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Memories : Essence Of The 50s And 60s

You may be surprised what a coach load of girls from a well known store in New Street on a night out to RAF Gaydon were prepared to endure when desperate for the loo. We were used to a coach load of men needing a stop in a suitable lay by but not usually an all female trip.
 
The picture of Elmdon airport that I posted with the signpost outside the hotel bought back a few memories. I was visualising a small group of us, perhaps 3 or 4 of us running up and down the spiral staircase whenever a plane was landing or taking off. We were just watching them as we were not airplane enthusiasts really. Once when I was looking at the signpost I had a great idea, cycle to my step sisters house in Atherstone, this was in the late 1940s and three of us made the trip. My step sister had married a coal miner and was living with his parents. We reached the house but were shouted at for going, and only had time for a cup of tea before the journey back home. We got home safely and this was the start of a regular jaunt every other week end. My step sister and her husband were rehoused in a brand new coal board house in Dordon just a few miles up the A5 from Atherstone, it was a better ride to that house. I will stop the story there but can you imagine three school kids doing that today.
 
I omitted to add that the above took place in the late 40s or very early 50s.
 
I believe the photo was taken in early 1963 during the hard winter as the same picture is featured in one of the local history books, not sure if there was a pub there then opposite the library
 
Astoness said:
not yet BB been a tad busy of late but very soon..will be nice to also have another look at the kingston row houses while i am there as they are just opposite the longboat..

lyn
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Lyn my Mother lived in Cambridge Tower Brindley drive just in front of The Longboat , my wife and I went there a couple of times . Once being a Saturday afternoon after work in the morning , who was sitting in there with a couple of people the actor Francis Matthews in his bright khaki type safari suit . I can't say I was over impressed with the place myself , it's only saving grace at the time was during the summer you could see the fading sun , or the moon reflections on the canal . The car park that was on Brindley Drive was where they shot a scene for The Gangsters tv series , kept my Mother awake all night skidding around the car park
 
so agree with you john...in the bigger scheme of things it was nothing special and its not really that old either..for me it is more a case of my happy days at spring hill rollar rink as we would go to the longboat quite often after skating and in those days i think it was a novelty to have a pub on a canal..

lyn
 
Astoness said:
so agree with you john...in the bigger scheme of things it was nothing special and its not really that old either..for me it is more a case of my happy days at spring hill rollar rink as we would go to the longboat quite often after skating and in those days i think it was a novelty to have a pub on a canal..

lyn
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Yes Lyn very true it would at the time be Number one pub for it's novelty value
 
Radiorails said:
https://www.workingboats.com/Elements.htm
I expect there is more on the Forum about them.
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When I worked in the export department at Dunlop, I worked with a lad who was related to T & S Element and he used to tell the tale of how he worked on Saturday mornings and one of the jobs he helped on was the scraping off of the top of the vats at HP sauce. Whether it was true or not I cannot say. However recently i have seen a canal boat (diplomacy at work) with Elements name on, whether while on our spring cruise or in one of the magazines i read, i cannot remember.
BOB
 
I may be wrong ( usually am ) but does the story go that the scrapings off the HP vats wee the basis of Marmots. The same is said here in Oz but with the variation that the companies involved were Carlton United Breweries and Vegemite.
Cheers Tim
 
I think Marmite was mainly made from the waste malt after brewing from beer breweries, though I suppose they could also have used the same from brews for vinegar
 
Marmite was/is definitely made from what's left over after brewing beer. The main factory was (maybe still is) in Burton-on-Trent, which was noted for brewing (and still is, thankfully). I had a customer (a large steel foundry) right opposite the Marmite factory on Wellington Road, and the smell of Marmite was unavoidable. Fortunately, I liked the smell, but plenty of people didn't.

A real treat when I was a nipper was for Mom to make toast, spread it with beef dripping, and then dot it with Marmite! Probably as unhealthy a snack as you can get, but I loved it.

G
 
I'm not so sure it is unhealthy, Gee. Marmite is a great source of vitmain B12, & they say here in Crete that you should eat pleanty of it to keep the mosquitoes & midges at bay. And if you like it, you can be sure it does you good, if only psychologically! Personally, I love Marmite, and the toast certainly isn't going to do me any harm!

Maurice
 
tim eborn said:
Ps spellcheck has changed Marmite to Marmots.
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Puzzled by Marmots. :D
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmot
220px-Marmot-edit1.jpg
 
I know, Alan, they tell us it's made from the remains of brewing beer, but you've just revealed that it's a concentrated monkey stew! :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

But you won't succeed in putting me off one little bit! :-) :-)

Maurice
 
We still eat Marmite, Maurice, but sadly not on dripping....and you didn't see the amount of dripping Mom shovelled onto the toast! Illustrative of our change in eating habits - much less red meat that 60+ years ago, and much more fish. I did once buy a tub of dripping from somewhere, and it was foul.

The word 'marmite', incidentally, is the French word for a large cast-iron cooking-pot, as featured on the Marmite label, and roughly the shape of the Marmite jar.

