Being Mrs C

Needlecraft is sew last year?

I was quite intrigued to come across this post on the BBC news website earlier today. 

When I first saw the article I thought it was all old news. I've written on here before about how more and more people are trying to follow the wartime ethos of make do and mend. I've certainly seen the republished Government guides from the time and have heard about how much sales of sewing machines have increased. What I hadn't realised though is just how "hip" it seems to be becoming. It seems that Topshop of all places are regularly selling out of the Make Do and Mend reissue! I have to admit that it wasn't somewhere that I would have expected selling it at all.

It seems that Mary Jane Baxter is planning to travel the length of the UK to see how people are making do and mending in these credit crunch times and Newsnight is following her as she goes. I'm not normally someone who stays up late enough to watch Newsnight, but for this I may have to make an exception - or at least find it on the BBC iPlayer!

Make do and mend

I caught this story on the BBC news website yesterday about how John Lewis have updated the old Government make do and mend booklet to help people survive the credit crunch. 

I've always been a firm believer in thinking that there is so much we can learn from the generations that lived through the wars, but it almost seems a little late this update. I think that people are already starting to learn how to be frugal; how to stretch ingredients to make more than one meal, how to update those things at the back of the wardrobe rather than replacing them with something new. The Imperial War Museum has even already reissued the original 1940 Government booklet. 

The penultimate paragraph of the article reads as follows: 

When the recession is over no doubt these booklets, both the updated John Lewis version and the original version, will go back into the attic or head for the shelves of charity shops.

To me, that seems to be one of the saddest things. If we're going to really learn how to be frugal then books like this should either be the things that are kept for many years before being handed down to the next generation, or just completely unnecessary as the skills themselves are passed down. Deciding to consign the book to the attic after the current "crisis" is over really doesn't solve the long term problem. 

Housewife, or househusband's, choice

I spent Saturday night staying with my Mum which meant that Sunday morning I was able to indulge myself, by staying in my dressing gown and reading the Sunday paper with a cup of tea. I luxury that is impossible at home for the simple reason that we don't get the paper delivered.

One story stood out and had me puzzling for a while though. The Sunday Telegraph article entitled Don't call me a "housewife" - I'm a Chief Household Officer had me slightly enraged in parts.

It talks about how women who run homes are having to apply skills that they use in the workplace to do so. Apparently this is "news", although it beats me as to why this is the case. I would have thought that anyone running a home (male or female) would use the skills that they have available to them, and if they work then it's highly likely that some of these skills will come from the workplace. Common sense.

Secondly, what is wrong with the term housewife (or househusband)? Why the fuss to call it something different? Although, I note that only the title of the article seems to do so. I think that running a home is a pretty important role, and certainly one that takes skills and effort, but I think that the role is summer up in the housewife title, isn't it?

Over the weekend Mum and I were looking at a coy of my late Nan's book on household management. From what was written in the front cover we think she must have had it in 1935 and this wonderful book contains details on how to do pretty much everything. It covers how to mend things in the home, write correspondence, managing money, understanding modern electricity and arranging a funeral. All the kinds of things that so many of my generation haven't got a clue about. 

Many of those things are totally applicable today, but somehow it seems that they're "uncool" to learn about when people are at school and then once people start working often they don't have time to go back and learn these things. Sure, you can google for most things, but is that the best way to learn?

I feel a bit sad at times that for many of my generation the skill in running a house seems to have disappeared. I'm not saying that it must always be the woman who takes on this role, but I do strongly believe that someone must. The craft skills that went along with doing so have also greatly reduced. Back in my Nan's time all women knew how to sew as they had to repair what they had and also use sewing as a way of creating pretty things to make the home look nice. In the days of cheap clothes and linen this is no longer necessary, but does this mean that we're going to lose these skills? In the current economic situation, will it really be the case that everyone will be able to afford to buy everything they want? I'm not sure that it will. 

The article points out that when it comes to money management, often those living on very tight budgets are better than those with large disposable incomes. The logic behind this being that if you don't have much then you learn to make it go as far as possible, yet if you don't think about whether or not you can afford something you may well end up in trouble.

