We had one bathroom with a separate loo with no basin. I remember my Dad only ever went in the bathroom once a week - for his weekly bath but would never wash his hands after the loo. He washed and shaved in the kitchen sink and kept his stuff under the sink for that. He would strip off his top half and wash in the morning and evening.
Dinner was always at 5pm on the dot....Dad got home about 5 mins before that and clearly it would have been impossible for him to wait for food.
Once a week dinner was ‘salad’ - this consisted of a slice of shiny ham or some corned beef, plus some tinned potatoes and a lettuce leaf and a sliced tomato. For some reason it was essential to have half a bowl of packet soup before hand so you’d had hot food...but only half a bowl because the packet had to serve 4.
I too remember lunch being soup with bread, but definitely not with a sandwich and a sandwich being 1 filling only. If out it would be packed lunch and flask, and us longing to try the Happy Eater or Little Chef, but knowing that was never going to happen.
On holiday we would look for a pub in the evening. Some had a children’s room which was often a shed out the back with fruit machines which was rather damp and smelly. We could have a lemonade in the car and maybe share a packet of crisps.
My parents would never pay for a workman or any kind of service but seemed able to do everything. Dad could service cars, do electrical work, plumbing, decorating and mending things. Most of it made him cross and angry because it never went as well as he hoped. Mum could bake and cook and sew clothes and they both grew lots of fruit and veg in the garden.
We were allowed to do some paid for activities such as swimming lessons. Activities which involved buying equipment or uniforms were strongly discouraged. Eventually I went to Brownies because someone gave me their old uniform. The subs were low so that was okay. Music lessons and sport which needed equipment and things like ballet which needed shoes and a leotard were out. Horse riding and piano was clearly just for poshos.
My Mum in particular had a bit of a chip on her shoulder. She didn’t like middle class women or anyone who she was sure was looking down on her. She didn’t like shop staff who she seemed to think were all pressuring her to buy stuff. For some reason she spent a lot of time glaring at them and really didn’t like it if shop staff asked if they could help or tried to engage at all.
My parents weren’t badly off and by working hard had bought a house as they got married, which most middle class people couldn’t afford these days. But they had grown up poor with my mum growing up in a 1 bed flat and money being very limited and I think the attitudes stayed with them. They valued hard work from adults and wanted us to work hard at school so we might be able to have professional jobs. They definitely looked down on those in council housing and anyone on benefits. They were if the view that poverty was mostly due to idleness.
They were proud of my brother and I going to uni and getting professional jobs. When they used to take us at the start of term and other parents were around who were mostly middle class, they didn’t always find chatting to them easy or feel comfortable in the uni environment. They sometimes felt we spoke down to them or were disparaging about their values and attitudes when we were early 20s and probably ‘know all’s’. Today they find some of the things we do don’t sit well with them....they think we pay workman for services we could do ourselves and waste money by eating out too often. They think the children have too many toys and do t have to wait for things. They would still always re-use tinfoil, only buy new toiletries if the last was fully used up, have the hot water in for a very short time and cut out coupons from magazines. They are still a bit suspicious of some middle class habits and can behave deferentially or slightly aggressively rather than feeling comfortable in social situations.