When I was a child Starsky & Hutch and the Dukes of Hazard ruled Saturday night television. Money was tight.
The miners went on strike; there were electricity black outs and short working weeks due to power shortages. It seems hard to believe but bread became rationed by the shops when the bakers all over the country refused to bake. The seventies were full of turmoil and industrial action.
Times were hard, holidays tended to be the camping kind and people made their money go further by making home made beer and wine. Many houses had the aroma of these concocted recipes and the popping sound of the wine fermenting in demi-johns on top of cupboards was heard in many homes.
Our family being an arty variety not only brought their wares to every family gathering but then also became very competitive over the labels describing the contents of the bottle within.
Nan, my uncle and father would argue whose was the best. If matters could not be agreed, it was left to settle the differences after tea which was always a traditional affair of tinned salmon and cucumber sandwiches or tinned ham and tomato. Served with salad or celery sticks on the side and followed by home made cakes containing fruit and a traditional trifle. Thereafter we would gather in the lounge around the coffee table to play a family card game of Cheat or Cribbage. It always seemed my father or uncle won alternately and the laughter was always infectious when we played.
Later we would gather round the piano, my grandmother would play, whilst my Uncle, Nan and I would sing some hymn Grandad had chosen. His baritone added to the throng but my Father never wanted to join in. Yet it was joyous for the rest of us to bond together this way and united our voices being a family where singing was prominent.
It might only be small memories but they are good ones and my Uncle and I laughed as we remembered them today. It's a taste of yesterday and how life use to be.
To this day, Sunday dinner seems incomplete without a glass of wine to toast to the memories and the ones still yet to make.
Cheers.
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Many thanks, Kimberley S B Lieb
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Just an Ordinary Girl
General FictionWattNaNo Drama Pick Winner 2018. This book has slices of my life, a memoir, covering my difficult childhood coping with my mother's severe mental heath issues and my journey today. This is a collection of short stories that can be independently re...
