0:00:02 > 0:00:07Meet the Robshaws - Brandon, Rochelle, Miranda, Ros and Fred.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09They've been back in time before
0:00:09 > 0:00:12and experienced the transformation in our diets
0:00:12 > 0:00:16from the 1950s to the 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 > 0:00:28to discover how changes in the food we ate...
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Oh, my good Gawd. They're 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.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43Starting in the 1900s...
0:00:43 > 0:00:45- Oh, my goodness! - THEY LAUGH
0:00:45 > 0:00:49..this Victorian house will be their time machine...
0:00:49 > 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 > 0:00:551941, everyone.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59- From strict etiquette... - I might practise my bowing.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04..to new fads and flavours.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08- Ah, eugh!- It's not THAT bad, Dad! - No, Brandon!
0:01:09 > 0:01:11From far too much...
0:01:11 > 0:01:14- I think I've got the meat sweats. - ..to not enough...
0:01:14 > 0:01:15Doesn't look like a fried egg.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Oh, no!
0:01:17 > 0:01:19- Can we eat that?- No.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23..as they discover how a revolution in our eating habits
0:01:23 > 0:01:25helped create the modern family.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30Last time, they lived through a decade of opportunity
0:01:30 > 0:01:32that came to an abrupt end.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35- RADIO:- 'This country is at war.'
0:01:35 > 0:01:40This time, it's back to a diet of duty and determination...
0:01:40 > 0:01:42It doesn't look like a fried egg.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44AIR RAID SIREN
0:01:44 > 0:01:47- ..in the 1940s.- Bit chewy.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01MUSIC: A Chicken Ain't Nothin' But A Bird by Louis Jordan
0:02:01 > 0:02:03It's 1940.
0:02:03 > 0:02:08The family's final decade will be entirely overshadowed by war.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11With all eyes on the war effort,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14there's little sign of technological upgrades in the kitchen.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17And there's no room for frivolity.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21What luxury there was has been replaced by a more austere decor.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26Social historian Polly Russell and I have come to see
0:02:26 > 0:02:28that everything's ready for the Robshaws' war.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31We're nearing the end of the experiment
0:02:31 > 0:02:32but I think, for the Robshaws,
0:02:32 > 0:02:34this is going to be the hardest decade yet.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38In 1940, the threat of invasion of Britain was very real,
0:02:38 > 0:02:41although, for them, the true war will be fought
0:02:41 > 0:02:43at home at the dinner table.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45They're going to have to deal with the reality that rationing
0:02:45 > 0:02:47is going to go on for the whole of the decade,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50so they are going to learn the virtues of denial and duty.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59There's a lot less stuff, isn't there, than they're used to be?
0:02:59 > 0:03:03There definitely is, compared certainly with the '30s.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06The sort of consumer durables and kitchen equipment,
0:03:06 > 0:03:09all those sorts of things, are no longer being produced.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11Is this because the companies that make toasters
0:03:11 > 0:03:15now start making guns or something? Is it that the technology industry
0:03:15 > 0:03:16just moves across to the war effort?
0:03:16 > 0:03:19Yeah, equipment, technology, but also,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22all labour is focussed on trying to win a war.
0:03:22 > 0:03:23This time, with rationing and all that,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26there is a domestic front, isn't there? And it's in here.
0:03:26 > 0:03:31To a large extent, the kitchen is instrumental in us winning the war
0:03:31 > 0:03:34and rationing is really at the centre of that
0:03:34 > 0:03:39because it allows the government to ensure that the nation remains fed.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42This all looks a lot less fun.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44I can't help noticing the cocktail trolley is gone.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Yeah, they will be sitting around this table, perhaps thinking
0:03:47 > 0:03:51about others who are absent, people who are missing, fathers and sons.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53And so, eating together as a family
0:03:53 > 0:03:55is, perhaps, even more important at this time.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01Every meal placed on every dining table in Britain
0:04:01 > 0:04:04was controlled by the Ministry of Food.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08Having learned lessons from the First World War,
0:04:08 > 0:04:11a system of rationing was put in place, giving each family,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14rich or poor, a fair share of limited supplies of food.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20The data that we've got for this period is really revealing
0:04:20 > 0:04:22about how the war impacted in the home.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25You can immediately see that something major happened
0:04:25 > 0:04:27between 1939 and 1945.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29When you look at any statistics, there's always a gap.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31Suddenly, the information stops.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34The government departments are not collecting the same sort of detail
0:04:34 > 0:04:38as they were prior to the war but, nevertheless, we can see
0:04:38 > 0:04:41the before and after figures, so it's still very revealing
0:04:41 > 0:04:44about what took place during the war period.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49Meat consumption - that, in 1938, is at 377 million.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54It drops right down in 1946 to 291.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59And, in fact, it doesn't get back to pre-war figures until 1955
0:04:59 > 0:05:03and it's rationed right up until 1954.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06Interesting that rationing and imminent advance of Hitler's armies
0:05:06 > 0:05:09has really focussed people's minds on food more than ever before.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12The way that the government controls food
0:05:12 > 0:05:17directly impacts on every single citizen living in this country
0:05:17 > 0:05:20and comes right into the heart of the home.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23MUSIC: Frenesi by Artie Shaw And His Orchestra
0:05:23 > 0:05:26It's time for the Robshaws to step back to the 1940s.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29I think, in terms of food,
0:05:29 > 0:05:33we're going to see a reduction in what we have in the larder.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36I think things that we would have had as everyday items
0:05:36 > 0:05:38will just disappear.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41I think it will be very repetitive meals,
0:05:41 > 0:05:43just to keep you alive and keep you full.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47I'm sure there will be things to look forward to.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50I think, with the war, came a culture of standing together
0:05:50 > 0:05:51and the famous Blitz spirit.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56This is one where we are really living through world-shaping events.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59I think it's going to be hard but I think it's going to be worth it.
0:06:05 > 0:06:10- Oh, way!- What have we got? - We've got a gas cooker.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14- But it's not staggeringly different, is it?- No.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17- Shall we see what's in the larder? - I don't know.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19I don't want it to be full of sadness.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23- Oh, that is a bit different. - Where's the chocolate gone?
0:06:23 > 0:06:29- Where's all the good stuff? Where's all the milkshake stuff gone?- Yeah.
0:06:29 > 0:06:30Where's the juices?
0:06:30 > 0:06:33In fact, speaking here, looking into it,
0:06:33 > 0:06:35I'm aware of a slight echo that wasn't there before.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40- Whoa!- Ooh!- Ah, lovely.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42This is actually starting to look familiar.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44We had a clock like that on the mantelpiece
0:06:44 > 0:06:46with candlesticks either side.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48It's really nice and light and bright, isn't it?
0:06:48 > 0:06:50- It's quite homely, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Have you seen on the windows all the criss-cross tape
0:06:52 > 0:06:55to prevent all the glass showering you if a bomb lands nearby.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58This is the difference between this war and the Great War,
0:06:58 > 0:07:01which didn't really land on our doorsteps, not really.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03But this will.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Yes, literally on our doorstep.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11'I'm back to give the Robshaws a heads-up
0:07:11 > 0:07:13'on what the decade has in store.'
0:07:15 > 0:07:17- Hello, Giles.- Hello.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20You didn't think the war was going to save you from seeing me, did you?
0:07:20 > 0:07:24Now, Brandon, you are obviously too old to go and fight
0:07:24 > 0:07:27but you'll be useful at home as an air raid precaution warden,
0:07:27 > 0:07:30which means you'll be going around checking that people
0:07:30 > 0:07:31are conforming to the blackout regulations,
0:07:31 > 0:07:33responding when there is an attack.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37Rochelle, you'll be fighting a war on the home front, in the kitchen.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40You'll be needing to feed your family on the ration book.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43- Brandon, there's your manual. - Thank you.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46- Oh, and of course there's Fred. - Yeah.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49You'll have noticed from the windows and the tape and everything
0:07:49 > 0:07:51that London's a very dangerous place for small people like you.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54- Yeah, but it's fine, isn't it? - It's fine, is it?- Yeah.
0:07:54 > 0:07:55Well, it's going to be very fine
0:07:55 > 0:07:58cos we're going to evacuate you to the countryside.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00And to take you there, cos you can't be sent alone...