G
 
G,

Those cast iron jobs weigh a ton. I picked up a frying pan and then a large casserole in Lidl today - two of their specials - and I don't know how people managed to move them about. I eat Marmite on toast too and thoroughly enjoy it, though generally with an olive oil spread. But all the things we were not supposed to eat are now good for us. I believe the problem is with all the strange chemical additives & preservatives used in our food. And at 81 I now eat what I enjoy! :-)

Maurice
 
We have two or thee 'marmites' at least here. Most of our cooking pots are French. The great Elizabeth David was responsible for enlightening a great number of people, through her books and shops - and specialist shops who sold her merchandise - in the joys of French cooking and utensils. She also travelled and wrote about other Mediterranean countries food.
Cast iron and wrought iron pots are the best, they generally transmit heat to cook food in a controlled manner (which thin pans do not do) and as a result are economical on gas ideally or electricity. Their drawback is weight!!
As far as what is good for you and what isn't and that changes from month to month, it has to remembered that much of the baloney has an advertising agenda and some so called columnists in work.
 
And at 81 I now eat what I enjoy!

Quite right, Maurice! Same here. Not so long ago a young GP told me 'Never use olive oil. Use the spray cooking stuff'. Like Hell I will. Can't live without olive oil, me. My old and long-since retired GP (from Goa) told me once that 'if you can't eat and drink what you enjoy, then life isn't worth living'.

Re: cast iron cookware, one time in a market in Chinon I bought a Le Creuset frying-pan and casserole which I thought were great, but my wife couldn't even pick them up. I kept the frying-pan, but sadly the casserole had to go as it was even doing me in. I know they're not the same, but I bought (in that posh kitchen shop in Lichfield when they had a sale) a set of quality stainless-steel pans and a casserole, all with good thick bottoms, which have lasted for years and can at least be lifted by my wife.

I love cooking, and my favourite recipes are those by Keith Floyd and Elizabeth David - I have all their books. Nothing airy-fairy, just proper ways to cook food as it should be cooked and presented.

G
 
Keith Floyd, led a turbulent life. He had a restaurant in South Devon in his later years but was rather exclusive - I never dined there. :eek:
I knew Elizabeth David as I often had dealings with her London store. I also have ED's books, which are not dull cookbooks but are an interesting travelogue.
The secret with Le Creuset is not to put it away in low cupboards. Besides it is well worth displaying. Most of what we have is the volcanic orange colour, introduced just before WW2. Other colours have been produced but the orange sales far outstrip the others.
 
Alan,

The Lidl ones currently on sale, are also that bright volcanic orange colour and, I have to admit, look great. But the weight, size, and the fact that there are only the two of us, precludes us from buying them.

Gee,

I am surrounded by Greek people in their 90s, many still working the land, that are witness to the longevity due to the Mediterranean diet, the main components of which are olive oil, fresh vegetables, and no damned additives. They don't eat a lot of meat because it is too expensive, but what they do eat is either lamb or pork traditionally. If you go to any allergy clinic and undergo a course to find out what you are allergic to, they will start you off with just pears and lamb, because they are the two foods to which the human body is not generally allergic. They then progressively add other foods until you start to get an adverse reaction.

Both my Greek son-in-law and his father keep sheep, and except for times of severe drought, they are never fed animal feed (which contains goodness knows what), just feeding naturally from grass growing on the land. I'm sure that one of the biggest problems in northern Europe is the additives put into both human food and animal feed. Most of all, enjoy your food! :-) :-) :-)

Maurice
 
Keith Floyd, led a turbulent life. He had a restaurant in South Devon in his later years but was rather exclusive - I never dined there.

In his early days he opened three restaurants in Bristol, and all went bust. We went to the one in Clifton, Bristol, called 'Floyd's Bistro', only to find when we arrived that it had already closed! Obviously a better chef than a businessman! But he could knock all the so-called 'celebrity chefs' of today into a cocked hat, for all his eccentricity. Sadly, excessive booze and fags were his nemesis.

Very envious that you knew Elizabeth David, RR. As you say, her books are more than just cook-books, and although some of her dishes are perhaps a little 'dated' these days, I still use her recipes regularly.

G
 
Remember the days of Prawn Cocktail, Steak and Chips and Black Forest Gateau, bottle of Mateus Rose, all in that new exciting wonder restaurant Berni.
Bob
 
I do indeed. Both Brnie and Schooner inns did a similar menu, however I remember it as a late 70’s thing.

Looking back, it was hellishly expensive for a very basic meal, I recall the bill for two would be around £16. You can still go to Toby Carvery for that. Going to eat out was a quite a luxury.

I knew a girl who was a waitress for one of the above chains. She told me if anyone did a runner, it was deducted out of her wages. If a cheque bounced, they would include it in her weekly pay and deduct the equivalent in cash.
 
Bob Davis said:
Remember the days of Prawn Cocktail, Steak and Chips and Black Forest Gateau, bottle of Mateus Rose, all in that new exciting wonder restaurant Berni.
Bob
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gosh bob all those bring back memories of the 70s to me...i still love steak and chips and black forest gateau:D..not had prawn cocktail for years and as i no longer drink mateus rose is out

lyn
 
It was earlier than the 70s. I remember having a Berni meal like that in their place on the floating harbour in Bristol in the 1960s
 
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