Back In time For Tea

As a child my late Mum cooked tripe with onions, and it was as revolting as it looked on the programme, but during the austerity of post war Britain you ate what was put in front of you, or went hungry.

Rationing was around until 1954 so being 'picky' wasn't an option. I think the bacon roly poly would have been better if it was baked rather than boiled, the cloth looked slightly more appealing than the pudding.

On the 1911 census in Scotland for my grandmother's house she was down as widowed with five children under 14 plus two lodgers !!

The lodgers were probably her main source of income She lived in what was called a Butt 'n' Ben cottage, with no inside sanitation ,electric light or running water. Just an outhouse and a pump in the well in the garden.

She was confined to a wheelchair after the birth of her last baby son in 1890 and as I remember my late Dad saying she slept in it as well.

As soon as the children were old enough they were sent out into the world to make their own way My Dad's older brother David went to the USA and another one William, went to Canada, and a sister May, to Australia. She had a very hard life with a total of 7 of her own children and 6 step children from when she married my Granddad in 1883.

He died in 1897 leaving her almost penniless. no social security as a blanket to help out in those days )

My own Dad left home at 10 and was apprenticed to a chap in Glasgow, who he had previously worked after school for in his home town of Brechin from the age of 8 .This man had decided to move to Glasgow with his wife, and askedmy Grandma if he could take my Dad with him, he taught my Dad all he knew and put him through his training in Glasgow to become a qualified chemist.
My Dad always said it was the best thing his Mum did for him as it got him away from the local linen mills which would have been his only option back in those days .

I agree watching the programme it seems to have been a bit rushed and perhaps a bit more detail would have made it better .

The family were lovely though and the girls quite willing to give Mum a hand, and the young lad is lovely and his smile brightens up everyone .The Mum is pretty good and a lot less complaining than the other one in the previous programme.At least she know how to use a tin opener

I look forward to seeing how they get on with the rationing

JackieO xx

Farway wrote: »

There is a 1939 register, compiled when war was expected, so the government knew who was where & what skills they did or did not have

This register went on to be the basis of the NHS register
Some names and details are redacted because of this
You local library may be able to access this, via Find My Past

I think (though I'm not sure) that Scotland has only published up to 1911 census as they lock records of 100 years. Parish registers would an option but they aren't online and held at a location I can't get to:(

I laughed at the pasta maker too! I’m also looking forward to next week and watching them cooking with rations.

re the post one of my grandsons Jack, who is a very bright almost 18 year old in his second year of 'A' levels actually asked me where he could buy a stamp as he wanted to post an appliction for a provisional driving licence off.

I started to laugh, until I realised that he and most of his contemporaries would perhaps have never posted a letter to anyone, as its all emails and texts and he certainly rarely gets mail