Things you assumed were normal

[meredithgrey1]

DH bought some weetabix to have for breakfast a few days ago and I was amazed to see him preparing it by just pouring cold milk on and then eating it like that! I can't eat weetabix now but when I was little my mum would pour the milk on, then microwave it, then mash the biscuits in to create something similar to porridge. I assumed at the time that this was the only way to eat weetabix but my husband was appalled at the very idea and after a quick google it does seem like I'm very much in the minority. So it got me thinking, what are some things that you thought were normal, but then you realised that you/your family were the only one(s) doing it like that?

I eat tinned tomatoes on toast! They are lovely.

And surely plimsolls are much better for feet than Clarks. Especially now they don't train their fitters properly. Flexible sole, room for toes and no curve in it - that's the gold standard for feet, I thought?

After reading this thread over the past few days I now want tomatoes on toast , hot weetabix and my own in put , strawberrys halved and sprinkled in course black pepper , meat paste with thin sliced pickle on toast .
Perhaps not all at once though .

Great thread @meredithgrey1

Love tinned tomatoes on toast - sometimes with grilled cheese underneath.

Fried mushrooms on toast is also lovely.

Cream crackers, dairylea and thinly sliced pickled onion.

@slinkysaluki I used to eat cold prunes in a bowl of rice crispies

Isn't it interesting how so many things are food-related?
As a child I can remember cleaning shoes with cherry black(?) polish. You had to sit in the slightly rickety stool, put an old yellow duster across your knees (not to be confused with any of the other yellow dusters for dusting). You put the polish on with a round-headed brush, cincentred in applying polish with another old duster to any particular scratches or scuffs, then you buffed with a soft rectangular brush and left the shoes standing on newspaper to "set".

We also had a tradition of "First footing" in as much as at midnight my Dad or Uncle would have to pop outside into the street, carrying a lump of coal and a lamp (and possibly a piece of bread).The door would be shut, they'd have to knock and be let in, 'bearing gifts', then we'd all have a drink to celebrate. We are not in Scotland so not sure why we did this.
Also, it could only be men, and dark-haired men at that, so my Granddad wasn't allowed to be a 'first-footer' and there 2as genuine concern when my Dad started to go grey.

@RiftGibbon - was it Cherry Blossom shoe polish? We had a special shoe cleaning kit with old cloths for putting polish on, then different brushes and lastly a yellow duster - and had to put them on newspaper afterwards!

Yes, that's the stuff, *MilkTray
And I have just spotted a typo in my post above , should say "there was genuine concern..."

@RiftGibbon - was it Cherry Blossom shoe polish? We had a special shoe cleaning kit with old cloths for putting polish on, then different brushes and lastly a yellow duster - and had to put them on newspaper afterwards!

That's exactly the same as how we did it, my DCs do it with their school shoes now.

Is there another way of polishing shoes?

I don't wear the sorts of shoes that need polishing any more.
When I was at school, I had to have Clarks as they were the only place that properly measured feet.

I did find out yesterday, from reading another thread that not everyone can make their ears "rumble".

I can but after reading this everyone I've asked doesn't know what I mean..i thought everyone could. Not read the whole thread.

A slice of cake without some cheese,
Is like a hug without a squeeze

Fabulous concoctions on this thread I can not wait to try some... Well most of them actually !... I am quite excited about doing the food shop this week now thank you x

This thread is a real blast to the past!

“Did you clean your shoes last night with cherry blossom polish? Y-e-S spells yes, so out you must go with a jolly good push”

Anyone remember the weetabix advert From a few years ago - where they had different toppings/versions?
Used to Made me feel ill! (Yoghurt and berries
The only way to eat weetabix is hot milk mush with lots of sugar on top.

I thought it was 'normal' to drink a bottle of wine a night because my Dad did it whilst I was growing up.

Turns out it isnt...

Letsallscreamatthesistene

Did he die young? Just asking as people are affected differently. I know people who have done this and it has not.

Bovril!!

Did he die young? Just asking as people are affected differently. I know people who have done this and it has not.

He died aged 64

@RiftGibbon
We do "first-footing"; my Mum was a Geordie, although she moved to Sussex with my Dad when they got married. In our house it was the oldest dark-haired person, so after my parents went grey I got shoved out at midnight!

Weetabix with butter…eaten like a biscuit , delicious!

It's taken me a while to catch up with this thead but .
I still polish my boots / shoes , tack oil first . Esp on new footwear a day or two later polish as PP have said polish on then buff with a second brush and shine with a cloth ( old t-shirt) the only difference is I use Kiwi polish . I use to hate it when the polish broke up in the tin untill I discovered warming it up gently melts it and it all sticks back together

We also did 1st footing , my DD would go out with a piece of coal , a bit of candle, a coin a hunk of bread and some salt . DM would the open the back door to let the old year out and DD would knock on the front door and say something like " I bring you weath warmth light love and food. "

AlCalavicci - really? Warming the bootpolish makes it all stick back together? How long do you warm it for, and do you do it over flame or how?

My mum used to give me a fried egg on Weetabix. It was too much work to make toast under the grill, she said. Everyone I know seems shocked by this!

Had a nasty teacher at primary and we dreaded her being on lunch duty as she made you eat your apple cores.

Most shocked I've been was in my late 20s, thought I was pretty well-travelled food wise, and stayed in a B&B in Brighton that turned out to be a bit corners-cutting and not well maintained. Looked forward to my fryup next morning because surely that would be good...
I was disgusted when instead of nice fried tomatoes, my eggs, bacon, sausage and mushrooms were getting soaked in the watery juice of two tinned tomatoes. Horrible! Apparently some people like this but every hotel I've asked since about their tomatoes has been equally dumbfounded.

@jackparlabane, you just earned the Weetabix price! 🏆🏆🏆