Episode 2 Back in Time for Tea


Episode 2

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Transcript


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Meet the Ellis family.

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Lesley, John,

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Caitlin, Freya,

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and Harvey.

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This Bradford family of five are about

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to embark on a time-travelling adventure...

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It's 1925!

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..to discover how changing food eaten in the north of England...

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-That is Scouse.

-..can reveal what life was like...

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SHE COUGHS

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I think perhaps I do need to work on my frying technique!

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..for working-class families over the past century.

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-I think it's just potato pie.

-I think so.

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Chicken feet! Urgh!

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-From regional classics...

-Pan Haggerty for tea.

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-We'll have two chip naans.

-..to dishes that expanded our horizons.

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I'm so happy! Honestly, this is, like, amazing!

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The Ellises' own home is their time machine,

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-transporting them through a different era each week.

-It's 1985!

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They'll experience the ups and downs...

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What the heck is tripe?!

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..of work...

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This is so hard!

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..rest... GUNSHOT

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..and play...

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LAUGHTER

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..as they fast forward through 100 years of northern history.

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And still get back in time for tea.

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It's 1945.

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World War II is over

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and families are gradually returning to ordinary life.

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Inside the Ellises' home, their functional 1920s front room

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has become a typical post-war lounge.

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After six years of conflict,

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materials for new furniture are in short supply.

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So the comfortable rug and sofa are second-hand.

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The kitchen is still basic, but has one noticeable mod con.

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I'm joined by social historian Polly Russell,

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to set the stage for the Ellises' adventures in post-war Britain.

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-Ooh, Polly!

-What do you think?

-It's cosy! It's nice!

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Yeah, it is a million miles away from 1918, isn't it?

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What is exciting, Polly, the ducks.

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I love these! Quite a random decoration to have, aren't they?

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This idea of bringing the rural into your home, particularly

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if you live in a sort of urban or suburban setting.

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Ah!

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Lighter and brighter.

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And basically, this - I grew up with

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me Nana having a cooker exactly like this.

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-And the beast has gone.

-Yeah, that coal-fired range has disappeared.

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This is, you know, the modern world coming in to the home.

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It must have been so exciting to get a cooker like this.

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So, gas, instant heat, you don't have to warm it up, you don't

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-have to be shovelling coal around.

-So she's got this piece of mod con,

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but I see that she still only has got a cold tap.

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And they really struggled with that, didn't they?

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I'm hoping that the family - especially Lesley, cos she's the one

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who's going to be most involved with this - is going to see

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this and be so blinded by joy at this lovely mod con that,

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yeah, they won't notice the one cold, dripping, sorry tap.

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So, before, all the food was kind of all piled up there.

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Where's all the food gone?

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Well, we've still got a meat safe and there is still no fridge.

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So what we've got instead is a larder.

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Is it a larder, or is it a pantry? Cos, Polly, I got a pantry.

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But you are very posh now.

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You're right, I am posh. I'm making a note of the date and time -

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that's the first time I've ever been called posh.

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I mean, there's food in there. That's a start.

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-But there's not loads, is there?

-No, it's not sumptuous.

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So, there's some brands and there's Torox, which is

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a sort of northern Oxo.

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We've got some Fray Bentos corned beef.

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-Yeah.

-Mwah!

-Be-Ro, self-raising flour, another northern brand.

-Nice.

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You can kind of get tricked into thinking,

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"Oh, great, the war's ended.

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"Now there's just going to be plentiful food of all different types."

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-But actually, did it take a while for the sort of food to get back to normal?

-It took a long time.

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The idea that the war is over does not mean that things change

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rapidly in the home at all. We're still under rationing.

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I mean, I'm a bit concerned that the family are going to be

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a little bit sort of, um...

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-Downcast?

-Yeah, deflated by this pantry.

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The strict food controls of wartime continued after 1945,

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as the economy battled to rebuild itself.

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The best way you can help is by rationing yourself.

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I'm sure that all of you will buy your fair share and no more.

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But there were rewards among the hardships of post-war Britain.

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The government nationalised the coal,

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iron and rail industries in an attempt to protect British jobs.

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And there was cross-party commitment to better education,

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housing and healthcare.

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For working-class families, the insecurity of the '30s was

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being replaced by the promise of a fairer society.

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And nowhere was this reflected more clearly than by what

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was on our plates.

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Polly, you're doing your excited face!

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What's here? What is it?

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This is a pile of statistics.

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You love a stat! Is it a survey?

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It is a survey. It's a survey and it brings history alive.

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It was commissioned by the government.

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It tells us exactly what people were eating

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every day of the week, in working-class households.

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CLIPPED: Ministry of Food Wartime Survey.

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-That's right.

-Kind of have to do it in that wartime voice! 1945.

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So this is a whole survey from one family - a housewife,

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a husband and two sons.

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There's still rationing. She's having to manage the house.

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And we also know that this is a survey of a house in the north.

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First of all, there's a clue,

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-the husband works underground in the mines.

-OK.

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Then the sort of almost better clue really is right here,

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because this is a description of what she buys...

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Barm cakes! I love a floury barm cake!

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Chip barm! Pasty barm!

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The possibilities are endless with a barm cake!

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But you can see, there is enough food. These people aren't hungry.

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It's just maybe a bit monotonous and things are tight.

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The project of rationing was incredibly effective and what

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it did was it equalised out the diet between the wealthy and the poor

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in this period.

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So, where in 1918 and throughout the First World War, wealthy

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people tended to hoard food and did OK, poor people really suffered.

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And rationing sort of put a stop to that.

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You can see that in the evidence of some more statistics that I love.

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Because it tells you in the 1930s, middle-class

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people are having around 3,200 calories a day,

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working-class people are having 2,800.

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So, around 500 less for working-class people.

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If you whizz down to 1945, it's almost the same.

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In fact, there's only 25 calories' difference.

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Yeah, I reckon around 2,500 calories each.

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Yeah, so it really equalised out those diets

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and that's pretty exciting because it means the whole

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health of the nation has improved as a result of rationing.

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Everything the Ellises eat

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over this period will be guided by these surveys.

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But what will they make of the changes from the 1930s

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to the post-war years?

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As strange as it may seem, I grew to love that last era kitchen.

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It became like the beating heart of the home

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and I'm hoping that it's not too dramatically different.

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I hope we might have moved on from coal ovens, that would be good.

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Ah!

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This is lovely!

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We've got a couch.

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We've got carpet!

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-Oh, that's comfy. It's so much lighter.

-I love it.

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-Feels like a home, doesn't it?

-It does.

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-Ah!

-It's so bright.

-Oh, my goodness!

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It IS bright, yeah.

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It's chilly.

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Look, we've only got one tap again!

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Even as late as 1961,

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a fifth of houses in Manchester were without a hot-water tap.

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Fridges and electric cookers were still

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the preserve of the upper crust.

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What are we running off? Electric? Gas or what?

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-Gas.

-Aha!

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Let there be light!

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-Oh, look, we've got a pantry!

-Or a larder.

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Apples!

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Is that the meat safe?

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-We've still got a meat safe.

-There is some meat in there.

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Oh, God, I'm starving!

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I'm back to give the Ellises a heads up on what's in store for them.

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-Hello.

-Hello.

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-Hi.

-What do you think of your lovely house?

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-It's so much better.

-I love it.

-Yeah, I like it.

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-Brighter, isn't it?

-Yeah, it's a lot brighter.

