LIFE IN BRITAIN

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 93, 21 April 1942, Page 4

LIFE IN BRITAIN

RATIONS AND COUPONS

MEETING NEED OF MOMENT

"It's amazing the capacity we all \ seem to have developed to meet the need of the moment," writes a New Zealand lady now in business in England—the essential ' business of serving the inner man— —in telling relatives here of England's more "complicated" life, what with rations and restrictions j and the pressure of duties. She finds that "everyone you meet or know is always doing about three people's work and thriving on it." I Of particular interest are references to rations and rationing. "How I smiled over your recital of a birthday tea!" the writer remarks. "How would you get on with one egg per month? I save mine and have it with a friend when she comes for a weekend. It's such a scream the things we get the most childish glee out of nowadays! "Our rations consist of 2oz butter, 4oz margarine, 2oz cooking fat, 2oz cheese, 4oz tea, Boz sugar per person per week; lib of jam or marmalade per person per month, and Is worth of meat per person per week. Milk is rationed, now to one gill Q-pint) per person per day, augmented by one tin of evaporated milk per person per month." THE "FOOD" BUSINESS. Dealing with the business the writer j states: "We are only allowed to sell j Id worth of meat per person per meal, j one-tenth of an ounce of sugar per person per meal, etc., etc. And once a week I have to make out a comprehensive form covering every cup of tea or coffee and every meal served, at what hour sold (up to noon, noon to 3 p.m., 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., and after 6 p.m.), and on the figures you submit they base their supplies for the following month! They (the local food office) really do treat us remarki ably well, and so far we . have only once fallen out—on the subject of onions. "Anything to do with food is a completely exhausting process these days, I assure you, and the amount I have learat since taking over this business is just nobody's business. I have the stock-takers, accountants, and everyone to wrestle with entirely alone. . . . Sometimes I live on wheels (running about for the business). Still, all told it make's a fully active, useful life —in keeping with everyone else these days. Most people are coping with twice, if not three times, their normal work." NOT MONEY, BUT COUPONS! In expressing appreciation of letters received the remark is made that "the regularity with which they have been safely delivered is amazing." The writer, turning to clothes and coupons, continues: "How I chuckled over your request for a 'batfs wing' bow tie. It just shows how little the war has really touched you in New Zealand yet, and the fact that you have no idea what the rationing of clothes means. It isn't money that matters, but coupons. 'We cannot buy so much as a handkerchief between us at the moment, so I'm afraid your bat's wing tie is off! "The coupon business removes all temptations to purchase anything. If you haven't a coupon—well, you can't have anything. So there is no point in gazing in at shop windows! For our winter coats this year each of us had to give up 18 coupons, which left with 7 coupons for one shirt and one coupon for two handkerchiefs. And not another stitch can he buy until the next release of coupons in three months' time. I also had two pairs of lisle stockings at 2 coupons each and one ne\v pair of corselettes at 4 coupons. All last year's dresses and suits, jumpers, and cardigans have been cleaned and mended, and all last year's underwear darned and darned. We've all got so used to it over here; we just make fun of our old clothes and go on appearing in them. ( .- ---"I also smiled at one of your paper cuttings on the subject of stockings, saying the British Government had released so many thousand for 'overseas.' Yes, all these things have been going out of England to keep the exchange rates correctly balanced. We don't get them at all here! So you are indeed fortunate. Socks and underwear are the things we notice seem to need so many coupons." The writer mentions also that the latest returns she has to make out for the Food Office now include all subsidiary meals in addition to the main meals—breakfasts, teas, and suppers. "I tell you," she adds, "anything to do with food nearly sends one scatty!"