As The Workhouse Approaches....How To Do Everything To Avoid It, the Old Style Way

Charis

Reverbe wrote: »

It also shocked me the amount of ppl in the book mentioned going to convalescent or rest homes left right and centre.Is this weary willieness again or is it a way of dealing with a lot of untalked about mental issues?

Mental illness carried a terrible stigma in those days. Nella's husband may have had agoraphobia and/or panic attacks but would never have been able to be open about them, even to his wife, let alone seek treatment. He would probably have been a different man with the help of a prescription for beta blockers or Prozac.

maryb

Made the River Cottage version of elderflower cordial a couple of weeks ago and stored it in old fizzy drink bottles because I didn't have any suitable sized glass bottles. I thought it ought to be OK for a while because the recipe tells you to extract the essence from the elderflowers by steeping them in water then draining, bringing to the boil and then adding sugar. So I thought any yeast would have been killed by that. Two of the bottles were fine but the third one started fermenting and has got pretty fizzy!! tastes fine but I suspect it is not entirely alcohol free!!. I put it into some smaller glass bottles that I had managed to scrounge and put them in a pan of boiling water as if I was bottling fruit. The water came over the screw tops and I boiled them for 10 minutes so I hope that's OK. I can still see bubbles round the rim of the bottle but that would presumably just be the CO2 that was in there and if the yeast is dead it won't make any more. Hope so anyway

I really don't want an explosion in the cellar - that would NOT be very MSE

But it tastes pretty good. I was going to mix some with some prosecco (someone called it Prozacco - just what you need after a hard day) or any cheap fizzy wine I can find but maybe mixing fizz with fizz wouldn't be such a good idea.

I've ordered a new book ' How to make your own drinks' by Suzy Atkins (?). She appears on Saturday Kitchen, I think and she's a wine writer. I'm trying really hard not to splurge on new books but this looked a useful addition to the How to library - The River Cottage preserving book only does a few drinks and all the other books on making drinks I've seen are aimed at the beard and sandal with socks type of home brewer.

DH swears he'll leave me if I ever make homemade wine. Have to say I'm not tempted to do that. But I had a go at making ginger beer a while back and that was lovely too and sooo much cheaper than 'real' ginger beer in the shops. But it's a bit hit and miss sometimes - some batches smell a bit of hydrogen sulphide (eggy) and I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I'd like to nail this as both the girls love ginger beer and they can get through a lot during the summer holidays.

Hope this isn't off topic - I thought it was still relevant because it's nice if one can still have some luxuries by making them at home. Also I find it helps me drink less wine. A lot of the soft drinks you buy are so sweet they aren't really much of an alternative if you want a 'grown-up's' drink but non alcoholic

Molly41

taurusgb wrote: »

One of our favourite puddings is from one of her books - whatever fruit I have, topped by stale sponge cake with left over custard poured on and baked (I also sprinkle coconut on top if I have any but can't remember if that refinement is mine or Nellas')

Is that proper custard - ie made with egg yolks or Birds custard powder? Im hoping its Birds as Im addicted to that x

charlies-aunt

Reverbe wrote: »

I have heard this is quite common in Yorkshire (Alan Titchmarsh mentions it also in his when i was a nipper book) Of course the Lancastrian in me would take the opportunity to say this is the insidious parsimony of the Yorkshireman.. * cough tightwads cough*:p

As a nipper myself in the 1950's and with a Yorkshire born & bred Mum - it was always Yorkshire Pudding with gravy or rice pudding as first course at dinner time. Anyone not full after the main course got another Yorkshire pud served with with sugar & vinegar or treacle - dinner at mid day and then a sandwich & piece of cake at tea time . . . never heard of anyone having a meal called "lunch" until the 70's

Salad was eaten sprinkled with sugar or hm raspberry vinegar - salad cream was considered very posh! :eek:

In my young days - it seemed entirely normal for old people to 'take to their beds' after an upset - some stayed there for the rest of their lives - nothing physical wrong from what I remember, maybe it was the OS syle of coping with a breakdown/stress.

ceridwen

kidcat wrote: »

Reverbe -I havent read the Nella books so cant comment directly upon them, however the idea that people were kinder and friendlier is probably on the whole true - but they will have been more judgemental and afraid on the unusual. People were very intolerant of anyone that was gay or who stood out, that was just the times they lived in. I remember hearing my great grandmother - who was the kindest person, - being shocked that "whatshername down the road- her daughter is " and then mouthing so I couldnt hear -living in sin!!!! she was absolutely beside herself that someone in her road had a realtive that wasnt married yet living with someone - and she found it very difficult to speak to the woman whose daughter it was afterwards.
attitudes now are much more liberal over many things - but the sense of community, welcome and friendliness to some extent have also been lost.

