0:00:00 > 0:00:01Meet the Robshaws -
0:00:01 > 0:00:05Brandon, Rochelle, Miranda, Roz and Fred.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09They've been back in time before...
0:00:09 > 0:00:14and experienced the transformation in our diet from the 1950s to
0:00:14 > 0:00:16the 1990s.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19That is just amazing. Look at them.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22Now they're travelling further back in time,
0:00:22 > 0:00:25to the first half of the 20th century,
0:00:25 > 0:00:29to discover how changes in the food we ate...
0:00:29 > 0:00:32Oh, my good gawd! They're brains.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35..the way it was served and how it was cooked...
0:00:35 > 0:00:37Yes. I'm cooking the pudding in the soup.
0:00:37 > 0:00:38Why?
0:00:38 > 0:00:40..helped change the course of history.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43Starting in the 1900s...
0:00:43 > 0:00:45Oh, my goodness.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48..this Victorian house will be their time machine.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51What is that? It looks like a giant hand grenade.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Fast forwarding them to a new year each day.
0:00:54 > 0:00:551941, everyone.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57From strict etiquette...
0:00:57 > 0:00:59I might practise my bowing.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04..to new fads and flavours.
0:01:04 > 0:01:09- Oh. Oh.- It's not that bad. Dad!
0:01:09 > 0:01:11From far too much...
0:01:11 > 0:01:12I think I've got the meat sweats.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14..to not enough.
0:01:14 > 0:01:15It doesn't look like a fried egg.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17No! Can you eat that?
0:01:17 > 0:01:19No.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23As they discover how a revolution in our eating habits
0:01:23 > 0:01:26helped create the modern family.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30Last time, the Robshaws experienced the feast...
0:01:30 > 0:01:32That's amazing.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35- ..and famine... - We probably need a hacksaw.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37..of the turbulent 1910s.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40It feels like the war's really hitting home now.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42Feels like it's starting to bite.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45This time, the Robshaws enter a thoroughly modern decade...
0:01:45 > 0:01:47I thought you might appreciate a buck's fizz.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49Oh, thanks very much indeed.
0:01:49 > 0:01:50That'll give you a bit of a lift.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53..as they race through the roaring '20s.
0:01:53 > 0:01:54Go forward.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08It's a new decade for the Robshaws, the 1920s,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11and the house has been brought right up to date.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16The kitchen is leaner, brighter and more modern.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22What was a parlour is now a stylish dining room.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25And the formality of previous decades has been replaced by
0:02:25 > 0:02:28a fashionable family sitting room, now at the front of the house.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33Social historian Polly Russell and I are back to discover how
0:02:33 > 0:02:37the 1920s quest for modernity has transformed the house.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44So, it's not as cluttered as it was with pots and pans and mangles and
0:02:44 > 0:02:47- bits and pieces, is it?- Yeah, it's much more sort of streamlined.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52An emphasis on hygiene, simplicity, ergonomically organised
0:02:52 > 0:02:54and that's because this is the period where we see
0:02:54 > 0:02:56the emergence of the modern housewife.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00She's going to have to produce the food for the family and be in charge.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03And there were new technologies coming in,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06things that start to make managing the kitchen easier.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09But there's one thing that really,
0:03:09 > 0:03:11really helps the housewife in this period
0:03:11 > 0:03:13and we're going to find that in the larder.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17So... A lot of tinned food,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20- is that what you're telling me? - Yeah, we've had tinned food before,
0:03:20 > 0:03:24but what you see through this decade is a huge increase in the volume of
0:03:24 > 0:03:27tinned food consumed, but also the variety,
0:03:27 > 0:03:31both imported from all around the world, but also produced in Britain.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35And for the housewife, the housewife who now doesn't have a servant,
0:03:35 > 0:03:37this is an absolute godsend.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39This is a modern way of cooking.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43In previous decades, Rochelle relied on Debbie,
0:03:43 > 0:03:46the family's maid of all work, to do the cooking.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50But the war brought her new opportunities and,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53like many of the women who left domestic service at this time,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56she won't be returning, leaving Rochelle in charge.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02The impact of the war was felt elsewhere, too.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04Keen to forget the horrors of the past,
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Britain in 1920 was a nation focused on the future.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12With rapidly advancing technology and a loosening of social attitudes,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15a first for all that was new would define this decade.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22And historical data shows that the food we ate was no exception.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25What you start to see is much more variety coming into the diet
0:04:25 > 0:04:28and we can see this in particular in this category of "other food",
0:04:28 > 0:04:33which actually doubles from the beginning of the century to the end of this decade.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37Things like canned food, ice cream, jarred food,
0:04:37 > 0:04:39sort of prepared food,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42manufactured food, because women are less likely to have servants,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45of course it's no surprise, perhaps, that you see an increase
0:04:45 > 0:04:47on reliance on manufactured goods.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50And what about booze? We know this is the decade of the cocktail,
0:04:50 > 0:04:51the decade of the party.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54The Robshaws have got their own very impressive drinks trolley.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56Is that reflected in the survey?
0:04:56 > 0:04:59What you see straight after the war is this really quite extraordinary
0:04:59 > 0:05:03spike in alcohol consumption for a few years,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06as though people are somehow embracing something new.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09A kind of loosening up of culture happens.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13But then, afterwards, you do see a sort of trailing off of alcohol consumption.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Into a really bad period of hangover.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22It's time for the Robshaws to step back to the 1920s.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28From the 1920s, I'm looking for fun, I'm looking for social liberation.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31You've got jazz and you've got cocktails, parties.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36I would be very happy to accept domestic help,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39but I imagine myself flapping about in the kitchen
0:05:39 > 0:05:42rather than out at nightclubs.
0:05:47 > 0:05:48- Whoa.- Oh, gosh.
0:05:48 > 0:05:49Wow.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52- This is amazing.- This is really nice, isn't it?
0:05:52 > 0:05:54This is completely different vibe, isn't it?
0:05:54 > 0:05:56- This is the best thing ever. - This is so nice.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59- And it's the first time we've had colour in the kitchen, look.- Yes.
0:05:59 > 0:06:00- Whoa.- There's Bisto down there.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02Oh, yeah. And there's Bird's Custard.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04- Heinz Ketchup.- Lipton's.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06Everything is packaged and branded.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09There's loads of stuff that's going now, 100 years later,
0:06:09 > 0:06:11it's still around, isn't there?
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Look. It's addressed to us.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17"Dear Robshaw family, welcome to the 1920s.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19"Debbie, your maid,
0:06:19 > 0:06:22"will not be returning."
0:06:22 > 0:06:24Oh. I felt a little shiver when you said that.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27So, Rochelle, you will be in charge of all cooking,
0:06:27 > 0:06:29cleaning and maintaining the family home.
0:06:29 > 0:06:30Well, enjoy yourselves(!)
0:06:31 > 0:06:33All right, well, let's go and get on with it.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35Whoa.
0:06:36 > 0:06:37This is lovely.
0:06:37 > 0:06:38- Amazing.- Isn't it?
0:06:38 > 0:06:40- Oh, this is just fantastic. - So beautiful.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42This is gorgeous.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44I can't believe it.
0:06:44 > 0:06:45It does make you want to do that.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48This is the first electric light.
0:06:48 > 0:06:49This is fantastic.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51You can just walk into a room, flick a switch,
0:06:51 > 0:06:53and it's illuminated.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Marvellous. The only word I can think of is modern.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57It looks so modern.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02In 1920, thousands of British homes
0:07:02 > 0:07:05were transformed by electric power and lighting.
0:07:05 > 0:07:06By the end of the decade,
0:07:06 > 0:07:09a fifth of all households were on the new National Grid.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17While the rest of the family enjoy the comforts of their modern living
0:07:17 > 0:07:20room, Rochelle is getting to grips with her new role.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23Well, I think for the housewives sort of post-war,
0:07:23 > 0:07:26they would need to go back to basics and they might be very good at
0:07:26 > 0:07:29telling their staff what to do,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32but actually doing it themselves might be sort of a different sort of
0:07:32 > 0:07:33kettle of fish.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35Luckily for middle-class women,
0:07:35 > 0:07:39the 1920s saw the publication of a range of new practical guides.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45Particularly popular was the Daily Mail Cookery Book by Mrs CS Peel,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48which included special labour-saving recipes for servantless women.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53These potatoes are going to go in the pot.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56I'm now going to put the pot in the pot.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00Rochelle's making a meal in which
0:08:00 > 0:08:02all three courses are cooked together...
