Report From A British Housewife
_ A_
(By Martha Wentworth Hill)
(In the Dec., 1945, The Outpost)
During the war we used to say:
“Well, when it’s over we’ll turn
on every light in the house, we’ll
burn the blackout curtains, and
live in a blaze of light.’’ But it was
not like that. It took some time to
feel at all comfortable with the
lights showing and it is taking a
lot more time to accustom our
selves to all the unfamiliar signs
on the new road of peace. The j
idea of a clean break away from !
war-time living was, of course, a
fancy, so that now, in spite of the
tremendous change in the direc
tion of our thoughts, in spite of
the substitution of new worries for j
old, it is tempting to say that home j
life goes on with very little1
change. In no way is the continu-1
ity more apparent than in the mat-!
ter of rationing and restrictions.!
When Germany collapsed we'
were immediately blessed with '
the return, after an absence of 3 1
years, of the basic gasoline ration.!
Today we are allowed to buy
enough gasoline to drive about |
200 miles a month.
Of all the operations on the i
home front during the war it is
generally agreed that food ration
ing was amongst the most expert
ly managed. We still have it in
full force, but there is less to buy
than there ever has been. May I
discuss the peacetime problem of
providing for my household?
There are five of us, with two t
children of school age and one
under five. There is no question
of shopping around to get our ra
tions. We have chosen to register I
with Smith for our meat, with
Robinson for our groceries, and
we must get our milk from Brown.
Not once since the war and ration
ing began have we failed to have
our rations honored. This is what
we now get and look like getting
for some time to come:
Meat—23 cents worth each a
week, including 3 cents worth of
corned beef. The meat ration for
children under five is 12 cents
worth.
The prices of meat are control
led and the inspection is very
strict. Rump of fillet steak costs
40 cents a pound, but as one bul
lock provides roughly 500 rations
r
and about 2 steaks, it is not sur
prising that we never see steak.
English leg of lamb costs 31 cents
a pound.
For five years it has been im
possible to get poultry or game in
this part of the country near Lon
don. The meat we now eat comes
from English, Australian, and
New Zealand sources, with a little
from Canada. Until the end of the
war American pork was plentiful.
The termination of Lend-Lease
accounts for the percentage of
corned beef in the meat ration.
For a Christmas week bonus we
look forward to an extra 20 cents
worth of meat each, which must
include corned beef if the fresh
meat is not adequate to the ration.
Milk—This seems to me one of
the major worries of catering. At
present we are reduced to 2 pints
a week per adult. My two school
children get Vz pint a day each at
home and 1/3 pint at school, while
the baby gets 1 pint a day. Babies
under a year share a quart of milk
a day with their mothers.
In the fall and winter we can
each buy one can of dried milk
containing the equivalent of 4
pints of skimmed milk once every
two months. There is also whole
and skimmed milk in cans with
enough available to get one can
about once a month, on 'points.
Groceries—The grocers’ shops
are emptier than they have been
all during the war, but we get
without fail each week our basic
rations. They consist of Vz lb. sug
ar, 3 oz. cheese, 3 oz. bacon, 9 oz.
fat, 2V£ oz. tea, Vi lb. jam.
Soap—Is very difficult. The in
dividual ration is 12 oz. of soap
flakes or 1 lb of hard soap for one
month, and 9 oz. of soap flakes or
12 oz. of hard soap the next
month. There is no kind of soap
that is not rationed. Very few peo
ple can so manage their soap ra
tion that they can afford to wash
dishes with soap flakes. Most peo
ple use washing soda.
Eggs—People who keep hens
'meal for which is severely ra
tioned) cannot buy eggs at the
stores. People who don’t keep hens
are, at this season, getting one egg
a month each. Everyone can get
1 package of 12 dried eggs once
every two months.
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All other foods continue to be
rationed on the points system. For
the five of us I have each month
(four v/eeks) 100 points, and this
is how I fed my family last month:
Points
3 pkgs. shredded wheat.
2 all bran .
2 lbs. quick oats.
3 cans sardines .
1 lbs. best Canadian canned
salmon .
