Back in Time for Tea

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lancashire lass
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Back in Time for Tea

Post by lancashire lass »

BBC 2 Tuesday 6th February 8.00pm

Looking forward to watching this series - about how meals have changed for working class families living in the north. A lot of the historical reality tv series always seem to be based in London or somewhere down south so this should be of more interest for us living beyond Watford )t'
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albertajune
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Re: Back in Time for Tea

Post by albertajune »

I enjoy this type of series wherever it is shown to be. I must say that the ones that have been shown in and around the London area are nothing like where I lived which was near Deptford. The working class ate and lived quite differently to what was called the professional people. These would have been teachers and office works for instance and not the dockers and factory workers. I haven't yet seen a family that had bread and jam for tea and coats on the bed in the winter for extra warmth.
We still had to home for tea and no talking at the table. Bed by 7pm after all washing in the kitchen sink. A very strict if poor upbringing where good manners meant everything. Unbelievable now when looking back.
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lancashire lass
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Re: Back in Time for Tea

Post by lancashire lass »

albertajune wrote:The working class ate and lived quite differently to what was called the professional people. These would have been teachers and office works for instance and not the dockers and factory workers.


)t' I agree.
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Mo
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Re: Back in Time for Tea

Post by Mo »

We had bread & jam (& cake). for tea. Dinner at lunch time. Nothing after tea for us though my father often had bacon for supper (I'd lay in bed sniffing it), but he worked shifts - either starting at 6am or finishing at 10pm.
Didn't need coats on the bed, had plenty of blankets & eiderdown, but the bedrooms were icy cold with frost patterns on the window (dress under the covers).
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lancashire lass
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Re: Back in Time for Tea

Post by lancashire lass »

I enjoyed the first episode although at first when the chosen town was Bradford, I didn't think it was going to be a typical "northern" suggestion - every county (even down to different towns) would have had their own recipe / available food (like a seaside fishing town would be different from an inland town) However, the historical events of the period did seem to be shared across many of the mill towns so I think it could have related to most people. Although I was aware of the 1930s depression and high unemployment (and the Durham march for work), I hadn't realised it had affected so many in mill towns.

Sadly, I thought the calendar was skipped through rather quickly or maybe there really wasn't that much change in the diet to warrant pausing at each stage. However, I have to say the change to the house back to what it might have looked like then was done really well - even the slate back yard and outside toilet (made me smile as I definitely remember those when I was little) My granma's kitchen in the 1980s looked very similar - no built in cupboards, just bare walls with a pantry but it did have a small fridge and an electric cooker rather than a range (I remember being told there would have been a small coal stove (not a range) in the corner - many people still had the original chimney stack near the bottom of the roof at the back (where the outside wall carried up) rather than in the middle of the slope at the front of the house where the open fire in the living room was in the middle of the wall.

Bread seemed to be the main meal - I certainly remember my dad mentioning about bread and dripping for tea (even into the 1950s) Our family meals when I was growing up were the usual meat, potato and 2 veg and always served with sliced bread but if we were still hungry afterwards, you filled up on bread and jam unless there was a cake or pudding. I am surprised there wasn't more potato in the diet - if you think about the meat & potato pie, cottage/shepherds pie, hotpot. I thought allotments and growing vegetables to supplement food was available by then to workers in low paid jobs, or maybe that came as a result of WW2?
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albertajune
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Re: Back in Time for Tea

Post by albertajune »

I enjoyed the first of the series and except for some regional food life was much the same here in the south. I can remember not having electric lights, just gas lamps and the outside toilet brought back many frightening memories of spiders and the darkness.
My mum did have a gas cooker but our heat was from an old coal range that had an oven either side. I can still remember all being huddles round it in the winter, our legs getting mottled with the heat.
Amazing to look back and see the changes that have taken place in my lifetime. For the curious, I was born in 1937.
I am now a widow and live with my memories.
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KathJ
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Re: Back in Time for Tea

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Haven't watched it all yet but I love how the house was transformed. We recently bought a sink unit almost identical to the one shown for our new kitchen. I love the 'unfitted' look but I will be going for a few more home comforts hopefully {rofwl} I really liked the other family that took part in the last series so I just hope these turn out to be as good. Will watch the last half tonight )like(
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Re: Back in Time for Tea

Post by Spreckly »

I enjoyed the programme, though felt it could have been made in East Yorkshire, with a farm worker's family. Kitchen similar to the first one I remember and my Grannies - hers had a lid with the bath underneath, and she cooked in an oil oven, or at the Yorkist range in the living room.

But the young ones table manners left a great deal to be desired, one of the girl talking with her mouth full of food - ugh.

I did wonder after some of the frugal fare if they all nipped down to the nearest chippy or takeaway. Some of the food looked disgusting. For tea we had bread and jam, and maybe a boiled egg or a sardine, as we all had a cooked mid day meal at school.
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Richard
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Re: Back in Time for Tea

Post by Richard »

Most interesting documentary.

I would imagine they didn't live all the time like that, probably just shot it in days.
I also wonder if the interior of the house was actually in a studio - seemed a major building job to do what they did.
Doesn't have any significance though.

Obviously centred on Yorkshire and in a location where Mills were prominent.
As sprecker's says, it could be very different if in another part of the Country, or indeed, rural.

I enjoyed it though.

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Re: Back in Time for Tea

Post by jemberelli »

I enjoyed it. The house really was altered. Hubby read an interview with the father of the family who said that he had just about finished getting the house how they wanted it when they were chosen as 'the family' - it was, of course, put right but what a shock it must have been at each change to walk in and see what they had done {rofwl}
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lancashire lass
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Re: Back in Time for Tea

Post by lancashire lass »

Episode 2 - I was born after rationing but clearly my mother still cooked as though we still were. I definitely remember cow heel pie - it was like any meat pie but the cow heel just added gelatine to the gravy (stick to your chest / make your hair grow ....) I actually liked it but if I remember, it is not a quick meal to put together and the "pie" was actually a suet pudding that was steamed - though I do like a baked suet pastry crust so would go well (we used to have "meat & potato" pie with a suet crust ... maybe that was the slightly more upmarket version from cow heel pie?)
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Re: Back in Time for Tea

Post by albertajune »

I enjoyed the 2nd episode but wish the dress of the day was more accurate. I remember the days of jive and early Elvis Presley well and no way would anyone have gone dancing in those hats. The only time that girls wore hats was for very formal occasions. A small thing but I noticed it instantly.
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Re: Back in Time for Tea

Post by KathJ »

I think they seem to be wizzing through years quicker than they've done in previous series :? Still enjoying it though and I too remember my nan and granddad having a bath in their kitchen with a worktop over it. It was like that until the early 80's when they used one of the bedrooms to covert into a proper bathroom!
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Re: Back in Time for Tea

Post by Spreckly »

I forgot to watch it!
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lancashire lass
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Re: Back in Time for Tea

Post by lancashire lass »

KathJ wrote:I too remember my nan and granddad having a bath in their kitchen with a worktop over it


we must have had a tin bath but I don't remember it - I do remember my dad splitting one of the (2) bedrooms to make a little bathroom (with indoor toilet!) and it was all pink.
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