Better cherish her for her wisdom which the courtly needs

 

 

Giving up for Lent ‘news’ as produced in and by the MSM isn’t as difficult as I thought. A quick look in the usual place for the print front pages was quite sufficient, thank you very much (link). Again, the Star shines brightly by not waffling on about yon war. They have put the humble turnip on their front page because the Tory minister Ms Coffey told people to eat turnips during the terrible shortage of lettuce and tomatoes. 

This isn’t as outrageous as it appears. There are two opinion pieces in what was formerly known as ‘Torygraph’. One tries to blame the government, covid, Brexit and the farmers for this catastrophe here at home. The headline says it all: “Rationing is back because we failed to learn the lessons of Covid – The fruit and veg shortage has once again exposed Britain’s over-reliance on its neighbours” (paywalled link).

I dunno what covid or Brexit has to do with this. After all, according to my school knowledge of geography, Morocco isn’t in Europe and wasn’t in the EU, but what do I know … Anyway, farmers moan about everything all the time, correct? So it must be their fault and we don’t need to listen.

Who knows why the combined MSM aren’t using this as a very good opportunity to take a hard look at the food security in the UK! Why don’t they question the obsession with ‘renewables’, in the form of ‘solar farms’ and ‘wind warms’, when land is so obviously a limited resource on this island? Why don’t they question the greeny efforts of ‘re-wilding’ this country, taking valuable arable and pastures out of food production? 

Since yon author mentions rationing, perhaps he should also have mentioned the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign during WWII when people dug up their town gardens to grow veggies, when municipal parks were turned into potato acres. Wouldn’t that be a suitable solution, especially for all the WFH crowd?

Mind you, growing veggies for one’s personal use is hard and dirty work, demanding a lot of time, as anyone who has done so can attest. Yes, dear readers, I had two allotments when it wasn’t ‘fashionable’ and I know whereof I speak. 

More interesting was the little piece published yesterday evening, also in the DT, under a headline which made me grin:

“The salad crisis means it’s time for a reality check – Our grandmothers wouldn’t have expected to eat lettuce and tomatoes in February, so why should we?” (paywalled link).

Yes indeed: neither my grannies nor my mum would have regarded lettuce as everyday staple, available all year round. But then again, they belonged to that despised category of people, known as ‘housewives’. They knew how to cook, using seasonal vegetables. So root crops in winter were the norm, together with cabbages and dried pulses harvested during summer and autumn. 

Also, the poor old lettuce has been abused as decoration and main ingredient for the ubiquitous sandwiches without which all those office workers cannot function. Sandwiches in ye olden days consisted of slices of bread with a slice of something in between, like cheese or ham. The fabulous ‘cucumber sandwich’ was only a summer delicacy, eaten by the toffs playing tennis in the ground of their grand mansions. A ‘green’ salad –  that was just green lettuce – was an occasional side dish, not a daily occurrence, especially not in winter. 

Then there were soups and proper stews, not the tinned stuff. Modern wifeys don’t have the time nor knowledge to make stews. Apparently it’s no longer common knowledge that carrots, swedes and turnips are not fodder for horses but perfectly good ingredients for said stews.

Let’s also mention the humble potato! There are so many varieties, from ‘early’ ones to be harvested in early summer, to late varieties, taken out of the ground in November. The home-grown very early ones came from Pembrokeshire and were a one-off delicacy. for toffs. Potatoes from Egypt or Israel were unheard of. But then again, the ordinary, late spuds all needed to be peeled: the horror! Who has time for that!

Prepare for the next ‘horror shortage: oranges and lemons. This unseasonable frost has destroyed lettuces in Spain and Morocco, so guess what this’ll have done to citrus fruit! Our Vitamin C supply is in danger! However, granny and indeed the WWII government had a solution: rosehip syrup. Never mind that it’s too late for that now because yon rosehips would’ve had to be harvested in autumn. 

Having wandered down memory lane, let’s now ponder ‘rationing’. It should be easy for government and Whitehall to set it up. Covid was mentioned, so they surely have worked out a nice little app for people’s smartphones by now! It’s just another gentle step towards that digital ID the Uniparty wants. Why would people reject it when no ID means no food? 

That’s all I have for today. Between the collection of throttlebottoms populating Whitehall and the Uniparty the outlook is bleak indeed. Perhaps some might remember that grannies and great aunts are not useless burdens costing money, but possessed of practical wisdom which the country will need urgently if it wants to survive. Have a good day.



Print Friendly, PDF & Email