16 May 2010

Britain, 1951

"...this first post-war winter under a Tory government remained for most people a daily struggle.  There were reductions in imports of unrationed foods; rationing itself remained firmly in force for the time being; and Churchill even had to announce a cut in the weekly meat ration.  It was presumably around this time that, confused by figures and weights, he asked his Minister of Food to show him an individual's rations.  "Not a bad meal, not a bad meal," said Churchill when the exhibit was produced.  "But these," responded the Minister, "are not rations for a meal or for a day. They are for a week."

--from David Kynaston's Family Britain 1951-1957, the sequel to his Austerity Britain.  Both books make for interesting reading (assuming, of course, that you're interested in post-war life in Britain).

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