0:08:02 > 0:08:05Oh, yes. THEY LAUGH
0:08:05 > 0:08:08It's Debbie. Debbie, the war has liberated you,
0:08:08 > 0:08:10finally and forever, from domestic service
0:08:10 > 0:08:13and you'd be in the WVS, the Women's Voluntary Service,
0:08:13 > 0:08:17doing all sorts of useful things, like escorting endangered young men,
0:08:17 > 0:08:20like Fred, to the countryside. Say goodbye to your family
0:08:20 > 0:08:22you're not going to see, possibly till the end of the war.
0:08:22 > 0:08:27Oh, Fred. Fred. He's off to the countryside.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31By 1940, the Germans had used aerial bombing
0:08:31 > 0:08:34to terrifying effect across Europe.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Churchill's government predicted they would drop
0:08:38 > 0:08:40700 tonnes of bombs a day on British cities.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45Fearing massive loss of civilian life,
0:08:45 > 0:08:48more than three and half million people, most of them children,
0:08:48 > 0:08:51some as young as five, were evacuated.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55They were often just given a packed lunch and a stamped postcard
0:08:55 > 0:08:58to send home to let their parents know where they were.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01Obviously, the threat of bombs in London,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04but I think it must have been really, really difficult.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07And to keep a sort of brave face on it
0:09:07 > 0:09:08and to smile and to pack their bags
0:09:08 > 0:09:12and then to not really know where they were going to be going to.
0:09:12 > 0:09:17It must have been an extraordinarily heartbreaking decision to have made
0:09:17 > 0:09:19and not to know when you're really going to be seeing them again.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Basically, each of these forms one arch.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27The rest of the Robshaws would have had to rely
0:09:27 > 0:09:29on a self-assembly Anderson shelter,
0:09:29 > 0:09:33supplied free by the government for protection from aerial bombing.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36- Is that right? Four of them? - No, three.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40It should be three, shouldn't it? So, why have we got four?
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Rochelle is making their first dinner under rationing,
0:09:42 > 0:09:46using the wartime cookbook What's Left In The Larder?
0:09:46 > 0:09:47Like many of the recipes,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50this one's designed to resemble a familiar favourite.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56So, this is imitation brawn. Um...
0:09:57 > 0:10:01I'm not absolutely sure what brawn is.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04But it doesn't matter cos it's an imitation of it,
0:10:04 > 0:10:06so I won't worry about that.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11This recipe uses half a pound of meat cooked in stock
0:10:11 > 0:10:15with semolina, flavoured with onions, cloves and lemon rind.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Before the war, we imported half our meat
0:10:19 > 0:10:21from South America and New Zealand.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24It was one of the first things to go on ration,
0:10:24 > 0:10:28with a weekly allowance of half a pound per person.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32Compared to what we've been eating...in the other decades,
0:10:32 > 0:10:37this amount of meat seems particularly meagre,
0:10:37 > 0:10:41so there's semolina in the recipe as well, I suppose,
0:10:41 > 0:10:43just to sort of bulk it up a bit.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47Wartime cookbooks championed the use of bland off ration ingredients
0:10:47 > 0:10:49to give substance to dishes,
0:10:49 > 0:10:52with tips like using lemon rind to add flavour.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Shall I do it...? I'm tying it and then you can do it with the thing.
0:10:58 > 0:11:04- Oh, God.- The semolina, I thought, would be sort of, like, thin.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08- MIRANDA LAUGHS - But it's gone into like a kind of
0:11:08 > 0:11:11an absolute kind of...mush.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14Dinner's ready.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18It's supposed to look like a meat terrine, served cold and sliced.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26- Oh, Miranda, did you lay for five? - Yeah.- That's really sad.- I know.- Oh.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28I'll put it down there.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33- This hasn't set, so it's just lumps of semolina with meat.- OK.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36- So, it's just...- That's a novelty. - Yes, it is.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38- Can I have some salad?- Yeah.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46- What do you think?- Bit chewy.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51I like it. I don't think it's that bad.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54When you think about what it must have been like.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56A member of the family absent.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58We haven't finished building the shelter.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02We're sitting here eating this kind of rather unfamiliar diet
0:12:02 > 0:12:05that, a year ago, we wouldn't have been eating food like this.
0:12:05 > 0:12:06Life has changed so drastically,.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08You'd feel so insecure, wouldn't you?
0:12:08 > 0:12:11It is a bit chewy though, isn't it?
0:12:11 > 0:12:13THEY LAUGH
0:12:14 > 0:12:18MUSIC: Imagination by Glenn Miller
0:12:22 > 0:12:25The threat of air raids meant putting up your blackouts
0:12:25 > 0:12:27became part of the nightly routine.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32I did feel that, for many housewives,
0:12:32 > 0:12:36they may have felt that they needed to...
0:12:37 > 0:12:40..do their duty in the only way that they could
0:12:40 > 0:12:43and that was to keep their families healthy.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46So, you would just have to think up ways
0:12:46 > 0:12:52of really trying to make the food stretch
0:12:52 > 0:12:55and how to use up absolutely every scrap of food.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08MUSIC: Annie Laurie by Deanna Durbin
0:13:08 > 0:13:101941, everyone.
0:13:16 > 0:13:23# Maxwelton braes are bonnie... #
0:13:23 > 0:13:25For Rochelle, the upside of rationing
0:13:25 > 0:13:28is that meals were often simple affairs,
0:13:28 > 0:13:31like today's breakfast - tomatoes on toast.
0:13:31 > 0:13:32Oh!
0:13:34 > 0:13:37I burnt the toast. But I'll scrape it.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39I can't throw food away - not now.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41I'd feel like maybe one of my neighbours would start
0:13:41 > 0:13:43going through my bins and report me.
0:13:47 > 0:13:48- TELEVSION:- 'Don't do that.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52'Do you know that if every family in this country
0:13:52 > 0:13:55'wastes only half a slice of bread each day of the year,
0:13:55 > 0:13:59'that's enough bread to feed everyone in Great Britain
0:13:59 > 0:14:02'for a whole week?'
0:14:02 > 0:14:06By 1941, wasting food had become a criminal offence,
0:14:06 > 0:14:10punishable by fines or even imprisonment.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13There. Look as good as new. No-one would know.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19- Hello.- Hi.- Breakfast.- Thanks.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24Well, tomatoes on toast. That's nice.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28- Yes, but with an extra added something.- Really?- Yes.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33- Dripping?- Yes.- That's good. I like dripping.- I know you like dripping.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36That's why I gave you a lot of it.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39With butter rationed from the start of the war, dripping -
0:14:39 > 0:14:43the fat left over from roasting meat - was a popular alternative.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49- Oh, blimey!- What? - The Japanese have declared war.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52Oh, it was the port of Pearl Harbour.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56- VIDEO FOOTAGE: - 'The United States of America
0:14:56 > 0:15:00'were suddenly and deliberately attacked
0:15:00 > 0:15:05'by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.'
0:15:05 > 0:15:09The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in December, 1941,
0:15:09 > 0:15:12killed 2,400 Americans.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15The next day, the US declared war on Japan.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18With almost every country in the world now at war,
0:15:18 > 0:15:21transporting produce from one place to another
0:15:21 > 0:15:23was fraught with difficulty.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26Essential foods, like meat and wheat,
0:15:26 > 0:15:29would be in even shorter supply.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32It turns it into something mammoth, doesn't it?
0:15:32 > 0:15:35It turns it into a global war. It does, it does.
0:15:36 > 0:15:41MUSIC: A String Of Pearls by Glenn Miller
0:15:41 > 0:15:44Out of harm's way in the countryside,
0:15:44 > 0:15:47evacuees like Fred and his friend Andre were often put to work,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50taking on some of the jobs done by farm labourers
0:15:50 > 0:15:51who'd gone off to fight.
