What I learned as a kid in a quasi-commune
Anyway, for a while, we lived in the 80s version of a blended family, which is to say there were a lot of us – my mum, her friend, her friend's three kids (one a bit older and twins) and me and my sister – with a world of wisdom and expertise, none of it in DIY.
I remember everything and my sister remembers everything, yet our memories are completely different. I remember our mum's friend bought Ribena: it was the most exciting thing that ever happened, because our mum thought squash was a capitalist conspiracy. My sister remembers the friend teaching us all how to do a Greta Garbo impression. I remember the older son offered me 50p to eat his scab, and I did, but he never gave me the 50p.
He remembers that I was always covered in snails, because I had taken a shine to them. I remember thinking the twins were telepathic and a bit magic – and I still do. My sister remembers our mum taking against a beefy cat and nailing a skirting board closed behind him. I remember her friend freeing him; we both choose to believe that our mum must have known her friend would do that.
The kids hadn't seen a lot of each other in the intervening years, because of life, then two funerals – our mum's and theirs – happened this year. The sheer number of events we had to catch up on – four divorces (OK, two of them mine), many bereavements, yet more cats – was like listening to a Dynasty plot read by someone on helium. It was exactly like a family, except bigger. It turns out I do want the hippies to send us a badge.
Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
26 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Is Donald Trump too weak to be a strongman?
Archive: C-SPAN, CBS News, CNN, ITV News, NBC News, PBS Newshour, The Independent, WPLG Local 10
Telegraph
26 minutes ago
- Telegraph
The great British pudding is in decline. These chefs are fighting back
British food may still face ridicule abroad, but we've always had a secret weapon: pudding. Flour, sugar, eggs and butter fuelled our gastronomy, transforming into a gargantuan constellation of delights: soft and sticky steamed sponge puddings, indulgent pies and tarts, elegant trifles, light summer puddings, dense Christmas puddings. There are national favourites and regional delights, desserts thriftily concocted during wartime rationing and glamorous puddings to mark royal occasions. From the home kitchen to the school canteen, generations of Britons have been raised on a diet of sponge and custard. But the great British pudding is at threat. According to English Heritage, most households bake puddings once a month at most, with a third never making one from scratch. Just two per cent do it daily which, frankly, sounds like a high number. The reasons are manifold. Making a pudding, especially of the steamed variety, is a faff, and if we hanker for a sticky toffee, supermarkets have perfectly delicious options. We're more health conscious than ever, and when we do opt for a sweet treat, it is often cold, something healthier like fresh fruit and yogurt, or easier like a tub of ice cream or a bar of chocolate. Restaurants are putting old-school puddings on the menu Yet there's one group which hasn't read the memo: chefs. Old-school British puddings are as popular as ever in restaurants across the country. At The Palmerston in Edinburgh, roly-polys are often on the menu – and always sell out. Steamed marmalade and whisky puddings, trifles and treacle tarts do well, too. Down in Somerset, rice pudding never fails to pique interest at Holm while, in London, American-inspired barbecue joint Smokestak does a brisk trade in crumble and The Drapers Arms in Islington makes a mean summer pudding. 'It's not the most complicated dessert by any means,' says Smokestak owner David Carter of its crumble. 'But you can really elevate it from its most basic form: flour, sugar, butter, aromatics (we use clove) and lots of nuts. It's nostalgic, and very comforting.' For Nicholas Balfe, co-founder and chef director at Holm, puddings 'have this power to invoke nostalgic feelings, memories of childhood. Yes, you might get that from lamb and mint sauce, but puddings have a unique power to transport to a time gone by. Rice pudding is one of those things lots of people have childhood memories of.' Nostalgic food is firmly in vogue, and puddings are no exception. When Balfe dined at the now-closed Noma, one dessert included plankton. 'It ultimately tasted like fishy seawater panna cotta,' he recalls. 'In the context of an ocean-themed 27-course meal, it worked well, but if you're out for a spot of lunch, something more classic ticks a different box. A lot of chefs like myself are leaning back towards more classic flavours and combinations, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.' At Quo Vadis in Soho, London, Jeremy Lee has never shied away from dessert. The restaurant even has a dedicated 'pudding menu', which currently includes a summer pudding and a buttermilk pudding. 'We do so many steamed puddings, marmalade puddings, lemon puddings, cakes made with every kind of nut imaginable and custards galore,' says Lee. Yet these days it seems every new restaurant champions the old-school pud – it helps that they look great on Instagram. One of London's buzziest spots, Café Cecilia in Hackney, has become synonymous with its deep-fried bread and butter pudding, putting a modern spin on a timeless classic. If you want to try your hand at an old-school British pudding, here are five mouthwatering recipes:
