Ask yer Granny!

mardatha

I just read about a leaked report on changes to the Employment laws esp the one on unfair dismissal. Quite quite scarey. The govt are saying "nothing has been decided".... we seem to have heard that one before eh ? This led to a discussion with me and the RV & we got talking about the Jarrow Crusade - Google it. So much in there relates to so much that is happening now.
There isn't a lot we can do re the job situation but there is a lot we can do on the home front eh? We need to tighten belts one more notch ladies, and we need to grab our grannies and pick their brains... they have secrets we need !
Please, any and all granny tips for living through hard times - post them for me.

[Deleted User]

As a Granny of seven I save the most by using up what I have if at all possible before buying any more The amount of stored foodstuff in your cupboards would probably suprise you all.So do a stock take of all edible items followed by a menu plan .In my kitchen inside each cupboard door I have a typed out list of all the food in there in tins,bottles jars etc i know it sounds a bit OCD but it works for me and when I am on an economy drive (which happens usually before Christmas ) I do a massive stocktake and sort out how many meals I can make from what I have to hand.By my kettle I have my 'Essentials' list and on there goes literally 'essentials only 'which means stuff that HAS to be bought to help use up what I already have .On my list at the moment is eggs and that's all I have to buy over the next few days I have enough in the stores to feed myself for at least a week without buying fresh food stuff as I have bread,cheese etc in the freezer and long life milk in the fridge to use when my fresh milk runs out (about Sunday possibly)I have a stash of fruit and veg bought earlier this week so nothing to buy there so I am well fixed for at least another week with only buying a dozen eggs which I will do later on today .Some of these I will use to make cakes and cookies for my grandsons as I like to keep the cake tin filled for them.Organisation and forward planning is the key .My late Mum bless her managed to raise three children without the aid of a fridge,freezer,washing machine,tumble dryer ,microwave and at times very little hot running water coupled with 9 years of rationing and a war where bombs were falling round her ears shopping became almost a challenge to her housekeeping skills.I learned quite a lot from her about steeeetching food and how you don't need a great deal to feed your family and improvisation is the key if you run out of something
Grannies may be old, but we are definitely up to scratch when it comes to budgetting and feeding a family on next to nothing :):)

rosie383

You are a gem JackieO. As I don't have a granny left, I shall have to adopt you!

MessyMare

See one of my 'grannies' would have been fab for this, having spent her life on a farm. The other one would go without food to be able to get her cigarettes!

fuddle

I guess it depends on how old we are as to whether our grannies will be any use!

One of mine was a real proper housewife. Her house always nipping clean and always nipping cold! I wish she was here to pass on what she knows. I fear she will be looking down on 'progress' and having a right old arms folded tut....... and I don't blame her!

Her pantry was her pride and joy. Us grandkids were never allowed in the pantry. A cold, cold cupboard in the dining room. She would always say to me "you haven't made it in this world until you iron your pinny!"

She told us about the Jarrow Marches - 300 miles those people walked. Made history and gained a lot of pride for their region.

Just read this bit though "When the marchers completed their feat, very little was done for them. The ship industries remained closed and all that they were given was £1 each to get the train back from London." wiki mind so don't know how true. Is that bit true, and did it have any effect on what was happening?

mardatha

I think its very true. I know the govt refused to see them and did not help. Unbelievable isn't it?We need to beware these new laws don't take us back there, albeit not in such an extreme way. They are even sending folk to Food Banks from the dole now! But I don't want to wander too far into politics, I want to try and stay in O/S. I think you're right too Jackie, because on days when I'm not well I can always find something to throw in together to make a dinner... and usually its the tattiest rattiest bits of stuff that surprise me. Like the last sausage and the last slice of bacon.
LOL that would make a great book title eh - "The Last Sausage" by Mad Arthur.

fuddle

mardatha wrote: »

LOL that would make a great book title eh - "The Last Sausage" by Mad Arthur.

Do it!

I'm off to try to read about the changes. I'm frightened at what the government is going to do next but if all those men walked all that way and were refused any acknowledgement by the bloke at the top who thinks he knows what he's doing in todays times, the whole country would be up in arms. I suppose in that respect, we have progressed a little. Ooops politics :eek::o

I am glued to this thread now... grannies, calling all grannies, us modern homemakers need you!

candygirl

JACKIEO is my hero.Every time I feel skint, down or depressed I read her inspirational and uplifting posts, and get a warm and cosy glow, and a feeling that everything will work out right in the end:D:D:D

culpepper

People who have grannies are very lucky! Both mine were deceased before I was born.
Mum says her mother always advised 3 of everything in the clothes dept. 1 to wash ,1 to wear and 1 just in case.
Cant imagine people having only 3 sets of undies nowadays but on the plus side, they would have been natural fibers back then which breathes, not nylon or whatnot that they all are nowadays.

Bitsy_Beans

Mu gran is VERY middle class and not sure she would have anything worth offering I mean she had my dad in a private hospital in 1947 LOL
My other gran is sadly deceased but not sure she would have been any better, holes in my mums shoes but always money for the ciggies :eek:

JackieO I am officially adopting you for my own granny :rotfl:

Patchwork_Quilt

Well my Grandma was famous in the family for her frugal ways. Most of all, her motto was 'Keep Busy'. The house was spotless, the veg patch (where Grandad got sent every day) was a showpiece. She was always baking, she mended everything and never threw anything away. She even made rugs.

The other tip she would have offered was to buy well. They never had anything fancy, unless she made it, but everything was good quality and sturdy. Then it got polished to a high sheen every week, or nicely pressed, or whatever. They never had money for extras so she had to make sure that what they did buy would last.

Lastly, I think she would have said 'Be Inventive'. Things got made out of other things, presents were often home-made. It's amazing what the human mind can come up with in a tight corner.