I Remember the Cheese of my Childhood

[John Small]

I remember the cheese of my childhood,
And the bread that we cut with a knife,
When the children helped with the housework,
And the men went to work not the wife.

The cheese never needed an ice chest,
And the bread was so crusty and hot,
The children were seldom unhappy
And the wife was content with her lot.

I remember the milk from the Billy,
With the yummy cream on the top,
Our dinner came hot from the oven,
And not from the fridge in the shop.

The kids were a lot more contented,
They didn't need money for kicks,
Just a game with our mates in the paddock,
And sometimes the Saturday flicks.

I remember the shop on the corner,
Where a pen'orth of lollies was sold
Do you think I'm a bit too nostalgic,
Or is it....I'm just getting old?

I remember when the loo was the dunny,
And the pan man came in the night,
It wasn't the least bit funny
Going out the back with no light.

The interesting items we perused,
From the newspapers cut into squares,
And hung on a peg in the outhouse,
It took little to keep us amused.

The clothes were boiled in the copper,
With plenty of rich foamy suds
But the ironing seemed never ending
As Mum pressed everyone's duds

I remember the slap on my backside,
And the taste of soap if I swore
Anorexia and diets weren't heard of
And we hadn't much choice what we wore.

Do you think that bruised our ego?
Or our initiative was destroyed
We ate what was put on the table
And I think life was better enjoyed.

[Ivan Cloherty]

But then again John, during the war there wasn't much difference between the cheese and the bar of Sunlight soap that were on ration both looked the same, you had to be very careful which one you sliced to put in your bread

[Louis the Amigo]

Hi shipmate, will those days come back?

[John Pruden]

my nan had a stove built in to the fire place she used to make her own bread every day the smell was something else and home made jams i would call on my way to school to see if she needed anything from the shop on the corner and after school i would get a large doorstep of a jam butty i have never tasted anything like it in 50 od years. nothing is natural anymore meat is force fed cheese no taste to it to milky no taste.jp

[Neil Morton]

Luckily we have an Italian bakery around the corner and I enjoy sitting there with a coffee watching the delicious bread ,pies, pizza and quiches come hot from the ovens. I still put beef dripping on my fresh bread and wash it down a glass of wine (please note NOT PLONK). I have been warned againsed both delights but at 74 who cares.

[happy daze john in oz]

Yes I can remember the cheese of yesteryear, my mum told me alot of it came from my socks.

[Tony Geeves]

We had an old York range in our fireplace and Nan used to make Ginger Bread Men, the aroma was something else, i'm slavering typing this! Also used to buy day old chicks and keep them in a box by the fire, before raising them for the table. Ah! happy days, regards T.G.

[Calvin Kent]

I went to the Ideal Home exhibition at the weekend, not that I wanted to but I let down my defences in a weak moment and agreed.

I have to admit that I had a good day out wandering round the various food stalls and enjoying some of the foods on offer. Some of the cheeses were the equal of anything I could remember and I must have done about fifty quid on supporting small farmers. Over to a carribean stall for a lunch of jerk chicken and all that was missing was the beach and the Red Stripe. Numerous stalls dishing out samples, albeit small, of booze and the whole day became relatively painfree.

As an aside, we drove into town and got two parking spaces for the day less than 100 yards fron Earlscourt for £20 the pair through Usemyspace, a service that matches people with homeowners and the like who have an empty parking space available.

Regards
Calvin