0:15:53 > 0:15:54That's a lot of eggs.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58For city kids, one positive was ready access to dairy produce,
0:15:58 > 0:16:01eggs and fresh fruit and vegetables.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Though their diets were greatly improved,
0:16:04 > 0:16:08there are accounts of some asking their hosts for chips and beer.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11Me living here now, it's better
0:16:11 > 0:16:15than me living at my house with my family, just mainly for food.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18I don't think it would be more enjoyable,
0:16:18 > 0:16:20just because I wouldn't have known anyone,
0:16:20 > 0:16:23but I think I'd definitely have a better standard of living.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26- I think it would be a lot better to be in the countryside.- Yeah.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37In cities, fresh produce was harder to come by
0:16:37 > 0:16:40and people were encouraged to "dig for victory"
0:16:40 > 0:16:41in allotments and back gardens.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46I'd sent Miranda and Rochelle a well-known wartime recipe
0:16:46 > 0:16:48and a basket of home-grown veg.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51"Dear Rochelle, it's 1941 and we are two years into the war.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54"Your Minister of Food, Lord Woolton,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57"is taking further measures to ensure that there is no waste
0:16:57 > 0:17:00"and that people are eating nutritious food throughout the war.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03"He has commissioned a chef at the Savoy to prepare a dish
0:17:03 > 0:17:06"that makes a virtue of available vegetables.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08"The dish produces a meatless pie
0:17:08 > 0:17:10"that is becoming known as Woolton pie."
0:17:10 > 0:17:13I've hard of that. Well, I think you can do that.
0:17:13 > 0:17:18- Aren't you going to help me?- No, I think you are ready to make the pie.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20Goodbye and good luck.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26Woolton pie consists of four different vegetables
0:17:26 > 0:17:28with a pastry lid and brown gravy.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37This actually looks quite substantial.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39There's a massive pot of vegetables.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42I think this will probably fill us up
0:17:42 > 0:17:44more than last night's dinner did.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48POTS HISSES AND MIRANDA LAUGHS
0:17:48 > 0:17:51As Minister of Food, Lord Woolton did more than just convince
0:17:51 > 0:17:54the nation of the virtues of meatless pie.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58Previously the managing director of Lewis's department stores,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01his valuable experience with both suppliers and consumers
0:18:01 > 0:18:04helped keep the nation fed.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07I'm meeting biographer William Sitwell
0:18:07 > 0:18:10to find out more about the challenges Woolton faced.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17Before the war, Britain was importing 70% of its food,
0:18:17 > 0:18:20but with Europe occupied, imports had to come from North America,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23and merchant shipping was under attack.
0:18:24 > 0:18:29This map is fascinating because it's completely filled with pinpricks
0:18:29 > 0:18:32and every pinprick represents the position of a convoy,
0:18:32 > 0:18:37the kind of naked fleets out there, bringing food to Britain.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40What this map really brings to life
0:18:40 > 0:18:43is the vulnerability of our little island here.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45The size of the job in hand, certainly.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47There was an awful lot of ocean.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52- VIDEO FOOTAGE:- 'Undoubtedly one of the most formidable assets
0:18:52 > 0:18:55'of the Axis powers in the present phase of the war is the U-boat.'
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Hitler's explicit aim was to strangle British supplies
0:18:59 > 0:19:02and starve the country into surrender.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06His U-boats sank thousands of ships,
0:19:06 > 0:19:10sending millions of tonnes of food to the bottom of the Atlantic.
0:19:11 > 0:19:16Hitler said if you starve a country, it collapses, morale collapses,
0:19:16 > 0:19:18anarchy ensues.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20And it had worked in the First World War,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23where people didn't plan and we nearly starved.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25Yes, and so the whole point of rationing
0:19:25 > 0:19:27was that it learnt the lessons of the First World War.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31So, Woolton introduced rationing before rationing was needed,
0:19:31 > 0:19:32so that they staggered it.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35So, there was a kind of drip-feed
0:19:35 > 0:19:38from jam to butter to ham to, you know, milk.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41So, how did he manage to keep the nation on board?
0:19:41 > 0:19:43He appealed to the British cook.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46He encouraged them to become thrifty, economic,
0:19:46 > 0:19:49resourceful, ingenious, so it really made them feel
0:19:49 > 0:19:52that they were as important at fighting the war.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56Woolton's ministry produced thousands of leaflets
0:19:56 > 0:20:00and hundreds of Food Flash films to guide the wartime cook.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03- FILM FOOTAGE: - 'Thanks to the weather -
0:20:03 > 0:20:05'yes, old man - and the grower,
0:20:05 > 0:20:09'we have wonderful supplies of green vegetables just now.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12'But don't murder the poor vitamins, will you?
0:20:12 > 0:20:15'Boil quickly in very little water.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18'And one other thing - that's it.'
0:20:18 > 0:20:21MUSIC: A Man And His Drum by Harry Roy
0:20:21 > 0:20:23With wheat in short supply,
0:20:23 > 0:20:27one of Woolton's tips was to add mash potato to pastry.
0:20:31 > 0:20:36I think you'd feel really proud of yourself if, in wartime rations,
0:20:36 > 0:20:40you were able to serve up a huge golden pie to your family.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43You'd feel like you'd been really thrifty and done really well.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51AIR RAID SIREN
0:20:53 > 0:20:56- Is that the siren?- It is.- Quick!
0:20:56 > 0:20:58During the worst period of the Blitz,
0:20:58 > 0:21:01air raid sirens sounded the warning of imminent attack
0:21:01 > 0:21:03for 57 consecutive nights.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06How do you think you'd have felt if this had been real?
0:21:06 > 0:21:09I think I would absolutely have hated it.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11To hear that noise, that wailing,
0:21:11 > 0:21:13and sort of be on your guard all the time.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16Get yourself and your family into the shelter as quickly...
0:21:16 > 0:21:18- You'd feel jumpy.- You would. - Cos you'd never know...
0:21:18 > 0:21:21Yeah, I think it would be scary to be on your guard all the time.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23That's what I wouldn't like.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30By the summer of 1941, after nine months of bombing,
0:21:30 > 0:21:34millions of homes had been destroyed and 43,000 civilians killed.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41Even in the face of such fear, daily routines endured.
0:21:41 > 0:21:42While dining rooms sat empty,
0:21:42 > 0:21:46families huddled in Anderson shelters to eat their evening meals.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55- Whoa.- Oh, what an amazing pie! - That is fantastic, Miranda.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58- Look, you've done an M on it for Miranda.- That's fantastic!- Thanks.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03- Eight, as it is your pie...- Are you going to do the honours?- Well...
0:22:03 > 0:22:05- Well done.- Dad, is that enough? - That'll do.
0:22:07 > 0:22:12- Mm. That's a really good pie. - It's quite nice.- It's a fine pie.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19It did feel very cramped in the Anderson shelter and I think,
0:22:19 > 0:22:25in reality, I don't really know how you would make that feel normal.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29You just sort of wonder how people managed, how...
0:22:30 > 0:22:32..us, as ordinary people,
0:22:32 > 0:22:37would really have coped in such an extreme situation.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40MUSIC: Ave Maria by Schubert
0:22:42 > 0:22:45MUSIC: Afternoon Of Basie-Ite by Lester Young Quartet
0:22:45 > 0:22:48In 1942, the Ministry of Food introduced
0:22:48 > 0:22:50a new import from America.
0:22:51 > 0:22:56I've got a tin of dried egg here and it's pure fresh egg,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59with nothing but the moisture removed.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03We didn't like the dried egg at first but we got used to them
0:23:03 > 0:23:06and it's going to be very hard to do without them.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Rationing allowed each person one fresh egg a week.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14Now, 19 million tins of dried eggs went on sale in stores
0:23:14 > 0:23:17and Ministry leaflet number 11 suggested what to do with them.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23So, we're going to make mock fried egg,
0:23:23 > 0:23:27which needs an egg reconstituted,
0:23:27 > 0:23:29two slices of wholemeal bread and salt and pepper.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33It doesn't look like a fried egg.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37Also launched this year was the National Loaf.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Off ration and made with wholemeal flour,
0:23:41 > 0:23:45by 1942, people were getting 20% of their daily calories from bread.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50I don't think Brandon's going to like this at all.