0:08:03 > 0:08:08..vegetable soup, potatoes, steamed herrings and jam roly-poly.
0:08:10 > 0:08:11The soup is made in the big pot,
0:08:11 > 0:08:14then the other dishes are cooked in smaller pots
0:08:14 > 0:08:16in the soup and the fish is steamed on top.
0:08:18 > 0:08:19I like baking.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23I just wish Debbie was here.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27I might have to go off and find her, and beg her to come back.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35No longer in service with the Robshaws,
0:08:35 > 0:08:37Debbie is looking for a new job.
0:08:37 > 0:08:43Businessman, book keeping, soldier, mechanic, motor driver.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47As men returned from the First World War,
0:08:47 > 0:08:50the Government had passed an act encouraging employers to dismiss
0:08:50 > 0:08:52women from the jobs they'd taken up in wartime.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57By 1920, unemployment was high.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59But like many former maids,
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Debbie doesn't want to return to domestic service.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05Housekeeper.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07Working cook.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09Most of the jobs are just domestic help.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11Obviously, all the rest is for men.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13I mean, once you felt a bit of freedom, being a land girl,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16you don't really want to go back to being a servant.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20You want to carry on doing new things and, I don't know,
0:09:20 > 0:09:21make life a bit better for yourself.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23You don't want to, like, regress.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29While Debbie's on the hunt for a new job,
0:09:29 > 0:09:30Rochelle's getting used to hers -
0:09:30 > 0:09:32as a housewife.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36I actually have never made a jam roly-poly.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40I think this looks absolutely horrible.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43What's worrying me, if I roll it all the way through,
0:09:43 > 0:09:46whether the tea towel gets caught up in the roll of it.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48Oh, God, it's all just sticking to the...
0:09:48 > 0:09:49This is...
0:09:52 > 0:09:53I feel like crying.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55Oh, God. It's just...
0:09:55 > 0:09:57It's just a complete disaster.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00I don't think I'm going to use a cloth because it's just like...
0:10:00 > 0:10:02It's just more trouble than it's worth.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11And the last part of Rochelle's one-pot meal - fresh herring.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14Why would you want to spend your afternoon doing this?
0:10:14 > 0:10:17There's like a drinks cabinet in the other room.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20They're steamed on a lid on top of the pot.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24In the unlikely event that that will cook,
0:10:24 > 0:10:26we will have some supper.
0:10:29 > 0:10:30Snap!
0:10:30 > 0:10:34And without a maid, middle-class daughters were expected to pitch in.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38Miranda, Roz, come and help with the soup.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45My God. Are you cooking the pudding in the soup?
0:10:45 > 0:10:46Yes, I'm cooking the pudding in the soup.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51- Why?- Won't the pudding smell of soup, or taste of soup?
0:10:51 > 0:10:52Probably, yes.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55- Well, that's horrible. - I was really looking forward to that desert and now I'm not.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Well, you won't know it once it's out of the pot.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00No, but it's in the same place as it.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02- It will taste...- It's like an oven, you can put two things in an oven,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05- can't you?- That's true.- Anyway, shall we take that in?
0:11:05 > 0:11:06Yeah.
0:11:10 > 0:11:11This soup...
0:11:12 > 0:11:16..has been cooked in a pot.
0:11:16 > 0:11:17- Has it?- Yes.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20It seems a little bit tasteless.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22Thank you, darling.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24Are you ready for your next course?
0:11:24 > 0:11:26I certainly am.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31- Whoa.- Oh, wow.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34That looks fantastic.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36Was this in the pot, as well?
0:11:36 > 0:11:37It was steamed on top of the pot.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40- The fish was steamed on top of the pot?- Yeah.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43Is it labour-saving or is it actually hard work?
0:11:43 > 0:11:45I can't see how it's labour-saving.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48Less washing-up at the end of it.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51No, it's not less washing-up because within the pot
0:11:51 > 0:11:53you have two more pots.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Last to come out of the pot is the roly-poly pudding.
0:11:59 > 0:12:05I peep at this and it is actually looking kind of like a pudding.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08It's possible that it's still inedible, but at least it looks like...
0:12:09 > 0:12:12It looks like it's done something.
0:12:12 > 0:12:13Here comes the pudding.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16- That looks nice.- Let's taste it.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Let's give it the taste test.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24- Definitely doesn't taste of herring. - It doesn't taste of herring.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26It tastes of jam and pudding.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29Well done, Rochelle, that was really nice.
0:12:29 > 0:12:30- Thank you.- Well done, Mum.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Cheers. Here's to the '20s.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37I feel disappointed that my mum is back in the kitchen.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41I mean, it's not like I didn't expect it, but, you know,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44Debbie's gone and somebody had to take that place and unfortunately
0:12:44 > 0:12:46that fell solely to my mum.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Well, here we are in 1920
0:12:50 > 0:12:53and my first impression is that this is really going to be
0:12:53 > 0:12:55a happening decade.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59I've got a real sense of movement and change and going forwards.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03I think, in a way, the '20s, it feels like the first modern decade.
0:13:12 > 0:13:13It's a new day for the Robshaws...
0:13:15 > 0:13:17..and that means a new year.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21While Rochelle cooks up boiled eggs and toast for breakfast...
0:13:21 > 0:13:22POP
0:13:22 > 0:13:23Love that sound.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25..Brandon's embracing a new invention.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28Listen to this. That's another nice sound, isn't it, that?
0:13:28 > 0:13:29Fizzing of the bubbles.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33The 1920s saw a spike in alcohol consumption
0:13:33 > 0:13:36after dropping off in the war due to restrictions on grain and sugar.
0:13:38 > 0:13:39And, in 1921,
0:13:39 > 0:13:43the bartender of London's glamorous Buck's Club came up with a brand-new
0:13:43 > 0:13:47concoction for those who wanted to start their day with something stronger than tea.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51All right. Would you like a buck's fizz?
0:13:51 > 0:13:53- Cheers.- Thanks.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55Hello, darling. Look what I've got.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58I thought you might appreciate a buck's fizz.
0:13:58 > 0:13:59Oh, thanks very much indeed.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03- That'll give you a little bit of a lift.- Yeah, it certainly will.
0:14:03 > 0:14:04- Cheers.- Lifting me off the floor.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07- That's it.- It's got a tiny amount of orange juice in it.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09A little bit of orange juice.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19- Oh, looks good to me. - Looks delicious.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22It does. It seems ridiculously decadent, doesn't it?
0:14:22 > 0:14:25We're actually having buck's fizz for breakfast.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Well, I'm enjoying this breakfast.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33I think it's a massive treat to have buck's fizz for breakfast.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40To really get them in the swing of the 1920s,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43I've planned a special event for the Robshaws.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Got a little letter from Giles here.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48"Dear Robshaw family,
0:14:48 > 0:14:52"tonight we're bringing the 1920s jazz scene to your home."
0:14:52 > 0:14:53- Oh, good.- Yeah, fun.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55Yeah.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58"You'll be hosting a cocktail party with food and drinks typically
0:14:58 > 0:15:00"served at the jazz clubs of the time."
0:15:00 > 0:15:02Yeah, my heart's beating really fast.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04Really?
0:15:04 > 0:15:07- Sounds great, though. - That sounds brilliant, doesn't it?
0:15:08 > 0:15:11No '20s cocktail party would be complete without
0:15:11 > 0:15:12a selection of canapes.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18Rochelle is making egg mayonnaise sandwiches, tomato,
0:15:18 > 0:15:22salmon paste and smoked mackerel canapes.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25I think Miranda really, and her friends,
0:15:25 > 0:15:28will probably skip the sandwiches
0:15:28 > 0:15:31and go straight for the cocktails.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34Hi. What are you making?
0:15:34 > 0:15:37Oeufs a la creme sandwich.
0:15:37 > 0:15:38Is that egg mayonnaise sandwich?
0:15:38 > 0:15:40Yeah, that's it.
