0:00:02 > 0:00:04Meet the Robshaws - Brandon, Rochelle,
0:00:04 > 0:00:06Miranda, Ros and Fred.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09They've been back in time before...
0:00:10 > 0:00:13..and experienced the transformation in our diets
0:00:13 > 0:00:16from the 1950s to the 1990s.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20That is just amazing. Look at them!
0:00:20 > 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 > 0:00:31Oh, my good God! Is it brains?
0:00:31 > 0:00:35..the way it was served, and how it was cooked...
0:00:35 > 0:00:38- Yes, I'm cooking the pudding in the soup.- Why?
0:00:38 > 0:00:40..helped change the course of history.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43Starting in the 1900s...
0:00:43 > 0:00:45- Oh, my goodness! - THEY LAUGH
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 > 0:00:54..fast forwarding them through a new year each day.
0:00:54 > 0:00:561941, everyone.
0:00:56 > 0:00:57From strict etiquette...
0:00:57 > 0:01:00I might practice my bowing.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02THEY LAUGH
0:01:02 > 0:01:04..to new fads and flavours.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07- Oh!- It's not THAT bad.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09ALL: 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 > 0:01:18- Oh! No!- Can you eat that?
0:01:18 > 0:01:19No.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24..as they discover how a revolution in our eight eating habits
0:01:24 > 0:01:26helped create the modern family.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Last time, the Robshaws raced through the Roaring Twenties.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32Go forward.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34Oh, God. I just wish Debbie was here.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39Now, it's the 1930s.
0:01:39 > 0:01:40A decade of opportunity...
0:01:41 > 0:01:44Let me see if I can hear them snap, crackle and pop.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46..that was stopped in its tracks.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48That looks like something out of a nightmare.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02The Robshaw family are about to enter
0:02:02 > 0:02:05their fourth decade of time travel.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09The house has been transformed into a suburban home of the 1930s.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14The kitchen has become more homely, and is full of new technology.
0:02:18 > 0:02:19The front room is cosier,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22with comfort and family life at the core of its design.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27And the dining room now has a round table,
0:02:27 > 0:02:30better suited to more informal family dining.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36I'll be working with social historian Polly Russell
0:02:36 > 0:02:40to set the stage for the Robshaws' journey into the 1930s.
0:02:44 > 0:02:45So, it's a much nicer space.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Yeah, it is. It's actually quite a pleasant place to be.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51I think there are two or three other things that are notable
0:02:51 > 0:02:53about this kitchen. We're now on the grid.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56A third of homes have become electric.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58We've got the kettle, we've got the toaster.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01Over there, the kitchen cabinet, which is designed to make cooking
0:03:01 > 0:03:03- as ergonomic and easy as possible.- Mm-hm.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07'The larder is now stuffed with familiar brands.'
0:03:07 > 0:03:09There is an awful lot more than there was before.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12That's right. You know, those factories that were setting up
0:03:12 > 0:03:15these kinds of manufactured goods are now in full throttle
0:03:15 > 0:03:17and producing a large number of products.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20Shredded Wheat, Cornflakes, you've got ketchup and salad cream.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22You can make any sandwich in the world! A bit of tongue.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24I mean, that is thrilling.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26As a child, that was, every night, my favourite thing.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Sausages and baked beans. I had no idea they'd been around that long.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32And what's significant is you've got enough food here
0:03:32 > 0:03:35- to last the week, maybe more.- It's an enormous amount of stuff,
0:03:35 > 0:03:37given the fact that there was, presumably,
0:03:37 > 0:03:40quite a recession going on. The Robshaws have got less money.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42Well, this is a decade where you've people
0:03:42 > 0:03:45in great distress and poverty, but if you're in
0:03:45 > 0:03:48the professional classes, if you're in white-collar work,
0:03:48 > 0:03:51you will have quite a lot of disposable income.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56In 1930, millions of families were living in extreme poverty,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59the result of a global recession and the collapse
0:03:59 > 0:04:01of much of Britain's heavy industry.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07But cities in the Midlands and South East were flourishing,
0:04:07 > 0:04:09fuelled by more modern manufacturing,
0:04:09 > 0:04:10such as car production,
0:04:10 > 0:04:14and a house-building boom that was transforming the landscape.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17For the professional middle classes, the '30s were a time of progression,
0:04:17 > 0:04:19optimism and increasing choice.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26Historical surveys show how those who had money were spending it.
0:04:26 > 0:04:27When you look at this table,
0:04:27 > 0:04:31we can see exactly what food they're spending their money on.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35And what we can see from the 1930s is that the average amount
0:04:35 > 0:04:39spent on food goes down from the beginning of the century.
0:04:39 > 0:04:40We're not eating less,
0:04:40 > 0:04:44but families are smaller and the cost of food is less than it was.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46And why is the cost of food less?
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Costs just generally go down because of worldwide depression.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52So, if you are affluent and have money,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55things are generally cheaper to buy.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58'It's not just food that the better off could afford more of.'
0:04:59 > 0:05:02The spend on recreation and entertainment
0:05:02 > 0:05:04goes up quite significantly from 1900.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08In fact, it's at least a third more than it was before.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12That's cinemas, that is dance halls, municipal swimming pools.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14You know, people are spending time at leisure.
0:05:14 > 0:05:15We think of the '30s as grim,
0:05:15 > 0:05:17but it shows here they were beginning to have fun.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20It's that story of the '30s that's less known.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29It's time for the Robshaws to enter a new decade.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35I haven't really thought much about what '30s food might be.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38On a personal level, I think, probably, my skills have peaked.
0:05:40 > 0:05:41I don't think it will be as formal.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44If you look at what we were wearing in the 1900s
0:05:44 > 0:05:45and what we're wearing now,
0:05:45 > 0:05:49you wouldn't believe that it's just 30 years that have gone by.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52I think the '30s are going to be rather different from the '20s.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54I'm thinking it's not going to be quite such a
0:05:54 > 0:05:56pleasure-seeking decade.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58I think it's not such a prosperous decade.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01I think we might have to tighten our belts.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06Oh.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Oh, this is very bright and white and light, isn't it?
0:06:08 > 0:06:10Oh, this is lovely. I really like it a lot.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12This is really very nice.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15But what is that? It looked like a giant hand grenade.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17Oh, my goodness me. I don't like the look of that.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20Is it some early form of a pressure cooker?
0:06:20 > 0:06:21- What is that, Fred?- I don't know.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25- Is it a toaster?- Have we finally got a toaster?
0:06:25 > 0:06:27Hold on. Does it open up?
0:06:27 > 0:06:29- Yes, that's what I...- Oh, look at that!- It is a toaster.
0:06:29 > 0:06:30- ROCHELLE:- Oh, that's lovely, isn't it?
0:06:30 > 0:06:32- It's beautiful.- And look, an electric kettle.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34Wow. This is all mod cons, isn't it?
0:06:34 > 0:06:37I hadn't thought about these type of gadgets at all.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39I imagine them being much later.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41- What have we got?- ALL: Wow!
0:06:41 > 0:06:43- FRED:- Look how much chocolate we have.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47As manufacturers expanded their ranges and prices dropped,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51items that were once luxury products became everyday treats.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54- Walnut Whip.- Walnut Whip!- Delicious.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56Cadbury's Dairy Milk Chocolate. Wow.
0:06:56 > 0:06:57- Bourbons.- Mm.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59Custard creams.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02Toblerone. Cadbury's...
0:07:02 > 0:07:05- I can't carry any more.- ..Milk Tray.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07Bournville! Now for a feast.
0:07:07 > 0:07:08THEY LAUGH
0:07:10 > 0:07:13I'm back to make sure the family know their place
0:07:13 > 0:07:15in 1930s suburban Britain.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Hello, Robshaws. ALL: Hi, Giles.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22- How are you finding your 1930s house?- Very cosy.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26Obviously, for a lot of people in this country, with the depression and everything,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29there were people who couldn't feed their families - it was a bad time for them.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32But for a middle-class family like you in a prosperous suburb
0:07:32 > 0:07:35in a big city, things will be OK.
