Passing Through

The lady (or gentleman) who posted as Unknown, I hope you don't mind me quoting you, I think it is a good example of what happened.

My sister and I had blouses made of parachute silk and were the envy of our friends.....my mother would never tell us where the material came from but it made us so happy. Clothing coupons were a nightmare as they had to cover knitting wool and clothing and we used to let my brother have our sugar ration in exchange for coupons to buy material for dresses. Our dressmaker used to make duffle coats from army blankets and.............yes..........we did wear them

I remember a Punch cartoon where two ladies of the house were magnificently ignoring the German paratrooper and gleefully discussing what they could do with the silk from the parachute!  People recount stories about drawing lines on the back of your leg with gravy browning to make it look like stockings, but there were all sorts of other rules that affected those trying to keep the family clothed decently.  Fabric for sewing and knitting wool were both rationed.  Boys were forced to wear shorts until they were twelve (iirc as I can't find the article, but I've read it in a few places).  Dressmakers were encouraged to make clothes with the minimum of excess material - no flounces or gathers!  I found this...

Rationing was severe and where economies in designs could be made they were. In 1942 under the Civilian Clothing Order the British government introduced sumptuary laws designed to give weight to the Utility scheme.  The laws made it illegal and unpatriotic to spend time embellishing clothing for sale, and forbade manufacturers using the CC41 label shown in the header from using fancy trimmings, unnecessary buttons, extra stitching or tucks or pleats or pockets more than was essential to function.

From Fashion-era.com, which looks immensely interesting

And then there were the endless worries over getting soap, toothpaste (you were encouraged to bring the empty tube with you when you bought it), paper, and even brooms.  In fact, it was so hard to get hold of a long handled broom that doctors sometimes prescribed them for their patients!  And I say again, Britain had it lucky!

In the same spirit, Tesco have a double points weekend.  All purchases between today (Friday 15th July to Monday 18th July 2016 attract double points.  I shall consider my options.  The details are here.

I managed to get into the town centre today.  I am feeling very proud, though I didn't do much with it apart from wander on the market a little (bear got cherries).

I caught the sun while watching bear at sports day, even though it wasn't particularly fierce.  My neckline now looks like coconut ice, according to DH.  I can't argue.  I'm not taking a picture of my chest for the blog, so here's some coconut ice.  I promise you, the likeness is extraordinary and a good deal more marked.

Image from bbcgoodfood.com which I am going to have to visit more regularly