0:15:40 > 0:15:41That is the food menu.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45Yeah. There's four canapes.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47And that is the cocktail menu?
0:15:47 > 0:15:49Yeah. 14 cocktails.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51It's like all drink and a few little nibbles, isn't it?
0:15:51 > 0:15:54- Yeah.- I'm off to meet Giles.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57- Right.- And I'm going to learn how to make cocktails.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59Right, well, you better come back in time, then.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01- Enjoy yourselves. - I'll see you at the party.
0:16:01 > 0:16:02- Bye.- Bye.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13In the 1920s, as Britain embraced all things modern,
0:16:13 > 0:16:15alcohol was no exception.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17And new American-style cocktails
0:16:17 > 0:16:21became THE drinks for anyone keen to show they were up-to-the-minute.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26So I'm meeting Brandon at the Bloomsbury Ballroom bar to research
0:16:26 > 0:16:28tonight's menu.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31- Ah-ha! Brandon.- Good to see you. - How are you?- Great.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37# Jamaica rum
0:16:37 > 0:16:41# I drink that stuff until the sun goes down. #
0:16:41 > 0:16:43You're probably wondering why you're here.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47- Yes.- Because I'm going to teach you about cocktails.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52It's 1921, the war is over and now there is nothing to do but drink.
0:16:53 > 0:16:54OK. Well, let's drink.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56'We're starting with a gimlet -
0:16:56 > 0:16:58'one part lime juice to four parts gin -
0:16:58 > 0:17:02'supposedly named after a British Navy doctor who gave it to sailors
0:17:02 > 0:17:04'to prevent them from getting scurvy.'
0:17:04 > 0:17:06- There we are.- Here we go.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08- Look at that, isn't it elegant? - So elegant.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10Isn't that...?
0:17:11 > 0:17:13You see, I think that's beautiful.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15That is. That is.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17Couldn't you just dive in?
0:17:17 > 0:17:19It seems like a decadent thing to do, doesn't it?
0:17:19 > 0:17:22Just be sitting around the bar drinking cocktail after cocktail.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25- What's next?- We could have something like a Between The Sheets?
0:17:25 > 0:17:26Absolutely.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32'As new bars and gentlemen's clubs opened up in Britain's cities,
0:17:32 > 0:17:36'and a simple whisky, wine or port became passe,
0:17:36 > 0:17:40'instead it was all about mixed spirits and a racy name.'
0:17:40 > 0:17:44Brandy and white rum, Cointreau and some sort of healthy fruit.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47- Now, that's naughty.- That's naughty.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Even the name of this cocktail, Between The Sheets,
0:17:50 > 0:17:51that sounds a bit sort of saucy.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53I mean, you wouldn't have had that in the Edwardian era.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56- Gosh, absolutely not.- People would have been shocked by that.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58They would have been entirely shocked.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00So, they go on crackers, so that's...
0:18:00 > 0:18:01That's OK.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04While Brandon brushes up on his cocktails,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07Rochelle's finishing off the canapes -
0:18:07 > 0:18:10often salty or spicy to encourage guests to consume more drinks.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15Cocktails are the star attraction,
0:18:15 > 0:18:18so basically the canapes meal
0:18:18 > 0:18:21is kind of a little side act in the corner.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25'Back in the bar, we're on our third cocktail...
0:18:26 > 0:18:28'..a Bloody Mary.'
0:18:28 > 0:18:30That's a salty Bloody Mary.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33- Salty.- So, Fabio, there are so many recipes for a Bloody Mary.
0:18:33 > 0:18:39- What's yours?- Pinch of salt, pepper, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce,
0:18:39 > 0:18:41and equal parts tomato juice and vodka.
0:18:41 > 0:18:42Apparently, the really,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45the true defining Bloody Mary has a slice of lemon
0:18:45 > 0:18:47and the celery came later.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50'Finally, the mint julep.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52'Bourbon, sugar and mint.'
0:18:54 > 0:18:55Thank you very much.
0:18:55 > 0:18:56Enjoy that.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04It's like brushing your teeth and then gargling with Jack Daniels.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06- Do you think you could make one of these yourself? - I might give it a try.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10I like the fact that not only do you get lots of whisky inside it,
0:19:10 > 0:19:12but it kind of freshens your breath at the same time.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15I just drank the first one a bit too fast and I've got minor brain freeze.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20This is how the history of cocktails gets written,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23by people like you and me who don't know anything and have had a couple of drinks.
0:19:23 > 0:19:29# I drink that stuff until the morning comes... #
0:19:29 > 0:19:32After a long afternoon of complex research,
0:19:32 > 0:19:34Brandon's picked up something special for Rochelle.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38- Hello.- Hello, Brandon.
0:19:38 > 0:19:39- I'm back.- Are you back?
0:19:39 > 0:19:43- Guess what I've got. - Well, yeah, put it behind your back.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45Look, I've got chocolate.
0:19:45 > 0:19:46- Wow.- For you.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48That's very nice. What have you done?
0:19:52 > 0:19:54Thanks to new manufacturing technology,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Cadbury's Milk Tray made individual chocolates affordable for any
0:19:57 > 0:20:00middle-class husband who might feel he needed
0:20:00 > 0:20:02to make things up to his wife.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05But now it's party time.
0:20:08 > 0:20:09Wow.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12And I've arranged a special surprise for tonight,
0:20:12 > 0:20:16a live Dixieland trio to get the evening going with the very latest
0:20:16 > 0:20:18American music - jazz.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22Jazz was fast and furious,
0:20:22 > 0:20:26nothing like the classical and musical favourites of previous decades.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31It's quite a strong one, so do watch yourselves.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35As well as Miranda and Roz's friends,
0:20:35 > 0:20:38I've invited Leah Wood,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41singer and daughter to rock and roll star Ronnie Wood,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44to help the Robshaws understand how music fuelled
0:20:44 > 0:20:45the modernism of the '20s.
0:20:46 > 0:20:52People were like, whoa, this is such great, new music and it's so
0:20:52 > 0:20:56expressive. There was nothing else like that until that came in.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59So, really it's...
0:20:59 > 0:21:00We've got them to thank.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03Not you guys, personally, but you know what I mean.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07We've got them to thank for bringing that over and creating a whole new
0:21:07 > 0:21:08world of music,
0:21:08 > 0:21:13and freedom and fashion and all of that.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17It just feels I very kind of, like, freeing age.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20Like, just thinking back to the previous decades,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23where it's been very restricted and, if we had free time,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25it would have been spent with family,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28like my mum and my sister, kind of like in the parlour, knitting.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31And now, like, to the soundtrack of jazz,
0:21:31 > 0:21:33having friends round and drinking cocktails,
0:21:33 > 0:21:35it just feels like a completely different vibe.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37Yey!
0:21:39 > 0:21:41- Did you make these? - I did make them. Well, yeah.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45I did... That is mackerel. That is tomato and egg.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49'We had this cocktail party and we didn't actually have...
0:21:49 > 0:21:51'We didn't sit down to eat.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55'Canapes being passed around, passing cocktails around.
0:21:55 > 0:22:01'I mean, I suppose that, after the war, if you were'
0:22:01 > 0:22:04fortunate enough to be able to afford it, you would...
0:22:04 > 0:22:06You'd actually just want to drink and forget your cares.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09You'd want to have a good time, you'd want to have parties,
0:22:09 > 0:22:13you'd want to drink, want to let your hair down and it just seems to
0:22:13 > 0:22:16have created such a completely different world from that rather
0:22:16 > 0:22:21kind of stiff, buttoned-up world of the earlier couple of decades in the century.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25'The '20s feels exciting.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28'I feel like I'm moving very fast'
0:22:28 > 0:22:31and this kind of dress, even,
0:22:31 > 0:22:33this kind of behaviour,
0:22:33 > 0:22:37would have been completely unthinkable in the Edwardian era.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51It's 1922
0:22:51 > 0:22:54and there's a new magazine on Britain's newsstands
0:22:54 > 0:22:57aimed directly at middle-class women like Rochelle.
0:22:57 > 0:23:02"The Model Housewife, Secrets Of Her Success,
0:23:02 > 0:23:05"by Viscountess Gladstone."
0:23:05 > 0:23:09"The best time to pluck poultry is when the bird is newly killed and
0:23:09 > 0:23:11"before the flesh has time to stiffen."
