This is a brilliant thread - so many memories. I was born in 67, so I suppose my memories really start about 1970.
Drama Alpaca - Yes - we save the milkbottle tops to send to Blue Peter and also used stamps but can't remember where we sent those
OhMrDarcy - I remember Vitalin for dogs - ours wouldn't eat it either. Our dog ate Chappie mixed with Winalot biscuits (and I used to eat the Winalot too!!)
Cedilla - yep - we had a 'cream' maker too. We would also syphen (sp?) the cream off the top of the milk and shake it until it thickened.
I, too, remember the BP Olive Oil, chip pans with the solid fat used over and over and over again. We had a pressure cooker that would frighten the life out of both me and the dog...we would run and hide together!
I remember we had an open fire and I remember mum using paper to draw it. Once we had a chimney fire. My dad had recently died and so mum had to deal with it - I don't know how she got it to go out, but I remember the burning soot falling down the chimney - she collected it and put it in the dustbin...which the also set on fire!!
I was so frightened that I locked myself in the loo and refused to come out. I was only 9 and totally traumatised by it all!
I also remember DM banking up the fire when we went to bed.
I hated that bloody fire I was convinced that it would burn our house down at some point.
Ski yogurts were so lovely and creamy and were an occasional treat. The hazelnut ones were definitely the best!
I remember having Delrosa rosehip syrup as a child, being given brandy and hot water for period pain and sometime neat gin...I like neither of those spirits now as I think I associate them with pain!
Food wise I also remember...
Having the same meals on the same day, week in, week out, but never caring. It was always a roast on a Sunday and then on the Monday the left over meat would be made into an Irish Stew or Shepherd's pie.
If we had chops, they would be grilled, but the fat that came out of them would then be poured over your mash - tasted lovely, but not very healthy!
After we had a joint my mum would give me skewer to dig out all the marrowfat from the inside of the bone (Ugggh!)
Yet more unhealthiness came in the form of fried bread - which was bloody lovely...and also condensed milk on toast/bread...yum!
I remember dried peas. If I ever saw them soaking overnight, then I knew that the next day would be Pig hock and peas for dinner (ugghh).
We actually used to have Oxo 'soup' for lunch sometimes!!
My mum would often give me a 'taste of butter' off the knife when she had buttered bread and a little bit of meat paste on the tin jar lid!
Mushrooms were a real treat as they were hugely expensive. We only used to have them on Boxing Day as a treat, with steak.
Someone up-thread mentioned freezer centres. I remember going to one in a nearby town and it was there that I remember ordering our chest-freezer. I remember the excitement when it was delivered.
I loved that you could buy frozen cream sticks and frozen chocolate eclairs!
We lived in a village and also had the half a sheep delivered. I remember the delight (not) of bagging it all up to put in the freezer!
I learnt to hate meat due to all the horrible things I was forced to eat and haven't eaten it since I was old enough to stand up to my mum and refuse it.
Getting off the subject of food - finally! My mum was a bit odd because she always used to OPEN the downstairs curtains at night when we went to bed. It was so that the neighbours didn't know if we got up late!!!
She also was one of the only people I know to hang net curtains at the windows of our shed and garage...so that the neighbours couldn't see the clutter in there!!
She also used to check each item off her receipt when she had done a big food shop. I used to call out the item and she would tick it off the receipt or vice versa - just to make sure she hadn't been wrongly charged. This was in the days before bar-codes.
So many fabulous memories...thank you so much for starting this thread!