A Fifties Childhood: Food

Fifties Childhood - Memories

At the beginning of the Fifties some food was still rationed and so some things were in short supply. After rationing ceased, Mum gave me the old ration books to play with and I spent many hours playing shops and tearing out the coupons.

Certain days had certain foods and Saturdays and Sundays were treat days. Routine was very much part of life in the fifties and on Saturday Mum would buy smoked haddock (From Jim Bugby’s Wet Fish Shop)  which we had, for tea, with a pat of butter and a slice of bread, and cakes from either Norman’s or Barlow’s cake shops. I always had a meringue which was a very messy affair but most enjoyable.

Fish and chips were bought either from the chip van which came round sometimes and served delicious potato wafers, or from Dave King’s chip Shop in Cromwell Road . By today’s standards it was a grubby little shop, with a cat asleep on the newspapers that wrapped up the chips, but it was always busy and we never had any sickness from eating the fish and chips.

Sunday started off with a cooked breakfast of bacon, eggs and tinned tomatoes. I love tinned tomatoes and they always remind me of sitting at the table with my Dad before getting ready to go to Sunday School. Sunday lunch was a big affair starting off with Yorkshire Pudding. Traditionally this is eaten as a first course, by itself, with gravy. This was followed by a roast with potatoes and any vegetable that was in season at the allotments. Brussels, cabbage and cauliflower in the winter, with spring greens and broad beans in spring, followed by runner beans, cauliflower, broccoli and peas in summer. Onions and carrots were available from the allotment all year. As we ate our Sunday lunch we always listened to “Two-way Family Favourites” with Cliff Michelmore and Jean Metcalfe, on the radio. This was a request programme for our forces posted overseas in Germany . After dinner, as we sat and drank a cup of tea we listened to such classics as “The Navy Lark”, “Round the Horn”, “Al Read” and “Hancock’s Half Hour”. The routine was the same every week and we looked forward to it. Sunday tea was potted meat sandwiches, followed by tinned fruit with condensed milk and bread and butter.

Monday we always had shepherd’s pie with the leftovers of the Sunday joint. The rest of the week was stews with cheap cuts of mutton or beef with again seasonal vegetables from the garden. We always had a pudding of some kind – often rice or jam tart and custard although Dad was very partial to an Egg Custard. A favourite pudding was Yorkshire pudding batter cooked with a sprinkling of dates and served with custard. Suet rolls with bacon and onion in them were another of Dad’s favourite meals - all cheap to make, but very nourishing and filling. Mum was very partial to a rabbit stew but I found the sweet smell most off–putting and could never be tempted to eat any of it.

Fifties Childhood - Memories