Daily Mail
26 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Why YOUR favourite pudding is on the 'verge of extinction': Traditional homemade British desserts face a sticky end, English Heritage warns
When was the last time you made a sticky toffee pudding from scratch? Or a treacle tart? According to a new survey by English Heritage, the answer for more than a third of Britons is never. While the homemade pudding was once a must-have after dinner, only two per cent of British households now make one on a daily basis, the charity found. Instead, 62 per cent of households make puddings once a month or less, with 35 per cent never making any at all. English Heritage warns that the steady decline in pudding-making at home is putting British desserts in the crosshairs of extinction. According to the charity, British puddings began to decline in the 1970s when more women started entering the workforce, a move that caused a significant shift in family dynamics. Nearly half (49 per cent) of people born before 1970 say that their parents made puddings several times a week, even during the peak of hot summer days. But this figure was halved, dropping to 25 per cent among those born in the 1970s, who are now aged between 45 and 54. Since then, fewer and fewer Britons have continued the tradition. Among 18 to 24-year-olds, 24 per cent say their parents never made homemade puddings, and only 14 per cent were lucky enough to have parents who made them several times a week. Dr Andrew Hann, senior curator of history at English Heritage, said: 'Sweet puddings are closely intertwined with British history and although our waistlines might benefit, I think we'd all agree, it would be a huge shame for them to die out. 'Recipes for sweetened meat pies can be found as far back as medieval times and, by the Tudor and Stuart periods, sweetmeats and puddings sweetened with honey or fruit were common, although many would also have contained meat. 'Our love affair with puddings has continued ever since, peaking in the 1950s, with access to a wider and more affordable variety of ingredients than ever before. 'However, the research shows a clear shift away from the traditional dessert over the past 50 years.' But despite the downward trajectory of the homemade pudding, Britain remains a nation obsessed with desserts. Hot puddings like classic crumbles, pies and steamed puddings remain popular, with 36 per cent of people naming them as their favourite, followed by cake (18 per cent). But baked treats are mostly seen as something to be eaten on occasion, while 'easy' and 'healthy' cold desserts are now much more common. The majority of Britons (68 per cent) now opt for fresh fruit as a post-dinner sweet treat, closely followed by ice cream (66 per cent). People are now 69 per cent more likely to eat frozen desserts than homemade traditional puddings - despite just nine per cent saying cold treats are their favourite. Younger generations are also the least likely to say that they enjoy classic hot puddings, with just 17 per cent of under 25-year-olds agreeing with this compared to 45 per cent of over-55s. Dr Hann warned: 'If this decline continues, we can expect the classic Great British pud to all but vanish within the next 50 years. 'I'm pretty sure I speak for most people when I say that is not something we want to happen! There truly is nothing better in life than syrup sponge smothered in custard.' Commenting on the figures by English Heritage, Katie Cross, founder of bakery Cake or Death, told FEMAIL: 'I was born in the '80s and I remember my Dad making British puddings at least twice a week; typically sponge pudding, summer fruit pudding and fruit crumble. 'I enjoy making these types of puddings for my family, normally at the weekend after a roast dinner. Fruit crumble is incredibly quick to make. 'My favourite is rhubarb and strawberry (I use frozen fruit if they aren't in season) topped with a crumble mix including oats and nuts for extra crunch. And always served with custard! 'Sponge pudding made with jam or golden syrup is popular with kids. Top tip: you don't have to steam it for hours, baking in the oven will work just as well.' In an effort to get Britons to fall in love with historic puddings again, English Heritage will be launching a cookbook, titled The English Heritage Baking Book, in early September. The cookbook will contain recipes for all the nation's favourite puddings, as well as many forgotten ones, such as soul cakes and cabinet puddings. A soul cake is a small round cake with sweet spices that is traditionally made for Halloween, All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day. The practice of baking soul cakes dates back to the medieval period. Meanwhile, a cabinet pudding, also known as chancellor's pudding or Newcastle pudding, is a traditional steamed pudding made from a combination of bread or sponge cake in custard and cooked in a mould. English Heritage has also introduced two new pudding-inspired ice cream flavours at their sites, created in partnership with Leeds-based ice cream maker Northern Bloc. The Sticky Toffee Pudding and Apple Crumble and Custard ice cream flavours are now exclusively available at English Heritage sites across the country.
