A few facts.

I thought I would tell a little about life during and after the war before I go on to working in the Shoe Factory.
It is a fact that almost every household in the U. K. had a button tin. Buttons were taken off every garment that was beyond use and saved. Also every paper bag was saved, I am not talking of carrier bags. I am talking of small paper bags. Nothing was thrown away. Greaseproof paper was saved from lard, margarine and butter papers. All of these were not as they are now. They were ordinary greased papers. String was saved also. In fact everything that could be saved as saved. A lot of the greased proof papers were used for the making of puddings like Spotte Dick and Jam Rolly Polly. The old fashioned way of making Jam Rolly Polly was to make pastry as if you was going to bake it. Instead it was steamed. Wrapping it in the greased proof paper, then wrapping it in a cloth and boiling it for about 2 hours. We always had it with cold milk. it was nice. Spotted Dick was made in the same sort of way. This was always served with butter and sugar. Those were the days. I was reminded many years later in the restaurant I ran when this man said to me ."Can you remember the old fashioned Jam Rolly Polly." I of course told him I did. He then told me that his mother always cooked his family which was large, a Jam Rolly Polly in the copper with the boiling of the whites. He said it was the only thing that was large enough to fit enough rolly to feed us 6 kids.
Even to this day, I still collect paper bags and string. I do not collect the foil covered greased papers though. I am still using some old pyjama pieces as dusters and cleaning cloths though.
It may seem strange but old habits die hard. Nothing ever went to waste. Even to potato peelings and vegetable leaves and tops. They were put into a bin in the street and collected to feed the pigs. I wonder what Health and Safety would say about that now?
Next time I will get back to when I start work in the Shoe Factory. To be continued.