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So, this is your manual, this is your Bible, this is your book,

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this is everything, all life is here.

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-Freya, young lady, you can hold that.

-Thank you.

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And, I won't be a moment, I've got a lovely surprise for you.

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-I'm just going to go and get it, OK?

-OK.

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-I'm glad she said "lovely".

-I hope it's food, I'm hungry.

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GASPS

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Yay!

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Do you love it, Harvey? I thought you'd love this, Harvey.

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-Can I give it a stroke?

-Yeah, come over here.

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-Please say it's a pet.

-What do we call it?

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Well, call it what you like. There's actually two of them. There's another one outside.

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We don't have to kill it, please tell me we don't have to kill it.

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For now, she's going to give you lovely eggs,

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her and her mate are going to give you some lovely eggs.

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-You are beautiful!

-Chickens from the...

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Book on how to look after them.

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Oh! This is amazing!

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Out the back is somewhere for them to live but it needs a bit of

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fixing up, so you lads can do that while you ladies get the tea on.

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So, listen, get hold of her nice and firm, where my hands are,

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so you can keep her wings together. There you go.

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You're naturals!

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Right, enjoy, with your new family member, and I'll see you soon.

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-The best present ever!

-Chuffed!

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-See you later, bye.

-Bye!

-The feet scare me, though.

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-Wait, wait, wait, so what are we calling it?

-Do you know...?

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-It's either Miranda or...

-I think they should be...

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-Polly.

-..Sara and Polly.

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For a working-class family like the Ellises, chickens weren't

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the only way they could supplement their post-war rations.

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-Oh, we've got...

-We've actually got..

-Yay! We've got plants!

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Carrots!

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-Carrots!

-Washing line.

-Yeah.

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You may not be lucky enough to own an ideal kitchen garden like this,

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there may be room for vegetables on top of your Anderson shelter.

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Or in the backyard. Or even on that flat bit of roof.

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-So, what's your plan?

-My plan is to attack.

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With women's liberation still decades away,

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John and Harvey are making a home for the chickens,

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while the Ellis women get the tea on.

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-Yes, I'm starving.

-Let's get cooking!

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-Cow heel pie?!

-No, no, no.

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-Why is there a cow heel in it?

-Because...

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I'm now willing to sacrifice the chicken.

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LAUGHTER

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Can you go get me a cow heel?

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Why are you making me? I'm the one who doesn't like meat!

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Cow heel pie originated in Lancashire

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and traditionally used beef steak for the filling,

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but this ration-friendly version is using a cheaper cut of mutton.

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Do you think it's edible?

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It'll have to be, won't it?

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We can't be fussy. We're on rations.

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The cow heel itself is boiled

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to make a gelatine to thicken the gravy.

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-Urgh! That's horrible!

-Do you know what?

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I hope you're not hungry, cos I have to stew this cow heel for an hour.

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This was an ideal recipe for post-war housewives needing

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to feed a family of five on the sparest cuts of meat.

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Will you get me an onion, please?

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-Catch the onion!

-LAUGHTER

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Ooh! Yorkshire pudding!

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Oh, but look - it's made with an egg substitute.

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Dried eggs.

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Urgh!

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They meet reek, but with rations set at one fresh egg per person a week,

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post-war families couldn't afford to be sniffy about dried eggs.

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-This smells really bad.

-Yeah, you're right. It does.

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I am not entirely convinced these Yorkshire

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-puddings are going to come out.

-Give it some!

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What do you think I'm doing?!

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These chickens ain't getting out of this tonight!

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HARVEY LAUGHS

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If nothing else works, we've got cabbage and carrots for tea.

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I really hope it's cooked.

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Lesley has used a third of the family's precious weekly lard

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ration, supplemented with grated potato, to make a cheap

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but filling pastry.

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Bwuck-bwuck-bwuck!

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Hey, Harvey. Hats off to you, mate.

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-I didn't do it.

-What a great job, eh?

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Look at that!

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Pretty cool, that, innit?

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-Well done. Good night, chickens!

-Bwuck-bwuck-bwuck.

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See you later, Sara and Polly! See you in the morning.

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We're going in for us tea now.

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How were the chickens? Are the chickens all right?

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Yeah, we've said good night to them.

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-What's that?

-Yorkshire pudding.

-LAUGHTER

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-It's Yorkshire pancake!

-Looks like a pancake to me, yeah. What is it?

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-Cow heel pie.

-It's got cow heel in it?

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It doesn't... It isn't actually cow heel that's in it.

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That's not the meat.

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It's like a gelatine.

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Doesn't even look like Yorkshire, does it?

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-It tastes exactly like one, though.

-Does it? That's OK, then.

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I didn't know what the pie was going to turn out like.

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I've never actually cooked mutton before.

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I like it.

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I really like it.

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I honestly think this is one of the nicest meals that we've had.

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Like, pastry tastes amazing. All crunchy in me mouth.

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I love pie, I love pastry.

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I love that gravy. I like it!

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It's a bit of a change, really, not to have very bland food.

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We had a great tea tonight.

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We had cow heel and mutton pie.

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It went down a storm.

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I think a good indicator about how good the food is,

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-is look at all the plates.

-Look at the plates.

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# There'll be bluebirds over

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# The white cliffs of Dover. #

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Unfortunately, the chickens have yet to contribute to the larder,

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so austerity rules the roost at the breakfast table.

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It's 1946!

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-I can smell it burning, Lesley.

-Johnny, it is not burning!

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-Ooh!

-I did that.

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It's because it's got a safety device on it.

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You pulled it straight out.

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Will you just stick your safety device...

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-Where the sun don't shine!

-Yeah!

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No 1940s family would dream of throwing away cooking fat

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when it could be used for dripping on toast.

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It doesn't taste of anything.

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It just takes that dryness away, does that dripping.

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It's a bit like butter, really.

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It's like the old-fashioned version of marmite on toast.

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-I like dripping.

-I know you do.

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The Ellises have a busy day ahead.

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-Are you ready, Caitlin?

-Yeah, I'm coming.

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Harvey has left for school and John

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and 18-year-old Caitlin are off to work.

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# We all must do our share. #

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They're heading to the Braime's metal-pressing factory in Leeds,

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which has been operating from its current premises since 1911.

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After the war, the British economy was on its knees.

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The government looked to the manufacturing sector to

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double British exports,

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helping to pay off the country's huge wartime debt.

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By the late '40s, a third of all British workers were employed in booming factories,

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enticed by a decent wage packet and delicious subsidised dinners,

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which didn't come off your ration allowance.

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Something tells me it must be lunchtime.

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The factory canteen caters for hungry appetites and the serving hatches do a roaring trade.

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Over the tables, they can't hear themselves talk for chatter.

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But they'll go back refreshed and ready for deeds, not words.

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-Hi. What have we got?

-Tomato soup.

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-Roast beef, roast potatoes, jam roly poly, apple pasty.

-Your favourite.

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-Milk puddings.

-And this is a typical lunch?

-Yeah.

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I tell you what, it's good incentive to show up, isn't it?

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-You wouldn't be throwing a sickie, would you?

-I'd get a job here, me!

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During World War II,

0:18:390:18:40

the number of subsidised workplace canteens had doubled.

0:18:400:18:44

Outside of factories,

0:18:440:18:46

they were introduced into most mines across the north

0:18:460:18:49

and there were 144 canteens in the nation's docks alone.

