New BBC2 Back in time for dinner

suki1964

Islandmaid wrote: »

Hi al

I,ve held back from commenting as I love the concept of the programme, but the apparent lack of basic cooking knowledge of the Mum really got to me.

I don,t want to put her down, as she has more balls than me going on national TV, but I wish they had chosen someone who enjoyed food.

I was born late 60's, so can,t comment too much on whats been done so far, but I do remember my Nan making huge meals out of not much in the 70's and 80's - mainly stews, suet puddings and a roast on a Sunday lunchtime with a 'proper' tea at tea time, sandwiches, cake, tinned meat, salads with whole lettuce leaves, posh star cut tomatoes, whole trimmed spring onions and beetroot - nothing like the chopped salads I make now and tinned fruit with evaporated milk and cake for pudding with pots of tea

One thing really bought back a special memory for me, and that was the Camp coffee - Nan and Grandad used to make a milky coffee with this which we had with biscuits of an evening - bless ,em.

Loving your memories - social history at its best x

I think they chose this family because the wife in this instance didn't cook. The husband done all the cooking at home, she was in modern life a professional business woman

I'm loving it. I'm going to enjoy the 70's as being born in 64 my memories are more of the 70's. Going to be good to see how once again they cope with shortages and now power shortages after getting so used to all the appliances that were making life 'easier'

I found it very telling that the mother felt lost in the 60's. That her role was being eroded and there was nothing for her to fill her days. No wonder women's lib took off then

Nargleblast

This week's episode confirmed wants I have always thought about sliced bread - assuming the bread shown on TV was made authentically to 60's specifications, the slices back then were definitely bigger than the slices today!

catwoman73

I saw two occasions in this week's programme where they were using a breadknife to chop vegetables and maybe something else - did they not have other types of proper knives in the 1960s?

The woman doesn't have a lot of luck with tins does she? I'm well practiced at corned beef tins because corned beef hash (which is more of a stew with dumplings in our house) is a winter staple for us.

But I'm loving the way they make the houses over for each decade - I really liked the 1960s kitchen especially the colour.

[Deleted User]

I am enjoying the programmes, but the family irritate the life out of me I want to give the Mum a good shake. Its not that hard to open a tin FGS, but she does make a bit of a dogs dinner of it .Plus apart from the Dad they all seem to be complining about things.

And as for 'poor Mum doing 7-9 hours a day in house work' that is just rubbish.I married in the early 1960s and had my two DDs in '67 & '69 and I certainly have never spent that amount of time doing housework.I didn't own a washing machine until 1969, and when I had my eldest in 1967 I had a 'baby Burco' boiler and a 'Flatley dryer'

We lived until 1971 in a tiny flat in South Norwood outside Croydon with a shared loo and no bathroom In my kitchen I had a very small gas heated water geyser with a tiny arm which heated up small amounts of water I also owned a scrubbing board and a large brush and lots of elbow grease to do my OH collars and cuffs of his shirts.

I had a large black pot before I had the Burco, which I used to boil up the nappies on the top of the cooker No automatic for me, wouldn't have had the space in the kitchen for one thing.
We only had three rooms one sitting room where OH and I slept on the Put-U-Up sofa and a tiny bedroom for the children.rent was four guinea's a week

As for the Vesta curries I remember buying one only once, and my OH said the box probably tasted better than the contents so I never bothered again.I think they were 2/3d (about 12p) to buy.
We certainly never went out to eat anywhere as we couldn't afford to and anyway I could make it cheaper at home .
In fact I don't remember going out to eat until the mid 1970s as baby sitters cost as much as a meal did
The woman in the series does nothing but complain about things ,if it was really in the 1960s I would have been over the moon to have a kitchen like that .
By the way I am still using today a set of saucepans that were given to me as a wedding present in 1962 I have lots two of the lids in different moves over the years but the saucepans are still in use I wonder how many meals I have cooked in them over the past 53 years :):)

7roland8

Also at start of the 60s hubby made a cuppa - with teabags - none of us saw those for years.

Farway

JackieO wrote: »

I had a 'baby Burco' boiler and a 'Flatley dryer'

Oh yes, those were the days, boiling up the nappies in the Baby Burco

And agree, why was hubby using tea bags? No such things then, except maybe in US

Gigervamp

My brother was born in '68 and I still remember the smell of hot soapy nappies boiling on the cooker, and I remember the wooden tongs mum used to stir them with, like it was yesterday.

meanmarie

Gigervamp...I remember that smell too!

I just saw the 60s programme, enjoyed it and will watch again

[Deleted User]

Very true I went to Switzerland in August 1961 and saw my first tea bag and also a very bluey/green colour TV.When I came home and told my Mum about this sticking a small envelope with tea into a glass of hot water (thats how it was dished up then ) she almost fell over laughing 'No one will ever be daft enough to do that ,what a waste,' she said. Two spoons and one for the pot made a large pot of tea far more economically,plus if you had Brooke Bond tea you saved the stamps off the front of the packet and when your card was filled up you sent it off and got a 5/- postal order back :):)

maman

catwoman73 wrote: »

I saw two occasions in this week's programme where they were using a breadknife to chop vegetables and maybe something else - did they not have other types of proper knives in the 1960s?

The woman doesn't have a lot of luck with tins does she? I'm well practiced at corned beef tins because corned beef hash (which is more of a stew with dumplings in our house) is a winter staple for us.

But I'm loving the way they make the houses over for each decade - I really liked the 1960s kitchen especially the colour.

My grandparents had a short bladed knife used for chopping. I think it may have been longer back in the day but Grampa had sharpened it over and over again down the years. It also doubled up as a knife for me to use as a child to eat my Sunday roast. I still have it in my cutlery drawer.


The woman on the programme is really irritating me. She's as miserable as sin and absolutely hopeless and helpless. Although her grumpy mouth may make her look older I think she's much of my generation. Personally I'd be thoroughly ashamed if I couldn't manage that household and still have loads of time left to spare for other things whether it was paid work, volunteering or just having fun. The 'chained to the kitchen sink' is wearing thin.


Probably I'm doing her a disservice and the programme makers are just making her fit into a stereotype. Maybe that's why she looks so grumpy.;)


Yet another programme where they haven't done proper research.