0:23:50 > 0:23:55Some families consumed more than six slices per person per day.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59I think, during wartime rationing,
0:23:59 > 0:24:01people must have thought about food all the time.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03They must have thought about the food that they couldn't get.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07What I would really like would be a proper full English breakfast.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11I would like bacon and I would like fried eggs and I would like toast,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14maybe grilled tomatoes and some mushrooms and, perhaps, a sausage.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16That would make me happy.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19Well, it is an egg but it's not an egg as we know it.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24It would have been a bit dispiriting if everything you were serving up
0:24:24 > 0:24:29was just kind of unpalatable or just not the real thing.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31Then you're just going to feel
0:24:31 > 0:24:33like you're not giving your family the best,
0:24:33 > 0:24:35because you just haven't got it.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38What we got? Oh.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41- BRANDON LAUGHS - Oh, my goodness me.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46How strange. All right, let's try this powdered egg.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54- It's quite interesting.- It's all right.- I think that's all right.
0:24:54 > 0:25:00# There'll be bluebirds over
0:25:00 > 0:25:05# The white cliffs of Dover... #
0:25:05 > 0:25:10By 1942, thousands of evacuees started to return to British cities.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13Despite warnings of future attacks,
0:25:13 > 0:25:16many felt the worst of the bombing was over.
0:25:16 > 0:25:17Here's Fred!
0:25:17 > 0:25:20With Fred back from the countryside, I'm giving him the chance
0:25:20 > 0:25:23to put his newly-acquired rural skills to good use.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25- ROS:- "In honour of Fred's return,
0:25:25 > 0:25:28"here is a book that might help you put a little more flavour
0:25:28 > 0:25:31"onto the dinner table and it's called They Can't Ration These.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34"I hope you unearth some treats in Britain's hedgerows.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37"It's all for free. You just have to find it."
0:25:37 > 0:25:43OK, "Beetroot, corn salad, spine cabbage..."
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Making the most of nature's larder was one way to liven up
0:25:46 > 0:25:50your wartime diet, with delights like stewed starlings,
0:25:50 > 0:25:52roast sparrows and squirrel tail soup.
0:25:52 > 0:25:57MUSIC: Strictly Instrumental by Harry James
0:25:57 > 0:25:59The Ministry of Food published leaflets on foraging
0:25:59 > 0:26:02and herb committees organised large-scale collections -
0:26:02 > 0:26:06foxgloves for pharmaceuticals and rosehips for syrup,
0:26:06 > 0:26:10a wartime dietary supplement high in vitamin C.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Argh!
0:26:14 > 0:26:17All Fred and Ros can find in the local park is stinging nettles.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20I can definitely understand why people would have gone out
0:26:20 > 0:26:23and picked stinging nettles, just for the fact of, like,
0:26:23 > 0:26:25sometimes you might want a bit of...
0:26:25 > 0:26:27A bit of greenery and if this is the only thing you can find...
0:26:27 > 0:26:29- If this is the only thing you can find.- Yeah.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32- Something's better than nothing, right?- Yeah.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42- Ooh.- Got a basket of nettles. - What else?- That's all we've got.
0:26:42 > 0:26:43- Just nettles?- Yeah.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46"Wash, dry and boil till tender
0:26:46 > 0:26:48"then you chop finely, toss them in a pan over the fire
0:26:48 > 0:26:51"with some butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54- "Pile on rounds of buttered toast." - What a lot of nettles.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57I know, I don't think we need to cook that many.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59- Ooh, ouch.- We know it hurts.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03- That really hurts!- Yeah, I know! - I'm going to cut the bread, Ros.- OK.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08- Look.- Oh!
0:27:08 > 0:27:13- Will it sting me? - No, cos we cooked it all.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15It's not that bad.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19- It's like wet leaves, isn't it? - I think it's amazing.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21They just went out and they picked these nettles,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24so we've got a free evening meal that cost us nothing.
0:27:24 > 0:27:29MUSIC: At Last by Connie Haines
0:27:29 > 0:27:33I went to market and I bought some huge strawberries.
0:27:35 > 0:27:40I went to market and I bought some huge strawberries
0:27:40 > 0:27:43and some bread.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Having Fred back does make me happier
0:27:46 > 0:27:52and it must have been so difficult for mothers to send their kids away.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54I don't know how people did it.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59- Some bread.- Yeah.- Yeah. - Some bacon.- Yeah.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01- Some steak.- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04- A tin opener.- Yeah.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13MUSIC: Let's Beat Out Some Love by Buddy Johnson
0:28:13 > 0:28:151943.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20I'd sent the Robshaws details of another government initiative
0:28:20 > 0:28:22to improve their self-sufficiency.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27- Look, we got a letter.- Hmm.
0:28:27 > 0:28:28"Dear Rochelle and Brandon,
0:28:28 > 0:28:31"you've probably been accumulating potato peelings and vegetable waste.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33"Now you have a use for them.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36"Collected waste was formed into a nutritious pudding
0:28:36 > 0:28:40- "called Tottenham cake." - Well, I never!
0:28:40 > 0:28:43- It sounds absolutely horrible, doesn't it?- What's in it?
0:28:43 > 0:28:47"Once boiled, allow the food to solidify.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51"Once cold, add water and serve to the pigs."
0:28:51 > 0:28:54- Oh, we don't eat it. - We feed pigs with it.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56I thought we were going to eat it.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59I was going to say. It sounds absolutely revolting.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02- You wouldn't invite your neighbours round for that!- Oh, right.
0:29:02 > 0:29:03- FILM FOOTAGE:- 'A-one, two.'
0:29:06 > 0:29:08# No bacon for breakfast Let us make haste
0:29:08 > 0:29:10# Haste, haste, haste
0:29:10 > 0:29:13# Then back to the farmer they raced Raced, raced, raced
0:29:13 > 0:29:15# There's valuable victuals in waste... #
0:29:15 > 0:29:19The Ministry of Food encouraged people to collect their food scraps
0:29:19 > 0:29:22and deposit them in communal bins on the street.
0:29:22 > 0:29:23BRANDON KNOCKS ON DOOR
0:29:23 > 0:29:26- That's brilliant. Thanks very much. - Thank you.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30- Here you are, darling. Look what I've got.- Lovely.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33- A bucket of scraps.- Lucky pigs.
0:29:33 > 0:29:37A tax on shipping meant imports of animal feed had fallen dramatically
0:29:37 > 0:29:41and, as a result, the number of pigs kept on farms had halved.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44The Robshaws are at Deen City Farm
0:29:44 > 0:29:47to find out more from one of Britain's most famous farmers,
0:29:47 > 0:29:49Countryfile's Adam Henson.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52- Hello.- Hi.- Lovely to see you.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55Nice to meet you, Fred. Good to see you.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57Welcome to the pigs.
0:29:57 > 0:29:58During the war, during the '40s,
0:29:58 > 0:30:01of course the pig industry fell to its knees, really.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04And so, very cleverly, there was the Small Pig Keepers' Council,
0:30:04 > 0:30:07and they lobbied government to allow people to keep pigs
0:30:07 > 0:30:10in their backyards and their gardens and on small farms.
0:30:10 > 0:30:15And then groups in neighbourhoods got together and created pig clubs.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18- And they'd all have a share in the pig?- That's right.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20And half of the carcass had to go back to the government
0:30:20 > 0:30:23and then half was shared between the family.
0:30:23 > 0:30:27And what they did to feed them was collected household scraps
0:30:27 > 0:30:31and up in Tottenham, they used to process all this food
0:30:31 > 0:30:36and bake it, and I understand that's what you've got here.
0:30:36 > 0:30:38Look at that. Well, that's wonderful.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41When you think about it, that was a fantastic social initiative.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45And I suppose, to have a leg of pork or some bacon on the table
0:30:45 > 0:30:48would have been an absolute luxury, a real treat.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50- PIG GRUNTS - Pig, pig, pig!
0:30:50 > 0:30:53- HE RATTLES FOOD - Here they come.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56By 1943, there were more than 900 official pig clubs
0:30:56 > 0:30:59across the country, all sustained on kitchen waste.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03MUSIC: Run Rabbit Run by Flanagan And Allen
0:31:03 > 0:31:06Meat was hard to come by but rabbit, never on ration,
0:31:06 > 0:31:08became a wartime favourite.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12Oh, my God!
0:31:13 > 0:31:15I'd sent one to Rochelle,
0:31:15 > 0:31:18but many families kept rabbits in their own backyards.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22The rabbit's propensity to reproduce
0:31:22 > 0:31:26could guarantee a regular supply of meat.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30But it did mean doing all the preparation yourself.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33"Cut into neat joints."
