As we ate our roast pork yesterday, I fell to wondering if the Old Bat and I are the last people to follow that Olde English tradition of eating a roast meal on Sundays. For as far back as I can remember - and probably even farther back than that - Sunday has meant roast dinner. But we have adjusted the tradition a little: we eat dinner in the evenings.
When I was a child - and, indeed, for some years after we were married - Sunday dinner was eaten in the middle of the day. This is (or was) probably a throwback to the old days when the main meal of the day for the working classes was dinner eaten at dinner time. The next meal would be tea, usually eaten at about fine o'clock, and consisting of bread and butter and jam, followed by cake. I say bread and butter, but for many of us it was bread and margarine, butter either being unavailable or too expensive.
So, dinner - roast dinner - at 12.30 or 1.00pm or thereabouts. Accompanied by the Light Programme of the BBC wireless - it wasn't called radio back then. For many years, the programme at 12 noon was Two-Way Family Favourites with Jean Metcalfe in London and Bill Crozier in Cologne. The format was simple:record requests selected alternately by relatives in Britain and (mainly) soldiers stationed in Germany as part of the BAOR, the British Army of the Rhine. That was followed at one o'clock by programmes like the Billy Cotton Band Show, The Navy Lark or Round the Horn.
I have tried to find snatches of those shows but as they were radio and not television (back then) it has proved beyond me.
No, you're not the last BP - SD's Mum and Dad always have a roast on Sundays AND they still have it at lunchtime. Not only that but SD's Mum always sets aside a full roast for us too which we generally bring home and reheat in the evening.
ReplyDeleteWe always had Sunday lunch at lunchtime with my Grandparents after church and after Grandad had been to the pub.
Tea was at 4 o'clock starting with bread and butter followed by homemade cake or fruit flan and my favourite, drop scones (kind of like American pancakes but made with bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar served warm with butter).
In the south USA most people still have Sunday dinner after church. At our house the rest of the week the main meal was about 6 PM because we were all at work or school at mid day. We did not have a formal tea. Children do snack after getting home from school so I guess that would be tea.
ReplyDeleteWe tried to continue a tradition of a roast meal on Sunday.
ReplyDeleteBut it seems like a bit much for two people.
Other family members were invited, but evidently didn't care to commit to a tradition.