
I was amazed by that number too. I guess once you take away all our labour saving devices it takes a lot of energy just to do the basics! And I think although in Britain they did have enough food, it was also incredibly bland and boring for a long time.
Fascinating to read this, though in many parts it was a reminder of my childhood. I was surprised to learn that we import less food now than in 1939. That's surely one good thing.
Even in the early seventies, my grandmother had what she called a 'meat safe' rather than a fridge - a kind of small cuboid cupboard on tall legs, with netting on the door to let the air in but keep the insects out. It was kept in the small yard outside her kitchen door.
There were no epidurals but twilight sleep was around during that time period, wasn't it? Not that many would have had access to it (probably for the best!).
I was five weeks old on VE Day. My mother told me they had some gin, some plum juice and alka seltzer that they mixed and drank. My mother said it was the first night I had slept through. Gin related I suspect. They lived in Victoria Street in Central London.
Oh wow I love this Liz, thank you for sharing. Gin, plum juice and alka seltzer sounds pretty desperate! Victoria Street must have changed enormously since 1945.
Wow, 3,000 calories. I would have thought that number way less with rationing. 😳
Yes, even just washing a tubful of sheets by hand uses up a lot of energy. There was probably a lot of bread, margarine and potatoes in that diet.
I was amazed by that number too. I guess once you take away all our labour saving devices it takes a lot of energy just to do the basics! And I think although in Britain they did have enough food, it was also incredibly bland and boring for a long time.
Fascinating to read this, though in many parts it was a reminder of my childhood. I was surprised to learn that we import less food now than in 1939. That's surely one good thing.
Even in the early seventies, my grandmother had what she called a 'meat safe' rather than a fridge - a kind of small cuboid cupboard on tall legs, with netting on the door to let the air in but keep the insects out. It was kept in the small yard outside her kitchen door.
There were no epidurals but twilight sleep was around during that time period, wasn't it? Not that many would have had access to it (probably for the best!).