0:31:43 > 0:31:44Oh!
0:31:44 > 0:31:47I can't get its head off.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49- Brandon!- What's that? Ooh.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51My problem is its head.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54The head, you want... Don't worry.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57- You want the head gone? - I want the head gone.- OK.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01Oh, it's gone, it's gone.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03Goodbye, bunny head.
0:32:04 > 0:32:05Readily available,
0:32:05 > 0:32:08you could eat as much home-reared rabbit as you liked
0:32:08 > 0:32:10and even if you got it from the butcher's,
0:32:10 > 0:32:12it was half the price of beef.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16It now no longer looks like a whole rabbit. It looks like...
0:32:18 > 0:32:21..a bit of meat boiling away.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24And the perfect British-grown accompaniment was watercress.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28Oh, brilliant. That looks fantastic.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30I'm actually feeling quite excited now.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32That's a nice big bit. Thank you.
0:32:34 > 0:32:36- It actually tastes really nice. - Oh, good.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39I mean, if you compare this to nettles on toast...
0:32:39 > 0:32:42Not that I'm knocking the nettles on toast. It was all right.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44- But this is a feast compared to that.- Yeah.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49While the rest of the family says at home,
0:32:49 > 0:32:52I'm giving the girls some respite from the war.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55- Are you excited? - Yes, I'm so happy to see you.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57Miranda and Ros are going out with Debbie
0:32:57 > 0:33:01for a night of dancing with the American GIs.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05- Hi, ladies, how are you?- Hello. - My name's Joseph. Let's go dancing.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08# Mr What-ya-call-em, what you doing tonight?
0:33:08 > 0:33:11# Hope you're in the mood because I'm feeling just right... #
0:33:11 > 0:33:14Wow! This is mad.
0:33:14 > 0:33:16# .. a gay rendezvous... #
0:33:16 > 0:33:19With more than one and a half million American servicemen
0:33:19 > 0:33:22stationed in the UK, many British girls got their first taste
0:33:22 > 0:33:27of swing music and brand-new dances, like the Lindy hop.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30Change, rock step, outside, inside, change.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33SWING MUSIC PLAYS
0:33:33 > 0:33:36It wasn't just the latest dance craze the GIs could offer.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39With more generous rations than their British counterparts,
0:33:39 > 0:33:42American soldiers were famed for showering girls with nylons,
0:33:42 > 0:33:44Coca-Cola and candy.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47Mm, sweet.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50- VIDEO FOOTAGE:- 'Fraternisation on the dance floor and off it.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52'See what I mean?'
0:33:52 > 0:33:56BAND PLAYS SWING MUSIC
0:34:06 > 0:34:10I really loved the music and I loved how everyone was doing it together
0:34:10 > 0:34:13and I thought it was really cool how they'd push you to do something.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15BAND PLAYS SWING MUSIC
0:34:15 > 0:34:19Completely exhilarating, hitting a step to the beat
0:34:19 > 0:34:22and there's loads of other people doing it all around you.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26- Everyone is happy, aren't they? - Yeah.- Everyone is.- Yeah.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29So, to come from a home where it's really dull and grey,
0:34:29 > 0:34:31you're doing war work and there's rationing
0:34:31 > 0:34:33and air raids every night, and you come in here
0:34:33 > 0:34:35and there's so much splendour and red velvet
0:34:35 > 0:34:37and chandeliers and music.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40This must have just been like heaven.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43BAND PLAYS SWING MUSIC
0:34:45 > 0:34:47- Cheers.- Cheers.- Cheers.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57On June 6th, 1944, over 155,000 Allied troops landed
0:34:57 > 0:34:59on the beaches of Normandy,
0:34:59 > 0:35:02beginning the fight to take back Europe.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10But the war was far from over and continued to change people's lives
0:35:10 > 0:35:14in unexpected ways, especially for young women like Debbie.
0:35:15 > 0:35:19With so many men away fighting, women had to take on their jobs,
0:35:19 > 0:35:22from the farm to the factory floor.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26Others volunteered with the Women's Voluntary Service,
0:35:26 > 0:35:29running the mobile canteens, which provided hot food and drink
0:35:29 > 0:35:33to rescue workers and people whose homes had been destroyed by bombs.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37Polly's come to tell Debbie more about the vital role
0:35:37 > 0:35:40the WVS played in the war effort.
0:35:40 > 0:35:41- Hi, Debbie.- Hello.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44- This is amazing, isn't it? - Yeah, it's very nice.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47You know, for young women during the Second World War,
0:35:47 > 0:35:49to have the opportunity to sort of drive something like this,
0:35:49 > 0:35:51to be free enough to be able to drive,
0:35:51 > 0:35:54would, for lots of them, have been pretty amazing.
0:35:54 > 0:35:56Yeah, well, it was amazing for me and I DO drive,
0:35:56 > 0:35:59so it must have been amazing for them as well.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01At the beginning of the war, there are about 38,000 women
0:36:01 > 0:36:05who had volunteered but, by 1944, a million had volunteered.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08- A million - oh, my gosh! - So, it's a huge organisation.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11You would have felt, I don't know, part of something, almost.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13It's nice to work for people in a house
0:36:13 > 0:36:16but it's really different to work for your country, almost.
0:36:16 > 0:36:18Yeah, and one of the really interesting things
0:36:18 > 0:36:20was that it had very little hierarchy.
0:36:20 > 0:36:24People had different roles but you just as well might find yourself
0:36:24 > 0:36:27serving tea with a duchess as you would a charlady.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29And it would have changed women's attitudes,
0:36:29 > 0:36:32in terms of what they expected of their lives.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35You wouldn't have done this during the war and then thought,
0:36:35 > 0:36:37"I'll go back to domestic service."
0:36:37 > 0:36:40No, I mean, I wouldn't like to anyway.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45In June, 1944, Hitler began a new offensive,
0:36:45 > 0:36:47launching long-range missiles from Europe.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49EXPLOSION
0:36:49 > 0:36:53This second Blitz destroyed 30,000 homes in London alone
0:36:53 > 0:36:57and killed nearly 9,000 people nationwide.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00The WVS and ARP wardens, like Brandon and Ros,
0:37:00 > 0:37:02would have been called on to help.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05Just round the corner from the Robshaws' house,
0:37:05 > 0:37:08Hazlehurst Road witnessed one of the worst strikes
0:37:08 > 0:37:11by a single V2 rocket, which killed 35 people.
0:37:13 > 0:37:14Just boys at the time,
0:37:14 > 0:37:17John and Arthur Keeley were among those that survived.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20Can you tell us what happened on the morning of 19th November
0:37:20 > 0:37:22and what you remember of it?
0:37:22 > 0:37:25Well, I was in bed, asleep, and all of a sudden,
0:37:25 > 0:37:29I woke up and I was looking up at the blue sky.
0:37:29 > 0:37:33The roof had gone, there were holes in the wall.
0:37:33 > 0:37:38And father was sitting there, with blood pouring down his face.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41Um, he was in a hell of a state.
0:37:41 > 0:37:46He had glass in his eyes and they had to remove them.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50- My house was roughly round about this area.- Mm.
0:37:50 > 0:37:55It's shocking, isn't it, to think just one bomb did all this damage?
0:37:55 > 0:37:58- All that damage.- It's unbelievable, isn't it?- Yeah, yeah.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03So, when this happened and all the people came to help,
0:38:03 > 0:38:06were the ARP there? Did they come and help?
0:38:06 > 0:38:07Oh, yeah, almost instantly.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10And how they got my dad down the stairs, I don't know.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13Two blokes went up there and they managed to get him down.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16Was there a real sense that there were people there to look after you?
0:38:16 > 0:38:19- Yeah.- Oh, yeah, yeah. You couldn't fault them.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24I feel like, what I would have been doing,
0:38:24 > 0:38:25bringing cups of tea to people,
0:38:25 > 0:38:27would have made a massive difference,
0:38:27 > 0:38:30cos they've lost their homes, they've had to move somewhere else,
0:38:30 > 0:38:32and it would just be a bit of comfort
0:38:32 > 0:38:36to know someone was there when they really needed it.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40MUSIC: They Can't Black Out The Moon by Harry Roy
0:38:40 > 0:38:42'But not everyone was so community-minded.
