It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

thriftwizard

Like most of you, I was dressed in hand-me-downs (mostly from kind parishioners as my siblings are all male) until I was secondary age, at which point sadly my father died and I was sent to boarding school on a scholarship. Until then, I hadn't felt at all disadvantaged for wearing secondhand, as everyone else in our world was too, but oh boy, could some of those rich kids rub it in... Now I look back on them with compassion, as the majority of them had intensely disrupted home lives - one in particular never knew which stepfather, or even country, she'd be going home to for the summer holidays, her mother having been a "beauty" who was always trading up - but at the time I felt utterly wretched, & as a result, was probably far too soft with my own kids as they grew up!

However I suspect we're the lucky ones now... we know it can be done, and done with style & panache & very little money. We also know how to cook, and budget, and dress for the conditions, more or less. Hopefully we've passed enough of the "can-do" attitude down to the succeeding generations that they too will adapt to our changing world with enthusiasm & energy, rather than bemoaning the days when you could sit on your sofa all day in a t-shirt in January.

freyasmum

Yes, @littlemoney

Sorry, the quote button doesn't seem to be working for me right now. 

You can freeze them in suitable containers. I used a giant ice cube tray so that they were easily portioned. Mine were already scrambled (as i used a carton of liquid eggs), but I don't see why you couldn't freeze them without scrambling. I also have separated yolks and whites in the freezer from different projects. 

It's important to thaw them slowly in the fridge when you want to use them.

London_1

My late Mothers sister lived in New Jersey in the USA and would send us parcels of stuff, post war, when things were still very hard to get hold of.

I remember she sent a beautiful dark green velvet dress with a white lace front to it that buttoned down the front with tiny pearl buttons I was about 6 I suppose and I felt so smart when I wore it to our school Christmas party .

Trouble was I never wanted to not wear it and when I came home from school I would beg my Mum to let me wear it as much as I could

Obviously a growing child (I grew like a proverbial weed) I soon shot up, so it was getting shorter and shorter on me, although I was skinny as a rake:) My Mum first let the hem down, then added a bit of broderie anglaise around where the line was where she let it down.
After a few months she had to add some more broderie anglaise around the bottom of the skirt until as she said
  "Your're growing and inch or so a month lassie ! " I was convinced I was going to be a giant. I'm actually 5'4" now  

Eventually it became too short for even me to feel comfortable in and she unpicked it bless her, and turned the lace front into tiny hankerchiefs, and the velvet was turned into a little coat for my Molly-the-Dolly my brother had salvaged from a bomb site.

To this day well over 70 plus years later I can remember that gorgeous dress and how I felt wearing it.

In the post was austerity that we had of the 1940s-50s there were very few pretty things around as there were so little availability and most stuff was remade from recycled jumble sale clothes. 

Jumble sales were part and parcel of life for many housewives, and Saturday mornings you got there as early as possible queued up and dashed for the pile of clothes.
Being a skinny little thing I would wriggle my way to the front as soon as I could and snaffle any wooly garments as wool had to be taken home,unpicked , washed and reknitted into something else.

My Mum once made me a knitted jumper, and as she hadn't got enough yellow wool she striped it with brown and made me wear this brown and yellow top which I loathed as it made me look like a skinny angry wasp.
I kept say 'Oh Mum I've grown out of it now can you make something else', to which she fixed me with a steely look and said
"No , lassie there a good few months to go before you out grow it" she was right of course )and as Mums word was law you just had to put up with it .

I think the yellow ended up as a pair of gloves and a scarf, and the brown made a balaclava for one of my brothers.Grey was a highly prized wool to find in a jumble sale as it was knitted into school socks, and I had two brothers that seems to permanantly need new socks.

I have now a great aversion to knitting socks as I made so many pairs when I was a child. We were always knitting something back then and I can't remember a time when we didn't knit, and to this day I still knit daily but never ever socks, and I have absolutley no brown wool in my stash.  

Re private schools this morning I had to take my grandson for an interview for a post in a private boarding school in Kent and he is hoping to hear by the end of the week if he's got it or not.
He was shortlisted but it depends on how much experience other candidate might have, as he is newly qualified this year to teach.His older brother teaches as well, but he lives in north London and teaches in Edgware. 

Last shopping day today for November and it will only be the third shop of the month so I have my fingers crossed I may have a bit left over to put into my stash for my 'Big January Shop' after Christmas

JackieO xx

annieb64

They changed our school summer frocks from gingham to a plain fabric at the end of my first year. We were  allowed to wear up the gingham ones. One poor girl was still wearing hers in the fifth form.

YorksLass

My late DF's cousins lived in Michigan and they used to send us parcels of stuff in the 1950s.  These were two teacher spinsters and one of them visited the UK just after the war.  She was quite shocked at conditions here (rationing etc), hence the parcels for family members, especially those who had young children.  Neither of them married and both lived to be in their late 90s.  The last surviving one left $1 million to the University of Michigan for need-based scholarships for students aspiring to be teachers.

I remember a cherry red dress that buttoned all the way down the front with a white Peter Pan collar and white bands round the gathered short sleeves.  Looking back, it was a lovely dress but, as a child, I hated it.  Probably because I was very shy and felt uncomfortable at being so visible!  Thankfully, it was a "high days and holidays" dress so I didn't have to wear it too often.  I was much happier in my school dresses - two of them, identical in style, one blue check and one green check.

I've raided my yarn stash again and am knitting a lacy scarf in a cotton/linen/viscose mix to use up some oddments of dark and light purple with some white and cream added in.  It will go with my long winter purple coat when the weather turns really cold.

Sadly, nothing left in November's grocery budget  but the freezer and pantry are well stocked so December's cash will be used for whatever fresh provisions and Xmas stuff we might need - not too much as there's only the two of us and our Xmas dinner is a normal Sunday roast with a few extra bits.

poppy811

Re jumble sales.  I must have been about 6 when I bought a fox fur stole complete with head!  My Mum refused to have it in the house but I was mortified.  I just thought it was wonderful!

YorksLass

poppy811 said:

Re jumble sales.  I must have been about 6 when I bought a fox fur stole complete with head!  My Mum refused to have it in the house but I was mortified.  I just thought it was wonderful!

My grandmother had one of those and I can remember its beady little eyes to this day!  She was born in 1880 and had some lovely beaded handbags and lots of hat pins.  I often wonder what happened to all these things - probably binned.

Madusa

Loving the conversation but I hope you don't mind me reverting to mince pies.  I received two boxes of six brown butter mince pies (on offer at £4 for two boxes) like Rosa, in a Waitrose order for Christmas treats.  I hadn't checked the best before date when they were delivered and just noticed today that they have a Best Before of 9/12/22.  This annoyed me as I purchased them to take to my daughter's on Christmas Day. 

Anyway, I complained and received an e-mail apologizing and giving me a refund.  Also because of the 'inconvenience' as they put it, they have refunded me at the full price £7! 

I call that proper customer service.  Also, they are utterly delish - I broke open a box to celebrate!

Katiehound

Madusa said:

 This annoyed me as I purchased them to take to my daughter's on Christmas Day. 

 

I call that proper customer service.  Also, they are utterly delish - I broke open a box to celebrate!

ermmmm. Thought they were for Christmas Day! They would probably have been fine.

Now of course you will have to buy more... and will sing the praises of Waitrose to everyone. Cheap advertising for them- but honourable action on their part

neveah

Hi everyone I’m neveah ,I’ve just caught up on the thread 
i joined in 2009x