Super Scrimpers

redgrave2009

The series has always been a bit disappointing-(I remember the one about weddings where Mrs Moneypenny advice was checking your credit card interest instead of ways to save money) but there were a few facts you could use.

This series has been dire. The superscrimper army are all so photogenic and pretty but not so MSE.

boltonangel

redgrave2009 wrote: »

The series has always been a bit disappointing-(I remember the one about weddings where Mrs Moneypenny advice was checking your credit card interest instead of ways to save money) but there were a few facts you could use.

This series has been dire. The superscrimper army are all so photogenic and pretty but not so MSE.

The DH and I watch it and literally laugh out loud at some of the 'tips' and after speaking to some of our friends they do the same. I have learnt only two things this series - the essential oil trick for the car and about the recycle craft shops.

lilmisskitkat

Justamum wrote: »

I think the rot set in when school cookery classes were changed to 'food tech'. Now when something they make needs, say, pastry, the instructions are to bring in ready-made! We were taught the basics of how to make pastry, bread (I remember mine at school was a disaster, but I make all my own now!), sauce, scones, cake, etc.

Definitely. I am of the 'Food Technology' generation and if it wasn't for my Mam, Gran and this forum i wouldn't know anything. Our lessons included 'bring in a pizza base, ready made sauce and put toppings on' kind of things. Best one was my sisters friend, made Angel Delight for her GCSE :eek: and passed, because it was all about the factory processes and packaging and marketing. Bl***y useless.

K xx

[Deleted User]

Thank the Lord for Mums,Grans and OSers.I'm still laughing about getting a GCSE for Angel Delight :):)
bearing in mind the amount of 'celeb chefs' and cooking programmes on t.v. its a wonder we're not all gourmet cooks but as a poster says its all about getting folks to spend cash on rubbishy things with expensive ingrediants .The most exotic thing my Mum had in her food cupboard was a tiny nutmeg that she guarded with her life as it was used sparingly on top of a rice pud and was hard to obtain back in the far off dark days of rationing.My Aunt in the U.S. sent it to her wrapped in the toe of a pair of nylons .She would send things to my Mum that you couldn't find in the shops over here.I first tasted tinned pineapple in 1951 and thought it was the ultimate in 'posh living :):)

Jennie_2

boltonangel wrote: »

I have learnt only two things this series - the essential oil trick for the car and about the recycle craft shops.

I found the essential oil tip (putting essential oil in your air vent to make your car smell nice) quite dangerous. Anyone who knows aromatherapy will tell you that lavender (the oil he was advocating) has sleep inducing properties which of course would be dangerous driving a car. Maybe he should stick to car mechanics!

meames_2

lilmisskitkat wrote: »

Definitely. I am of the 'Food Technology' generation and if it wasn't for my Mam, Gran and this forum i wouldn't know anything. Our lessons included 'bring in a pizza base, ready made sauce and put toppings on' kind of things. Best one was my sisters friend, made Angel Delight for her GCSE :eek: and passed, because it was all about the factory processes and packaging and marketing. Bl***y useless.

K xx

We made a starter which was a slice of ham wrapped around a spoonful of cottage cheese. Its a wonder I can do anything. However, we were taught how to wash dishes properly, which my ex didn't do and drove me potty (who would was a dirty pan before a cup!)

quintwins

Mrs_Optimist wrote: »

I watched the Tonight programme. Although I did feel sympathy (particiularly for the young mum who wasn't able to afford to feed herself) I did wonder at the brand named products on the windowsill (fairy liquid, Dettol spray) and also the character based clothes the girls were wearing - which wouldn't have been cheap, and the shelves crammed with DVD's.

I havent watched this yet (might go watch it now) but i just wanted to touch on the fact that that things aren't always as they appear.

When we had no money my mil was fab and bought our kids lots of clothes alot f which were character clothes, now they do like character clothes but you can buy them for as little as £4 in primark.Even still alot of there clothes come from gifts from my mother in law and things they pick with birthday money.

If you keep an eye on amazon you can get branded cleaning items cheap, i've bought 12 bottles of fairy for £5 before, and cream cleaner cheaper than value (i had to buy a box of 24 tho) or it could be they were bought for her, again when we were really skint my mil would get things on bogof and a big box of washing powder and give it to us before xmas so we'd have abit of spare money.

Again dvd's could have been gifts, or like me maybe she buys ex rentals at less than £2 each as gifts for her kids :money:


I did home economics and we made alot of tea and toast and talked about nutrition more than we acually cooked, only time i ever seen a sewing machine was when my friend completely split her skirt, she was above average in size and when none of the lost property fitted her the teacher fixed her skirt.

mmmsnow

I did home economics at school, in the 90s, and I still use quite a few of the recipes. I was lucky, though, as our teacher was old school and believed in teaching us basic cookery skills rather than the syllabus! I remember making beautiful cakes (everything from sponges to Christmas cake) but also several easy yet filling meals. A quick look at my recipe book and I can see that we made haddock risotto, lentil soup, ham and cheese croquets at school as well as Christmas pudding, cake and tonnes of biscuits. There were no fancy ingredients and everything was fresh and handmade - no packets of Angel Delight allowed!

Regarding the food banks: I would say that a trip to the pawn shop/second hand shop or a few listings on Amazon and eBay should precede a trip to the food bank. If you have loads of DVDs and can't feed your children, then there's something amiss, even if they were all gifts.

ms_london

To be fair on the young mum, she doesn't use this website and things that may seem obvious to us, she is perhaps oblivious to! I used to be a right spendaholic and in £19,000 of debt but am completely the opposite now.

She was a mum bringing up two young children with a father who worked away. So she used a couple of brands, had some DVDs and the children had branded clothes! I'm really surprised that people can be so judgemental on this thread, and to judge others on how they look, weight etc is just pretty mean, I'm sure you wouldn't like it!

Compassion people!

quintwins

Well i watched it and i still stand by my points, she did have alot of dvd's tho, but she also touched on how proud she had been could be she didn't want to have to explian to family why she had got rid of all her dvd's,it could also be that those dvd's were her husbands and as she was trying to hide the problems from him she may have thought it will cost me alot more to buy these back. It could also be it was filmed after, since her hubby has now had a payrise and she lives in army barricks she is more likely to have more disposable income.

She did seem really grateful for what she had received, much more than the other man who altho i do think seeing his daughter is imported seem to feel more entitled than grateful.