0:07:35 > 0:07:36For you, Brandon,
0:07:36 > 0:07:40the depression will mean that your salary will have stagnated.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44But the cost of living has dropped a lot, so, relatively speaking,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46a lot more disposable income.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49Rochelle, for you, you're a more accomplished housewife, now.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51I mean, a housewife is the norm.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55Miranda and Ros, it's another good decade to be young.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58All sorts of freedoms that you wouldn't have dreamed of 20 years ago.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Fred, all sorts of products which would appeal to you will be
0:08:01 > 0:08:04appearing through the decade. The best piece of news of all, I hope,
0:08:04 > 0:08:07is that a certain someone will be coming back...
0:08:07 > 0:08:10- Debbie.- Oh, Debbie!- No way!- Fantastic.
0:08:10 > 0:08:11You will have Debbie back.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14- As a maid?- Not as a maid of all works. You're not that rich.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17You can afford to have her coming in daily as a charwoman.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19So, Robshaws, for you at least, the beginning of the 1930s,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22it looks like a lot of fun. A lot of hope for the future.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24- There's your guidebook, how to live it.- Thank you.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26Have fun and I'll see you a little bit later in the decade.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28- Thanks a lot.- Bye.- Cheerio.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Debbie last worked for the Robshaws in 1915
0:08:35 > 0:08:37as their live-in maid of all work.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Now, she's back part-time as the family's charwoman.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46I don't know where anything is in this kitchen.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Unemployment was rising, and would soon hit
0:08:49 > 0:08:52its highest levels in history.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55Most jobs were given to men first and, for many women,
0:08:55 > 0:08:58low paid, part-time work was their only option.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02I mean, it would be nice to cook in this kitchen.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05It has moved on since I was last in here.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Most people like me wouldn't have even had a job. They would have...
0:09:08 > 0:09:13Like, especially from North Yorkshire, your family's in poverty,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16so, for someone like me to actually have a job,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19I suppose that's a really good thing, even if it's just cleaning.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26Ten across, "A month, nothing more, in Ireland."
0:09:26 > 0:09:29While the rest of the family enjoy their new front room...
0:09:29 > 0:09:31- Mayo.- That's in a sandwich.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Yeah, but it's also a place in Ireland. County Mayo.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38..Rochelle is in charge of making the first dinner of the decade.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42She'll be using the latest must have gadget for the middle-class home -
0:09:42 > 0:09:45an Easiwork pressure cooker.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48Well, I've basically got no idea how it works.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55It's got all these different baskets in it.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Pressure cookers were marketed as "Health cookers",
0:09:58 > 0:10:00enabling the modern housewife to take advantage
0:10:00 > 0:10:03of new scientific knowledge about vitamins and nutrition.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05They look like they're in a laboratory
0:10:05 > 0:10:09working away on some sort of secret
0:10:09 > 0:10:11sort of meal.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16Rochelle is following a menu recommended by the nutrition experts
0:10:16 > 0:10:18at Easiwork.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21Remove the inside of the marrow
0:10:21 > 0:10:24and fill with the mince-meat mixture.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25Oh.
0:10:25 > 0:10:30She's cooking stuffed marrow served with mushrooms and new potatoes
0:10:30 > 0:10:33with plums and cream for dessert.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36You have to stuff the meat inside the marrow
0:10:36 > 0:10:39and then tie it back together with string.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41For the pressure cooker to work efficiently,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44all the food has to go in at the same time.
0:10:44 > 0:10:45Not like that...
0:10:45 > 0:10:49- Um...- I'm not surprised we don't really stuff a lot of
0:10:49 > 0:10:51marrows in contemporary life.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55Clamp on the lid of the cooker.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02I can't remember how it went on!
0:11:04 > 0:11:05Ah. That's it.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08That's it.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12The high pressures created within the airtight container
0:11:12 > 0:11:15mean the food cooks in just 15 minutes.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18It's whistling.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22I am considerably worried.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24It's not like a frying pan.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26It's a pan with edge.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31It sounds like it's coming to its end, doesn't it?
0:11:31 > 0:11:32- Hello.- Hey.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34- That smells nice.- Good.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36Oh. How do you get the lid off it?
0:11:38 > 0:11:40- Shall I get Dad to help?- Yeah. - What's up?
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Mum doesn't know how to get the lid off cos she's too weak.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47- Right, it's really hot. Move back, Fred.- All right.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49See, the first thing is, what happens if we just...
0:11:49 > 0:11:51- That won't turn, will it?- No, no, no.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53All you have to do is lift the lid up.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55You don't need to fiddle with that. Honestly.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58- I think you just needed to...- Oh, do stop talking.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00- Oh!- Oh!
0:12:02 > 0:12:03- It lifted off. - THEY LAUGH
0:12:05 > 0:12:07Ouch. I need another pair of tongs.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09We don't have another pair of tongs.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11This is ridiculous.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14Yeah.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17- FRED:- So, what's that?- That is plums.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20- Ooh, that's hot.- Well, that marrow certainly looks pretty well done.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23- What do you mean - "Well done"?- I don't think that's going to be
0:12:23 > 0:12:25- chewy marrow, is it?- It's not meant to be chewy marrow.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29I suppose presentation could be, sort of, enhanced.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31The '30s saw a huge rise in the amount of
0:12:31 > 0:12:32fruit and vegetables eaten,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35as housewives became informed about how to provide
0:12:35 > 0:12:37a more balanced diet for their families.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41- This marrow is delicious.- You've got marrow, you've got mushrooms,
0:12:41 > 0:12:43you've got potato.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46You've got your protein in the meat.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48I think it's good. I like it.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Is this Bovril gravy?
0:12:50 > 0:12:53No, it isn't. It's the cooking water from the bottom
0:12:53 > 0:12:55of the pressure cooker. It's full of, sort of, vitamins and minerals,
0:12:55 > 0:12:59so it's recommended that you drink the cooking water.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01- All right, let's go. Down the hatch. - FRED:- We're already halfway dead.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06Ah! This is a triumph. Thank you very much.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08- FRED:- It was actually pretty good.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12Let's see what we've got here. Does anyone want to listen to a foxtrot?
0:13:12 > 0:13:14Mm.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18'The start of this decade feels very safe,'
0:13:18 > 0:13:20'it feels very contained,'
0:13:20 > 0:13:23very familiar, almost.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26I actually hadn't realised just how fast
0:13:26 > 0:13:29all this technological innovation had come along.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33The storm clouds on the horizon still seem like quite a long way away.
0:13:33 > 0:13:34It's quite a comfortable time, I think.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47It's a new day, and that means a new year.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Rochelle is making full use of her new electrical appliances
0:13:52 > 0:13:54to prepare breakfast.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58I've got a fast electric kettle and a toaster,
0:13:58 > 0:14:02so everything is sort of speeded up a little bit.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04The early '30s saw a growing popularity
0:14:04 > 0:14:07for fried bacon with eggs.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Despite the trend originating in America,
0:14:09 > 0:14:11we named it the English Breakfast.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15I'm not absolutely good at time management.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18It just seems it's getting it all together at the same time
0:14:18 > 0:14:21is the crucial bit.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23This obviously needs watching.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25You have to turn it over each side.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28Ooh!
0:14:28 > 0:14:31Although expensive, electric toasters and kettles
0:14:31 > 0:14:34were marketed as must-have gadgets to make life much easier
0:14:34 > 0:14:36for middle-class housewives.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38This toaster is just
0:14:38 > 0:14:41the worst toaster I've ever used.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44You can't just leave it. It's pointless.
0:14:44 > 0:14:45You might as well have a grill.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48I've been waiting for breakfast so long, it feels like it's turning into lunch.
0:14:53 > 0:14:54What have we got here?
0:14:54 > 0:14:57- Wow.- Just what I was hoping for.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59- FRED:- Yeah!
0:14:59 > 0:15:02Bacon and eggs, this is the classic English breakfast.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05I think this is one of our best inventions, actually.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09I think I'd put this right up there with the discovery of penicillin.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12- It's not exactly a life-saver, though, is it?- Yes, it is.
0:15:12 > 0:15:13THEY LAUGH
0:15:16 > 0:15:18Set up for the day, Brandon is off to work.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25I've given Fred his own job, which Debbie's agreed to help him with.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29"Dear Fred, today you are a chocolate tester.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34"I appreciate this is a difficult task, but do it for Britain, Giles."