0:23:11 > 0:23:13Now, I wouldn't have known that.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17It's really interesting to have a magazine like Good Housekeeping.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20It's like somebody talking to you.
0:23:20 > 0:23:21You know, the instruction,
0:23:21 > 0:23:25especially from sort of a woman who is like a viscountess, would make
0:23:25 > 0:23:28you think, "Oh, she's giving me her knowledge."
0:23:28 > 0:23:32Like, on some level, we have a great deal of independence.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36We can have cocktail parties, go to nightclubs, get a university degree,
0:23:36 > 0:23:42but also an expectation that you will have to be a kind of wife and
0:23:42 > 0:23:44mother and housekeeper.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48As well as innovative publications,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51there's also something new in Britain's shops,
0:23:51 > 0:23:53and Rochelle's off to stock up.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59The '20s saw an explosion in the variety of tinned produce,
0:23:59 > 0:24:02sold as a safe and hygienic method of preserving almost any food.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07At the start of the decade, Britain had three canning factories.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09By 1929, there were 80.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17Hi. Hi!
0:24:17 > 0:24:20- Hi. - I think I know you from somewhere.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22I think I know you as well.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24- It's nice to see you.- You, too.
0:24:24 > 0:24:25You've got yourself a job.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27- Yeah.- That's absolutely...
0:24:27 > 0:24:28I'm moving up in the world.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31That's absolutely fantastic.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33Debbie's found a job in a local shop,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36earning much more than she could as a maid.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38Do you want to come back?
0:24:38 > 0:24:41- Oh, are you missing me? - We're missing you very much.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44You definitely don't want to come back?
0:24:44 > 0:24:46OK. Two tins of potatoes,
0:24:46 > 0:24:50two tins of marrowfat peas, six tins of salmon
0:24:50 > 0:24:52and some Bird's Custard.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57Thank you. I tell you what, Debbie,
0:24:57 > 0:24:59if I manage to get home with all these tins,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02I'll make a nice dinner and think of you.
0:25:02 > 0:25:03- Oh, good luck.- OK.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05- Bye.- Bye.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12I'm happy she's not back in service.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16It would be lovely if she wanted to come back,
0:25:16 > 0:25:18but she doesn't and that time has passed.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25Rochelle's back with enough tins to make an entire meal -
0:25:25 > 0:25:27all she has to do is open them.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34It's actually quite hard work.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43If you can open the can, you can open the world.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50Dinner today is salmon with potatoes, peas and carrots.
0:25:50 > 0:25:51And, for desert,
0:25:51 > 0:25:54tinned peaches with powdered custard.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00You have to kind of go out shopping early,
0:26:00 > 0:26:02then start opening your cans early...
0:26:03 > 0:26:05..if you want eat.
0:26:05 > 0:26:11They fill me with a sense of anxiety because, if you can't get into it,
0:26:11 > 0:26:12you're stuck.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16I think it's probably easier to peel a potato than to open a can.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20While Rochelle grapples with cutting-edge 1920s technology,
0:26:20 > 0:26:24Fred's found a convenience food that's a bit easier to open -
0:26:24 > 0:26:26Smith's Salt 'n' Shake crisps.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32Mr and Mrs Smith made and sold their new snack from a garage in
0:26:32 > 0:26:34north London, selling 1,000 packets a week.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39By the end of the decade, they'd opened seven factories and created
0:26:39 > 0:26:41a nation of crisp lovers.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43We now consume six billion bags a year.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50Rochelle's '20s ready meal has taken minutes to cook.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55Nothing like the hours Debbie spent preparing elaborate feasts in
0:26:55 > 0:26:57their Edwardian kitchen.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59It's fairly no frills.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01It's supposed to make everything a lot easier,
0:27:01 > 0:27:07that everything is ready peeled, prepared and all ready for you.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10It's not exactly cookery, so it's kind of...
0:27:10 > 0:27:12It's just...cannery.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Here we go. Do you want some bread?
0:27:19 > 0:27:21Yeah, love some bread.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23So, this is all out of tins, is it?
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Except for the bread, I suppose.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27Yeah. Everything's out of a tin.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29I have no fear of the can opener.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31You're an expert at that now, aren't you?
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Yeah. Well, I wouldn't say an expert, but I am proficient.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36If it was on levels, I'm probably on level three now.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40- Right.- What's the top level? - Five would be advanced can opening.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43But I suppose somebody getting this might have thought,
0:27:43 > 0:27:46I'm going to have salmon, like what my maid made me.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50But when it actually comes out, we've got this salmon that is...
0:27:50 > 0:27:52is not fish-shaped.
0:27:52 > 0:27:53Yeah, it's been in a tin.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57Yeah. I don't know if the tinned vegetables work quite so well.
0:27:57 > 0:28:02- So, this is all stuff you bought at the shops.- Yeah.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05But you'll never guess who was over the counter.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10- It was Debbie.- Was it Debbie? - No, way!- Yes, way.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12Was she surprised to see you?
0:28:12 > 0:28:14She was surprised to see me.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17- Were you surprised to see her?- I was extremely surprised to see her.
0:28:17 > 0:28:19- You should have invited her round for dinner.- I think she's busy.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23What do people think about having a meal all out of tins?
0:28:23 > 0:28:26It's been quite nice.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29But would you serve this to guests?
0:28:29 > 0:28:30- No.- Why not?
0:28:30 > 0:28:32It's like sort of saying, "Oh,
0:28:32 > 0:28:34"I really fancy noodles tonight,"
0:28:34 > 0:28:36and then them giving you a Pot Noodle.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38I suppose so.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43I didn't dislike the canned dinner.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46It's not the type of food that Debbie would have served and,
0:28:46 > 0:28:47if she was still with us,
0:28:47 > 0:28:49we probably wouldn't be eating an entirely canned meal.
0:29:04 > 0:29:05It's 1923.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10Roz and Fred have come to the park to find a brand-new phenomenon,
0:29:10 > 0:29:11the ice cream man.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17In the early 1920s, Wall's was a small meat company.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20They noticed that sales of pies and sausage rolls dropped dramatically
0:29:20 > 0:29:22in the summer months, so, to help profits,
0:29:22 > 0:29:24they expanded into ice cream.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30And in 1923, they introduced the world's first-ever
0:29:30 > 0:29:32ice cream tricycle,
0:29:32 > 0:29:34allowing them to take freshly made blocks and tubs
0:29:34 > 0:29:36directly to the people.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40- Can I please have an ice cream? - You certainly can.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43- Thank you.- Thank you.- Are you enjoying your ice cream?
0:29:43 > 0:29:44Mm.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46What do you like about it?
0:29:46 > 0:29:49- I like that it's ice cream.- Mm.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55Back at the house, Rochelle's discovering a new phenomenon of her own.
0:29:55 > 0:30:00"I've sent you a little something to help you learn a prized housewife skill - baking.
0:30:00 > 0:30:02"Good luck, Giles."
0:30:02 > 0:30:06To help the fledgling housewife get used to a kitchen without servants,
0:30:06 > 0:30:10the Co-operative grocer published a series of recipe cards given away
0:30:10 > 0:30:11in cigarette packets.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15I would have taken out this little card
0:30:15 > 0:30:18and it would have had a nice little recipe on the back,
0:30:18 > 0:30:22and then I could have gone into the Co-op and bought all my produce.
0:30:22 > 0:30:24It's quite a good idea.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27Canny bit of advertising.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30The recipe for coconut pyramids couldn't be more simple -
0:30:30 > 0:30:34half a pound of desiccated coconut and condensed milk.
0:30:35 > 0:30:36It's not too difficult,
0:30:36 > 0:30:39so any housewife who was a little bit nervous
0:30:39 > 0:30:43would be best starting off with this one, I reckon.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46And then you have to get two forks together
0:30:46 > 0:30:49and somehow create a pyramid using forks...
0:30:50 > 0:30:53..which is obviously not what the ancient Egyptians did.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55Now, that's not very good, is it?
0:30:58 > 0:31:01I've forgotten what a pyramid looks like.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04But everyone in the '20s would have known.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08The discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922 by British archaeologist
0:31:08 > 0:31:11Howard Carter captured the world's imagination
0:31:11 > 0:31:14and sparked a mania for all things Egyptian.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19Music, art and culture all fell under the spell of Egyptomania
0:31:19 > 0:31:21and baking was no exception.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26It's very hot in the desert!