1 2-lb. can molasses.. 10
2 lbs. dates. 8
1
Vt lb. sultanas . 4
100 ;
One of our chief delights and i
stand-bys during the war was the
variety of canned pork meatr, j
available on points, with which.
we were able to eke out the fresh
meat ration. Now, they are no
more. A few six-pound cans have
lasted out, and the meat is sold in
slices at 24 points a pound, more
points than one person has at his
disposal a month. i
Missing or Short
Rice, none since early last year.
Tapioca, absent for several
years.
Canned fruit, none for several
years, with possible exception of
occasional English gooseberries
and plums.
Apricots, none.
Nuts, none since last Christmas.
Sometimes available to registered j
vegetarians.
Peanut butter, my grocer gets j
15 to 18 lbs a month for 1,500 cus- j
tomers. First sold to vegetarians, j
Dessert jellies, none.
Canned tomatoes, none since
1942.
Tomato juice, none since first1
year of the war.
Canned vegetables, none for
several years except, occasionally,
peas and beets.
Fruit juices, unknown (all chil- ■
dren under five, however, have
had Lend-Lease orange juice*.
Cornstarch, almost never.
Starch, gone with rice.
Olive oil or any other, none dur
ing the war or since.
Spaghetti and macaroni, scarce,
poor, and dingy.
Junkets, yes, but no prepared
pudding mixtures containing sug- j
ar. No candied peel, mashmallows,
or coco-nut.
Vinegar, so short that the most1
I could get for pickling in Sep-!
tember was 1 quart, none since, j
Canned soups, only potato, car-1
rot and mock turtle. I have per- j
haps had six cans in the last six
months.
Matches, acute shortage.
Salt, none available in London
area for several weeks this fall.
Olives, none since first year of
war.
Coffee, scarce. It is required to
be only 50 per cent pure.
Having practically exhausted (
the grocer, it is encouraging to
turn to the greengrocer and fruit
erer, who has plenty of potatoes,
greens, and root vegetables, and!
has had these all during the war j
at controlled prices.
Fruit—We had oranges in this
district in the early summer, and;
hope soon for another allocation, j
We had half a grapefruit each j
once last winter, the only wartime
appearance grapefruit made, and •
at the same time we had some
lemons. Bananas are coming and |
will be very welcome after an ab
sence of five years. Apples are I
now going off the market again, as
they did completely last winter.!
There remains fish, which is not
rationed, and is in better supply.1
plaice, a flat white fish, seem to
be the only kinds available to (
grace our table.
For candy and chocolate we are i
still rationed to H lb. a month.
Like the majority of people in
this country we heat our house
and our water by coal. From May
1, 1945, to May 1, 1946, the do
mestic allowance in the North is
two and 9/10 tons and in the south
two and 4/5 tons of soft coal, and,
in all regions, two and 1/5 tons of'
coke or anthracite or similar boiler
fuel (all expressed in American
tons. Appeals for an increased al-1
lowance to meet special needs and
sickness are considered by the lo-i
cal coal overseer.
Clothes rationing has become
tighter than ever. Coupons have to
be presented for clothing, cloth.1
footwear, towels, and knititng
yarn. A man’s suit requires 27
coupons. From September 1, 1945,
to May 1, 1946, 24 coupons be
come valid, and, if I should buy
one pair of stockings a month for
that same period of eight months
I should have spent all my cou
pons and be unable to buy any
other clothes. The output of chil
dren’s shoes is far belw the de
Late Snow Storm
Hits Washington
SEATTLE, March 27, UV)—Old
man winter took a surprise curtain
call for western Washingtons on
the stage from Bellingham to Ta
coma. His unhappy subjects shiv
ered at the scene last last night
through this morning.
In the center of the stage, Seat
tle, snow fluttered down through
the night leaving a white blanket
three inches deep. At some spots
in the high Cascades it might
avalanche down on the road.
Monday the quarter mile stretch
of Snoqualmie Pass summit was
still uncleared as highway plows
labored through the night snow
and new slides threatened the
men and operating equipment.
mand and causes me more worry
than any other feature of the
clothes problem.
The foregoing are a few lights
on how we are living in this half
way house between want and
plenty.
Phone Local News to Main 125
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