0:15:35 > 0:15:37- NEWSREEL:- You've probably wondered at some time or another
0:15:37 > 0:15:40how these delightful little wiggly things get on the top of the chocolate.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43And now you can see that it is all done by hand.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46Chocolate was big business in the 1930s.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Kit Kat, Aero, Milky Bar, Mars bars,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52Rollos and Smarties all made their debut in this decade.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58I'm just really good at eating a lot...
0:15:58 > 0:16:00- DEBBIE LAUGHS - ..and not stopping.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05In one of the first-ever examples of using a focus group,
0:16:05 > 0:16:07Cadbury's decided to ask children just what made
0:16:07 > 0:16:09the perfect chocolate bar.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15That's the best. It's like salted caramel popcorn crunching.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17- It's popping!- Mm.- It's popping candy.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Cadbury's chose pupils from nearby Repton School,
0:16:22 > 0:16:26sending them 12 prototype bars and a test sheet with a space for comments
0:16:26 > 0:16:28and marks out of ten.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31Texture-wise, it was like ten out of ten.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33I mean, there is such thing as too much chocolate,
0:16:33 > 0:16:35but it takes a long time.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38I got sent a from box Cadbury of all the chocolate bars.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40It's so difficult, this task.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43I mean, even Giles said it was the sort of task that
0:16:43 > 0:16:46- you'd need a lot of skill to do. - ROS LAUGHS
0:16:46 > 0:16:47ALL: Ooh.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50I feel like they're getting better as they go along.
0:16:50 > 0:16:51MIRANDA AND ROS: Wow.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54- Mm.- Cookies and cream.- Mm, cookies and cream.
0:16:54 > 0:16:55That's really nice.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59I think they've got the milky centre, like, just right.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01- Yeah.- That's an easy eight.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03Which one have the unusually nutty flavour?
0:17:03 > 0:17:05The one that Fred scoffed.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09- MIRANDA:- Really good idea, cos he's the target market, you know?- Yeah.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12There's no point having a panel of, like, people in suits tasting it,
0:17:12 > 0:17:14when they won't eat it.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21Being a Repton chocolate taster left its mark on one pupil in particular.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23His name was Roald Dahl.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27The experience inspired him to write his most famous book -
0:17:27 > 0:17:30Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33So, shall we go on to our final, number 12, bar?
0:17:33 > 0:17:34Yes, I think so.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37I thought it would be good to save the biggest till last.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39I'm kind of regretting it,
0:17:39 > 0:17:41- because I'm kind of full.- Mm.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43INDISTINCT
0:17:48 > 0:17:50I think if that job paid well...
0:17:50 > 0:17:53I'd do it for nothing. I'd pay to do that job.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55That's a dream job for a 12-year-old.
0:17:55 > 0:17:56Oh, my God, I feel so alive.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59I just had 12 chocolate bars and it's the best thing in my life.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02It wasn't just Cadbury's expanding its range.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04This decade saw the launch of thousands of new products,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07giving housewives more choice than ever.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11Manufacturers had to become increasingly sophisticated
0:18:11 > 0:18:13to entice consumers.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16Fry's Malted Milk Cocoa With Eggs.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20That's a bit of enriched cocoa.
0:18:20 > 0:18:21With vitamins.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24It's, I suppose, the start of trying to appeal
0:18:24 > 0:18:27to people's shopping fancies.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29It's not just, "Can I have some cocoa, please?"
0:18:29 > 0:18:32It's, "I would like this particular brand of cocoa, please."
0:18:32 > 0:18:36So, I'm making what I believe to be a considered choice.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42'New types of cereal, new types of sauce, new types of pickle,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45'new types of drinks. More emphasis is being placed'
0:18:45 > 0:18:48on choice and more and more products are coming on the market.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50I hadn't particularly expected that.
0:18:50 > 0:18:51Mmm.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53LAUGHTER
0:19:01 > 0:19:03We ready then?
0:19:03 > 0:19:06It's 1932, and Brandon and Rochelle are off on a day out.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15They'll be travelling in the family car...
0:19:15 > 0:19:17a Ford Tudor Y.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19Here we go.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22Made in Ford's brand-new Dagenham plant,
0:19:22 > 0:19:24it costs just over £100...
0:19:24 > 0:19:25Oh, sorry.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29..less than half the price of cars in the '20s.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31Motoring was no longer reserved for the very wealthy.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35- I'll have to change down again. - That's it.
0:19:35 > 0:19:36It's all about clutch control.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39That is the secret of a smooth drive.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42It's also quite hard to find, this gear stick.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44You expect it to be right down at your side and you have to kind of
0:19:44 > 0:19:46grope forwards to find it.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48- Yeah, that's my leg.- Oh, is that what it is?
0:19:48 > 0:19:50THEY LAUGH
0:19:55 > 0:19:57As the number of cars on the road increased,
0:19:57 > 0:19:59breweries built large roadside pubs.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04These roadhouses, now familiar sights on A roads,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07were originally built to attract the middle-class driver on a day out.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11Often designed by distinguished architects,
0:20:11 > 0:20:14they featured different rooms for different types of clientele.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Smoking rooms for men, large halls for entertainment
0:20:19 > 0:20:23and, for the first time, women's toilets.
0:20:23 > 0:20:24Here we are, my dear.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26Brandon and Rochelle have driven to The Daylight Inn,
0:20:26 > 0:20:30a classic 1930s roadhouse built in the most popular style of the era -
0:20:30 > 0:20:32mock Tudor.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36They're here to meet Polly.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39- Hello.- Hi.- Hi, Polly.- Come and sit down. I've got you a drink...
0:20:39 > 0:20:42- Thanks very much.- ..gin and tonic. - Hello.- Got you a bitter.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45- You've had a long journey.- It's just what I need. I've had a long drive on these dusty roads.
0:20:45 > 0:20:46I've got to have a pint of beer.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50This is very typical of a roadhouse of the period.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54It's this weird mixture of the modern, the, sort of, motorcar,
0:20:54 > 0:20:58new roads, meeting a very sort of nostalgic
0:20:58 > 0:21:01- idea about a particular sort of Britishness.- Yeah.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04It's also a place where you can bring your wife. And it is...
0:21:04 > 0:21:08You know, public houses are not where respectable women
0:21:08 > 0:21:10would naturally drink,
0:21:10 > 0:21:13but the roadhouse is a space... With its carpet,
0:21:13 > 0:21:17it's comfortable, it's sort of elegant, it's rather glamorous.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20- I hope you don't mind, I've ordered for you...- Oh.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22- ..some typical...- It's a pie.- Yes.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25Typical pub grub.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27The Daylight Inn was more modern than most.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30It had a tiny kitchen on the first floor where they could prepare
0:21:30 > 0:21:32simple hot meals.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36Roadhouses weren't really about dining as a kind of
0:21:36 > 0:21:40gastronomic experience. It's sort of basic, homely pub fare.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42I suppose you didn't come here for the food, did you,
0:21:42 > 0:21:46you came here for the entertainment, you came here for the drinking, you came for the dancing.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49That's right. Roadhouses were really built as places of leisure.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51And you've got to have a destination, haven't you?
0:21:51 > 0:21:54If you go out driving, you go out motoring, you've got to end up somewhere,
0:21:54 > 0:21:57and these just answered that need perfectly.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01A trip to the roadhouse would often end in dancing,
0:22:01 > 0:22:05and The Daylight Inn still has its original ballroom.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09I've really enjoyed motoring out to the roadhouse.
0:22:09 > 0:22:14I thought, to sort of see these pubs that we've passed so often
0:22:14 > 0:22:19throughout my contemporary life, and to know that they were destinations
0:22:19 > 0:22:24where you could just go there, eat a meal, drink,
0:22:24 > 0:22:26dance and let your hair down.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29So, to actually see these roadhouse pubs
0:22:29 > 0:22:32as a new part of the scenery
0:22:32 > 0:22:34in '30s England...