0:18:490:18:53

John is eating with his modern-day colleagues,

0:18:530:18:56

who are much more used to grabbing their dinner on the hoof.

0:18:560:18:59

If we were having a meeting, we'd maybe have some sandwiches and

0:18:590:19:02

-things, but we certainly wouldn't eat anything like this, would we?

-Not during the day.

-No.

0:19:020:19:06

-Well, you know what to expect now!

-Seems like a big treat to me.

0:19:060:19:10

A full meal with a pudding like this one would add up

0:19:120:19:15

to around 900 calories per person.

0:19:150:19:17

WHISTLE BLASTS

0:19:170:19:20

-Is that back to work, is it?

-Yeah.

-Shift change.

-Yeah, that's it.

0:19:220:19:25

Finished.

0:19:250:19:26

I think we've got somebody else's outdated

0:19:340:19:36

crumbs in the bottom of here.

0:19:360:19:38

Back at home, Lesley and Freya are discovering the joys

0:19:380:19:42

of housework, with no washing machine, hoover, or even a hot tap.

0:19:420:19:46

In coal-heated homes close to smoky factories,

0:19:500:19:53

keeping the house clean was a constant challenge.

0:19:530:19:57

Women in the '40s clocked up an average 15 hours a day cooking,

0:19:570:20:02

cleaning, shopping and washing.

0:20:020:20:03

This is physically a really...

0:20:080:20:13

..challenging job

0:20:130:20:16

because I'm on my haunches, my knees are bent, it hurts my back.

0:20:160:20:20

And I would say I'm reasonably fit, compared to a lot of people.

0:20:200:20:24

I do yoga. I've just done a triathlon.

0:20:240:20:28

But, yeah, I'm still finding this hard work.

0:20:280:20:32

Because of all the positions and the bending over that I'm in and,

0:20:320:20:37

you know, I do wonder

0:20:370:20:39

if people - if women - just suffered with perpetual bad backs because

0:20:390:20:44

mine is actually killing me, just from being bent over for this long.

0:20:440:20:49

And scrubbing.

0:20:490:20:50

Lesley's cleaning the step,

0:20:540:20:55

using a brand of scourer called a Donkey Stone.

0:20:550:20:59

First used to stop the steps of northern mills becoming

0:20:590:21:02

slippery, local housewives soon discovered the stones could

0:21:020:21:05

make their own steps gleam.

0:21:050:21:07

Do you think Johnny's going to come home from work and go, "Oh, my word!

0:21:070:21:12

"That looks amazing, that top step! Well done, darling!"?

0:21:120:21:16

With Britain trying to get back on its feet,

0:21:180:21:20

many production lines rolled around the clock.

0:21:200:21:24

Evening shifts meant housewives could earn some extra cash,

0:21:240:21:27

so after a day of housework, Lesley is off to the mill.

0:21:270:21:30

Leaving the rest of the family to sort their own tea out.

0:21:340:21:37

Look at the steps!

0:21:370:21:40

They're all clean, aren't they?

0:21:400:21:42

Look at them. Someone's been busy.

0:21:420:21:45

I don't think they've ever looked this clean, ever.

0:21:450:21:47

Well done, Polly.

0:21:500:21:51

Mum's left a note.

0:21:530:21:55

"Dear Johnny, hope you had a lovely day at work.

0:21:560:22:00

"For tea, there is boiled eggs and toast, cake and jam."

0:22:000:22:05

Oh, yeah. Dad, look! Look what we've got!

0:22:050:22:08

-"You'll need to check the chickens have laid."

-They have.

0:22:080:22:13

They laid. Polly laid them.

0:22:130:22:15

-Both?

-Yeah.

0:22:150:22:17

Dad, do you know...? Do you know what you're doing?

0:22:200:22:22

-Whoa!

-Just been scalped.

0:22:260:22:28

1940s men might not have been used to life in the kitchen,

0:22:300:22:33

and it seems modern dad John isn't that different.

0:22:330:22:36

-Wait, we only have two eggs.

-Yeah.

0:22:360:22:39

Me and Caitlin's not having any. We've had a three-course meal today.

0:22:390:22:42

Dad, I thought you did it till it were boiling,

0:22:420:22:46

then turned it down, then left it for three minutes.

0:22:460:22:49

Do you?

0:22:490:22:51

-Do you not know?

-No, I don't boil eggs, do I?

0:22:510:22:55

He doesn't cook at all!

0:22:550:22:58

How can you not know how to boil eggs?!

0:22:580:23:01

Is that on its side?

0:23:010:23:03

Ooh!

0:23:030:23:04

-Dad, you can't make an egg.

-Just wait, wait, wait.

0:23:070:23:10

Dad, it's over. It's boiled. It's hard.

0:23:100:23:13

-What do you reckon, guys?

-It's not runny!

-It's not runny.

0:23:160:23:19

-Have faith.

-It's not runny!

0:23:190:23:21

LAUGHTER

0:23:220:23:26

What a beauty!

0:23:280:23:30

Harvey, just keep digging, mate.

0:23:300:23:33

-It's not runny!

-I'm going to be digging forever.

0:23:330:23:36

There's no dippy egg and, as bread went on ration for the first

0:23:370:23:40

time in 1946, the family are saving what's left of the loaf for mum.

0:23:400:23:45

Me and my dad had a three-course meal at work today.

0:23:490:23:51

And it was amazing.

0:23:510:23:53

And it's really cool cos it wasn't rationed, whereas food at home is.

0:23:530:23:56

And I sort of feel a bit bad on the rest of the family that they

0:23:560:23:59

couldn't have any.

0:23:590:24:01

Also, my dad cannot cook eggs!

0:24:020:24:06

1947!

0:24:150:24:17

Far from improving, food shortages got worse, as Britain sent

0:24:180:24:22

supplies to the starving populations of mainland Europe.

0:24:220:24:27

Potatoes joined bread on the ration and the meat allowance was reduced.

0:24:270:24:32

'40s housewives were forced to come up with new and inventive ways

0:24:320:24:36

to feed their families.

0:24:360:24:38

The case of Mrs Taylor - what can I give my boy for breakfast?

0:24:380:24:42

For inspiration,

0:24:420:24:44

Lesley's consulting a problem page letter sent to the Yorkshire Post.

0:24:440:24:48

"It's a nightmare to me

0:24:480:24:50

"sometimes to know what to give my boy for breakfast.

0:24:500:24:53

"He could eat the week's bacon ration in one go.

0:24:530:24:56

"I do wish you'd suggest something for breakfast not using bacon

0:24:560:25:00

"or cereals."

0:25:000:25:01

Yum.

0:25:010:25:03

-Mock roes on toast.

-What's that?

0:25:030:25:06

One can of pilchards,

0:25:060:25:08

four tablespoons of semolina.

0:25:080:25:10

A quarter of a teaspoon of ground mace,

0:25:100:25:13

half a teaspoon of vinegar, one level teaspoon of salt.

0:25:130:25:16

A quarter of a teaspoon of pepper and four slices of toast.

0:25:160:25:19

Them first four ingredients I'm never bloody heard of.

0:25:190:25:23

You've never heard of pilchards?!

0:25:230:25:25

-No.

-Are they fish?

-Fish.

0:25:250:25:27

I'll have jam on toast.

0:25:270:25:28

There's no jam.

0:25:280:25:30

I don't want fish on toast.

