The Warm & Toasty Newsletter

Issue 2 July 2020


A Warm & Toasty Welcome
Welcome to the Warm and Toasty
Newsletter, this publication is a way of
keeping connected with our members
during these periods of isolation brought
about by the Covid-19 outbreak and col-
lecting memories, jokes, quizzes, etc. to
keep people uplifted and entertained dur-
ing this difficult time.
Does anyone fancy sharing stories,
memories, jokes, old photos, recipes or
anything else you'd like to see in the
newsletter?
Please contact Johnno via email at
thewarmandtoastyclub@gmail.com
as we'd love to hear from you.
How are you getting on? If any of our
guests are feeling lonely and isolated or
could just do with talking to someone, our
producer Johnno is available on the
phone most days after Midday on
07594154709, you could also let us know
your number and we can call you.
We have had great news - We have
been successful in gaining funding from
The National Lottery Community Fund for
our response to Covid-19 for the next 6
months, until the 2nd week of December
and will be producing this newsletter
(alongside our other work) so it's a mas-
sive thanks to The National Lottery
(including the amazing Jess Leonard)
and all the lottery players.
And did you know that we now have an
Online Memory Afternoon every Friday at
1pm - streaming live on our Facebook
page www.facebook.com/
thewarmandtoastyclub do join us if you
can.
2
The Warm and Toasty Club has been
running for 6 years now, we are a unique
life-affirming not for profit community
group working in music, arts, entertain-
ment and history with people over 60.
We are based in Colchester, Essex and
have been running our Memory After-
noons for the past 6 years.
We welcome donations to help pay for
the additional cost of our events and for
special days out for our groups in our
post-quarantine future at
www.thewarmandtoastyclub.weebly.com/
donate.html
Special thanks for the contributors to this
newsletter - Johnno, Deborah, Dave,
Don, Mary and Dawn.
Regards from The Warm and Toasty
Club team - Johnno, Jeanette, Tom, and
Dave.
Thank You to Steve Brady for his typesetting,
graphic design and support
The Warm and Toasty Club are
proud to be funded by
The National Lottery Community Fund
Thank You

RATIONING MEMORIES
During this lockdown, we have
seen the panic-buying of toilet
rolls, a shortage of flour and
yeast, supermarkets limiting the
amount of milk per customer, the
price of hand sanitizer soaring,
and queuing to get into shops.
I am sure it has reminded some
of you of the food rationing dur-
ing World War Two, which car-
ried on into the 1950s, lasting
fourteen years overall.
Initially, in 1939, petrol was ra-
tioned. Then in January 1940,
the British government set up the
Ministry of Food and introduced
food rationing to ensure that
there were fair shares for all at a
time of national shortage and to
stop the practice of hoarding.
Adults and children each had
their own ration book containing
coupons that were crossed-off or
ripped out, which enabled you to
buy foodstuffs at a registered
shop or shops of your choice –
usually the local grocer’s and
butcher’s shop.
*Information from the
Imperial War Museum website
Each weekly ration entitlement
was as follows:
 4oz bacon and ham
 Other meat to the value of 1
shilling and 2d, e.g. two
chops
 2oz butter, 4oz margarine,
4oz cooking fat
 2oz cheese
 3 pints milk
 8oz sugar
 2oz tea
 1 egg (and dried egg)
 1lb of jam or marmalade
every two months
 12oz sweets every four
weeks
Most adults had pale brown ra-
tion books. Pregnant women,
breast-feeding mothers and chil-
dren under five years old used
green books because they were
allowed a daily pint of milk,
double the amount of eggs and
first choice of fruit. Children
aged between five and sixteen
used blue ration books, which
meant they could have half a pint
of milk each day.
Other items such as tinned
goods, dried fruit, cereal and bis-
cuits were rationed using a point
system. The number of points
allocated per person changed
according to the availability or
demand. Likewise, clothes were
rationed in 1941, and soap in
1942. Fruit and vegetables were
never rationed, although they
were often in short supply.
Households were encouraged to
grow fruit and vegetables in their
gardens and allotments, and
many public parks and cricket
pitches were requisitioned in the
Dig for Victory. Interestingly,
bread was never rationed during
3
the war, but was put on ration on
the 4 th July 1946.
The Ministry of Food issued
booklets of ideas to help house-
wives make meals more interest-
ing, encouraging people to make
the most of their rations without
wasting food. Ideas included
mock crab (a mixture of dried
egg, cheese and vinegar), potato
floddies (fried grated potatoes),
Kensington rarebit (mashed po-
tatoes, cheese and cabbage on
toast), potato Jane (layers of po-
tato, onion, breadcrumbs, cheese
and milk baked in the oven), and
Lord Woolton pie (available
vegetables in a potato pastry).
It was possible to get rationed
items without coupons, usually
at greatly inflated prices, on the
Black Market. Shopkeepers
sometimes kept special supplies
“behind the counter”, and
“spivs” traded in goods obtained
by dubious means. In the early
1950s, most commodities came
off ration, meat being the last to
be de-rationed in 1954.
Do you have memories
of rationing?
 The Hairy Bikers’ Rhubarb and Ginger Crumble4
I’ve tried many crumbles, but this is my favourite recipe. If you can’t get rhubarb, you
can substitute other fruits. Nice combinations include apple and cinnamon, apple and
blackberry, or pear and ginger with chocolate chips! Nice served hot with custard, or
cold with cream or natural yoghurt.