0:22:36 > 0:22:38..is really eye opening.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41What seems very strange from a modern perspective
0:22:41 > 0:22:45is the idea that he would deliberately take the car
0:22:45 > 0:22:47and drive a long way,
0:22:47 > 0:22:50an hour's drive or more, to go to a pub,
0:22:50 > 0:22:54where you would drink a lot and then drive back.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57It seems, you know, absolutely insane.
0:23:08 > 0:23:09It's 1933.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15While Debbie takes on the week's worst household task, the laundry,
0:23:15 > 0:23:16Rochelle is off to the shops.
0:23:19 > 0:23:20In the 1930s,
0:23:20 > 0:23:23Britain's high streets were full of specialist shops that often sold
0:23:23 > 0:23:25one particular type of product.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30Shopping took a lot longer, but it often meant there was more choice,
0:23:30 > 0:23:32and you'd be in the hands of an expert.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35- I've come to buy some cheese.- Yeah. - I think I'm in the right place.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Perfect place. What would you like?
0:23:38 > 0:23:40To find the choice available to a 1930s housewife,
0:23:40 > 0:23:44Rochelle has come to an artisan cheesemonger.
0:23:44 > 0:23:45I just thought it would be quite nice to get one
0:23:45 > 0:23:49- right from the top of Britain and one right from the...- OK.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51We have quite, like, a lot of choice.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55We have obviously the traditional cheddar. Wensleydale, Lancashire.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58- What about the Dunlop? That's right in...- That's Scottish.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03In the '30s, cheese was still made by thousands of
0:24:03 > 0:24:06individual dairy farmers in small batches.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11Each region had its own speciality and, within that region,
0:24:11 > 0:24:13there could be hundreds of different variations.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18Over 500 farms were baking cheddar alone.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20Here is your cheese for today.
0:24:25 > 0:24:26I do think, if you're having cheese,
0:24:26 > 0:24:29you've kind of got to have wine with it, it's almost compulsory.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31Oh, that's a hard cheese.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Look at that. Do you want to try a bit of it?
0:24:34 > 0:24:36- No.- Why not?- Don't like cheese.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39As middle-class meals became less formal,
0:24:39 > 0:24:41the emphasis shifted away from dining etiquette
0:24:41 > 0:24:43and towards the food itself.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49At the forefront of this new approach was gourmand Andre Simon,
0:24:49 > 0:24:51who set up The Wine And Food Society.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57The idea was to open up the pleasures of discovering new food
0:24:57 > 0:24:58and new flavours.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03In 1933, the society held its inaugural tasting meal.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06To mark this auspicious occasion,
0:25:06 > 0:25:09the Robshaws are holding their own tasting meal.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12Rochelle has prepared a wide selection of cheese and fruit.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21Bringing the wine is expert in all things grape, and Brandon's TV hero,
0:25:21 > 0:25:22Jilly Goolden.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27- Hello.- Hello! Hi!- Jilly Goolden!
0:25:27 > 0:25:29- Hello!- Jilly Goolden.- I am Jilly, and you're Brandon.
0:25:29 > 0:25:30HE LAUGHS
0:25:30 > 0:25:34- Hello, Rochelle. Hi.- Come in, come in, come in, come in.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Look at all this. Goodness.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42So, I'd like to introduce you to Jilly Goolden.
0:25:42 > 0:25:43- Hello.- ALL: Hi.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Honestly, when I used to watch you on television, I used to think,
0:25:46 > 0:25:48"If only I can have a drink with Jilly Goolden."
0:25:48 > 0:25:50I never dreamt that that would actually happen.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53Well, my enthusiasm has not waned, I can tell you.
0:25:53 > 0:25:54- I'm still really enthusiastic.- Right.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58- And I've got you some wines to try, here, too.- Glad to hear it.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Today's tasting meal is made up of some of the same wines and foods
0:26:01 > 0:26:05featured in the 1933 Wine And Food Society Journal.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08Andre Simon, big man, big character.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12His great passion was to try to get people
0:26:12 > 0:26:14to really appreciate flavours.
0:26:14 > 0:26:15A man after my own heart.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18OK. So let's try this first wine,
0:26:18 > 0:26:20which is an Alsace.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23Now, when you come to taste it, I'm going to show you the technique.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25It's not pretty. You take a sip.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28- Munch it round, so it coats all your taste buds...- Mm.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30- ..then you hold it on your tongue...- Mm-hm.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33..purse your lips as though you are about to whistle, and breathe in.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37Oh, dear. I feel a bit sort of anxious.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39THEY LAUGH
0:26:39 > 0:26:41I need a glass of wine before I can do it!
0:26:47 > 0:26:48Now, open your lips a little.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53- Perfect!- First person who looks good doing that tasting.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55- Well done.- You really do taste it.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57- My whole mouth is tingling with it now.- Yes!
0:26:57 > 0:26:59I'm afraid to describe it, really, in front of you,
0:26:59 > 0:27:01because I know you'll do it so much better...
0:27:01 > 0:27:03- I want you to, Brandon.- ..but it seems to me...
0:27:03 > 0:27:06refreshing, slightly dry, kind of summery taste.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09It's a little sort of spiciness.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12So, it's got that lychee, quite rich, sort of sweet,
0:27:12 > 0:27:15it's a bit tinned-peachy sort of favour.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18Now, the foods you have in front of you here,
0:27:18 > 0:27:21delicious looking cheeses and fruits.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23Rochelle's cheese platter includes one
0:27:23 > 0:27:25from the very first Society dinner.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28That's a very strong one. That's Munster.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31This cheese tastes very much like, sort of, farmyard.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Cow's udder, a bit of cowpat.
0:27:34 > 0:27:35SHE LAUGHS
0:27:35 > 0:27:38How does something that tastes of old socks taste nice?
0:27:38 > 0:27:40- FRED:- Are those plums?- These are plums.
0:27:40 > 0:27:41The middle one tastes like a peach.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44These melt in your mouth. And really sweet.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46Now, what we're doing here is very much what
0:27:46 > 0:27:49The Wine And Food Society was trying to achieve,
0:27:49 > 0:27:52which was people not just enjoying the flavours,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55but also having a sort of relaxed,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58lovely conversation around it.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00Well, we've got something very special.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02This is an original
0:28:02 > 0:28:071933 bottle.
0:28:07 > 0:28:12- I actually can't quite believe this, can you?- That's extraordinary. - It's actually 83 years old.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14Look at that. Gorgeous.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16Oh, my goodness. That's just amazing.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19That is just beautiful.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21Mm. Mm.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26Nutty. This has held up remarkably, hasn't it?
0:28:26 > 0:28:29I mean, you would never think that was 83 years old.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32- MIRANDA:- It's like the French farmer 83 years ago has given us a present.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35- Cheers.- ALL: Cheers.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37Well, Jilly, thank you so much for coming, it was lovely.
0:28:37 > 0:28:41- No, thank you. It was my pleasure. - Thank you very much.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44A bottle of wine, something that somebody might actually have drunk
0:28:44 > 0:28:48in that year is still around and I can drink it.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51It's... You know, I'm not having to imagine what wine in 1933 was like,
0:28:51 > 0:28:54I know, I've got it. I can taste it.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57So...
0:28:57 > 0:28:59It really, really has brought this year to life.
0:29:06 > 0:29:07CRACKLING
0:29:07 > 0:29:10'This is the national programme from London.'
0:29:11 > 0:29:14The Robshaws are four years into the decade...
0:29:16 > 0:29:19..and are taking full advantage of the technological progress
0:29:19 > 0:29:20happening around them.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25But not all new household gadgets rely on electricity.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27It's a juice-tractor.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29Insert then press,
0:29:29 > 0:29:32the juice-tractor does the rest.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36Wow.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39Today, the family's breakfast reflects one of the biggest crazes
0:29:39 > 0:29:41of the decade - dieting.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44That is absolutely amazing.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48It's based on one of the most popular diets of all,
0:29:48 > 0:29:49the Hollywood diet.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52Fresh juice, extra lean steak,
0:29:52 > 0:29:53tomatoes and grapefruit.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58The '30s were the golden age of Hollywood glamour,
0:29:58 > 0:30:00and many of the world's most famous actresses
0:30:00 > 0:30:03swore by the Hollywood diet.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06It required eating grapefruit at every meal,
0:30:06 > 0:30:10due to its supposed fat-burning qualities.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12Grapefruit.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14- Take one.- Do I have to?