0:25:300:25:32

One's in tomato sauce, do you think we might be better with that?

0:25:320:25:35

It will take away some of the fishy edge for Freya.

0:25:350:25:39

Ugh! Fish in tomato sauce!

0:25:390:25:42

I think we are going to go for the tomato-sauce one.

0:25:440:25:47

I wonder how many the people went to hospital doing this.

0:25:480:25:51

I've just seen some eyeballs.

0:25:510:25:53

Ugh!

0:25:530:25:54

He hasn't, take no notice of him.

0:25:540:25:56

Ugh!

0:25:590:26:01

And you eat tuna!

0:26:010:26:03

Tinned fish was off ration

0:26:030:26:05

and offered a protein-rich start to the day.

0:26:050:26:08

But I'm not too sure how popular this '40s superfood will be

0:26:080:26:11

with our 21st-century teenagers.

0:26:110:26:14

Blend semolina with liquid.

0:26:140:26:17

How much semolina?

0:26:170:26:18

Four tablespoons.

0:26:180:26:20

You cook that for ten minutes.

0:26:200:26:23

And then you add in the flaked fish.

0:26:230:26:25

There we go.

0:26:300:26:31

-Ugh!

-You're joking, aren't you?

0:26:330:26:36

Look at that!

0:26:360:26:37

-JON:

-Nice.

0:26:420:26:44

I think it's all right.

0:26:440:26:46

It's got a quite nice taste to it.

0:26:460:26:49

To be honest, it's all right, really, isn't it?

0:26:490:26:51

Pilchards may have been one way for housewives to

0:26:530:26:55

get round rationing but children near Pontefract,

0:26:550:26:58

in West Yorkshire, had another trick up their sleeve.

0:26:580:27:01

I'm here to find out how one plant became so popular with

0:27:020:27:05

kids like Harvey, when all his usual sweets were strictly rationed.

0:27:050:27:09

I meeting Yorkshire farmer Heather Copley.

0:27:120:27:15

-Heather.

-Hi.

-How are you?

0:27:160:27:19

-I'm all right, how are you?

-Yeah.

0:27:190:27:21

I'll just get out of the hole.

0:27:210:27:23

Who has offended you, the locals?

0:27:230:27:25

It's just the right size for my father-in-law.

0:27:250:27:28

-So this is liquorice, then?

-Yes, these plants here.

0:27:280:27:32

Liquorice was sold in the '40s as a cure-all for medicinal purposes.

0:27:320:27:36

But kids soon found out it was a great substitute for sweets.

0:27:370:27:41

So the bit I sort of remember, the liquorice sort of sticks,

0:27:430:27:46

-the woody bits, that's the root?

-That will be these little bit here.

0:27:460:27:50

So this was really popular with kids

0:27:500:27:52

when all the usual sweets were rationed.

0:27:520:27:54

Where did they get it from?

0:27:540:27:56

I think, to be honest with you, they just took it out of the fields.

0:27:560:27:59

Maybe by night, I don't know.

0:27:590:28:01

While they were harvesting it, they were able to just, you know,

0:28:010:28:04

-jump in and take a bit.

-I want to taste some.

-OK, shall we have a dig?

0:28:040:28:09

-Do I have to be polite if I don't like it, Heather?

-No.

0:28:090:28:11

There we go. You should get a taste quite soon.

0:28:140:28:16

Oh, gosh, you really do.

0:28:190:28:20

-It's really liquorice.

-It is.

0:28:200:28:22

The first time I had it,

0:28:220:28:23

I actually then got what everybody has been telling me for all

0:28:230:28:26

these years about how wonderful it was when they were children.

0:28:260:28:30

I mean, it's delicious, isn't it? It's liquorice but, like, mega.

0:28:300:28:34

Like mega liquorice.

0:28:340:28:36

You know, I totally get that if you were a kid

0:28:380:28:40

and if your diet was mainly spuds and bread, that this

0:28:400:28:45

would just like absolutely set your taste buds on fire, wouldn't it?

0:28:450:28:48

It's just such a strong, intense flavour, isn't it?

0:28:480:28:51

1940s children from the north weren't just finding their own snacks.

0:28:550:28:59

In a world without TV, they were making their own entertainment, too.

0:28:590:29:02

-Harvey.

-John.

-Good to meet you.

-You too.

0:29:050:29:08

Yorkshireman John Craven is introducing Harvey

0:29:080:29:11

to his favourite childhood hobby from the decade.

0:29:110:29:14

Have you ever seen a steam engine?

0:29:140:29:17

I've see one in Orlando in Florida but it was a long time ago.

0:29:170:29:21

-I can't remember it.

-That was in a theme park?

-Yeah.

0:29:210:29:24

Well, you are in for a real treat now

0:29:240:29:26

because you're going to see a real steam engine.

0:29:260:29:29

In the old days, you know, in the '40s, we used to go to

0:29:290:29:33

-a station like Leeds station, get a platform ticket.

-Yeah.

0:29:330:29:37

And sit on the platform with a bottle of pop, or something,

0:29:370:29:40

and some sandwiches

0:29:400:29:42

and we used to get a book which had all the engine numbers listed in it.

0:29:420:29:48

Each page has the number of different steam engines.

0:29:480:29:52

So you would sit with your book, on the platform,

0:29:520:29:55

and you'd wait until the trains came in and then you would see

0:29:550:29:59

if that number on the front of the train was in your book.

0:29:590:30:01

If it was, you'd tick it off. That was train spotting.

0:30:010:30:04

What do you think of that?

0:30:050:30:07

-It seems a bit boring but I can't judge anything until we see it.

-No.

0:30:070:30:11

I will give you a go. It wasn't boring.

0:30:110:30:13

Mind you, in those days, we didn't have a lot more to do.

0:30:130:30:16

JOHN CHUCKLES

0:30:160:30:18

-NEWSREEL:

-Locos spotting, as they call it,

0:30:200:30:22

has become the number one hobby for schoolboys in recent years.

0:30:220:30:25

The world's first train spotter is thought to have been

0:30:250:30:27

a 14-year-old lad from County Durham,

0:30:270:30:30

who noted down the details of the Stockton to Darlington steam

0:30:300:30:33

engine in 1825.

0:30:330:30:35

Here they come.

0:30:420:30:44

The hobby reached its peak of popularity in the '40s

0:30:440:30:46

and '50s, as young boys competed to record the details of great

0:30:460:30:50

steam engines that would not survive the next decade.

0:30:500:30:53

I can hear a steam train coming, look.

0:30:560:30:59

How about that?

0:30:590:31:01

Have you got your book? Have you got your spotting book?

0:31:010:31:05

The number is on the very front of the boiler there.

0:31:050:31:09

90733.

0:31:090:31:11

So you write that down, and it's on the side, as well - 90733.

0:31:140:31:18

-What have you got in here?

-I don't know. I haven't opened it.

0:31:220:31:26

This came in the morning from our good friend Sara Cox.

0:31:260:31:32

Wow!

0:31:340:31:35

You know, liquorice was all grown in Yorkshire, around Pontefract.

0:31:350:31:39

-Don't you like it?

-No, I don't.

0:31:390:31:42

On a day like today I'd normally be playing on my PS4,

0:31:450:31:47

or with my friends, or I would be out on my bike.

0:31:470:31:51

I would never do this.

0:31:510:31:54

I would not think to do it.

0:31:540:31:55

To 1948!

0:32:090:32:11

Yay!