0:31:26 > 0:31:28Yeah, they do look a bit well done.
0:31:28 > 0:31:33I'm hoping my family will be polite and accept them for what they are.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40Oh. What are these?
0:31:40 > 0:31:41They're coconut pyramids.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43- Oh.- They've got... - They're a bit burnt.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46No, they are very sort of well done.
0:31:46 > 0:31:47- Singed.- They're caramelised.
0:31:47 > 0:31:48Caramelised.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50- Would you like one?- Yes, please.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52- Do you want to put them down? - All right.
0:31:52 > 0:31:54Put them down and then people can just help themselves.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58These are nice. They're good.
0:31:58 > 0:32:00I think they're nicer with the caramelised topping.
0:32:00 > 0:32:02- Yeah.- Good, thank you.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05Tea really tastes good when you've just had a cake.
0:32:05 > 0:32:06Have another one, then.
0:32:06 > 0:32:08All right. Don't mind if I do.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12They're delicious. They tasted great.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15And, in fact, we all ate them and wanted more, didn't we?
0:32:15 > 0:32:20- So, yes.- Unfortunately, the presentation is a 5.63.
0:32:37 > 0:32:38It's 1924.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45This year saw the arrival of Kellogg's Corn Flakes from America.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48The company opened its first factory in the UK and our love affair with
0:32:48 > 0:32:52the convenience of breakfast cereals truly took off.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54There's no preparation.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57All I have to do is tip it out of the box and into the bowl.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59At the time, it was probably cutting-edge cereal.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03They would have seemed very different, wouldn't they,
0:33:03 > 0:33:05from toast and marmalade, or boiled eggs?
0:33:05 > 0:33:07I never eat corn flakes at home.
0:33:07 > 0:33:09Never, ever eat them.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12But if you've never had anything like this before,
0:33:12 > 0:33:15it would feel like a completely different type of breakfast,
0:33:15 > 0:33:17wouldn't it?
0:33:17 > 0:33:19- Yeah.- Would this keep you going all day at the office?
0:33:19 > 0:33:21Not sure about that.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23Think it would get you to the station all right.
0:33:23 > 0:33:25You'd have to do get like a butty or something.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30Corn flakes aren't the only new arrival in the house.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34Brandon's taken delivery of some state-of-the-art technology.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39The 1920s was a decade of breakthroughs.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42New radio technology meant that live broadcasts could be heard in
0:33:42 > 0:33:45the homes of ordinary British families for the very first time.
0:33:47 > 0:33:51And a brand-new corporation had been formed - the BBC.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56It must have kind of helped British people
0:33:56 > 0:34:00to think of themselves as more of a nation because everybody could be listening to the same thing at
0:34:00 > 0:34:03the same time. It must have seemed that we were rushing into the future
0:34:03 > 0:34:05at that time.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08And Rochelle's got her hands on her own technological innovation -
0:34:08 > 0:34:10Pyrex.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14"The experienced housekeeper or the young wife have only to become
0:34:14 > 0:34:18"acquainted with the possibilities of Pyrex to refuse to return to
0:34:18 > 0:34:20"the drudgery of old-fashioned methods."
0:34:22 > 0:34:24Initially imported from the United States,
0:34:24 > 0:34:26by 1924 it was being produced in Britain.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31The ovenproof glassware was marketed directly at housewives keen to find
0:34:31 > 0:34:33culinary shortcuts.
0:34:34 > 0:34:38This is modern. In this, I can cook, I can put it in the oven,
0:34:38 > 0:34:41take it out of the oven and then I can bring it to the table.
0:34:41 > 0:34:42And it's transparent.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45Imagine that, actually seeing your food
0:34:45 > 0:34:47sort of cook all the way through.
0:34:47 > 0:34:49Well, now you have no excuse if it goes wrong.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51I will have an excuse if it goes wrong.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53- What will it be? Can't cook. - Yeah!
0:34:55 > 0:34:58Rochelle is preparing a three-course meal,
0:34:58 > 0:35:00following recipes from the Pyrex Modern Cookery Book.
0:35:02 > 0:35:06Ham and potato hotpot, celery hotpot and cabinet pudding.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12The dishes spread heat more evenly, helping to reduce cooking time.
0:35:13 > 0:35:14And Pyrex's modern,
0:35:14 > 0:35:17forward-thinking design meant housewives could bring them straight
0:35:17 > 0:35:21to the table, doing away with separate serving dishes altogether.
0:35:24 > 0:35:25Now everything is visible,
0:35:25 > 0:35:29it just gives a kind of like a wow factor to the hotpot.
0:35:31 > 0:35:33They look a bit burnt now, so you can't even see it anyway.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35It's not burnt. It is...
0:35:35 > 0:35:37It is the lid of the Pyrex pot.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39See? Look, it goes brown.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41They don't tell you that, do they?
0:35:42 > 0:35:43What big chunks of ham.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45They look good to me.
0:35:45 > 0:35:46Thank you.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50People don't get rid of their Pyrex.
0:35:50 > 0:35:51They don't. They don't.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54- They absolutely don't. - They keep them for decades.
0:35:54 > 0:35:56Yeah, they do. Pyrex is not just sort of here today, gone tomorrow.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58- No.- It's not like a fad.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00It's absolutely endured, hasn't it?
0:36:01 > 0:36:03- Do you want some?- Yeah.
0:36:03 > 0:36:04- I want some.- Smells nice.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07I can smell the kind of the custard-y smell.
0:36:07 > 0:36:08Oh, it is hot, isn't it?
0:36:08 > 0:36:11God, these Pyrex dishes really do hold the heat, don't they?
0:36:11 > 0:36:13Do you remember that sweet sauce that Debbie made?
0:36:13 > 0:36:15- Yeah.- That's what this needs. - Raspberry and port.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17I'm supposed to have jam sauce, I forgot.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19- Oh, are you?- Mm. Sorry.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21No, sorry.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23You've got to serve it with jam.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30For lunch, we had these very nice casserole dishes that Rochelle made
0:36:30 > 0:36:32using the new Pyrex cookware.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35Life in the kitchen is getting a bit easier for Rochelle.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38The equipment is getting more modern.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40It still seems that she's...
0:36:40 > 0:36:43she is somewhat confined to the kitchen.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58The Robshaws are halfway through the decade and bars and nightclubs in
0:36:58 > 0:37:00Britain's cities are thriving.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03New licensing laws mean they can stay open later,
0:37:03 > 0:37:06as long as they offer something to eat alongside
0:37:06 > 0:37:07the dancing and champagne.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14I'm sending Miranda and Roz to the Bloomsbury Ballroom
0:37:14 > 0:37:17to sample a '20s night out with Strictly's James and Ola Jordan.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23- Cheers.- Cheers.- Cheers.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28But James and Ola are here for one reason only.
0:37:29 > 0:37:31OK, guys, let's go and Charleston.
0:37:31 > 0:37:32Cool.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36When we do the Charleston step here,
0:37:36 > 0:37:39the reason why the feet come in and out like this,
0:37:39 > 0:37:42not only because it looks nice, but it's about the lady's modesty.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46The skirts would be getting shorter and shorter in the '20s.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49- A little bit more zhoosh like that. - A bit more free. - Yeah, bit more free.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52Yeah, we're going to do the basic box step first of all,
0:37:52 > 0:37:54when we cross over with our left leg.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57OK, so we go one, two, three, four.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00Keep doing that. One, two, three, step.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02Tap. Step. Tap.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04Step, tap.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07And now we start to add the swivel.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11Now, you can start to put the arms in.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13So, the arms go this way and then this way.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15So, each time it goes there...
0:38:15 > 0:38:16- It's hard, isn't it?- It is hard.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20The Charleston was as riotous,
0:38:20 > 0:38:24modern and fast-paced as the young people doing it
0:38:24 > 0:38:25and it certainly couldn't be done in a corset.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30OK. Five, six, seven, eight.
0:38:34 > 0:38:35Go forward.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39Side.
