The Grey Room

on the subject of fireworks ( BTW i loved playing with my cap guns, and cap bombs!!) i'm amazed you can still go into a shop and buy these things these days - the fun we used to have with bangers and rockets in the park

 

 

 

from mystic fred   (originally posted gismo don't work sometimes!)

In pre WW2 days, i am told by my elders, nobody cared about cholesterol and stuff like that, many eat whatever they could afford, and when rationing was imposed, because food production was obviously affected for the duration, most grew their own food and many had chickens on their property. People ate what they needed, lived rough compared to now, and although diseases such as TB was rampant and other illnesses that killed children, no central heating, keeping things clean was hard work - food storage was going to the shops every day. People were very tough indeed - they say it is this toughness that got them through the hard times during the war and for years after.

 

 

 

 

My Dad was busy patrolling the Atlantic in a Minesweeper searching for mines, keeping the sea lanes clear - he never talked about it, he saw some horrible events,  but sometimes when i asked he'd talk about his visit to New York or the Bahamas. He never had much time for war films, but highly praised "The Cruel Sea", which was also out in book form. I still have his copy - i must read it sometime!