Though I do think we have to bear in mind that until about 1970 it really wasnt a very "practical" thing to do at all to "live in sin"/indulge in any <ahem> pleasures <cough> until one got married - because of the possible consequences (ie unwanted pregnancies). I have often been very aware that if I had been born a generation earlier than I was then I would have had to hold to the rule of "Nice girls don't and nice men don't ask" - ie exactly the same as my mother did (ie because she WAS the generation before me). So - I suspect a lot of the non-acceptance of "modern" behaviour was because that was the way things had no option but to be in that era iyswim...

If the "modern (medical) facilities" we have in that respect were "lost overnight" then we would all have to go back to that way of thinking overnight...not that I'm advocating that obviously:eek: . Some "wonders of medical science" ARE a big advancement on what people had (or didnt have to be more accurate:cool:) for thousands of years before that..

floss2

Eating your yorkshires with gravy followed by the meat, roasties & veg was done in my dad's home right up until 1989 when my gran went into a care home....and he was born in the north-east, so not just a Yorkshire economy.

JIL

Reverbe wrote: »

I have heard this is quite common in Yorkshire (Alan Titchmarsh mentions it also in his when i was a nipper book) Of course the Lancastrian in me would take the opportunity to say this is the insidious parsimony of the Yorkshireman.. * cough tightwads cough*:p

I can confirm that as Yorkshire family we always had our Yorkshire pudding as a starter, probably this way we did not then need too much real dinner to fill up. Another thing my mum would do is make the gravy in the bowl with the remaining pudding mix in it, it seemed to thicken the gravy. After the Yorkshire pudding starter which was always a big pudding there was always little ones with the main course. Leftover puddings were served cold with jam on.

floss2

JIL wrote: »

.... Another thing my mum would do is make the gravy in the bowl with the remaining pudding mix in it, it seemed to thicken the gravy.....

My mum used to do this, and I do too when I've made yorkies - it enriches and thickens the gravy

ceridwen

Athome1 wrote: »

You'll probably have moved on by the time you read this post, but I just wanted to say that I don't think there is anything odd about the posters who are sensative to places and things. I am not in the least sensative but when we were house hunting, there were some houses that just felt wrong/bad/unpleasant as soon as we stepped through the door.:eek: The one we ended up with belonged to a divorcing couple and the condition and decor was awful but it had a lovely atmosphere and we've been very happy here for 20+ years.:)

...and you've just reminded me of when I had a big, burly trade union official paying me a social visit one time and he looked round with a sort of puzzled look on his face and commented "Blimey - your house feels like a church":rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:. Now - who woulda thunk it of someone like him making a comment like that?:rotfl: It was at that point that I decided I had better go out and get a few things like cushions/pictures/ornaments to "soften the place up a bit"...

<whispers "He doesnt know that the pictures and most of the ornaments have gone back out the door again since.....I just kept some of the cushions"> One thing hasnt changed - he still tries to chat me up every time he sees me....:rotfl:

But - I DO know there is something that feels a bit "different" about my dining room (ie the room I use as a meditation room - errr...when I get round to things like that....errr...) and I'm darned if I can "put my finger on it". I've never been able to "put my finger on it" - but I just know I make sure the door is shut before I go to bed at night....and I really cant work out what/why or how and the only thing I'm quite sure of is that whatever-it-is is nothing to do with the immediate preceding owners of this house (I decided he was an obvious "toe rag" and she was "Mrs Downtrodden" as soon as I spotted them and I turned out to be right..... - so I dont think its anything to do with them...).

calleyw

kidcat wrote: »

Calley - I thought that too, but neither have them in stock in my area!! Have ordered one to be delivered to local wilkinson but have had an email saying wont be till late next week. Typical!!

Bit of pain. Homebase had them as well but really expensive.

Mind you it will give you time to get the OH primed and ready with the cement:rotfl:.

And fingers crossed it does not rain day it gets planted:(

Yours

Calley