0:38:39 > 0:38:41Circle.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49But nightclubs weren't the only places to try something new.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55Aspiring middle-class housewives had their own group of trendsetters to
0:38:55 > 0:38:59follow in the '20s - Virginia Woolf and her Bloomsbury Set.
0:38:59 > 0:39:00As well as transforming literature,
0:39:00 > 0:39:03their cosmopolitan palates were also very influential.
0:39:06 > 0:39:08Rochelle's preparing a dinner party
0:39:08 > 0:39:11based on a menu cooked by fashionable painter Dora Carrington.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16If Virginia Woolf and her Bloomsbury Set wanted to write a cookbook,
0:39:16 > 0:39:20they would probably put in a recipe like this.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22Today, we have that same fascination
0:39:22 > 0:39:25with groups of people who we perceive
0:39:25 > 0:39:29as being better than us, who have a better lifestyle than us.
0:39:29 > 0:39:31Catering to the exotic tastes of the group,
0:39:31 > 0:39:35she's making sardines on toast, chicken with fennel and tomato,
0:39:35 > 0:39:38risotto with almonds and pimentos,
0:39:38 > 0:39:39and creme brulee.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42It's kind of an expensive menu.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44I mean, you've got something like fennel and saffron,
0:39:44 > 0:39:47which is like an expensive spice to add in.
0:39:47 > 0:39:48It tastes different.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52It doesn't taste like roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56Meanwhile, the girls perfect their moves.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59Guys, could you come up as partners, please?
0:39:59 > 0:40:01Thank you. These are your partners.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03We're going to try and lift.
0:40:03 > 0:40:05Five, six, seven, eight.
0:40:05 > 0:40:09One, two, in you come and jump.
0:40:09 > 0:40:14Around the back. Kick the legs, we turn...
0:40:14 > 0:40:16and put the girls down.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19- There we go.- Easy.
0:40:19 > 0:40:20OK, guys.
0:40:20 > 0:40:21MUSIC STARTS
0:40:23 > 0:40:24Five, six, seven, eight.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30'I can't imagine our parents coming out to dance with us.
0:40:30 > 0:40:34'Previously, you have been very kind of restricted in terms of morality,
0:40:34 > 0:40:35'like, what you're allowed to do.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39'It's kind of flirtatious.
0:40:39 > 0:40:43'It's kind of got this, like, edge to it and this sort of cheekiness'
0:40:43 > 0:40:47and, like, it's really easy to see why it appealed to young women.
0:40:47 > 0:40:48OLA CHEERS
0:40:51 > 0:40:53- Thank you!- Well done.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57- Cheers, everybody.- Cheers. - Here's to 1925.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00Back at the house, the guests have arrived for Rochelle and Brendan's
0:41:00 > 0:41:02Bloomsbury-inspired dinner party.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04Oh, look at that. Isn't that beautiful?
0:41:05 > 0:41:08Virginia Woolf had Nelly, her cook,
0:41:08 > 0:41:11so Virginia didn't have to do any cooking,
0:41:11 > 0:41:15so all she had to do was just sit about, writing her books.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18Let's toast Nelly. Raise your glass, toast Nelly.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20Yeah. And Rochelle, yes.
0:41:20 > 0:41:22- And Virginia. - Those are excellent carrots.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27- I do really like it. - Oh, good.- It's really good.
0:41:27 > 0:41:32Now it's possible to get saffron and garlic, and Parmesan.
0:41:33 > 0:41:35Ooh-la-la. What have we got here?
0:41:35 > 0:41:37This is a risotto.
0:41:37 > 0:41:38I see, very Italian.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42- Oh, lovely. - Doesn't that look delicious?
0:41:44 > 0:41:46It does feel like a very, very modern decade,
0:41:46 > 0:41:49to be sitting about, having the luxury to sit and chat.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51And would I give this up easily?
0:41:51 > 0:41:53- No.- No, siree.
0:41:58 > 0:42:00Well, we've got at least two, anyway.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03- Creme brulee's there. - I do like them.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07- I like them well done.- What do you think Virginia would say about this?
0:42:07 > 0:42:09Oh, Nelly!
0:42:20 > 0:42:23It's 1926 and Britain's economy is faltering.
0:42:25 > 0:42:26Demand for British coal was falling
0:42:26 > 0:42:30and miners were threatened with a cut in pay and longer working hours.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36A miners' dispute escalated and Britain experienced its first and only general strike
0:42:36 > 0:42:39as thousands of workers came out in solidarity.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43So, the headline I've got here in the British Gazette is,
0:42:43 > 0:42:45"First day of great strike."
0:42:45 > 0:42:47This is May 5th, 1926.
0:42:47 > 0:42:52The line they're taking is basically that people just carry on regardless
0:42:52 > 0:42:54with true British determination.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56"Londoners' treck to work.
0:42:56 > 0:43:00"On foot, squeezed into cars, standing in vans, riding pillion,
0:43:00 > 0:43:03"London came yesterday morning doggedly and cheerfully to work."
0:43:05 > 0:43:08The printers were also on strike and for many the only news available was
0:43:08 > 0:43:11an emergency newspaper published by the Government.
0:43:11 > 0:43:14Not going to get a balanced picture if there's only one newspaper
0:43:14 > 0:43:17publishing that's come out in defiance of the strike.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20It is a sign of how divided the nation was.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24The strike reflected Britain's weak economic position as it struggled to
0:43:24 > 0:43:26emerge from post-war recession.
0:43:28 > 0:43:30In an attempt to boost Britain's economy,
0:43:30 > 0:43:32a new Government initiative
0:43:32 > 0:43:34encouraged people to "Buy Empire".
0:43:37 > 0:43:39Doing their patriotic bit,
0:43:39 > 0:43:41Brandon and Rochelle are off out for a colonial lunch.
0:43:41 > 0:43:42Hello.
0:43:45 > 0:43:47- Hello, Polly.- Oh, so nice to see you.- Nice to see you.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49Welcome.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52Thrilled you're here in 1926.
0:43:52 > 0:43:53Take a seat, come and join me.
0:43:54 > 0:43:57We here in this fabulous restaurant.
0:43:57 > 0:44:01It was opened in 1926 by a man called Edward Palmer and an Indian
0:44:01 > 0:44:05princess, so you have this Anglo-Indian heritage.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08Edward Palmer brought over Indian cooks and Indian waiters,
0:44:08 > 0:44:12so that the sort of look of this place would have been very authentic
0:44:12 > 0:44:15so that it felt like you are having a taste of India.
0:44:15 > 0:44:19You can imagine that you're in some kind of gentlemen's club in Calcutta
0:44:19 > 0:44:22- sitting here. - I think that's why Veeraswamy,
0:44:22 > 0:44:26you know, setting this up in 1926 is a really sort of savvy move,
0:44:26 > 0:44:29capitalising on Britain's relationship with India,
0:44:29 > 0:44:32and I think that people would have been curious
0:44:32 > 0:44:36and also would have wanted to have shown their sort of sophistication,
0:44:36 > 0:44:38- being open-minded.- Yes.
0:44:38 > 0:44:43Previously, Indian restaurants had mainly catered to their own immigrant community.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46But Veeraswamy, with it's Anglo-Asian ownership,
0:44:46 > 0:44:48was aimed at middle-class white Britons
0:44:48 > 0:44:51keen to support Britain's empire and taste the flavours of the Raj.
0:44:55 > 0:44:57What I've got here is this menu,
0:44:57 > 0:45:01which is fantastic because this menu shows us what was being served
0:45:01 > 0:45:04in this restaurant in 1926.
0:45:04 > 0:45:07I've taken the liberty of ordering for you.
0:45:07 > 0:45:09While Brandon tries a '20s-style curry,
0:45:09 > 0:45:13Rochelle is having cod in parsley sauce.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15Yours looks a lot more interesting
0:45:15 > 0:45:18than my bit of fish and parsley sauce.
0:45:18 > 0:45:19It's kind of like a gendered menu.
0:45:19 > 0:45:25It's sort of like male, India, and female, fish.
0:45:25 > 0:45:26For the ladies, yes.
0:45:26 > 0:45:32What this reflects is actually that it was more likely that Brandon may
0:45:32 > 0:45:36have spent time in India and might have been familiar with Indian food.