0:30:14 > 0:30:17- Yes, you have to. - What's in the dish?
0:30:17 > 0:30:20Whoa. Steak.
0:30:20 > 0:30:21So in order to earn the steak,
0:30:21 > 0:30:23I've got to eat this horrible grapefruit, have I?
0:30:23 > 0:30:25Do you not like grapefruit?
0:30:25 > 0:30:26I detest grapefruit.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28- Do you?- Cos they're so tart, so sour.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32Oh.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34It's not that bad. Dad!
0:30:34 > 0:30:35It is.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37It is. It just makes me cringe.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40I'll eat one more segment then I'll have to call it a day.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43- Really.- This is a sweet grapefruit.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45I don't even need sugar on it.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47Nor do I.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50I can't be doing with it.
0:30:50 > 0:30:52I'd rather be fat, to be honest.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00Dieting and keeping fit were all the rage, especially for young women.
0:31:02 > 0:31:03By 1934,
0:31:03 > 0:31:06the newly formed Women's League of Health and Beauty
0:31:06 > 0:31:08had nearly 50,000 members.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13- RECORD PLAYER:- Clap, swing. Clap, swing.
0:31:13 > 0:31:14Clap, swing.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17If you couldn't get to a mass fitness event,
0:31:17 > 0:31:18you could do the exercises at home.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22Clap, swing, clap, clap.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25Up, down. Up, down.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27Oh, my God, it's so fast.
0:31:27 > 0:31:28Up, down.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34Food manufacturers were quick to cash in on the dieting craze.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39The '30s saw the launch of many more products that claimed to help you
0:31:39 > 0:31:40stay slim and healthy.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44Ryvita crispbread. Crushed wholegrain rye.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46All the rye, nothing but rye.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50- I think it's got rye in it. - It's got rye in it.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53Somehow I kind of felt like this was like a '90s thing or something.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57I don't know, I hadn't thought of this being around since the '30s.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01While the middle classes were worrying about staying
0:32:01 > 0:32:05trim and healthy, others had far less choice about what to eat.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11Debbie is living a few miles away from the Robshaws at Ada Lewis House,
0:32:11 > 0:32:15built to provide accommodation for respectable working-class women.
0:32:16 > 0:32:21I've got tomato soup, tomato soup or tomato soup.
0:32:21 > 0:32:23After four shillings a week rent,
0:32:23 > 0:32:26Debbie has little money left over for food and she's been living on
0:32:26 > 0:32:30a staple diet of tinned soup with bread and margarine.
0:32:30 > 0:32:31I mean, it's not nutritious.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35I think if you'd been doing days and days of work and then not
0:32:35 > 0:32:38eating properly, you'd just get really, really tired.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42How can someone ever eat healthily when all they can afford is sort of
0:32:42 > 0:32:44bread and margarine?
0:32:44 > 0:32:46Why would anyone think that that is fair?
0:32:48 > 0:32:51By 1934, Britain's economy was beginning to recover
0:32:51 > 0:32:54from the Depression, but the working classes
0:32:54 > 0:32:56were yet to see the benefits.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59Unemployment was still incredibly high at around 16%.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03Many people simply didn't have enough to eat.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08- NEWSREEL:- 200,000 unemployed escorting a petition
0:33:08 > 0:33:11signed by a million persons. A demand for someone,
0:33:11 > 0:33:17somewhere to do something about empty coal trucks
0:33:17 > 0:33:20and the resultant empty stomachs.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23Scores of hunger marches were organised as the unemployed walked
0:33:23 > 0:33:28hundreds of miles to London to bring attention to their plight.
0:33:28 > 0:33:32I mean, it is weird, the fact that there's people, like, what would have been my family
0:33:32 > 0:33:34up in the north, that maybe would have struggled so much,
0:33:34 > 0:33:36they couldn't even afford food.
0:33:36 > 0:33:38It's not a very nice thought at all,
0:33:38 > 0:33:40to think there should be that kind of divide.
0:33:46 > 0:33:47After a day on the Hollywood diet,
0:33:47 > 0:33:50the family are planning to bring a bit of Hollywood glamour
0:33:50 > 0:33:51to the suburbs.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56GASPS
0:33:56 > 0:33:57Isn't it magic?
0:33:57 > 0:34:02Ros and Miranda are preparing a brand-new cinema snack - popcorn.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05Oh, look, look at them in their trousers.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07Fantastic. Have they all got them?
0:34:07 > 0:34:09- Yeah!- Have you got them?
0:34:09 > 0:34:11Oh, yes!
0:34:11 > 0:34:13- Brilliant. - This seems very glamorous.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18New technology meant the cinema could come to you.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20- Action.- Oh.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25Brandon has rented Robinson Crusoe from the local library.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28Actually, the good thing about watching a silent film
0:34:28 > 0:34:30is you can provide your own commentary, can't you?
0:34:30 > 0:34:32I wish he wasn't wearing that stupid hat, I can't take him seriously.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36Yes, I think his hat is a little unusual, isn't it?
0:34:36 > 0:34:39Oh, look, he's asking the parrots to be quiet.
0:34:39 > 0:34:40Grab a bit.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44Don't throw popcorn at the screen!
0:34:44 > 0:34:46Oh, that's nice.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48Are you admiring his umbrella legs?
0:34:48 > 0:34:50Yes. Look.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53I think the home cinema was simply amazing.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57It was a real treat to have this kind of fantastic old projector
0:34:57 > 0:35:00in the living room, eating popcorn, drinking gin and tonic.
0:35:00 > 0:35:08I did think that the home cinema experience was amazing.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11Whilst I was watching the film, what I did think of was Debbie.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14I thought of her going home and maybe not having much to eat
0:35:14 > 0:35:16or anyone to talk to.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30The Robshaws are halfway through a decade defined by rapid progress.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34Look, this is massive, Debbie.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37This is like... Look at that.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41- That's a very nice piece of salmon. - It's absolutely lovely. Look at it.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44But today Rochelle is using recipes from the past.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49Florence White, the founder of the Folk Cookery Association,
0:35:49 > 0:35:52collected recipes that had been handed down over many generations.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59It's basically poached salmon and loads of salads.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03The 1930s saw a growing interest in the folk movement.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09Groups like the English Folk Dance and Song Society organised festivals
0:36:09 > 0:36:12to help save Britain's ancient cultural heritage
0:36:12 > 0:36:14before it was lost forever.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20I mean, I think the change that must be happening in the world
0:36:20 > 0:36:24at this time, in the space of a very short space of time,
0:36:24 > 0:36:28must have left people wondering, you know, where they were.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32So always going back to a folkishness
0:36:32 > 0:36:34would seem particularly appealing.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38Rochelle is cooking...
0:36:47 > 0:36:50Stick the almonds into the cake beginning at the back
0:36:50 > 0:36:53and sloping them backwards.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56This version dates from the 18th century and was sent to the
0:36:56 > 0:36:59author by Gladys Langley of Acton.
0:36:59 > 0:37:03I've seen a hedgehog, so I've got an idea of what a hedgehog
0:37:03 > 0:37:07would look like, except it doesn't look like this.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10It looks like a very, very fat mouse.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13A mouse with a bad skin condition.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17Come through.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19- Oh, how lovely. - Doesn't it look beautiful?
0:37:19 > 0:37:23Rochelle has invited her boss Judith and Polly to share the best of
0:37:23 > 0:37:25Britain's culinary heritage.
0:37:25 > 0:37:29Shall we help ourselves to salads and I'll do the salmon?
0:37:29 > 0:37:32A key feature of traditional folk meals is a centrepiece
0:37:32 > 0:37:34of simply prepared fish or meat
0:37:34 > 0:37:37complemented by stronger flavours served separately.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41It's all sort of very fresh.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44And really English summer cookery, isn't it?
0:37:44 > 0:37:50The nasturtium salad has a dressing with nasturtium pods in it.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52- Really?- Yes.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55It's nice. It's quite horseradishy, isn't it?