I've rambled a bit here, but I guess the question that keeps going round in my head is whether or not those running homes in the current time actually have the skills to do so if some of the money dries up? I'm not convinced that all do, and I feel that someone should be addressing this, but I can't work out who. I realise that I still have much to learn, but hope that I haven't left it too late.

Things to make us smile

Mr C drew my attention to this list on the BBC News website over dinner this evening. With all the news of doom and gloom that seems to be filling the pages in every newspaper I think it's true that many of us are becoming more anxious and stressed than we used to, or than is good for us. This list contains ten things that all of us should try to do to reduce our anxiety levels. 

When I set up this blog my plan (which I think I carry out) is to write about the things that make me smile. One thing that made me smile about this particular article (as well as the ten items themselves) is that most of them are simple things that we can do for free.

I found myself getting quite frustrated the other day when I read an article (and sorry but I cant remember where) which seemed to suggest that if we weren't heading straight off to spend on our local high street then we were doing a country a disservice by not helping us out of recession. This at least resets the balance a little bit.

I used to take part in a regular forum thread where everyone had to list five things that had made them happy that day. It's amazing how, even after what has seemed like a bad day, you can normally still find five things that have made you smile. When you spend a few minutes looking for them life can actually contain some wonderful moments.

Behind the scenes...

... in the charity shop.

For anyone like me that loves rummaging in charity shops for a bargain, this article from the Guardian provides an interesting insight into what a charity shops finds in its many donations. It's quite eye opening!

Spend or save?

It seems that being thrifty is a fashionable thing at the moment. The newspapers and television seem to be telling us more and more about how people are "making do" with what they have rather than buying new. 

Last year there were articles in the news about sewing machine sales going up due to people wanting to be more green. Now, as unemployment rises, people are instead using their sewing machines to repair what clothes they already own and make it last longer. 

When I first started this blog, I wrote of being keen to learn some of the skills that my grandparents generation had to make better use of what they already had. That generation grew up with rationing and had no choice but to manage with what limited things they could get. I have always been fascinated by the ingenious ways in which people stretched what they had to make it go further during the war years, and I have certainly learnt from researching those times.

As people currently struggle for money the terms thrift and frugal are making quite a comeback. In many cases there is simply no other option. There are others who made decisions to live more frugally before the current economic situation took hold for green reasons. Surely the more people behaving like this can only help environmentally?

An article on the BBC news website asks if those people that can afford to spend, should be doing so to help to life the economy. It is true that if everyone stops spending then the economy is unlikely to recover. But, if you have seen people around you struggling to pay the bills after losing jobs, then it must be difficult for any responsible man or woman not to think about what might happen if that was them, and hence to look carefully at what they are spending and saving. 

But, what will happen when (or if) the economy picks up? Will we suddenly return to our consumerist ways? Or, will people think more carefully having seen how difficult things can get?

These may be quite deep thoughts, but as we sit here in uncertain times, I'm fascinated to watch how this changes people. I hope that the lasting legacy from all this will be that people realise that whilst money is necessary, there is more to life than material possessions. Many of us can make do with what we own already, or what we can acquire second hand. By learning a few basic skills, we can repurpose many things around us to meet our needs. It's also not necessary to pay money in order to have a good time. A walk outdoors is free. Even if the countryside is not immediately accessible, plenty of parks are there. A book from the local library can take you to a whole other world. A simple board game with family and friends can provide just as much entertainment as an evening out.

Let's hope that some good comes from the hard times that many are enduring at present.

Here's one I made earlier...

I found this article on the BBC news website earlier whilst surfing during my lunch break. It's all about the current "fashion" for making home made gifts Blue Peter style. Well, if Brad Pitt's kids are doing it then I guess it must be fashionable!

Like all articles these days this one comes back to the Credit Crunch as a reason behind why we're all trying to save a few pennies at the moment. I do feel quite cheered though to see that there are children out there who still want to do things like this rather than just hanging around on street corners as the papers seem to make us think.

I have to say that home-made gifts seem so much more touching to me than anything bought in the shops. I'm only sorry that I've been so short of time this year that sadly the majority (but not all) of the gifts I'm giving are bought. Maybe I'd better start in January for Christmas 2009 then I might stand a chance!

Can a political correspondent dance?