0:45:36 > 0:45:39We, as ladies, may not have been out in India.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42This may have been very new to us and our palates wouldn't be used to
0:45:42 > 0:45:46Indian food, so that the menu had these European dishes, as well,
0:45:46 > 0:45:49and so we're having cod and parsley sauce.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52The hotter the curry you can eat, the more of a man you are
0:45:52 > 0:45:55- and that is true. - THEY LAUGH
0:45:56 > 0:45:58'I think that curry must have seemed like a taste that
0:45:58 > 0:46:02'was completely different for the middle classes
0:46:02 > 0:46:04'and just this...'
0:46:04 > 0:46:06this whole taste of the exotic.
0:46:06 > 0:46:08Cheers to Indian food, then.
0:46:09 > 0:46:10- Cheers, Polly.- Cheers.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12- Cheers.- Thanks a lot.
0:46:21 > 0:46:24It's 1927 and Debbie's found a new job
0:46:24 > 0:46:27in one of Britain's most successful industries,
0:46:27 > 0:46:31employing over 200,000 people, fish and chips.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36The expansion of trawler fishing,
0:46:36 > 0:46:39rail connections from ports to cities and mechanised potato peeling
0:46:39 > 0:46:43and frying kept 35,000 fish and chip shops going.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48A working-class favourite, they weren't something
0:46:48 > 0:46:50the middle classes would have eaten in public,
0:46:50 > 0:46:53so Roz and Fred have been sent out to bring some back for the family.
0:46:53 > 0:46:54Hello!
0:46:57 > 0:46:58Hello.
0:47:00 > 0:47:02Can I have five large cod and chips, please?
0:47:02 > 0:47:04- OK.- That's it. Thanks.
0:47:04 > 0:47:06Do you feel like, free, now?
0:47:06 > 0:47:07Kind of freer, yeah.
0:47:07 > 0:47:10Here I still get to cook and I kind of enjoyed that bit.
0:47:10 > 0:47:12Like, when I was a servant, I liked to cook for you guys.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15It was just... Like, before, I was just in your house all the time.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18- It's true.- Like on my own, when you guys went out.
0:47:18 > 0:47:21I think that a girl in the 1920s would probably pick a job like this
0:47:21 > 0:47:23- over servanting.- And you can feel like you're doing something like for
0:47:23 > 0:47:27yourself. You've chosen to work in a fish and chip shop and it's not like
0:47:27 > 0:47:30someone's said, "Now you have to cook this dinner," and you're like, "OK."
0:47:30 > 0:47:32Yeah, yeah, it is a bit like that, actually.
0:47:32 > 0:47:33- Bye.- It was lovely to see you.
0:47:33 > 0:47:36Yeah, and you. Say hello to the rest of the family.
0:47:36 > 0:47:37Yeah, I will. Bye.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41In the privacy of their own homes,
0:47:41 > 0:47:45families like the Robshaws were happy to indulge in Britain's favourite takeaway.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50I can imagine a middle-class family in 1927 having this would have...
0:47:50 > 0:47:52They'd think it was a bit of a joke.
0:47:52 > 0:47:53Aren't we a little bit bohemian?
0:47:53 > 0:47:56- Really?- Yeah.- Do you think we would have closed the curtains?
0:47:56 > 0:48:00Even in like... Like our modern lives,
0:48:00 > 0:48:03you're slightly embarrassed about having a takeaway.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05- Do you know what I mean? - I like fish and chips.
0:48:05 > 0:48:10- I love fish and chips.- I suppose to have fish and chips would be great
0:48:10 > 0:48:12because you think, "I don't have to cook this at all."
0:48:12 > 0:48:15It also substantially cuts down on the washing up
0:48:15 > 0:48:16because there's no pots and pans.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19Guess who we met in the fish and chip shop?
0:48:19 > 0:48:20- Giles. - No.
0:48:20 > 0:48:22- Debbie. - Yes!
0:48:22 > 0:48:25- How was she? How was she doing? - She was good. She looked like she really enjoyed it.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28- She looked really happy to see us. - Does she want to come back?
0:48:28 > 0:48:29Tell her I could improve her hours.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32She doesn't want to come back, Mum.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38And, for dessert, there's a new sweet treat, launched in 1927.
0:48:38 > 0:48:39- Hey.- Hey.
0:48:41 > 0:48:42What's that? Jaffa Cakes?
0:48:42 > 0:48:45It could be. It could well be.
0:48:45 > 0:48:48Now, almost 2,000 Jaffa Cakes are made every minute,
0:48:48 > 0:48:51but they've always had a controversial status.
0:48:51 > 0:48:56I was always very firm in my belief that they were biscuits,
0:48:56 > 0:48:59but I know that they're not.
0:48:59 > 0:49:00- Shall I tell you how? - Yeah.
0:49:00 > 0:49:05So, the definition of a cake is it goes hard when it's stale
0:49:05 > 0:49:07and a biscuit goes soft when it's stale.
0:49:07 > 0:49:09Those go hard when they're stale.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11- So, they are cakes. - They are cakes.
0:49:12 > 0:49:14In 1991, the matter was put to rest.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20They were declared to be cakes and so free of VAT.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23'Sweets and treats and fast food is now being more noticeable, definitely.
0:49:23 > 0:49:25'We had the Jaffa Cakes,'
0:49:25 > 0:49:29which were not a biscuit, but they weren't a cake.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41It's a new day and the Robshaws are nearing the end of the decade.
0:49:41 > 0:49:441928 saw the passing of the Equal Franchise Act,
0:49:44 > 0:49:48finally giving all women over 21 the right to vote.
0:49:48 > 0:49:52And when you think, 1928, I mean that's not that long ago.
0:49:52 > 0:49:57- No.- Now, women were considered to be equal citizens.
0:49:57 > 0:49:58250 women,
0:49:58 > 0:50:03many of them former activists, gathered at London's Cecil Hotel
0:50:03 > 0:50:06to celebrate the event and eat a commemorative victory breakfast.
0:50:08 > 0:50:13It's a women power breakfast at the start of what they hope would be
0:50:13 > 0:50:16a sense of them being equal to men.
0:50:17 > 0:50:21All right, now, go away and think about your freedom.
0:50:21 > 0:50:22- OK.- And lay the table.
0:50:24 > 0:50:25Thank you.
0:50:27 > 0:50:31Rochelle is preparing the family their own victory breakfast -
0:50:31 > 0:50:34based on the original surviving menu from 1928.
0:50:34 > 0:50:36I didn't know they did Quaker Oats back...
0:50:36 > 0:50:39You know, I was a bit surprised to see them in 1928.
0:50:39 > 0:50:44I suppose it's another sort of quick thing to have for breakfast.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48The lavish breakfast of porridge, kippers, bacon, eggs,
0:50:48 > 0:50:53toast and marmalade recalled the hearty fare suffragettes served
0:50:53 > 0:50:54those just released from prison.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00Are they wheels? They could be wheels, couldn't they?
0:51:00 > 0:51:03- Yeah.- While women's suffrage occupies the kitchen,
0:51:03 > 0:51:06Brandon and Fred have something else on their minds -
0:51:06 > 0:51:09- Meccano.- That's about two inches, isn't it?
0:51:09 > 0:51:10Yeah.
0:51:12 > 0:51:14As technology progressed through the '20s,
0:51:14 > 0:51:18the toys of the time replicated new inventions, with miniature planes,
0:51:18 > 0:51:20boats, cars and trains.
0:51:22 > 0:51:2419 of these nuts.
0:51:24 > 0:51:25I tell you what, this is driving me nuts.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33- No!- Can we eat that?- No.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36I tell you, this is a good, hearty breakfast.
0:51:36 > 0:51:39Salad is a slightly unusual touch.
0:51:39 > 0:51:41Is that what they had at the celebration breakfast?
0:51:41 > 0:51:44- Mm-hm.- But I think it's great. I think it's a beautiful breakfast.
0:51:44 > 0:51:49I love it. Not like those light breakfasts of corn flakes and so on.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51It's good.
0:51:52 > 0:51:53Well, I want a kipper.
0:51:55 > 0:51:57Well, you've got something to celebrate, haven't you?
0:51:57 > 0:51:59You would have had the vote because you're over 30.
0:51:59 > 0:52:02Only just, obviously. It makes a difference to these two, really.