0:38:42 > 0:38:44'After five years of war and rationing,
0:38:44 > 0:38:47'the temptation to cheat the system was intense.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50'I'm going to play spiv and offer the Robshaws
0:38:50 > 0:38:52'a little bit extra on the side.'
0:38:52 > 0:38:56- I've got some stuff in my basket. - This is starting out well.
0:38:56 > 0:39:01- We've got a lovely steak.- Wow!- Wow! - Wow, that's a nice big one too.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05We have some cheese, chocolate, and that's all for you.
0:39:05 > 0:39:09- How do you feel about that? - I feel delighted and excited.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12- Have you any questions? - Where did you get it?
0:39:12 > 0:39:15- Where did you get it from? - I'm so glad you asked.
0:39:15 > 0:39:19Well, it's on the black market. It's against the law.
0:39:19 > 0:39:21What would they do if they found you with this?
0:39:21 > 0:39:24If they found you with it, you could be fined,
0:39:24 > 0:39:27you could get two years in prison. What are you going to do?
0:39:27 > 0:39:30- Are you...?- This is a moral dilemma for us, isn't it?
0:39:30 > 0:39:33Well, I don't know. For some people it would have been a moral dilemma,
0:39:33 > 0:39:35- for others, it mightn't have been. - Yeah, I think we'll take it.
0:39:35 > 0:39:37THEY LAUGH
0:39:37 > 0:39:40He'd already stolen the chocolate. He'd stolen the stolen chocolate.
0:39:40 > 0:39:42He's got a promising future, hasn't he?
0:39:42 > 0:39:45Speaking as head of the household, at this point,
0:39:45 > 0:39:48I think we would take it and we would eat it and we would enjoy it.
0:39:48 > 0:39:51And I think, if you're worried that a bomb's going to drop on your head,
0:39:51 > 0:39:54at least you might sort of die knowing you've had a good meal.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57That's it. Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow, we die.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01This is very interesting because, obviously, by this stage, 1944,
0:40:01 > 0:40:03people had been at war for five years
0:40:03 > 0:40:06and I suspect that such moral positions as they had
0:40:06 > 0:40:08must have ebbed away.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11You've only been in it for four days, five days,
0:40:11 > 0:40:14and already, you'll do anything for a steak or a piece of cheese.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17- But really enjoy it and I'll see you later in the decade.- Thank you.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19- Thank you.- Cheerio.- Bye.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21STEAK SIZZLES
0:40:21 > 0:40:25The continued success of rationing depended on the nation playing ball
0:40:25 > 0:40:27and Lord Woolton appealed to patriotism
0:40:27 > 0:40:29to counter black market dealing.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34These food cheats are the enemies of the people.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37Whilst there were organised criminals intent on profit,
0:40:37 > 0:40:41the Ministry of Food estimated that nine out of ten households
0:40:41 > 0:40:44had some dealings with the black market.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48But with pieces of meat worth £6 selling for as much as £40,
0:40:48 > 0:40:52most people could only afford the occasional under-the-counter extra.
0:40:52 > 0:40:56There must be no dirty fingers in the people's food.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59- Ooh, la, la, la, la. - That's Brandon's.- Thank you.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02- Can I have the one underneath there, please?- Wait a minute.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05- CORK POPS - Isn't that a beautiful sound?
0:41:05 > 0:41:09Wouldn't it cheer people up to get a meal like this?
0:41:09 > 0:41:12Mmm, this is so good.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16MUSIC: Lili Marleen by Anne Shelton
0:41:25 > 0:41:27It's 1945!
0:41:31 > 0:41:34RADIO: 'Yesterday morning, at 2.41am,
0:41:34 > 0:41:40'General Jodl, the representative of the German High Command,
0:41:40 > 0:41:44'signed the act of unconditional surrender...'
0:41:44 > 0:41:47That's it - unconditional surrender!
0:41:47 > 0:41:51- We've won! We've won!- Oh, hooray!
0:41:51 > 0:41:52THEY LAUGH
0:41:52 > 0:41:55My gosh, imagine how people must have felt,
0:41:55 > 0:41:57after six years, to hear that.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00CROWD CHEERS
0:42:00 > 0:42:05On 8th May, 1945, war in Europe was finally over
0:42:05 > 0:42:08and people everywhere poured out onto the streets to celebrate.
0:42:10 > 0:42:14Streets that, for the first time in six years, were safe.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16I think it must have been stupendous,
0:42:16 > 0:42:18the relief that people must have felt.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22Just such a simple thing as being able to look out of your own window
0:42:22 > 0:42:24without fear at any time of day or night.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27I mean, it's a return to normality but, after six years,
0:42:27 > 0:42:29it must have seemed miraculous.
0:42:29 > 0:42:33Slice the meat finely, not too fine but not too thick.
0:42:33 > 0:42:35And put it on a nice plate.
0:42:35 > 0:42:37Rationing is far from over,
0:42:37 > 0:42:40but the Robshaws are preparing the same homecoming lunch
0:42:40 > 0:42:44as one served on 11th May in Melton, Leicestershire,
0:42:44 > 0:42:46to soldiers returning from war.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51Vegetable soup, followed by cold beef and mashed potato,
0:42:51 > 0:42:53trifle and cheese.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01- Hello.- Hello!- Come in. Very pleased to meet you.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04Dowie and Harry were boys during the war
0:43:04 > 0:43:07but 94-year-old John served in North Africa.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09I think, perhaps, we should have a little toast.
0:43:09 > 0:43:11- Here's to the end of war.- Oh, yes.
0:43:11 > 0:43:14- Cheers, everybody.- ALL: Cheers.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16ALL: Cheers.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19- This is vegetable soup. - Thank you very much.
0:43:20 > 0:43:24- You're a very good cook, if I may say so.- You haven't tasted it yet!
0:43:24 > 0:43:26THEY LAUGH
0:43:26 > 0:43:30When you were in the army, was food rationed for soldiers
0:43:30 > 0:43:33or did you actually get quite good meals in the army?
0:43:33 > 0:43:39Well, the army was a bit different because probably we were better off.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42You did get a lot to eat but enough to fight,
0:43:42 > 0:43:44if you know what I mean. It kept you fit.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47Was there anything you were really looking forward to?
0:43:47 > 0:43:49Like, when the war was over, you thought, "I can eat...?"
0:43:49 > 0:43:53- Well, being alive.- OK. - LAUGHTER
0:43:53 > 0:43:59- Really, you know, you used to...hope you got through it.- Yeah.
0:43:59 > 0:44:03- The heroes are down there. - Right.- Have no fear.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05In '45, when the war ended,
0:44:05 > 0:44:08was it a real mood of celebration, jubilation?
0:44:08 > 0:44:11- Was everybody going wild? - Oh, yeah.- What was that like?
0:44:11 > 0:44:15It was euphoric because everybody dashed out
0:44:15 > 0:44:20and embracing in the streets, you know, and all this.
0:44:20 > 0:44:24Then at night time, they had parties in the streets and, of course,
0:44:24 > 0:44:29pianos came out and were playing and bonfires and, of course,
0:44:29 > 0:44:34us kids used to get there with our spuds and put them in the fire
0:44:34 > 0:44:38while mums and dads were dancing and boozing and all round the piano.
0:44:38 > 0:44:42But it was a real good knees-up they used to have. It was fantastic.
0:44:42 > 0:44:46CROWD: # Roll out the barrel
0:44:46 > 0:44:48# We've got the blues on the run... #
0:44:48 > 0:44:52There was widespread euphoria at the end of the war,
0:44:52 > 0:44:54but Britain had been changed forever.
0:44:54 > 0:44:583% of the world's population had been killed
0:44:58 > 0:44:59and many survivors had witnessed
0:44:59 > 0:45:02some of the worst atrocities in history.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04But peace brought real hope for the future.
0:45:04 > 0:45:09CROWD SING
0:45:12 > 0:45:15- Good health, all.- Cheers.
0:45:15 > 0:45:17I can't help you with the washing up
0:45:17 > 0:45:19because I can't take my scarlet jacket off.