Filling:
750g (1lb 10oz) fresh rhubarb – trimmed,
washed and cut into small lengths
2 balls stem ginger – drained and cut into
thin slivers
5 tbsp golden caster sugar
1 tbsp cornflour

Crumble topping:
175g (6oz) plain flour
125g (4.5oz) demerara or other brown sugar
50g (2oz) porridge oats
125g (4.5oz) cold butter, cut into cubes

1. Preheat the oven to 220˚c, Gas 7. Mix the rhubarb, ginger, sugar and cornflour
into a large, 4cm-deep oven-proof dish (The cornflour soaks up the juice so the crum-
ble isn’t soggy).

2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar and oats. Add the butter and rub with your
fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

3. Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the rhubarb filling, and bake for 30 min-
utes, or until the topping is golden and the filling is just beginning to bubble up from
underneath the crust.

Advertising Slogans
Can you name the products?
Answers on the back page (no peeking)

1. The mild cigar 6. How do you eat yours?

2. Any time, any place, anywhere
3. It does exactly what it says on the
tin
4. I liked it so much I bought the
company
5. A drink’s too wet without one
7. See the face you love light up
8. When a man you’ve never met be-
fore suddenly gives you flowers
9. Fit the best
10.Let your fingers do the walking
 5
Poem Of The Month
by Natalie Nattering

"All you need is love" Now the sunset has faded,

The Beatles sing,
is your love as durable as a golden
ring?
Is it soft, bright and malleable,
but never corrodes,
strong as Rapunzel's hair,
bearing her lover's load?
If he drops to one knee and proposes,
with a dozen red roses,
does your attraction wilt
as he gains weight,
and begins to snore when he dozes?
Once the photogenic glamour has
gone,
and there's bills to pay, plus rent
will you find yourself disenchanted,
early passion spent?
When the baby won't stop crying,
and you're both shattered,
will you find that it's patience,
not diamonds,
that really matters?
and youth's beauty jaded,
will it be love or devotion that binds you
together,
through life's stormy weather?
In sickness and in health,
till death you do part,
it's not honeymoon and romance
that test the calibre of your heart.
Is love all you'll be needing,
when your spouse wants spoon-
feeding,
when you're wiping dribble off their
chin,
will it still be love that you're in?
Perhaps all you need is love:
this invisible, intangible thing,
you cannot see it,
but you can feel it:
symbolised by a wedding ring.

Natalie Nattering works as a de-

signer and, despite being rather
talkative, often finds she has
enough words left over to write
poems.

© Copyright NatalieNattering 2020

www.natalienattering.com
Facebook: Natalie Nattering Poetry
 6
Dave's Top Ten Songs
1. Elvis Presley - Can't Help Falling In Love
That's the first song I ever sung to my wife when we
really started going to karaoke and I've actually sung
that song in competitions and I can sing it without the
words in front of me or the tune, I can sing it straight off
my head

2. Roy Orbison - Only The Lonely

It's one of the songs that I can sing without having to
worry about the music or the words

3. Billy Ray Cyrus - Achy Breaky Heart

Achy Breaky Heart is a song that I sing whenever I go out to do a karaoke on
somebody else's karaoke, I always put that one on first because it puts me in the
mood for doing karaoke. So If I didn't put that on, none of the following songs
would be right

4. The Platters - Only You

It's a song that I've only sung a few times (on the karaoke) and I've loved every
minute of it and I'd loved to do it again but my daughter is trying to get me a CD
for it

5. Conway Twitty - It's Only Make Believe

One of the hardest songs to sing, it really shatters me singing that one

6. Buddy Holly - Crying In the Rain

It was one of the very first Buddy Holly songs I sang when I was in a band

7. Elvis Presley - Blue Christmas

It's one of the best Christmas songs I've ever heard, and it's very very short and
very very nice

8. Andy Williams - Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You

That is a gorgeous song and I love singing it, I sometimes get it wrong but I don't
care because it's such a beautiful beautiful song

9. Frank Sinatra - My Way

Because he made that song for me, I'm sure he did because it was my life story,
it's all about me

