Celery and tinned peaches

When I was a child, our daily meals were breakfast, dinner and tea. In those days the working classes tended to eat their main meal in the middle of the day. This (for us) consisted of two courses: meat and two veg followed by a dessert. Tea for my brother and I would be eaten at five or six o'clock and would consist of bread and margarine (we couldn't afford butter) with jam, and possibly a slice of cake. Supper would be a hot milk drink just before going to bed. Nowadays I think the majority of people eat their main meal in the evening so the three meals are breakfast, lunch and dinner (or supper, as some people call it in a sort of inverted snobbery). Afternoon tea was only ever for the upper classes (or perhaps the upper middle class) and high tea was what was served by seaside landladies. This would involve a more substantial meal than tea - perhaps a light salad or a slice of pork pie before the bread and butter.

I was unloading the dishwasher over the weekend when I happened to notice a glass jug that had belonged to my mother. It has been sitting at the back of one of our kitchen cupboards for a number of years and I have probably looked at it many times without actually seeing it. The last time I recall seeing it in use it was in pride of place in the centre of my mother's tea table and held sticks of celery. If my mother wanted a slightly posher tea than usual, celery would be provided. Her salt cellar (a small, glass bowl with a small glass spoon - very posh) would stand beside the glass jug and we would spoon a little salt onto the edges of our plates to dip the celery into. Only after eating celery would we be allowed something sweet on our bread.

My grandmother's idea of a posh tea was a little different. In her case, the fruit bowls would be placed on the table along with the special fruit spoons. After we had eaten two slices of bread and butter (or margarine) we would be allowed a bowl of fruit - tinned peach slices onto which would be poured evaporated milk.

How times have changed!