0:45:19 > 0:45:23- No, no.- That's my excuse. - THEY LAUGH
0:45:23 > 0:45:26MUSIC: Oh! What It Seemed To Be by Frankie Carle
0:45:36 > 0:45:37It's so warm!
0:45:37 > 0:45:39THEY LAUGH
0:45:41 > 0:45:42The war might have been over
0:45:42 > 0:45:45but rationing would continue for eight more years.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51Despite that, with merchant ships now safe from attack,
0:45:51 > 0:45:53some goods that had been absent for the duration
0:45:53 > 0:45:54were finally reappearing.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57- ROCHELLE GASPS - Oh!
0:45:57 > 0:45:59- Is it a banana?- Oh, look!
0:45:59 > 0:46:01THEY LAUGH
0:46:01 > 0:46:05Do you know what it is? Remember? Hello, hello.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07THEY LAUGH
0:46:09 > 0:46:14In 1946, the Ministry of Food purchased 46,000 tonnes of bananas
0:46:14 > 0:46:17from the Canary Islands, 40% of its crop.
0:46:17 > 0:46:21They declared 7th January National Banana Day,
0:46:21 > 0:46:24allocating a ration of one to every child.
0:46:24 > 0:46:28- Would you like one?- Yes, please. - Splendid.
0:46:28 > 0:46:29Isn't it lovely?
0:46:31 > 0:46:34- Here's your gift.- He gets the banana.- Yay, thanks, Mum.
0:46:34 > 0:46:38"Family, the war is over and it's time for a well-deserved break,
0:46:38 > 0:46:39"but no sunny Spain for you.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42"You are off on a holiday to the local park."
0:46:45 > 0:46:48A government campaign encouraged people to make the best
0:46:48 > 0:46:51in what were still austere times and holiday at home.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56The Ministry of Food even suggested a menu for the week,
0:46:56 > 0:46:58which included Cornish pasties,
0:46:58 > 0:47:01pilchard and cabbage sandwiches and mock hamburgers.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04- OIL SPITS - It's spitting. Eurgh!
0:47:04 > 0:47:06- MIRANDA:- They look really nice.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09In 1946, with meat still on ration,
0:47:09 > 0:47:12"mock" would have meant tinned whale meat
0:47:12 > 0:47:15or snook, a cheap mackerel-like fish from South Africa.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17But Ros is using corned beef instead.
0:47:17 > 0:47:21The holiday at home is a day out of the house
0:47:21 > 0:47:23with sort of no fear of bombs falling,
0:47:23 > 0:47:26starting to sort of reclaim your land.
0:47:26 > 0:47:30MUSIC: London Calling by Queen's Hall Light Orchestra
0:47:33 > 0:47:35Do you need a hand with that?
0:47:36 > 0:47:39THEY LAUGH
0:47:39 > 0:47:41Whoops!
0:47:41 > 0:47:43- Happy?- Yeah.
0:47:43 > 0:47:45THEY LAUGH
0:47:46 > 0:47:50The Robshaws have invited friends to join them on their holiday at home.
0:47:50 > 0:47:52Who wants to try one of these little burgers?
0:47:56 > 0:47:58- These are good burgers.- Thank you.
0:47:58 > 0:48:01Local councils promoted neighbourhood parks
0:48:01 > 0:48:02by putting on entertainments,
0:48:02 > 0:48:06like donkey rides, Punch and Judy and skittles.
0:48:07 > 0:48:08THEY CHEER
0:48:08 > 0:48:10You must have felt quite a sense of liberation.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14Throughout the war years, quite often it was dangerous to go outside
0:48:14 > 0:48:16and people would sort of huddle together
0:48:16 > 0:48:19- and now it's like, "This is all ours again."- Yes!
0:48:19 > 0:48:22I think it must have felt like a real return to normality
0:48:22 > 0:48:25and the possibility of having fun is back with us again.
0:48:26 > 0:48:28Yeah, well done!
0:48:30 > 0:48:34MUSIC: Near You by Francis Craig
0:48:34 > 0:48:36Two years after the war,
0:48:36 > 0:48:39government control of food supplies was more crucial than ever.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41A harsh winter, followed by a poor wheat harvest
0:48:41 > 0:48:44meant bread went on ration for the first time.
0:48:44 > 0:48:48There was growing discontent. The British League of Housewives
0:48:48 > 0:48:50organised a protest in Trafalgar Square.
0:48:52 > 0:48:53Serving as an antidote to austerity,
0:48:53 > 0:48:56better news was the announcement of the royal wedding
0:48:56 > 0:48:59of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02Every single page of it is about the royal wedding
0:49:02 > 0:49:04and, you know, it's very clear
0:49:04 > 0:49:08that this was an event that was popular with the masses.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11- Look at those crowds. - What do you think this is?
0:49:11 > 0:49:15The royal wedding cake was nine feet tall, but for most newlyweds,
0:49:15 > 0:49:18cakes had to be made with what you could get on rations.
0:49:18 > 0:49:20So, if you weigh the flour and then I'll sieve it.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25Miranda and Ros are making a fruit cake, using boiled sugar,
0:49:25 > 0:49:29butter and water in place of eggs.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31With icing sugar in short supply,
0:49:31 > 0:49:34people made paper decorations instead.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37Even though we're making a cake, which is quite frivolous,
0:49:37 > 0:49:40indulgent food, we still really haven't got quite enough
0:49:40 > 0:49:44to finish it off and things aren't really back to normal.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49- Look at this.- Oh, wow.- Oh, wow! - Tea and cake.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52- Are they flowers?- Yeah. - FRED:- Are they edible?
0:49:52 > 0:49:55- ROS AND MIRANDA:- No. - Sit down, sit down.
0:49:55 > 0:50:00The Princess had all the real icing for the whole nation, didn't she?
0:50:00 > 0:50:02I think this kind of tea and this kind of cake,
0:50:02 > 0:50:05at this time of day, is a very British thing.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19In 1948, the country was still rebuilding
0:50:19 > 0:50:22but, thanks to the understanding of nutrition that informed rationing,
0:50:22 > 0:50:25people were healthier than they'd ever been.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30GP Dr Rangan Chatterjee is going to tell the Robshaws
0:50:30 > 0:50:32how the government set about securing
0:50:32 > 0:50:34the welfare of future generations.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38Something good did happen in the 1940s,
0:50:38 > 0:50:40which is the formation of the National Health Service.
0:50:40 > 0:50:43And what happened is that, during the war, actually,
0:50:43 > 0:50:47a minister, William Beveridge, was basically charged
0:50:47 > 0:50:51with trying to work out what did the British people want after the war.
0:50:51 > 0:50:55And he identified five areas, what he called five giants,
0:50:55 > 0:50:56that needed to be addressed.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00Things like poverty, squalor, ignorance, idleness.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04But the fifth one was disease and disease was actually,
0:51:04 > 0:51:09basically, what the NHS was set up to tackle that.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12During the war, the government had used
0:51:12 > 0:51:14dietary supplements to boost the nation's health.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17Now these would form part of the NHS plan
0:51:17 > 0:51:20to not just treat disease but also to prevent it.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24- FILM FOOTAGE:- 'Unless, of course, you want a rickety child,
0:51:24 > 0:51:27'a bendy, knock-kneed, large-headed, pale and rickety article,
0:51:27 > 0:51:30'cod liver oil prevents all this.'
0:51:32 > 0:51:34I think it was routine amongst families
0:51:34 > 0:51:36to have a spoonful of cod liver oil every day.
0:51:36 > 0:51:39We should set an example, shouldn't we?
0:51:39 > 0:51:42I think YOU can set the example.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44THEY LAUGH
0:51:47 > 0:51:50- Oh, my Lord! - THEY LAUGH
0:51:50 > 0:51:54BRENDON CHOKES AND COUGHS
0:51:54 > 0:51:56That is disgusting!
0:51:56 > 0:51:58- Is it really that bad? - Really that bad!
0:51:58 > 0:52:01Before the war, despite some free provision,
0:52:01 > 0:52:04many Britons had to pay for their medical treatment.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07The new NHS promised comprehensive healthcare
0:52:07 > 0:52:09entirely free of charge for everyone.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12- FILM FOOTAGE:- 'This leaflet is coming through your letterbox
0:52:12 > 0:52:16'one day soon, or maybe you have already had your copy.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18'Read it carefully.'
