People young and old were encouraged to grow food anywhere they could. Be it at an allotment next to a railway line or even digging up the village green.
Merchant ships were being sunk in the Atlantic and Irish and North seas and English Channel.. If it wasn't for Dig For Victory. Britain would have starved.
Ration books were still being used in the nineteen fifties and people ate dried egg and Spam:
Classic Monty Python comedy.
When the lockdown ends we will go the the Iceland store in Cork or Kerry and buy some Spam and Vimto.
Here's the brilliant Public Service Broadcasting with their take on Dig for Victory:
Have you started working on your veg plot or allotment yet? Perhaps you use to have an allotment or perhaps you would like to get one? I miss my allotment even though I have my own veg plot and polytunnel called ' Portugal'.
Our veg plot is empty now. P cleared it all out ready for our house sale.
ReplyDeleteLooks tidy though!
Hi JayCee. My veg plot is still too wet to dig over. Harvested the last of the Brussel Sprouts today. Will you have a veg plot at your new house or maybe you and P will put your names down for an allotment? I bet you will both miss your lovely large garden?
ReplyDeleteYou never hear a vacuum cleaner when you are working up at an allotment or just sitting there having a cup of tea. By the way, I love fried spam with new potatoes and garden peas - must include a knob of salted butter melting upon the spuds.
ReplyDeleteOur vegetable plot has only just lost its coating of snow and ice so I will not be doing anything up there for three or four weeks.
Allotments can be havens and sanctuaries away from the white goods and labour saving cleaning devices of domesticity Mr Pudding.
ReplyDeleteRoll on Summer to try your delicious Spam meal. Far too wet here to any weeding or digging on our veg plot. We'll just have to wait.
Shall I send you the recipe for the Spam feast? I am just like that angry big-headed fecker - Gordon "The Gopher" Ramsay.
DeleteI once read about Spike Milligan walking into an Arab tent in North Africa and saying to the waiter: "Spam and chips twice please!" What could be more quintisentially English than Spam? Well maybe Shepherds Pie or Chicken Tikka Masala? I look forward to seeing your cooking programme YP.
ReplyDeleteToday we are doing... marmalade on toast.
DeletePaddington Bears favourite snack YP. You will have an all celebrity guest list.
DeleteI planted some more lettuces last week and then came the freezing weather. Some seem to be doing ok but I think they'll be ready for the Easter soup. Easter is in May over here.
ReplyDeleteLots of greens in the market. Spinach is number one
Here, it snowed some more. Your taunts are cruel.
ReplyDeleteOh dear. Linda lives in Greek paradise Debby. We can only dream of such places.😊
DeleteHi Linda. An indoor kitchen windowsill is good for starting vegetables off. They get the warmth from the stove and you hopefully remember to water them😊. Good to read about the lettuces being planted out. Easter is April the 4th I think over here? You will be going off the Greek Orthodox calendar thinks?
ReplyDeleteHi. Ihave sown 2 types of onions, leeks, 2 types of mange tout and 12 types of sweet peppers so far, on the windowsill. Have been busy weeding the tunnels and have managed to clear 5 beds outside and mulched them all. Raised beds really do make a difference when its so wet. I also have apricots strting into bloom in one of the tunnels. Intend to plant various leafy plants tomorrow. I was working in short sleeves last week inside.
ReplyDeleteI remember dried egg and dried milk. We used to pick the hedgerows for rosehips to make syrup and kept a chicken in a corner of the verandah for xmas.We grew vegetables and fruit in our smallish garden. We swapped our sweet coupons for a neighbours sugar coupons and then were able to make our own jam and bottled fruit.
Kathy
Thanks Kathy. Sounds like you have been really busy outside and in the polytunnels. I love your last paragraph. It must have been a very difficult time but it sounds like you were very resourceful and had great neighbours. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteSpam is one of those meats that I forget about. When the kids were home we often had spam fritters. Now look what you've done, I've got to go and buy a can of spam now, lol
ReplyDeleteBriony
x
Spam fritters sound great Briony. I have seen Spam in Iceland stores over here. We always have a tin of corned beef in the food cupboard especially when it's blowing a gale and you can make toasties or even corned beef hash. Thanks.
ReplyDelete