It's a funny old country isn't it?  Just a couple of weeks back the UK's media seemed to ignore the financial crisis all around us to instead concentrate on Sachsgate and the fallout of inappropriate phone calls that were made by Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross. I'm not going to even start to discuss the ins and outs of this, but I just found it amazing that even Gordon Brown got involved.

Now I see the media and some of our politicians are at it again. I walked past a TV at work the other day to see that the BBC had their Breaking News symbol up on screen. I paused thinking there may be something worth hearing only instead to be told that John Sergeant had walked out of Strictly Come Dancing. Errr, excuse me, what???

I have to admit to having not watched any of this series of Strictly, but I am certainly familiar of Sergeant from his time as Political Correspondent at both the BBC and ITN. I'm pretty sure that I've even bought his autobiography as a Christmas gift for my Mum a few years back. I've even enjoyed him on things like Have I got News for You, but never did I think that I wanted to see him dressed in sequins on the dance-floor.

The public seem to have taken him totally to heart and in a way I can understand why. Quite simply he appears to be normal. He's not pretending to be anyone he's not. He's had a career before appearing on the show and definitely isn't someone that is only famous for being famous. A very refreshing thing in this day and age.

Should it all be front page news though? I'm not so sure. But then I'm writing about him - so who am I to ask questions? I do wonder though what people outside the UK think about all this? Are we all slightly mad and are you laughing at us, or is this just the sort of thing that all countries do?

I'll leave you though with a link to a photo that made me smile so much. Apparently the judges on Strictly referred to this as looking like he was dragging a sack of potatoes. Enjoy!

Delia's Frugal Food

At a time when the Credit Crunch is making quite a few of us tighten our belts and the press are full of the doom and gloom of the UK heading towards another recession, many people are looking back to how we coped in the past - both during the days of rationing and also how we coped through past recessions.

I see that Delia Smith is no different, and according to this article she's even being green in recycling one of her oldest published cook books; Delia's Frugal Food. Now I have to admit that I haven't seen a copy of this yet, it hasn't even been published as a type this, but it's an interesting idea that people are having to go back to old recipes to help get through this credit crunch. A friend even told me today that she's pulled out her copy of Grub on a Grant to help provide cheap ideas for feeding her family.

To our grandparents' generation the need to make food stretch and to turn basic ingredients into a tasty meal came as second nature - they'd lived through rationing and after a bit of guidance from the Ministry of Food used what they could in the best way possible. People just don't have the same skills today, despite Jamie Oliver's best efforts.

Today there's part of me that thinks it a bit strange that someone is suggesting buying a new book as an means to save money. I think I'll be looking to use my existing cookbooks instead - or possibly looking for a copy of Delia's original version in my local charity shops.

Land Girls and Lumber Jills

I'm always fascinated about the what life was like living in Britain during the 2nd World War, especially for those women left at home whilst their husbands and brothers fought in the military overseas. I was therefore pleased to see a couple of articles on the BBC News website today about the Land Girls and Lumber Jills receiving official recognition for the role that they played during the War. It is sad that they have had to wait for so long, but better late than never.

The stories of some of these women are fascinating. I found this photojournal online, but I'll certainly be looking out for further stories. When reading about the roles that debutantes took on in Debs at War the Land Girls weren't really mentioned (probably as it was too much like hard physical outdoor work for some of these women?) Another area of wartime history to seek out further reading on.

These women were another part of the rich patchwork of roles that women took on whilst their menfolk were away. Whilst at the Jersey War Tunnels over the weekend I spent some time going round their exhibition on life in the Channel Islands whilst under German occupation. I hadn't realised then that there was also rationing during the occupation and it was fascinating to see examples of the way that they had to "make do and mend". A couple that I particularly remember are the shoes that were fixed with wood in the soles so that one family managed on one pair of shoes each for the whole five year occupation, and the tin food cans that were turned into small saucepans by welding on a metal handle. Ingenious.

Learning about rationing has certainly made me think much more careful about what I use in the kitchen and trying to minimise my food waste. I was baking a cake this evening when things started to go a bit wrong (cook to blame I guess rather than the delicious sounding recipe from Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer: A Golden Treasury of Classic Treats) and whilst getting quite frustrated with myself I found myself thinking about how much in terms of sugar and butter rations allowances I would have wasted if I didn't manage to salvage what I was making.