0:52:18 > 0:52:21By the time it was launched in July, 1948,
0:52:21 > 0:52:2394% of the population had signed up.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28It was 100% paid for by taxation -
0:52:28 > 0:52:31doctors, hospitals, dentists,
0:52:31 > 0:52:34ambulances, midwives, even opticians.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37These were all suddenly free of charge.
0:52:37 > 0:52:39It's absolutely amazing, isn't it?
0:52:39 > 0:52:42To receive this, it's like a sort of prize, almost.
0:52:42 > 0:52:44Now that we've won the war, we'll give you this.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51To celebrate the formation of the NHS,
0:52:51 > 0:52:55Rochelle's cooking up a hospital meal from 1948.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59Whilst hospital food had to adhere to rationing,
0:52:59 > 0:53:02sometimes supplemented by a vegetable patch in the grounds,
0:53:02 > 0:53:04it was a model of nutritional balance -
0:53:04 > 0:53:08like this meal of cod, mash potato and green vegetables.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11- Ne-na-ne-na.- What have we got? - THEY LAUGH
0:53:11 > 0:53:13Ooh, actually, this looks rather good.
0:53:13 > 0:53:16This is a 1948 hospital meal.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19- Mm, mm.- Mm.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22That's nice.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26- If you got food like this in an NHS hospital in the 1940s...- Yeah.
0:53:26 > 0:53:28..you'd be queuing up to go in, wouldn't you?
0:53:28 > 0:53:31Yeah, I wonder if, after a major war,
0:53:31 > 0:53:34there are always social improvements.
0:53:34 > 0:53:40- It does kind of cause an upheaval of the social order, doesn't it?- Yes.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42And it kind of makes sense that, once the dust has settled,
0:53:42 > 0:53:44it reassembles in a different way.
0:53:44 > 0:53:47Yeah, that's very well put. What a great metaphor.
0:53:47 > 0:53:50- ROS:- I bet you stole that out of a textbook or something.
0:53:50 > 0:53:51- MIRANDA:- No.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55MUSIC: Destiny by The George Melachrino Orchestra
0:53:56 > 0:53:59I did think it was really interesting
0:53:59 > 0:54:01to think about the legacy of rationing
0:54:01 > 0:54:06and how important it really became at the end of the war
0:54:06 > 0:54:13to establish a welfare system in which everybody could benefit.
0:54:16 > 0:54:18MUSIC: All My Love by Patti Page
0:54:18 > 0:54:22- It's 1949.- ALL:- Yay!
0:54:26 > 0:54:30So, this is our final 1940s' breakfast. How do you feel about it?
0:54:30 > 0:54:32I think I'm ready to go back to my contemporary life.
0:54:34 > 0:54:36To see the decade off in style,
0:54:36 > 0:54:40the Robshaws are pooling rations with their friends and neighbours
0:54:40 > 0:54:43and having a tea party at the local church hall.
0:54:43 > 0:54:47# Salagadoola mechicka boola Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
0:54:47 > 0:54:50# Put 'em together and what have you got?
0:54:50 > 0:54:53- # Bibbidi-bobbidi - Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo... #
0:54:53 > 0:54:55Polly and I are joining the party to find out
0:54:55 > 0:55:00how the Robshaws and Debbie fared in the 1940s.
0:55:00 > 0:55:02# Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo... #
0:55:02 > 0:55:06How did it feel to be a young woman in the 1940s?
0:55:06 > 0:55:09It was just nice to sort of feel equal with Ros and Miranda,
0:55:09 > 0:55:10to get to dance with them.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13And it was nice to sort of feel on par with them.
0:55:15 > 0:55:16You guys have obviously survived the war,
0:55:16 > 0:55:19so the 1940s was a success, as a decade.
0:55:19 > 0:55:21How did it feel when the war was over,
0:55:21 > 0:55:22that there was still rationing?
0:55:22 > 0:55:24Initially, you would have felt so relieved
0:55:24 > 0:55:27that you weren't being sort of bombed out of your home,
0:55:27 > 0:55:30but then for that to go on and on and on and on,
0:55:30 > 0:55:33I think they must have been able to sort of carry on
0:55:33 > 0:55:35because they hoped the future would be better.
0:55:36 > 0:55:39You've lived through these momentous global events
0:55:39 > 0:55:41but in a very, sort of, domestic setting.
0:55:41 > 0:55:43What's that told you about how people
0:55:43 > 0:55:46lived their lives through those times?
0:55:46 > 0:55:47If the government goes to war,
0:55:47 > 0:55:50it has an impact on every single person.
0:55:50 > 0:55:54And it was fascinating to see how great political events translate
0:55:54 > 0:55:57into directly impacting somebody's life.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01So, after the war, the Attlee government came in
0:56:01 > 0:56:04and all sorts of changes were made - the health service, welfare state.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07Do you have a sense of an upbeat, optimistic finish?
0:56:07 > 0:56:09I think the last years of the 1940s,
0:56:09 > 0:56:14one did feel that society was actually moving in a good direction.
0:56:14 > 0:56:17I think that life became better for more people.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20I think that that is progress.
0:56:22 > 0:56:25The number is...53!
0:56:25 > 0:56:29CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:56:33 > 0:56:36The Robshaws have lived through an epic half century
0:56:36 > 0:56:39of British history, punctuated by two world wars.
0:56:39 > 0:56:42They've gone from a world of social divisions,
0:56:42 > 0:56:45strict etiquette and dining tables groaning with food,
0:56:45 > 0:56:49to rationing, raised hemlines and a sense that anything is possible.
0:56:51 > 0:56:52And it's food, more than anything,
0:56:52 > 0:56:56that reflects the changes that have shaped modern family life.
0:56:56 > 0:57:00It's been really nice living through the decades with my family.
0:57:00 > 0:57:03Our five separate lives, for one summer,
0:57:03 > 0:57:05have kind of combined into one,
0:57:05 > 0:57:08and I suppose the place that we have come together
0:57:08 > 0:57:10has been the diner table.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15It's incredible the changes that have occurred in just 50 years
0:57:15 > 0:57:17and I think food is a really good indicator
0:57:17 > 0:57:19of what's going on in society.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23Affluence followed by austerity, peace followed by war -
0:57:23 > 0:57:26it's an absolute rollercoaster, those five decades.
0:57:26 > 0:57:29But the thing that pulls us through, I think, is the rhythms of life.
0:57:29 > 0:57:31You just keep going.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34You get up, you put food on the table and, you know, you carry on.
0:57:35 > 0:57:38Living in the history adds a new depth
0:57:38 > 0:57:41but it's just given me a new light on that I take so much for granted.
0:57:41 > 0:57:45I don't really realise that what I have is so good.
0:57:47 > 0:57:50Since we're eating off old plates and old cups and saucers,
0:57:50 > 0:57:53you kind of hope that those feelings
0:57:53 > 0:57:55that are in all those plates and cups
0:57:55 > 0:57:57somehow get into you somehow,
0:57:57 > 0:58:01so that you understand history as something that has been lived
0:58:01 > 0:58:03and it's people that make history.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12- Next time...- That is really nice!
0:58:12 > 0:58:14..the Robshaws look back on their time travel...
0:58:14 > 0:58:17Oh, my... Wow!
0:58:17 > 0:58:20..and discover the roots of our modern mealtimes.
0:58:20 > 0:58:22Sitting round the table and eating together -
0:58:22 > 0:58:25that is a deeply significant thing to do.
0:58:25 > 0:58:28# Forget your troubles Come on get happy
0:58:28 > 0:58:30# You better chase all your cares away
0:58:30 > 0:58:33# Shout hallelujah Come on get happy
0:58:33 > 0:58:36# Get ready for the judgment day
0:58:36 > 0:58:39# Shout hallelujah Come on get happy
0:58:39 > 0:58:41# Get ready
0:58:42 > 0:58:44# Get ready
0:58:45 > 0:58:47# Get ready
0:58:47 > 0:58:53- # For the judgment day- Hallelujah Hallelujah, hallelujah. #