10. Paul Anka - Put Your Head On My Shoulder

Because my wife used to sing that song and she would not let me sing it, so now I
sing it
 A Joke from Mary: 7
I visited our local churchyard and asked the church war-
den where I might find the grave of the inventor of the
postage stamp. He said that I would find it in the top
right-hand corner!
Next time I went to the churchyard I asked the church
warden where I might find the grave of the man who in-
vented the crossword: “Oh, that’s five across and four
down.”
Who said…?
Can you identify the people or characters associated with these catchphrases:

1. That’s another nice mess you’ve gotten 4. Titter ye not

me into 5. You dirty old man!
2. Listen very carefully, I will say zees only 6. Silly old moo
once 7. What do you think of the show so far?
3. No, no, no, no… Yes 8. Hello playmates! Ay thang you

Answers on the back page (no peeking)

Learn a Poem by Heart

When was the last time you learnt something by heart? Your times tables? Road markings
for your driving test? A poem at school? Chances are you can still remember it.

The practice of learning by rote, however, fell out of favour in the 1950s, but it has been
proved that poetry is officially good for every age. Reading poetry provides space for self-
reflection and enhances mental wellbeing. Learning poetry by heart has been proved to
boost brain power, increase information retention and beat cognitive decline, as well as
being an impressive party piece for a Warm and Toasty afternoon!

Warm & Toasty Links & Friends
Website www.thewarmandtoastyclub.weebly.com/
Facebook www.facebook.com/thewarmandtoastyclub
Twitter www.twitter.com/WarmToastyClub
Friends and Supporters
National Lottery Community Fund
Colchester Arts Centre
Colchester Borough Homes
Shrub End Social Centre
Colchester Recalled Oral History Group
Fresh On The Net Music Blog
Essex Sound and Video Archive
FaNs
Age Concern Colchester
Giles Brandreth, writer, broadcaster and
former MP, has challenged us all the learn
a poem during lockdown. It is important
not just to learn it by heart but with heart,
so choose something uplifting! Set about
learning 1-2 lines a day, write them on
sticky notes and place them around your
home, recite your lines out loud as it helps
to hear the words as well as see them.
Make it part of your daily routine, maybe
every time you wash your hands!
Have you got any favourite poems that
you would recommend, or are there any
budding poets out there? Do let us know!

Members Of The Month
Where did you grow up
and what brought you to
Colchester?
Mary: I grew up in Walsall in
the Midlands and moved to
Great Yarmouth when at
nineteen I married my pen-
friend Don. To start off with,
we couldn’t understand each
other – me with my Brummie
accent and him with his
broad Norfolk accent.
Don: I advertised for a pen-
friend in The Picturegoer
and Mary answered. We
moved to Essex two years
ago to live near our young-
est daughter.
The best job you’ve had?
Don: I worked initially with
the gas board, then at Birds
Eye Foods. But my most in-
teresting job was when I
worked as curator at the
Maritime Museum on Yar-
mouth seafront. I learnt a lot
about local history and en-
joyed setting up exhibitions,
for example on wartime Yar-
mouth.
Mary: I enjoyed working as
an occupational therapist
helper at a hospital for the
elderly. There were lots of
laughs. I remember us hav-
ing wheelchair races around
the grounds.
Your proudest achieve-
ment or moment?
Don: Having grown up dur-
ing the war, I have had a
lifelong interest in the Battle
of Britain. In the 1960s I
started collecting the signa-
tures of RAF pilots involved
and enjoyed getting to know
many of them. I was very
Don and Mary
proud and honoured when I
was invited to their annual
reunions at Bentley Priory
and Westminster Abbey. I
enjoyed listening to all their
tales.
Mary: I left school at fifteen
and went to Pitman’s Com-
mercial College, where I was
awarded a bronze medal for
my English writing by the
Royal Society of Arts. I went
to the presentation at the
Royal Albert Hall in London.
In the interval, me and my
friends were running around
backstage and met Geraldo,
the famous orchestra leader,
when we knocked on his
dressing room door.
Your funniest moment?
Mary: We both sang in vari-
ous choirs over the years
and one year it was decided
that we would stage The
Sound of Music. We found it
very funny to have a chance
to “tread the boards” in full
costume. I was a nun and
Don was the Archbishop!
Your favourite song?
Mary: Our song was
‘Eternally’, written by Charlie
Chaplin in 1952 for the film
Limelight. I learnt to play it
on the piano. I also liked
‘Beautiful Dreamer’, which
was used as the song in the
film Mighty Joe Young to
8
calm the giant gorilla! Don
still sings that one now.
Don: I also like ‘Wind Be-
neath my Wings’, sang in
the film Beaches by Bette
Midler.
Your favourite place?
Don: I always liked visiting
America. My eldest daughter
lived there for several years,
and then I started going on
aircraft photography tours
with my friend Richard. I vis-
ited all fifty states, taking
Mary on holiday to the last
two: Hawaii and Alaska.
Mary: I have lovely memo-
ries of Lulworth Cove in Dor-
set. We took our four chil-
dren on holiday one year
and found it magical collect-
ing shells, with the beautiful
chalk cliffs all around.
What hobby have you en-
joyed?
Don: Everything aircraft. I
used to make aircraft mod-
els and paint oil paintings of
planes. I was in the Ob-
server Corps recognition
team and helped to run the
local air cadets. We even
lived on Plane Road.
Mary: I have tried lots of
hobbies over the years –
from yoga to cycling, callig-
raphy to dressmaking – but
during lockdown I have been
knitting socks and painting
Christmas cards.

