The thread on Jam brought back a Memory of what I guess was another Government imitative.. I cannot remember if this was a daily or weekly event. At school the teacher had a large glass jar of cod-liver oil and malt on her desk . Us pupils would queue up each with a table spoon brought from home. The teacher would stick the spoon in the jar ,twirl it round and pop it in our open mouths. I loved it. We also would on occasion (but not often) get a "Canadian" apple again handed out by teacher.
I remember we had it at school and my mum had a jar at home. It tasted awful. Obviously only us of a 'certain age' will remember it
Virol. The Food For Health! It was a vitamin supplement, to compensate for the lack of some healthy foods during rationing. Plus rose hip syrup. Later it was cod liver oil - my younger sister used to love that
Apparently A. A. Milne's story of "what Tiggers like best" was all to convince his son Christopher to eat his extract of malt.
Cod liver oil was AWFUL; concentrated orange juice was a bit better, as was rose hip syrup. In late summer we could always make a few pennies collecting rose hips from the hedgerows. Worst of all were Friday nights, when after being bathed you were asked if you had 'been'; what ever answer I gave, I always seemed to end up with syrup of figs - and in the country the lavatory was outside! Still here though!
I heard a story about a little girl who would only ever take the obligatory spoonful of cod liver oil if she wasn't watched. Of course the ruse started to unravel when her mother noticed how greasy the outside windowsill was when it rained. I loved rose hip syrup when I was a kid. Years later I reminded my mother of it so she got me some as a fun present. Filthy stuff!! Never ever attempt to recreate fond childhood memories.
I could almost taste it reading those posts. How gullible was I though? When my mother made me repeat the codliver oil when I was pregnant. Didn't get any stretch marks though! Egg sandwiches - yuck - with salad cream as a treat - double yuck!
My other half makes these, double yuk indeed though I was never given these as a child (In my day jelly was the stuff that held sponge biscuits & tinned fruit pieces in indefinite suspended animation.)
Cod liver oil,rose hip syrup and concentrated orange juice,the gill of milk morning and afternoon.I remember those days well.Never had a problem taking them.They were never alien to the body and it was a measure by the Ministry of Food to ensure that wartime children thrived in an era when food was rationed. Have a bottle of Seven Seas Pure Cod Liver Oil,Extra High Strength to finish off.I find that it enables me to swim against the tide. Oranges and bananas quickly disappeared from the normal consumer's reach...my sisters were born in 1940 and never saw them until peace came. Potato harvest....large roasters available and on a winter's night spent with the roasters in the oven then garnished with margarine....unions were also tasty after roasting. Oven shelves for bed warming, wrapped up with a piece of old blanket..the days of heating being confined to one downstairs.
Malt was ok, rather sticky tho. As for cod liver oil, it made me sick just smelling it and there was a BIG FUSS because I kept refusing to take it. My mother decided that this stand off could be dealt with by a compromise, which involved me taking cod liver oil tablets to school which I could just bear to swallow whole by putting carefully in a sandwich.It worked bu I still remember the humiliations of the battle , my revulsion of the smell and fear of actually biting open the capsules by mistake.
Don't remember the Cod Liver Oil but certainly remember the Malt ! Also remember the large tin of boiled sweets which were used anytime the teacher considered bribery was the easiest way of maintaining discipllne. One of my earliest childhood memories was of a very stern Mrs.Phillips announcing to the class, in response to one of my usual bouts of mischief "They'll hang you one day Goldstein !" At my present age I think her prediction is hardly likely to happen, so sucks boo to you to the (presumably) late Mrs.Phillips ! Ron
I remember about 1943 each boy in our school was given a small paper bag of chocolate powder, a gift from the Canadian Government. I also received two or three gift boxes from American citizens. The Manageress of the local prestigious Hotel which was well patronised by American officers was a member of our church choir and after services would invite us all down for coffee and doughnuts. Us small boys found this hospitality quite rewarding as our generous allies were always putting their hands in their pockets and distributing two bob bits, I don't think they understood our "funny" money! One Sunday evening I received a shoe sized box which I eagerly tore open hoping to find slabs of chocolate inside but was rather chagrined to discover a number of blocks of scrubbing soap. Now I'm in my mid eighties, I still remember the kind donors name "Miss Jerry Jean Adams of Milwaukee, Wisconsin." It would be interesting to know if she is still extant! My mother's older and glamorous sister worked for the American Red Cross at their local all ranks club and she used to pass on to me the odd bar of US chocolate. They were appreciative employers and just after the war, she was invited together with her husband and son to emigrate to the States, passage paid and prospective employment help as a reward for her loyal service. She declined the offer but was grateful for the gesture. American servicemen were always handing out gum on the streets and one affable black soldier gave me the first orange I had seen in years; our teacher was a bit suspicious of me and the orange's provenance when I walked through the school gate eating it but after I explained she seemed reassured. Poor Miss Johnson, gone these many years.
All to the chant from us kids. "Got any Gum chum" And "Hi Joe What do you know" Just after the war one our treats was sugar sandwiches, two slices of bread and Echo margarine with a sprinkle of sugar. Sure experts would hold there hands up in horror now a days but ,we had never heard of obesity.