0:37:55 > 0:37:57They are very nice.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01Florence White's one of my all-time food heroines.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04She was a sort of pioneer, really,
0:38:04 > 0:38:07rediscovering English traditional recipes.
0:38:07 > 0:38:08You didn't have to cook French food,
0:38:08 > 0:38:12you didn't have to cook the food the aristocracy were eating,
0:38:12 > 0:38:15you could eat cooked foods that normal people
0:38:15 > 0:38:17had cooked for generations.
0:38:17 > 0:38:22To me, this seems like very sort of, like sophisticated food.
0:38:22 > 0:38:24It's like sort of Sunday supplement food.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26Yeah, that's exactly what it's like.
0:38:26 > 0:38:30I think that is what's so amazing about her is that she was, you know,
0:38:30 > 0:38:33depicting and imagining, writing about food in this way,
0:38:33 > 0:38:36which now we almost take for granted,
0:38:36 > 0:38:38but that she was doing it so long ago.
0:38:39 > 0:38:41Oh, my goodness. What's that?
0:38:41 > 0:38:44This is a tipsy hedgehog.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47It's redcurrant jelly by his mouth.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50It looks like he's killed a slug or something.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52- It does, doesn't it?- A bit eerie, it's looking at me.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55Can I just turn it round?
0:38:55 > 0:38:59I thought the folk lunch was really enjoyable.
0:38:59 > 0:39:04My whole idea of folk is sort of sandals and hemp,
0:39:04 > 0:39:12but these dishes conjured up sort of summer and a kind of idyllic time.
0:39:22 > 0:39:28It's 1936 and the future holds a new threat to the British idyll.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30Across Europe, fascism is on the rise.
0:39:32 > 0:39:33Oh, see that.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36- Looks like something out of a nightmare, doesn't it?- Yes.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39Swastikas everywhere and massed crowds.
0:39:39 > 0:39:41The triumphalism of it.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44- Yes.- But, for some, fascism had already arrived in Britain.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50In the 1930s, London's East End had a sizeable Jewish population.
0:39:51 > 0:39:55Most, including some of my own family, had arrived as immigrants
0:39:55 > 0:39:57from Eastern Europe in the late 19th century.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04It was a close-knit community with hundreds of restaurants,
0:40:04 > 0:40:05food shops and bakeries.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11I've come to one of the few still open for business.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14Can you do me one with cream cheese and smoked salmon, please?
0:40:14 > 0:40:18Would you know what I meant if I said lox and a schmear?
0:40:18 > 0:40:21- Yeah, salmon and cream cheese.- Yeah. Does anyone ever said that any more?
0:40:21 > 0:40:23- No.- I was going to say it, but I was worried.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25That's what my grandparents always said - lox and a schmear.
0:40:29 > 0:40:31Emboldened by events in Europe,
0:40:31 > 0:40:33British fascists began to target Jews directly.
0:40:35 > 0:40:40In October 1936, inspired by the Nazis, their leader, Oswald Mosley,
0:40:40 > 0:40:42planned a provocative march right through the heart
0:40:42 > 0:40:44of the Jewish community.
0:40:48 > 0:40:50Rochelle's family were also East End Jews,
0:40:50 > 0:40:54so I've brought the Robshaws back to their roots to Cable Street
0:40:54 > 0:40:55and its iconic mural.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00- What do you think of this? - I love it.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02I think it's really amazing. I think it's great.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04It commemorates a massive and important thing -
0:41:04 > 0:41:06the Battle of Cable Street,
0:41:06 > 0:41:08which was when Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts,
0:41:08 > 0:41:11who were, you know, a bunch of hooligan buffoons
0:41:11 > 0:41:12led by a posh twerp,
0:41:12 > 0:41:15but who took their inspiration from Hitler and the fascists of Europe,
0:41:15 > 0:41:18tried to march through the heart of the Jewish East End,
0:41:18 > 0:41:20where families like yours and mine were living,
0:41:20 > 0:41:24and the working class of the London East End rose up to stop them.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28- NEWSREEL:- Sir Oswald Mosley, Blackshirt leader,
0:41:28 > 0:41:31arrives at Royal Mint Street to inspect his followers.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35In Stepney, thousands of East Enders prepared to resist the invasion.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38Communists, Labourites and Jews jam the fascist route.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43A fierce battle ensued with Cable Street at its centre
0:41:43 > 0:41:46and the fascists were forced to turn round.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50There's all the chairs being thrown and stuff like that.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52There's Hitler in his underwear, who wasn't actually here,
0:41:52 > 0:41:54but they are making a mockery of him.
0:41:54 > 0:41:59They are throwing things down like bottles, possibly filled with wee.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02I think it's really amazing that men and women, children,
0:42:02 > 0:42:05everybody wanted to stop it and there was...
0:42:05 > 0:42:06It wasn't just the Jews.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08The Communists, the trade unions,
0:42:08 > 0:42:12they were all against Mosley walking through the area.
0:42:12 > 0:42:17It always makes me so happy that they tried fascism here
0:42:17 > 0:42:18and we wouldn't have it.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23To mark this pivotal point in British history,
0:42:23 > 0:42:26and to give the Robshaws a taste of Jewish food in 1936,
0:42:26 > 0:42:28I've arranged a celebratory meal.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32Oh, I'm liking what I'm seeing.
0:42:32 > 0:42:34- What a spread, eh?- What a spread.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37I'm serving up a traditional Jewish dinner featuring potato
0:42:37 > 0:42:42latkes, gefilte fish, salt beef, pickles and a roast chicken.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45I think with particular reference to Cable Street,
0:42:45 > 0:42:48there is a way of distilling all Jewish festivals down to a single
0:42:48 > 0:42:52sentence, which is, "They tried to kill us, we survived, let's eat."
0:42:52 > 0:42:56Which is basically all of them. So shall we do the chicken soup first?
0:42:56 > 0:43:01These are called matzo balls, also known as kneydl.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04This tastes like non-sweet cookie dough.
0:43:04 > 0:43:06Quite rubbery.
0:43:07 > 0:43:08Very stodgy, isn't it?
0:43:08 > 0:43:11I mean, there's a lot of stodgy food on the table.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13Stodgiest of all is the gefilte fish.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16I just remember as a kid never being a fan of gefilte fish.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19My heart always sank when I saw it on the table.
0:43:19 > 0:43:21- Especially with its little carrot hat.- No, it's famously terrible.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24I wrote a review once of a Jewish restaurant and I said the gefilte
0:43:24 > 0:43:27fish was terrible, as it should be. And people got a bit upset.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29It's going to be a taste sensation.
0:43:34 > 0:43:35He loves it! Right.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41- He's a Jew.- There's something about the texture that's just slightly sort of glutinous.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44Basically, Jews did not live in places with coastlines.
0:43:44 > 0:43:48They lived in landlocked Central Europe, so there were no sea fish.
0:43:48 > 0:43:50Delicious, yummy cod and stuff not available.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53What they ate was lake fish, so they ate things like pike, carp.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55It's just a bony fish - you boil it,
0:43:55 > 0:43:58you drag all the flesh off the bones, you mash it up.
0:43:58 > 0:44:02You form it into sort of shapes a bit like a foot and you eat it
0:44:02 > 0:44:04with sugar. And that's it.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08And then Fred doesn't really like it and can you really blame him?
0:44:08 > 0:44:10These are whoppers.
0:44:10 > 0:44:13Jewish food is fatty, nothing very fresh.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15The closest thing is a pickled cucumber.
0:44:15 > 0:44:16You know, boiled things,
0:44:16 > 0:44:19things that you can quickly parcel up into a bag when
0:44:19 > 0:44:21the Nazis come, and run.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24I think there's a thing with Jewish cooking which is to do with
0:44:24 > 0:44:27making the most of the moment that you have, because,
0:44:27 > 0:44:29who knows what tomorrow may bring.
0:44:29 > 0:44:30Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33Right, and that sums it up.
