----- Original Message ----- From: "Margaret" <[email protected]> To: "GEN- TRIVIA- [email protected]" <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 1:59 AM Subject: [TRIVVIES] Wartime Black Market > The Black Market in War time London was a real godsend. > My parents knew a London taxi driver who seemed to be > able to get anything. He would turn up unexpectedly and > always at lunchtime with such delicacies as bacon, eggs, > sugar, tea and butter. > My mother always gave him her dinner while she made do > with very little as there simply wasn't enough to go around. > She made a couple of ounces of meat go a very long way by > giving us kids any vegetables plus a slice of bread smothered > in gravy so that it looked like meat. I must say it was tasty > as the gravy at least was genuine. > I thought I was being helpful one day as while my mother was > cooking the dinner I emptied the teapot and made a fresh pot > of tea. I announced that the tea was ready and was told that > the tea had only just been made previously and had been left > to brew. I had unwittingly thrown away a fresh pot of tea and > wasted precious tea leaves. Fortunately I didn't get a > scolding this time. > I was glad of the black market margarine, sugar and eggs. At school > the girls still had domestic science lessons and we had to ask > our mothers for an ounce or so of our precious butter or margarine > ration and one egg in order to be able to make tiny cakes in the > cookery lesson. The school wasn't issued with a ration of > ingredients so we were asked to supply our own. Not all the girls > were able to do this. Only those who had access to the black > market could provide their own ingredients. > When it came to jam making the cookery teacher got a supply > of fruit, plums I think it was and we all brought a tiny quantity > of sugar and one large pan of plum jam was made and we each > took home about a cupful. > It was a relief when dried egg powder became available, from America > I think it was. I really liked it, it made really nice omelettes. > > > . I am sending this to both GEN-TRIVIA and London-LIFE in case it is of interest to both lists. If it is not relevant, please scrap it. From Margaret. > . > "IS THE SUBJECT LINE STILL RELEVANT? > If not, PLEASE change it." > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.20.8/1287 - Release Date: > 19/02/2008 10:55 > >