0:52:02 > 0:52:08I think it would have felt like a real triumph and a real step
0:52:08 > 0:52:09forward for women.
0:52:09 > 0:52:11Well, here's to the Equal Franchise Act.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13- Well done, ladies.- Go, women.
0:52:13 > 0:52:14Thanks very much.
0:52:16 > 0:52:20So, 1928 was a big significant year for women.
0:52:20 > 0:52:22At last, these big,
0:52:22 > 0:52:26massive barriers in the way people thought about women
0:52:26 > 0:52:29were finally being broken down.
0:52:29 > 0:52:32'This was the year where women got the vote.'
0:52:32 > 0:52:36Just years and years and years of petitioning and protesting.
0:52:36 > 0:52:42I mean, the atmosphere across the country must have been, like, amazing.
0:52:51 > 0:52:53It's 1929 and, to celebrate,
0:52:53 > 0:52:56the Robshaws are preparing a party to mark the end of the decade.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00As Brandon prepares the cocktails,
0:53:00 > 0:53:04Miranda pours the perfect party snack, introduced just this year,
0:53:04 > 0:53:09- Twiglets.- It actually says here, "For cocktail parties."
0:53:09 > 0:53:10Well, they're perfect, aren't they?
0:53:10 > 0:53:12Yeah, yeah.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15We've had Marmite for decades, haven't we? And it took until now
0:53:15 > 0:53:18for somebody to hit on the idea of putting Marmite on these little wheaty sticks.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23Rochelle's in the kitchen,
0:53:23 > 0:53:25making a vanilla slice for tonight's party.
0:53:26 > 0:53:32It's food that is fun, rather than food that is for nutrition, or purpose.
0:53:32 > 0:53:35They've kind of perfected the food that goes with the cocktail.
0:53:36 > 0:53:40On a special occasion like this, as many middle-class housewives did,
0:53:40 > 0:53:41she's hired in some help.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46What I'm constructing are banana sandwiches.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49- Oh, OK.- So, yeah, bit unusual for a cocktail party.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53I just think that maybe people who'd had a few drinks
0:53:53 > 0:53:55might fancy a banana sandwich.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57It actually sounds like something you'd have after a few drinks,
0:53:57 > 0:54:00- doesn't it?- Do you think so? - Yeah, a banana sandwich.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03But as the Robshaws prepare for their party,
0:54:03 > 0:54:07a seismic economic event this year will have wide repercussions.
0:54:07 > 0:54:11The Wall Street Crash wiped millions off the American stock market
0:54:11 > 0:54:13and plunged the world into recession.
0:54:15 > 0:54:19Its effects wouldn't be felt yet by middle-class British families
0:54:19 > 0:54:22who were able to carry on regardless in true 1920s-style.
0:54:22 > 0:54:25# Have you seen the well-to-do
0:54:25 > 0:54:26# Up on Lenox Avenue...? #
0:54:26 > 0:54:28Cheese puffs.
0:54:28 > 0:54:30# On that famous thoroughfare
0:54:30 > 0:54:32# With their noses in the air? #
0:54:32 > 0:54:34Would you like a Singapore Sling?
0:54:35 > 0:54:39'Polly and I are back to join the party and find out all about
0:54:39 > 0:54:40'the Robshaws' roaring '20s.'
0:54:42 > 0:54:44- Hello.- Hello, Polly. - Hi.- Hello, Giles.
0:54:44 > 0:54:47- Nice to see you. How are you? - This all looks very exciting.
0:54:47 > 0:54:48I'm just pouring out Singapore Slings here.
0:54:50 > 0:54:51So, what can I get you two?
0:54:51 > 0:54:54I've mixed up a dry martini already and this Singapore Sling.
0:54:54 > 0:54:57- Dry martini - that sounds great. - Dry martini.- Thank you.
0:55:00 > 0:55:01There you go.
0:55:01 > 0:55:02Thank you very much.
0:55:07 > 0:55:09How have you found the '20s, Rochelle?
0:55:09 > 0:55:12Well, the beginning of the decade, I was sort of slightly anxious
0:55:12 > 0:55:14because Debbie had gone and I did think,
0:55:14 > 0:55:17"What am I going to be doing in that kitchen?"
0:55:17 > 0:55:19But as I sort of found out, there were cookbooks,
0:55:19 > 0:55:21there was sort of Good Housekeeping magazines.
0:55:21 > 0:55:26It was simplified, so it was for the new housewife.
0:55:30 > 0:55:33Basically, the '20s was a chap's decade.
0:55:33 > 0:55:34Yes, I've got that lovely drinks trolley,
0:55:34 > 0:55:36all these gleaming bottles on it.
0:55:36 > 0:55:39I can mix things up and add different quantities and shake it up.
0:55:39 > 0:55:43It's a lovely, lovely ritual when six o'clock rolls around.
0:55:43 > 0:55:45It's basically quite a simple life, really, isn't it?
0:55:52 > 0:55:56Coming into the kitchen at the beginning of the decade,
0:55:56 > 0:55:58I was quite daunted.
0:55:58 > 0:56:02But because of the introduction of new convenience foods,
0:56:02 > 0:56:04the whole process was that much simpler.
0:56:04 > 0:56:09It sort of spins into a modern take on easier eating.
0:56:09 > 0:56:13'As a middle-class woman in the '20s,
0:56:13 > 0:56:15'I'd probably feel quite exhilarated'
0:56:15 > 0:56:17by the rate of change,
0:56:17 > 0:56:23but at the same time I would feel kind of, like, perplexed by it.
0:56:23 > 0:56:25Maybe possibly find sanctuary in the kitchen.
0:56:25 > 0:56:27It might be moving too fast for me.
0:56:28 > 0:56:32I found the '20s a massive amount of fun.
0:56:32 > 0:56:37There have been quite a few evenings where the main focus of the event is
0:56:37 > 0:56:41different types of drinks and the food is kind of like an afterthought
0:56:41 > 0:56:43and I've just had a whale of a time.
0:56:43 > 0:56:45I really enjoyed the jazz party.
0:56:45 > 0:56:51The music of this era, it's been like the soundtrack to our freedom.
0:56:52 > 0:56:55I think if I actually had been my age in the '20s,
0:56:55 > 0:56:57it would have been a really exciting decade.
0:56:57 > 0:56:59Learning how to Charleston, that was just so brilliant,
0:56:59 > 0:57:02I think, it was just so much fun.
0:57:02 > 0:57:04I've got to say, I've enjoyed the '20s immensely.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07You know, I love the greater variety of the food,
0:57:07 > 0:57:09the cooking has got more diverse.
0:57:09 > 0:57:13We've got a radio set, we've got a modern record player.
0:57:13 > 0:57:14We have electric light.
0:57:14 > 0:57:16It really does feel as if we've...
0:57:16 > 0:57:18we've come into the modern age.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21The Robshaws began the decade drinking and partying
0:57:21 > 0:57:23to forget the horrors of war.
0:57:23 > 0:57:27They're drinking again, but this time it's to get over the woes of economic slump.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30Along the way, Rochelle's found that social upheaval has deprived her of her staff
0:57:30 > 0:57:32and she's had to become a housekeeper for the first time.
0:57:32 > 0:57:34But luckily for Miranda and Roz,
0:57:34 > 0:57:37there is hope, it seems, of a more exciting future.
0:57:37 > 0:57:40What I can't help feeling about the '20s,
0:57:40 > 0:57:42and this of course is with hindsight,
0:57:42 > 0:57:45because we know it's a period of calm in-between two wars,
0:57:45 > 0:57:49I sometimes get a sense that it's something almost slightly panicky,
0:57:49 > 0:57:51a bit feverish about all this pleasure seeking.
0:57:51 > 0:57:55It's almost as if people knew what awful clouds lay on the horizon and
0:57:55 > 0:57:57they were just determined to enjoy themselves while they could.
0:58:01 > 0:58:04Next time, the Robshaws experience the 1930s.
0:58:06 > 0:58:08A decade of opportunities...
0:58:08 > 0:58:10Let me see if I can hear them snap, crackle and pop.
0:58:10 > 0:58:12..that was stopped in its tracks.
0:58:12 > 0:58:15That looks like something out of a nightmare.