MEMORIES SHARED
I was very close to my Mum and I went eve-
rywhere with her. My Mum was disabled and
I looked after my Mum with my Dad and I
remember when we got our first television. I
came home from school and I said to my
Mum - what's that? and she said oh we've
got a television today, so I said "We'll be
able to see pictures" and can remember the
old fashioned big box with a small screen
and I used to watch Andy Pandy, Watch with
Mother, Muffin the Mule and The Flowerpot
Men. I love cats and I used to dress my cat
up and go for a walk with her. Being an only
child I had an imaginary budgie on my shoul-
der that I used to talk to, I ended up being a
nurse when I grew up.— Morag
My favourite food was breast of lamb and that was
what we had on a Sunday. We used to have
chicken once a year and on Mondays we'd have
what was left over from the weekend, things like
bubble and squeak with the vegetables, it was
fantastic. You can't get breast of lamb now, it used
to be the cheapest meat going but it was the most
tasty, we used to crisp it up like pork crackling and
it was lovely, I don't like lamb anymore.
— David
It was towards the end of the war and we'd got an old
dug out in the garden in London and my sister was
bringing up 4 of us on her own. She had to go out to
work and she left me a box and a note inside said -
"sorry, today it's peas on toast with jam, money run-
ning out". I tried the peas on toast and they were nice
and to this day if I'm a bit short of things I think to my-
self - I'll have peas on toast with jamThat's what we
had to make do with as we didn't have enough
money. — Joan
9
We used to have bread
and butter pudding and
on Sunday's there was
a little old man called
Freddie The Shrimp
Man, he was probably
only about 4 foot and
he used to have a bar-
row at the bottom of
Scheregate steps with
shrimps, winkles and
whelks and about 10
years ago the local pa-
per did a feature on him. I come from a big family
and Mum used to make pig foot stew, dumplings
in it, it was lovely. When the sweet rations were
on it used to be my job to go down and get - for 7
of us - 2 ounces of sweets each. — Lil
I was 9 and my sister was 6 when the war
started so I remember living near the aero-
drome and seeing the bombers leaving at
tea time, my Dad used to count them going
out and count them coming back, 1 miss-
ing tonight or 2 missing he'd call out. The
thing we liked about the war is we had an
air raid shelter and living near an aero-
drome, with all the searchlights and the
carrying on, we thought it was fun to go
down the shelter when the siren went, we'd
run down there as they had a lady piano
player and an accordion and people used
to sing and it was such fun, really lovely it
was.— Violet

I lived out in the country in a little village called Ardleigh, and

we were brought up in the wilds and there were no buses after
a certain time. My mother never had no natural water and we
had an old coal fire and we loved Sundays, we had an old tin
bath and we'd get in one there after the other to have our baths
and then get into the pyjamas our Mum had made us. And our
favourite evening was when we had the toasting fork and we
used to toast bread and crumpets over the open fire and hav-
ing lovely food used to hype me and my sister up and we'd go
to bed but we would giggle, giggle, giggle and our father came
in and said - will you two be quiet. It was a wonderful memory
and I still wish I could have a toasting fork over the fire as it just
tasted different.— Chris
 10
Memory Afternoons Friends & Performers
 11
Memory Afternoons Friends & Performers
Keep In Touch With Friends 12
‘Who said…?’
answers:
Please send us your telephone number or
email address if you are trying to 1. Oliver Hardy
reach a friend from the club and we will 2. Michelle of the Resis-
do our best to link you up. tance, ‘Allo ‘Allo
3. Jim Trott, The Vicar of
Contact us Dibley
Telephone - 07594154709
Email - thewarmandtoastyclub@gmail.com 4. Frankie Howerd
Facebook - www.facebook.com/thewarmandtoastyclub 5. Harold Steptoe (Harry
H. Corbett), Steptoe &
Son
6. Alf Garnett (Warren
Mitchell), Till Death
Johnno's Words Of Wisdom Us Do Part
7. Eric Morecambe
8. Arthur Askey

Advertising Slogans
answers:
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10.The Yellow Pages