0:32:110:32:12

In 1948, Manchester's Park Hill Hospital, now known

0:32:160:32:20

as Trafford General, became the first NHS hospital in the country.

0:32:200:32:25

Working-class people no longer had to worry about private

0:32:270:32:30

doctors bills.

0:32:300:32:32

Under the NHS, every person was entitled to free care.

0:32:320:32:36

A national recruitment drive was launched to fill 48,000 NHS

0:32:380:32:42

nursing and midwifery posts,

0:32:420:32:44

offering girls like Freya and Caitlin an alternative

0:32:440:32:48

to life on the factory floor.

0:32:480:32:50

-NEWSREEL:

-One day off a week. Four weeks paid holiday a year.

0:32:510:32:54

The most satisfying job of all - healing.

0:32:550:32:58

I believe they were looking to employ nurses from age 14.

0:33:000:33:04

So you are well within the age range.

0:33:040:33:06

I am not being a nurse. Ever.

0:33:060:33:10

-Like you'd ever be good enough to be a nurse.

-Exactly!

0:33:100:33:13

They would be deader than they are when they came in!

0:33:130:33:16

Beggars can't be choosers and you currently don't have a job.

0:33:160:33:20

Convinced they won't make natural nurses, Caitlin and Freya have a

0:33:200:33:23

visitor to give them an insight into what the training might entail.

0:33:230:33:27

Hello. I'm Bobby.

0:33:290:33:31

Hi, Bobby, I'm Caitlin.

0:33:310:33:32

Caitlin, nice to meet you.

0:33:320:33:34

-Nice to meet you, too.

-Who are you, dear?

-Freya.

0:33:340:33:36

As a young woman, Bobby trained as a nurse in Sheffield

0:33:360:33:39

and was one of the first to be employed by the NHS.

0:33:390:33:42

Across the north, this new service created career possibilities

0:33:440:33:48

and by 1951 11% of nurses

0:33:480:33:51

and midwives nationwide came from Lancashire alone.

0:33:510:33:55

That's me at 17.

0:33:550:33:57

I was still an assistant then, not at a big hospital.

0:33:570:34:01

That's when I passed my finals.

0:34:010:34:04

When I went to Sheffield there was 15 of us started at the same time.

0:34:040:34:09

You learn how to bed-bath patients and how to make beds properly

0:34:090:34:12

and how to make beds for someone coming back from theatre.

0:34:120:34:15

Of course, the bandaging. One of the worst bandages was for the head.

0:34:150:34:20

The skull bandage. That wasn't easy.

0:34:210:34:23

Was it just girls that were nurses, then?

0:34:230:34:26

In our crowd of 15 there was one - one man.

0:34:260:34:29

-NEWSREEL:

-A hospital depends on this

0:34:310:34:34

as much as on this.

0:34:340:34:36

Back in 1948, nursing wasn't just about caring for patients.

0:34:360:34:40

It was feeding them, too.

0:34:400:34:42

You could even gain a certificate in invalid

0:34:420:34:45

cookery as part of your training.

0:34:450:34:47

Steamed whiting and parsley sauce.

0:34:490:34:51

Caitlin and Freya have been given the task of making a sick-room dinner,

0:34:520:34:56

copied out of a nursing manual.

0:34:560:34:58

Ugh!

0:35:000:35:02

-What are you cutting against?

-I don't know.

0:35:020:35:05

I feel like its head is never going to come off.

0:35:050:35:07

During the war, the threat of U-boats saw commercial fishing virtually abandoned.

0:35:070:35:12

But by 1948, fresh fish was back on the menu.

0:35:120:35:16

Whiting, available in the sea around the north-east of England

0:35:160:35:19

all year round, was a popular choice.

0:35:190:35:23

THEY LAUGH

0:35:230:35:25

There's a lot of bone in this.

0:35:250:35:27

-Do you not need to debone it?

-I'll try my best.

0:35:270:35:30

Do you need to chop the tail off, as well?

0:35:300:35:32

-JON:

-Smells good.

0:35:400:35:42

I just felt a bone.

0:35:450:35:47

The recipe actually came out of... the nursing book.

0:35:480:35:53

Can you imagine going to the nurses now and saying, "Right,

0:35:530:35:56

-"can you go cook these patients' dinner?"

-Yeah.

0:35:560:36:02

Fish and parsley sauce is quite common in hospital

0:36:020:36:05

-but it doesn't taste like this because this is delicious.

-Is it?

0:36:050:36:08

It's really nice, yes.

0:36:080:36:10

Well, girls, it looks like you have got another job.

0:36:100:36:13

It's a new day and a New Year for the Ellises.

0:36:210:36:26

It's 1951. Woo!

0:36:260:36:30

UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS It was only after World War II that a five-day working week

0:36:300:36:35

became the norm.

0:36:350:36:39

So the Ellises are taking advantage of their Saturday

0:36:390:36:42

and heading out to the Peak District.

0:36:420:36:44

This is well nice!

0:36:480:36:50

Oh, look at it! It's just beautiful.

0:36:580:37:00

Can't believe that's on our doorstep, can you?

0:37:020:37:05

Might need to push it up here, love.

0:37:050:37:07

Think we're going to make it?

0:37:070:37:09

In the past, many working-class people had been

0:37:110:37:13

excluded from parts of the countryside by wealthy landowners.

0:37:130:37:17

But in 1951, the Peak District became the country's first

0:37:180:37:22

National Park, offering a welcome escape from sooty cities.

0:37:220:37:26

-So, these are...

-Tomato sandwiches.

-Just tomato?

-Yeah.

-LAUGHTER

0:37:290:37:34

-What the heck?

-Why just... just tomato?

0:37:340:37:36

Do you not think that's weird?

0:37:360:37:38

I kind of do but, do you know what?

0:37:390:37:42

-It's sort of quite nice.

-Is it?

0:37:420:37:45

I like these.

0:37:450:37:47

Because I like the way that the tomatoes soften the bread.

0:37:470:37:50

-Tizer?

-Appletiser.

-Like what we used to have?

0:37:510:37:54

-No, what... App..

-Appetizer.

0:37:540:37:57

During the war, the Government had restricted fizzy drink

0:37:580:38:01

manufacturers to making just six flavours.

0:38:010:38:04

It was only now that old northern favourites,

0:38:040:38:06

such as Manchester-brewed Tizer, were available again.

0:38:060:38:10

Oh, my word! I haven't drank this for years.

0:38:100:38:14

It's so good to have something that's not tea or water.

0:38:140:38:17

-Fizzy pop?

-It is so good.

0:38:170:38:19

LAUGHTER

0:38:190:38:22

-Dad, wait.

-LAUGHTER

0:38:230:38:26

-Come on.

-LAUGHTER AND PLAYFUL YELLING

0:38:270:38:29

-Let me do it.

-Today we went on a family trip to the Peak District,

0:38:290:38:35

and it was really fun.

0:38:350:38:36

We played games and drank some pop,

0:38:360:38:42

which was so nice to have fizzy pop.

0:38:420:38:46

It was called Tizer,

0:38:460:38:48

and it was real good.

0:38:480:38:50

PLAYFUL CHATTER

0:38:500:38:52

You bend down now.

0:38:520:38:54

It was a really, really, really good family day out,

0:38:540:38:57

and we had a really great time.

0:38:570:39:02

-Oh, flipping hell!