0:44:33 > 0:44:35Something that was strange while I was eating this food is that
0:44:35 > 0:44:39I completely forgot that I was supposed to be in 1936,
0:44:39 > 0:44:42because this is just food that we would have at, like,
0:44:42 > 0:44:46a family gathering with, like, the Jewish side of my family
0:44:46 > 0:44:49and it is so strange how the food just hasn't changed
0:44:49 > 0:44:51in that 80 years.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54When you're living in a world filled with, like, persecution and fear,
0:44:54 > 0:44:57it must be really nice to have that sort of, like, comfortable place
0:44:57 > 0:45:00and point of stability in your life.
0:45:00 > 0:45:02The truth is that with the Jewish religion, Jewish culture,
0:45:02 > 0:45:05Jewish life, in the end, everything comes down to food.
0:45:05 > 0:45:07And after a day talking about immigration and Cable Street
0:45:07 > 0:45:10and the terrible things that happened in the 1930s,
0:45:10 > 0:45:13it's lovely to end with basically exactly the same meal that
0:45:13 > 0:45:16they'd have had when Mosley and his Blackshirts had left,
0:45:16 > 0:45:18and they settle down, "Oh, that's over.
0:45:18 > 0:45:20"Let's have some salt beef."
0:45:24 > 0:45:28There's a strange kind of contrast between the cosiness,
0:45:28 > 0:45:30the pleasantness of family life
0:45:30 > 0:45:33and these big and scary political changes.
0:45:33 > 0:45:36There's almost something cocoon-like about this 1930s house.
0:45:36 > 0:45:40It feels like a place of safety when actually terrifying things
0:45:40 > 0:45:41are happening.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50Double spin it. One, two...
0:45:50 > 0:45:54It's 1937 and, despite the growing threat to peace in Europe,
0:45:54 > 0:45:58everyday life continues to improve, especially for the young.
0:46:00 > 0:46:04Ros and Miranda are dancing to the latest American craze - swing.
0:46:07 > 0:46:09America's cultural influence was huge.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14And our larders were increasingly full of the latest US innovations.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19Chef Ainsley Harriott is coming round to introduce the Robshaws
0:46:19 > 0:46:23to an American invention that would transform a British staple.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26- Hello.- Welcome.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28- Ainsley Harriott!- How are you doing?
0:46:28 > 0:46:30- Very well, thank you. - It's Rochelle, it is it?
0:46:30 > 0:46:33- It is.- Marvellous to meet you. - And lovely to meet you, too.
0:46:33 > 0:46:36- Come in.- Hey. Hello, how are you all?
0:46:36 > 0:46:37Are you good?
0:46:39 > 0:46:40In 1937,
0:46:40 > 0:46:43the Wonderloaf bakery in Tottenham imported a brand-new machine
0:46:43 > 0:46:47from Missouri - an automated bread slicer and packager.
0:46:48 > 0:46:53This was the first time that sliced bread was introduced into Britain.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56That is the best thing I've ever seen.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00- Look at that.- I am excited to see sliced bread like this,
0:47:00 > 0:47:04because it's an equal, uniform shape, it's nice and square,
0:47:04 > 0:47:07it means I'm not going to be hacking at the bread,
0:47:07 > 0:47:10and it looks sort of like nice and perfect.
0:47:10 > 0:47:14Perfectly sliced bread led to a whole new approach to the humble sandwich.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16Cold devil sandwich for you.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19Simple cheese and pickle won't cut it.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22Ainsley has brought some 1930s sandwich recipes
0:47:22 > 0:47:25from the Delia Smith of the age, Mrs CF Leyel.
0:47:25 > 0:47:29A summer sandwich, which is a mixture of mixed chopped olives,
0:47:29 > 0:47:32cream cheese, spread between buttered bread.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35Chop a few of those up. See what we're doing there?
0:47:35 > 0:47:38Leyel's recipes encouraged housewives to make
0:47:38 > 0:47:40sandwiches the American way,
0:47:40 > 0:47:43combining rich ingredients to form elaborate savoury pastes.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47Then, we've got the tartare sauce.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49A dollop of that. Very slowly now,
0:47:49 > 0:47:52we don't want that going all over our tablecloth.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55I've got the creamed haddock sandwich, so I've just flaked
0:47:55 > 0:47:59the fish up, now I've got to add three tablespoons of cream,
0:47:59 > 0:48:00which sounds like quite a lot to me.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02What have you got going in yours?
0:48:02 > 0:48:06Haricot beans, horseradish, mustard, parsley, celery.
0:48:06 > 0:48:10Now that sounds like a lovely combination.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12You have a go. That's better.
0:48:13 > 0:48:14I'm your food processor.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23OK. You didn't have one of them in the 1930s, did you, eh?
0:48:23 > 0:48:25Come and stay in the larder.
0:48:25 > 0:48:29Sliced bread helped another American trend take hold in the 1930s.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32Some of Britain's first fast-food restaurants
0:48:32 > 0:48:34were up-market sandwich bars.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37The thing is, you could not have produced sandwiches like this
0:48:37 > 0:48:39without the sliced bread, could you? Not really.
0:48:39 > 0:48:42Absolutely. It's a bit more uniform, isn't it?
0:48:42 > 0:48:46And there is something which is what we are used to today, but in fact,
0:48:46 > 0:48:48can you imagine something like that in the 1930s?
0:48:48 > 0:48:50That is pretty impressive.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53Robshaw family, you've done the sliced bread proud.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55Hey, thumbs up in the middle.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57Woo.
0:49:01 > 0:49:02With the picnic in the bag,
0:49:02 > 0:49:05the Robshaws are off for a family day out.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13They've come to Tooting Lido -
0:49:13 > 0:49:17one of many urban open-air swimming pools built in the 1930s
0:49:17 > 0:49:19as leisure opened up to the masses.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25Mixed bathing is now allowed and the whole family can enjoy
0:49:25 > 0:49:26their time together.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39I think it's the informality that we haven't seen before.
0:49:39 > 0:49:44All of us sort of larking about and that's what's been missing
0:49:44 > 0:49:46from the other decades.
0:49:46 > 0:49:50Now you'd see other families around doing the same sort of thing,
0:49:50 > 0:49:54so it does feel sort of a very different, a different time.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01Who wants a plate?
0:50:01 > 0:50:04Keeping the Robshaws' sandwiches nice and fresh suddenly became a lot
0:50:04 > 0:50:08simpler with another 1937 invention - cellophane.
0:50:09 > 0:50:11What's it called, Ros, what's it called?
0:50:11 > 0:50:13It was like haricot beans and stuff.
0:50:13 > 0:50:15It's kind of like a baked bean sandwich, isn't it?
0:50:15 > 0:50:18Your one tastes like the inside of cheese straws.
0:50:18 > 0:50:20The inside of a cheese straw?
0:50:21 > 0:50:22You know what I mean?
0:50:24 > 0:50:27I think the best sandwich out of the ones we made is the summer sandwich
0:50:27 > 0:50:29with olives and cream cheese.
0:50:29 > 0:50:31To be honest, that is the only one I would eat in normal life.
0:50:31 > 0:50:33- Yeah.- The other ones were a bit claggy, weren't they?
0:50:33 > 0:50:36They were claggy - is the very word.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39To go with the sandwiches are pineapple chunks, boiled eggs,
0:50:39 > 0:50:42ginger beer and tea.
0:50:42 > 0:50:43It's idyllic, really, isn't it?
0:50:43 > 0:50:46This is like a Famous Five-style picnic. We just need a dog.
0:50:57 > 0:50:59- Here.- Thank you.
0:50:59 > 0:51:03Eight years in and there's more choice than ever at the Robshaw's table.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06Let me see if I can hear them snap, crackle and pop.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09Oh, yes, they're absolutely fizzing away there.
0:51:09 > 0:51:13Britain's favourite breakfast is fast becoming branded cereal.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16This one says Weetabix - more than a breakfast food.
0:51:16 > 0:51:21A middle-class family can now afford to cater for everyone's individual taste.
0:51:21 > 0:51:23What did you get in that one?
0:51:23 > 0:51:25I think it's a ship-making thing.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32Such choice has so far only benefited those who can afford it,
0:51:32 > 0:51:35but welfare reform is finally making life better for many more.
0:51:37 > 0:51:39Debbie is now entitled to holiday pay,
0:51:39 > 0:51:41so she's come to Bexhill-on-Sea with a friend.
