Diary summary week ending 3rd December

[Mowsehowse]

Viktoria,  please don't feel sad about not going to church today, you had good intentions but if the roads or path aren't safe you are best at home,   I am sure you will be forgive , I don't  intend to drive if we have snow and I know I can't really  walk on snow or ice anymore.

MH, this years services are set, if there is a Carol service in the nearby village by the shops I might go to that, about an hour out in the cold but I can manage that.

Keep warm everyone.  LM

For this year, sadly, yes...... but I was thinking perhaps you could get an addition for next year perhaps?

[Rena]

Oooh!  Dandelion & Burdock - my favourite drink from long ago, too.  I quite liked American Cream Soda, too.  At the end of our road was a sweet shop, one of those with lots of jars of sweets, which the shopkeeper would measure out for us - a quarter (of a pound) or even just 2 ounces of dolly mixtures, liquorice torpedoes, pear drops or liquorice all sorts and so on.  He also sold pop by the bottle or the glass.  It cost a penny a glass or, if you were hard up, a halfpenny a half glass.  Since I only had 6d per week pocket money it was quite a treat to have a glass of Dandelion and Burdock, and not uncommon to have just half a glass and a few sweets.

Here in Devon we woke up to heavy frost and bright sunshine today, so everything looks very pretty, but we've got the wood burner blazing away, as our central heating only comes on for a couple of hours in the morning and evening at the moment.  Our bird table has become very popular with the robins, blackbirds and bluetits but we won't feed the greedy pigeons, who can't get to the caged fat balls.

Tonight our choir are singing in what is described as a "fun evening" in the village pub.  Also singing are the local sea shanty choir and a young trio of folk singers.  Next Saturday there will be a more serious Christmas concert in the church and we have several seasonal songs to sing there, too.   In early January we go a-wassailing in the community orchard to encourage the trees there to bear lots of apples.

We're more or less twin souls - I also received six pence a week and  like American Cream soda.  All the sweets you mentioned  are my favourites too.  The only difference is that in my part of the world "sweets" were known as "goodies".  My grandmother used to take a bag of sugar to the market  and exchanged it for  two 4oz bags of goodies for my grandfather, which were often humbugs and pear drops shaped as fishes. The only goodies not rationed were small packs of chicklets (4 pieces of American chewing gum).  A threepenny bar of Highland Toffee could last most of the week and it was an art to see how long the licked toffee grew  :-)  About 1947 a new girl same age as myself moved into the district and I was tickled that her Derbyshire accent announced toffee as tuffee. At the top of our street was a parade of shops on either side of the main road that were allowed to open five days a week. We had winkles or mussels one meal during the week from the wet fish shop, the Co-Op sprinkled sawdust on their floors -  made their own butter and margarine but they didn't cut the butter in front of the customer or use a couple of "paddles" to shape the blocks of butter which was what "Maypole" did and I found fascinating to watch the blob taking shape in mid air. My favourite local shop sold toys, goodies and they had a small penny library in their back room.(each book cost two pence to take out and when it was brought back the borrower was handed one penny)   Our shop keepers chose to open four and a half days during the week plus Saturday morning in lieu of closing Monday afternoon.   Every time my OH moved to another town we had to learn pdq which half days each of those towns closed their shops.  When we moved to Lancashire we had to learn about their "Wakes Weeks".  We moved into our new home when all the local shops seemed closed and because our cupboard was bare, my OH spent a few hours tramping up and down side streets looking for a corner shop that wasn't closed - he triumphantly held a loaf of bread aloft as he entered the house, lol).  In 1954 a small shop changed hands and he not only sold ice cream wafers/cornets and glasses of pop which could be drunk at one of his two tables, he also introduced a glass of pop with a blob of ice cream in it, which looked very posh and modern with a straw and long handled spoon with which to drink and eat from.  priced just right for a child's pocket money. 

I had the heat on all night and awoke this morning to the sight of virgin white snow everywhere.  I stopped putting out fat balls, seeds, nuts and bread for the birds as they get everything they want in the allotments are the bottom of this short street.

[ThrelfallYorky]

I don't normally feed the birds in my garden, just hack the ice on a couple of the ponds, but I've fed them the last few days, in this icy weather, as cat is too old to want to go out to annoy them!
TY

[louisa maud]

It is not a nice day but I should feel lucky there is no snow, cold, damp and miserable.

Never had dandelion and burdock, if it is still sold I might buy one to try this week. I remember ice cream in  cream soda  I had it not so long ago, very nice on a hot day. I remember at infants school  my mother coming past the school at lunch time and passed through some sort of sweet bears,  only 2 I remember, we didn't have many sweets at the time as they were still on ration.

I have to someone up the energy to walk to the local post box, our post goes out at 7am, we'll I won't be there then.

LM


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[BumbleB]

Back in the day my father and grandfather ran the village post office and general store.  I do have to say that they were as strict with me as with everyone else in the days of rationing and I don't remember getting any privileges as far as sweets were concerned, my quota was the same as anyone else's.  BUT I do remember being told of the time when my father was working away behind the post office grille and the door opened.  He didn't look up as he was doing his "sums" - it was amazing to see him add up the columns by just seemingly running his finger down the page and entering the total in one go - Ł, s and d.

NOW back to the door opening whilst he was undertaking this task. a neighbour worked as his assistant and when the door opened and closed for a second time she almost fainted - "that man had a gun!" - probably a good job that my father did not react in any way, and the would-be thief decided to give up.   

AND dandelion and burdock was very moreish - I must try some again after all this time!

[Viktoria]

In nearby Rawtenstall, up the valley,there is one of the last “ Herbalist’s”.
It also sells drinks ,all plant based.
Fitzpatrick’s,  a pokey little shop selling medicinal herbs etc.
People come from miles to visit, quaint to say the least but very popular.

We used togo to Church on Sunday mornings then go to our local herbalist’s for hot  OXO or Horlicks in Winter and D&B,Cream soda etc in the Summer.
Put a coin in the Juke box and hear the latest hits, this the early 1950’s.
Then or before we girls would walk past the boys,(we had all been to Church)
Stiletto heels got stuck in the nicks between the paving slabs , the boys would wiggle them out ,then they had to marry you!!! .
Back to church for Evensong after tea ,Summer a walk ,in Winter someone’s house for coffee made with milk.Nescafé in a tin . Nothing  tastes so good these days.
We were easily pleased ,knew well one another’s families and there were some very long stable marriages from those Sunday outings.
Still in contact with a few of those people.
Just looked at my Christmas card list , each year there are a few who don’t send one back.

I have a school photograph ,taken  just prior to the 11+exam, I can still name them all, they were so kind and friendly towards me when I started school in Manchester after being an evacuee,with a funny accent,no idea of the rules of playground games like Rally Vo —- possibly Relievo .
My nickname was Veronica Lake ,well she was a blond Hollywood star with long hair covering half her face, I had two very dark plaits —
At eight losing milk teeth too!
Not a pretty sight.

Well chicken in the oven ,veges ready and stuffing ,apple sauce.

Cheerio,take care it could be very treacherous tomorrow if it freezes overnight.
Viktoria.

when I