-LAUGHTER

0:39:020:39:04

LIVELY MUSIC PLAYS

0:39:040:39:07

UPBEAT JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS

0:39:120:39:14

It's 1953!

0:39:180:39:21

"Dear Ellises, great news.

0:39:240:39:27

-"Eggs are off ration."

-Yay!

0:39:270:39:30

"Unfortunately, Polly and Sarah have flown the coop,

0:39:300:39:32

"but they've left you a present to remember them by.

0:39:320:39:35

"Thanks for taking such good care of them. Love, Sarah."

0:39:350:39:40

-Aww!

-Aww, they've gone!

-We've lost the chickens?!

0:39:400:39:43

-We were going to keep them!

-Mum, are you going to cry?

0:39:430:39:46

-Yeah.

-Are you actually crying cos they got rid of the chickens?

0:39:460:39:50

Yeah.

0:39:500:39:51

RADIO NOISE

0:39:510:39:53

This is the BBC calling the world from London.

0:39:530:39:58

Long live the Queen.

0:39:580:40:00

In 1953, the coronation of a beautiful young queen

0:40:010:40:04

inspired us to move on from the war

0:40:040:40:06

and look towards a new age of prosperity.

0:40:060:40:09

-ALL:

-Long live the Queen!

0:40:090:40:12

Long live the Queen!

0:40:120:40:14

Long live the Queen!

0:40:140:40:15

Coronation fever took over northern towns,

0:40:180:40:21

from Burnley to Keighley, and here in Sheffield.

0:40:210:40:24

The Ellises are preparing for their local celebrations,

0:40:320:40:35

which are inspired by the plans of the Yorkshire village

0:40:350:40:38

of Grewelthorpe.

0:40:380:40:40

Where are the egg whites?

0:40:400:40:42

In the eggs.

0:40:420:40:44

-So I need to crack the eggs?

-Yeah.

-How many?

0:40:450:40:47

Lesley's making a coronation cake using luxurious dried fruits,

0:40:470:40:52

while the girls attempt a coronation jelly.

0:40:520:40:54

"Whisk up the egg whites and pour into the bowl.

0:40:560:40:58

"The eggs will settle at the bottom of the dish

0:41:000:41:02

"and form a meringue."

0:41:020:41:04

Is there not a better whisk than this?

0:41:040:41:06

That's the best whisk.

0:41:060:41:08

-Takes hours, it takes a long time.

-Freya, just keep going!

0:41:080:41:10

-You've just got to go, go, go. It's hard, it's effort.

-My God.

0:41:100:41:13

Grewelthorpe made meticulous plans for their coronation celebrations

0:41:170:41:21

with a special committee meeting almost weekly,

0:41:210:41:23

from February 1953 until the big day on June the 2nd.

0:41:230:41:27

That's actually really good egg white.

0:41:280:41:31

The villagers pooled their rations, collecting 9lbs of fat

0:41:310:41:35

and 12lbs of sugar to make cakes and pastries for their street party.

0:41:350:41:39

So the Ellises are doing their bit to contribute.

0:41:410:41:43

Are you eating it?

0:41:450:41:46

SHE LAUGHS

0:41:470:41:50

LAUGHTER

0:41:550:41:57

Where shall I put them?

0:41:590:42:00

-Wherever there's space.

-Anywhere, anywhere.

0:42:000:42:03

Grewelthorpe's final coronation feast included

0:42:030:42:05

tongue and ham sandwiches, made from 60 loaves of white bread,

0:42:050:42:10

12 homemade cakes...

0:42:100:42:11

..not to mention 120 ice creams.

0:42:130:42:16

More sandwiches down there?

0:42:170:42:19

Spreads such as this had rarely been seen by working-class families,

0:42:210:42:25

even before the war.

0:42:250:42:26

I enjoyed the food so much because it was different from what

0:42:330:42:37

we normally eat and all the different flavours

0:42:370:42:39

with the cherries and stuff in it, and my pork pie was amazing, so...

0:42:390:42:44

I was over t'moon.

0:42:460:42:47

-CHEERING

-Yeah!

-He's out!

0:42:480:42:51

After a feast fit for a queen, villagers would entertain themselves

0:42:510:42:55

with cricket matches...

0:42:550:42:57

That's where you get your catching from!

0:42:570:42:59

..fancy dress parades... LAUGHTER

0:43:010:43:04

..and party games.

0:43:070:43:09

One word.

0:43:090:43:11

Two syllables, second syllable...

0:43:110:43:13

It's been lovely, I've loved it.

0:43:130:43:15

I think the Queen should get crowned every day.

0:43:150:43:18

Yeah, it's been fun.

0:43:200:43:22

-ALL:

-# God save our gracious Queen

0:43:220:43:27

# Long live our noble Queen

0:43:270:43:32

# God save the Queen

0:43:320:43:35

# Bom, bom, bom, bom... #

0:43:350:43:37

MUSIC: Hound Dog by Elvis Presley

0:43:370:43:42

-1956!

-Yay!

0:43:430:43:47

With rationing now finally over, the larder has

0:43:470:43:50

a few welcome surprises in store.

0:43:500:43:52

-Frosties!

-Look at that!

0:43:530:43:55

Heinz Tomato Ketchup!

0:43:550:43:58

I feel like it's been so long since I've had cereal.

0:43:580:44:01

They actually taste really good.

0:44:020:44:05

Yeah, it's so nice to have something that isn't bread.

0:44:050:44:07

And the breakfast table's not the only place things are looking up.

0:44:090:44:12

Since the end of the war, the average weekly wage

0:44:170:44:20

for a manual position had nearly doubled.

0:44:200:44:22

Finally, factory workers could afford some of the goods

0:44:220:44:25

they'd been producing, even if it was on hire purchase.

0:44:250:44:28

-NEWSREEL:

-After the war, there were controls and restrictions.

0:44:300:44:33

HP had sobered up.

0:44:330:44:35

But in 1954, the restrictions relaxed.

0:44:350:44:37

There was another boom,

0:44:370:44:39

and this time the customers were making whoopee, as well.

0:44:390:44:42

Come in, the Ellis family, to the showroom of your dreams.

0:44:440:44:48

Come gather round.

0:44:500:44:51

In Europe, washing machines and fridges

0:44:510:44:53

were the first big investment for 1950s families.

0:44:530:44:56

But in Britain, it was the TV, as we plumped for fun over function.

0:44:580:45:03

So 1956, you've got a bit more disposable income

0:45:030:45:07

to play around with. Lots of people getting these appliances

0:45:070:45:10

on hire purchase, on the HP.

0:45:100:45:13

The telly is the most expensive one, OK?

0:45:130:45:16

So your initial down payment will be £19, but it is 14 inch.

0:45:160:45:20

14 inch.

0:45:200:45:21

It is a luxury, Jon.

0:45:210:45:23

Tellies were being made very close to home.

0:45:240:45:26

The biggest factory in Europe was Bairds, in Bradford.

0:45:260:45:29

I'm thinking that if you were the first people on your street

0:45:300:45:34

-to get a TV, that would be pretty cool.

-Yeah.

0:45:340:45:38

All your neighbours would be impressed, wouldn't they?

0:45:380:45:41

It must be just a matter of seconds before the northern region

0:45:410:45:44

airs itself to the Independent Television Network.

0:45:440:45:46

In May of 1956, Granada Television was launched.

0:45:480:45:53

The mission of the Manchester-based station was to show

0:45:530:45:56

the north to the north.