0:51:43 > 0:51:46MUSIC: Swimmin With The Wimmin by George Formby
0:51:51 > 0:51:54The 1930s was the heyday of the British resort,
0:51:54 > 0:51:57with millions flocking to the seaside.
0:51:57 > 0:51:59Thanks to the 1938 Holidays with Pay Act,
0:51:59 > 0:52:03a week by the sea was now accessible to 19 million low-paid workers.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08For Debbie, it means she finally gets to enjoy fish and chips,
0:52:08 > 0:52:10instead of having to make them.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13It's kind of important for workers to have a break.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15I mean, after I've worked like what I have been doing,
0:52:15 > 0:52:18and then to have a law made that I have to have a paid holiday,
0:52:18 > 0:52:21must have been, I don't know, excellent.
0:52:22 > 0:52:26For many, the summer of '38 was a time of fun and optimism.
0:52:32 > 0:52:37But Hitler's actions in Germany were becoming harder to ignore.
0:52:37 > 0:52:42The optimism and progress of 20 years of peace felt less secure.
0:52:42 > 0:52:47Our policy has always been to try to ensure peace.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49After the losses of World War I,
0:52:49 > 0:52:52popular opinion was to avoid war at all costs.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55This morning I had
0:52:55 > 0:52:59another talk with the German Chancellor Herr Hitler.
0:52:59 > 0:53:04We regard the agreement signed last night as symbolic of the desire
0:53:04 > 0:53:08of our two peoples never to go to war with one another again.
0:53:08 > 0:53:09CHEERING
0:53:11 > 0:53:15If I heard that, I would just hope, fingers crossed,
0:53:15 > 0:53:20that I would believe the politician that there would be no war.
0:53:20 > 0:53:24I would feel kind of like a sense of relief that it would be OK.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27I certainly wouldn't feel frightened.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30There's something about that speech and the cheers afterwards.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33- There's something reassuring about it, isn't there?- Yeah.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35It's very sad.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43Find a space for that somewhere?
0:53:43 > 0:53:44It's 1939.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48- How are you? - Hello, nice to see you.
0:53:48 > 0:53:50And the Robshaws have invited me,
0:53:50 > 0:53:53Polly and some friends to mark the end of the decade.
0:53:53 > 0:53:57I thought a touch of George Formby would be just exactly what the occasion demands.
0:53:57 > 0:54:01# With me little stick of Blackpool rock
0:54:01 > 0:54:05# Along the promenade I stroll
0:54:05 > 0:54:07# It may be sticky but I never complain
0:54:07 > 0:54:11# It's nice to have a nibble at it now and again
0:54:11 > 0:54:16# Every day, wherever I stray, the kids all round me flock
0:54:16 > 0:54:19# A fella took me photograph, it cost one and three
0:54:19 > 0:54:22# I said when it were done, is that supposed to be me?
0:54:22 > 0:54:25# He properly mucked it up, the only thing I can see
0:54:25 > 0:54:27# Is me little stick of Blackpool rock
0:54:27 > 0:54:30# Oh, lordy, lordy, me little stick of Blackpool rock. #
0:54:34 > 0:54:37Thanks very much, hope you enjoyed it.
0:54:38 > 0:54:40So how was the 1930s for you?
0:54:40 > 0:54:44Well, I thought it really was a decade of discovery.
0:54:44 > 0:54:46I was a bit surprised at actually how well we ate.
0:54:46 > 0:54:52So it was a decade of, for us, in the middle classes, of abundance.
0:54:52 > 0:54:56Our family kind of set-up and life has become much more informal.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00It does feel like a decade of progression and I think it feels
0:55:00 > 0:55:01like a good time to be young.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04Has this been your favourite decade so far?
0:55:04 > 0:55:06- Yes.- It's been mine, yeah.
0:55:09 > 0:55:13I suppose as far as you were concerned, you were just heading out into a wonderful future?
0:55:13 > 0:55:16I think it's kind of given new meaning to that phrase,
0:55:16 > 0:55:18"A false sense of security."
0:55:20 > 0:55:24On September the 1st, despite all previous agreements and treaties,
0:55:24 > 0:55:26Germany invaded Poland.
0:55:26 > 0:55:27The party was over.
0:55:27 > 0:55:31RADIO: You will now hear a statement by the Prime Minister.
0:55:31 > 0:55:33I am speaking to you...
0:55:34 > 0:55:38..from the Cabinet room at 10 Downing Street.
0:55:38 > 0:55:39I have to tell you now...
0:55:40 > 0:55:43..this country is at war with Germany.
0:55:45 > 0:55:47Now may God bless you all,
0:55:47 > 0:55:50for it is evil things that we shall be fighting against.
0:55:51 > 0:55:57Brute force, bad faith, injustice, oppression,
0:55:57 > 0:55:58and persecution.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03And against them, I am certain
0:56:03 > 0:56:05that the right will prevail.
0:56:06 > 0:56:10There just isn't any real way of grasping, is there...
0:56:10 > 0:56:13You're about to go into a world war. It sounds like it's
0:56:13 > 0:56:15the end of the world. It's impossible to imagine.
0:56:15 > 0:56:18It is a kind of very sort of striking speech and announcement.
0:56:18 > 0:56:21He makes it sound as though it's a war of ideology, this time,
0:56:21 > 0:56:23and like we're on the side of the right.
0:56:23 > 0:56:26I think, listening to that, as a family and as a nation,
0:56:26 > 0:56:31we would have thought, "Right, OK, we've given him every chance,
0:56:31 > 0:56:34"now it's war. Now, you know, he's asked for it."
0:56:34 > 0:56:37What about for you, Rochelle, as the mother of the family?
0:56:37 > 0:56:39I was trying to work out how old Fred would have been,
0:56:39 > 0:56:42so my thought would be for him going to fight.
0:56:42 > 0:56:45I think British people would have gone, "Oh, God, not again."
0:56:45 > 0:56:48Don't you? And then just braced themselves for the task.
0:56:48 > 0:56:49I think I agree with you.
0:56:49 > 0:56:52I probably would have stood up and just thought, "Right, well,
0:56:52 > 0:56:54"that's what we have to do."
0:56:57 > 0:57:00I think the 1930s was a great decade for the Robshaws.
0:57:00 > 0:57:02They enjoyed themselves unexpectedly.
0:57:02 > 0:57:04They were relaxed, things moved on, they had so many freedoms.
0:57:04 > 0:57:06The food was better and healthier.
0:57:06 > 0:57:10Things were going so well and then the declaration of war
0:57:10 > 0:57:12and you almost saw the colour drain from their faces.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15And now the 1940s are coming and all the wonderful things
0:57:15 > 0:57:17we've given them are about to be taken away.
0:57:18 > 0:57:22Finally, in the '30s, you do feel like things are more genuine
0:57:22 > 0:57:24and they really are moving forward.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27And that's all turned topsy-turvy by the war.
0:57:27 > 0:57:29This golden period is very fleeting.
0:57:31 > 0:57:35It actually makes me feel quite sick, sort of living through
0:57:35 > 0:57:39the '30s, because it's a really odd rubbing together
0:57:39 > 0:57:41of comfortableness and horror.
0:57:43 > 0:57:47You can't help but look back on this period with a sense of tragic irony,
0:57:47 > 0:57:49cos we know what came next.
0:57:49 > 0:57:53And it almost feels as if when the war does begin in 1939,
0:57:53 > 0:57:56it just puts a stop on everything.
0:57:56 > 0:57:57Everything goes on hold.
0:57:58 > 0:58:00Social progress,
0:58:00 > 0:58:03the idea of a world of sort of greater freedom and opportunities,
0:58:03 > 0:58:05that's suddenly just shut down.
0:58:10 > 0:58:12Next time, it's the 1940s...
0:58:14 > 0:58:18..and the Robshaws live through another world war.
0:58:18 > 0:58:20AIR RAID SIREN This one much closer to home.
0:58:20 > 0:58:24And they have to make do with an entire decade of rationing.
0:58:24 > 0:58:26How strange.
0:58:26 > 0:58:30BRITISH DANCE BAND MUSIC: Somewhere Over The Rainbow