0:45:560:45:57

It was an instant hit.

0:45:590:46:01

By 1957, Granada had taken over the BBC

0:46:010:46:04

as the most popular channel in the region.

0:46:040:46:07

They were the first to broadcast ads in the UK,

0:46:080:46:11

or, as they called them, "a trusty guide to wise spending".

0:46:110:46:14

-ADVERT:

-No guest is ever really happy without the right kind of tea.

0:46:160:46:21

Caitlin's on telly!

0:46:230:46:24

Adverts opened up consumers' eyes to new possibilities,

0:46:270:46:31

from household goods to recipes.

0:46:310:46:34

Delicious Heinz baked beans to make this week's Heinz hint...

0:46:340:46:37

Eggs...

0:46:420:46:43

Inspired, Lesley is using sausage meat, baked beans and tinned salad

0:46:430:46:48

for today's tea.

0:46:480:46:49

Just kind of brush it with egg on the inside, which I assume is

0:46:500:46:53

to make it stick.

0:46:530:46:55

Baked beans in.

0:46:560:46:58

Kind of...

0:46:590:47:00

I cannot imagine salad in a tin.

0:47:030:47:05

Heinz, full of great inventions.

0:47:110:47:14

Such as...

0:47:140:47:15

LESLEY LAUGHS

0:47:150:47:16

..tomato ketchup.

0:47:160:47:18

# Serve it generously with love... #

0:47:180:47:21

Mmm. This is nice.

0:47:240:47:27

Tastes a bit chicken Kiev-y.

0:47:270:47:29

You rustled that up quite quick, didn't you, really?

0:47:290:47:31

It's kind of like 1950s fast food.

0:47:330:47:35

The food might be fast, but with no piped hot water,

0:47:370:47:40

tackling the washing up is still a mammoth task.

0:47:400:47:44

Come on, Lesley. You're going to miss this film.

0:47:440:47:46

Yeah, I know, I'll be a minute.

0:47:460:47:47

-You sitting down?

-Yeah.

-Cosying up?

0:47:520:47:55

Yeah!

0:47:550:47:56

-Cheers!

-Cheers.

-New telly.

0:47:580:48:00

1957!

0:48:170:48:19

Caitlin and Freya are getting their glad rags on.

0:48:210:48:25

I can do my own lipstick, you know.

0:48:250:48:26

I don't think you can.

0:48:290:48:31

Gone are the days when parents relied on their offspring's income

0:48:310:48:34

to help put bread on the table.

0:48:340:48:36

-NEWSREEL:

-Teenagers, guys and dolls, go in eight or ten times a week.

0:48:370:48:41

The shops know it, so every town has a store with teenage departments.

0:48:410:48:45

By the end of the '50s, young people were spending £830 million a year,

0:48:450:48:50

much of it on clothes, cosmetics, cigarettes and a good night out.

0:48:500:48:55

Teenagers grab life with both hands and do their best to live it 100%

0:48:550:48:59

24 hours a day.

0:48:590:49:00

Life lies before them.

0:49:000:49:02

They've got vitality, hip, and they're certainly with it.

0:49:020:49:05

And the best of luck.

0:49:060:49:07

-Hi!

-Hi.

-Hello. How are you?

0:49:090:49:12

We're good.

0:49:120:49:14

The girls are meeting Bradford-born singer Kiki Dee

0:49:140:49:17

at a local dancehall.

0:49:170:49:19

-Are you excited?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, really intrigued.

0:49:190:49:22

Yeah, I'm looking forward to showing you an amazing ballroom space

0:49:220:49:26

-from the '50s. So shall we go and a have look?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-OK, come on.

0:49:260:49:29

Kiki is most famous for her Elton John duet

0:49:290:49:32

Don't Go Breaking My Heart.

0:49:320:49:34

But her career started in the clubs and dancehalls

0:49:340:49:36

of the north.

0:49:360:49:38

# We're gonna rock around the clock tonight

0:49:380:49:41

# Put your glad rags on, join me, hon

0:49:410:49:44

# We'll have some fun when the clock strikes one

0:49:440:49:46

# We're gonna rock around the clock tonight

0:49:460:49:49

# We're gonna rock, rock, rock till broad daylight... #

0:49:490:49:51

-What do you think?

-It's amazing, I love it.

0:49:510:49:55

Yeah, it's so nice.

0:49:550:49:57

-You've never seen this kind of look before?

-No, I don't think I've

0:49:570:49:59

-ever really seen this kind of look.

-No.

0:49:590:50:01

This isn't a planned routine, is it? They're just making it up?

0:50:010:50:04

I think they're just kind of going into their groove.

0:50:040:50:07

I love the outfits. Like, I feel like the skirts really complement

0:50:120:50:15

the dancing when they're all spinning round.

0:50:150:50:17

-That's right. It sort of works, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

0:50:170:50:20

Have you noticed how everything's geared around the waist

0:50:200:50:23

-for the women, it's...

-Yeah.

-It's interesting, isn't it?

-See, I really

0:50:230:50:26

-like that, I like the shaping of it.

-Do you know what they used to do

0:50:260:50:29

-with the underskirts that they're wearing?

-Yeah?

0:50:290:50:32

They used to soak them in sugar.

0:50:320:50:34

-Right.

-To make them stiff, so that they...

-Really?

0:50:340:50:37

-..would go out quite a bit. Yeah.

-Oh, that's so good.

0:50:370:50:41

The 1950s was a golden age for dancing.

0:50:410:50:44

The country boasted 500 permanent dance halls.

0:50:440:50:48

They were 18 in Manchester, and even my hometown of Bolton had five.

0:50:480:50:53

So, do you fancy having a go, then?

0:50:530:50:55

-Definitely.

-It's been many years since I did the jive.

0:50:550:50:59

So you're going to take the hand nice and high,

0:50:590:51:01

through under the arm.

0:51:010:51:03

# Rock around the clock again

0:51:030:51:05

# We're gonna rock around the clock tonight

0:51:050:51:07

# We're gonna rock, rock, rock till broad daylight

0:51:070:51:10

# We're gonna rock We're gonna rock

0:51:100:51:12

# Around the clock tonight

0:51:120:51:14

# One, two, three o'clock Four o'clock rock. #

0:51:140:51:16

MUSIC: Singing The Blues by Tommy Steele

0:51:180:51:21

-It's 1958.

-Hello!

0:51:250:51:28

-Hi.

-And Lesley's mum Christine is popping over to help her make

0:51:280:51:32

the most of a new business opportunity.

0:51:320:51:34

Lesley's hosting a catalogue party

0:51:370:51:39

and is hoping that a good spread might lead to send the big spending.

0:51:390:51:43

What you making?

0:51:430:51:45

I'm making corned beef pinwheels...

0:51:450:51:48

What?!

0:51:480:51:50

It's like... They're like pastry rolls.

0:51:500:51:53

No longer constrained by rationing,

0:51:550:51:58

Lesley and Christine are making a full-fat buffet

0:51:580:52:01

with plenty of pastry...

0:52:010:52:03

Seems to have gone a bit soggy.

0:52:030:52:05

..cream and glace cherries.

0:52:050:52:07

This is the first time in 40 years I've had chocolate.

0:52:070:52:11

Things are definitely looking up.

0:52:110:52:13

Surprise.

0:52:170:52:19

-Hello.

-Hello!

-Hiya. Lovely to see you.

-Hi.

-Hello.

0:52:190:52:24

SHE CHUCKLES

0:52:240:52:26

Over the '50s, catalogue orders tripled

0:52:260:52:28

as weekly payment plans made previously unaffordable

0:52:280:52:31

products available to all.

0:52:310:52:34

Grattan was founded in Yorkshire

0:52:340:52:36

and became one of the leading catalogue companies in the UK.

0:52:360:52:40

By 1958, they were processing 100,000 parcels a week.

0:52:400:52:45

It wasn't just shoppers that were benefiting.

0:52:450:52:47

By acting as sales agents,

0:52:470:52:49

northern housewives could earn a share of the profits.

0:52:490:52:52

So I were reading that if I became an agent

0:52:520:52:55

of a catalogue, I would receive a free catalogue and a free gift

0:52:550:53:01

and one of those gifts would possibly be a cuckoo clock.

0:53:010:53:04

-THEY LAUGH

-Ooh!

-Wonderful.

0:53:040:53:06

-Do you remember that?

-Yeah, that's it.

-Oh, I had one of those.

0:53:060:53:09

I know, you used to make me sit under it!

0:53:090:53:11

-THEY LAUGH

-So we've got just a very small

0:53:110:53:14

underwear section there, look.

0:53:140:53:17

-Oh, there we go!

-Look at that.

0:53:170:53:21

-Well, I used wear them like that when I were only 14.

-Why?

0:53:210:53:26

Because that's what I were given to wear to hold me stockings up.

0:53:260:53:30

No wonder I ended up with a big belly.

0:53:300:53:33

-Because your muscles didn't have to work hard enough.

-Exactly.

0:53:330:53:35

Yeah, exactly.

0:53:350:53:37

MUSIC: Never Mind by Cliff Richard

0:53:410:53:44

It's 1959!

0:53:470:53:49

Wayhay!

0:53:490:53:52

To see the era off in style, Lesley is putting on a spread.

0:53:520:53:56

She's making a selection of canapes.

0:53:560:53:59

There we've got anchovy paste.

0:53:590:54:01

We've got cream cheese, capers, boiled eggs,

0:54:010:54:06

and we've got pate. These ingredients are very

0:54:060:54:09

sophisticated compared to what

0:54:090:54:12

I was doing at the end of the last era.

0:54:120:54:15

-It is exotic.

-Next up is angel food cake,

0:54:150:54:19

and help is on hand.

0:54:190:54:21

-SHE GASPS

-Wow!

0:54:210:54:23

SHE LAUGHS

0:54:230:54:26

I've got an electric mixer.

0:54:260:54:28

Look at that! That's amazing.

0:54:280:54:31

The Ellises really have gone from famine to feast.

0:54:320:54:36

No longer worried about where their next meal is coming from,

0:54:370:54:41

Lesley has the time to craft a purple icing using plum jam.

0:54:410:54:47

This would have been nearly impossible, I think,

0:54:470:54:49

without an electric whisk because...

0:54:490:54:54

I'm sure that the plum jam would have affected how it whipped.

0:54:540:54:59

MUSIC: Magic Moments by Perry Como

0:55:010:55:05

The family have invited their nearest

0:55:050:55:07

and dearest round to mark the end of the era.

0:55:070:55:11

-Hi, Auntie Barbara.

-Hello, love.

0:55:110:55:13

Aw!

0:55:130:55:15

It's the perfect opportunity for Jon to show off their new toy.

0:55:150:55:18

But we got it on HP.

0:55:180:55:20

I think it's forever. You know, we're going to just pay it forever.

0:55:200:55:23

But it is a flatscreen, innit?

0:55:230:55:25

I'm joining our intrepid time travellers' celebration.

0:55:260:55:32

-Hello. Hello, sweetheart.

-Nice to see you again. All right?

0:55:320:55:37

-Can I start?

-Yeah, yeah. By all means.

0:55:370:55:40

I want to find out if they've enjoyed their post-war years.

0:55:400:55:44

Have you felt quite a change, then? Because obviously at the start

0:55:470:55:49

of the 15 years, there was still rationing, things were pretty tough.

0:55:490:55:53

Has it felt like it's been sort of 15 years of plenty?

0:55:530:55:57

It's been like a stark contrast, I think,

0:55:570:56:00

especially from the beginning of the era, 1945, up until 1959 today.

0:56:000:56:05

It does feel like people kind of got over rationing by almost going into

0:56:050:56:10

excess. It were their way of thinking, "Right, that's it now."

0:56:100:56:14

How have you felt about the march of technology?

0:56:140:56:16

Because it is beginning, it is happening now, isn't it?

0:56:160:56:18

-Cos you've got your electric whisk and you've got telly.

-TV, yeah.

0:56:180:56:22

I do feel, stood in 1959, that we know what's coming.

0:56:220:56:27

So is it almost like you're bracing yourself for this whole new

0:56:270:56:30

-world that's going to start?

-Yeah, kind of holding it back if we can...

0:56:300:56:33

-Yeah.

-..as long as we can, really.

-Yeah.

0:56:330:56:36

I think what has changed in this era is

0:56:360:56:39

sort of beginning of consumerism.

0:56:390:56:42

In the last era, it just did not exist.

0:56:420:56:45

We lived a basic life and it was about community and family

0:56:450:56:52

and work, and there's something raw and honest about that.

0:56:520:56:56

So, then, how's it been?

0:57:010:57:02

How have you enjoyed the last era?

0:57:020:57:05

Harvey, what you thinking?

0:57:050:57:06

We've just had a lot of time together, so it's been great.

0:57:060:57:08

How has it been with food and with drink?

0:57:080:57:11

I mean, you know, has it been nice having more brands and fizzy pop?

0:57:110:57:15

-What's the fizzy pop like?

-I love it.

0:57:150:57:18

Like, I absolutely love having pop and sweets

0:57:180:57:20

cos I've got a sweet tooth as it is, so...

0:57:200:57:22

You can really see that there's been more prosperity

0:57:240:57:27

in the later '50s.

0:57:270:57:29

At the start of the '40s,

0:57:290:57:31

there wasn't enough money to go out and do your own thing.

0:57:310:57:34

You were sort of confined to your home.

0:57:340:57:36

I think all of us have had a new sense of freedom.

0:57:380:57:42

All the way through the '40s and '50s,

0:57:440:57:47

it's reminded me about myself and my family that...

0:57:470:57:51

Cheers.

0:57:510:57:52

..we've never talked as much, we've never had as much fun and games.

0:57:520:57:55

You know, in present times we should do a lot more of it

0:57:570:57:59

and just put the phones to one side and have that traditional fun.

0:57:590:58:04

Next time...

0:58:120:58:14

-Coco Pops!

-Spaghetti!

0:58:140:58:16

..the Ellis family enter the swinging '60s.

0:58:160:58:19

This is like some next-level gourmet stuff.

0:58:190:58:21

I'm a bit...eugh.

0:58:240:58:26

When I used to hear that rattle,

0:58:260:58:27

I used to think it were tea-time then.

0:58:270:58:30

WOLF WHISTLING

0:58:300:58:33

# Sweets for my sweet

0:58:330:58:35

# Sugar for my honey

0:58:350:58:37

# I'll never, ever let you go

0:58:370:58:41

# Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

0:58:410:58:45

# Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

0:58:450:58:48

# Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

0:58:480:58:52

# Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh. #

0:58:520:58:56

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