Faye our host this week had the nice idea of school lunch memories.
I never had lunch at school for the simple reason that the German schools start at 8 and finish at 1 pm. Then I went home and had lunch.
But I remember in primary school we all had sandwiches for the break at 10 am. They were awful. It was just after Worldwar II and there was no choice, there was nothing to eat and everybody ate just to stay alive. It was a grey bread (there was nothing else) which I remember had no taste at all. On that my mother put whatever she could get, cheese or slices of sausages or ham. By the time I could eat it it was all dry because there was only paper for wrapping sandwiches.
The day my mother bought the first plastic bags or whatever it was the sandwich was much better because it wasn't dry. What an event for me.
Those who had something to eat shared often with those who had nothing. That happened too. I don't remember to have eaten a banana or an orange at that time. My first orange I got from Santa Claus when I was about 10 or 11. Bananas came far later. All we had were apples, but I never took one to school.
One day when I bit in my sandwich, it cracked in my mouth. I spit out and it was a big beetle which had probably been in the bread dough. I still can hear that cracking !
Later of course it was different, but I don't remember anymore what kind of sandwich I took to highschool.
I would have absolutely puked if I bit into that bug. LOL Are the schools still like that now getting done at 1 in Germany?
ReplyDeleteWe used to finish school at 1.30pm so we didn't have school linches either. I am not sure I would have liked to eat a school lunch.
ReplyDeleteYes, there wouldn't have been much choice for you during that time, Gattina. My mother used to give me peanut butter sandwiches...and I hated peanut butter, but I loved cheese and jam. I would have much preferred that. Later on came the tuck shop, but we never had that, as my parents couldn't afford those extras for us kids.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was filling in at work a couple of weeks ago, I would take salads and put them in the fridge until lunchtime. How times have changed...
Let's see, as a a child I had peanut butter and either jelly or fluff (marshmallow)sandwiches. Usually an apple, orange or banana. And always milk. In middle school, Dad made cheese sandwiches every day! Yuck!
ReplyDeleteIn High School we had a new school with a fast food cafeteria. You could get pizza, or cinnamon rolls or french fries. Oh yes, we all gained weight! I loved the cinnamon rolls!
Gattina I read the comment you left at Merle's the other day...
ReplyDeleteFasinonable to put all disease down to smoking!... Gattina!! I've seen those Marlboros in those photos you take!!!
But what can I say ~ I've got a fag waggling in the corner of my mouth half the time too!
I think that's one reason I got such terrible gum disease. I heard smoking genuinely exacerbates the illness... I used such powerful antibacterials it feels 24 hours a day like I've just brushed my teeth... which at least means I've daisy-fresh breath now ~ especially for a 30-a-day smoker!!
I used to eat packed lunch at primary school... then school dinners. At secondary school they were so dire when you were on "last sitting" there was little to choose from bar baked beans, rock hard chips and overcooked turkey burgers.
ReplyDeleteSo much for healthy eating!!
Yurkkchhh!
Isn't amazing how much life can change in what is a relatively short period? Life without plastic bags? Yeah, it happened !
ReplyDeleteBeetle Bread ? AACCHHKK !
ReplyDeleteGray bread ? I've had bread that had yellow and green spots (that I scraped off)...but never gray bread.
Gattina, you and I are probably about the same age. Do you ever think about how happy your life is now in contrast to childhood? I do and would never want to go back. I'm seeing that more than one Fun Mondayer didn't have exactly the greatest memories about school lunch. Maybe Sayre will give us something happier to write about next week!
ReplyDeleteNothing like finding a bug in your sandwich to turn you off of eating one again. The time I found a dead fly in my hot lunch..made me weary of buying another one for a very long time.
ReplyDeletehahaha .. this is so funny .. of course not about the war but the beetle.
ReplyDeleteprimary school still ends at 1 pm... really early i think ..
Hmmm... a little extra protein in the beetle sandwich!
ReplyDeleteMy mom used to wrap our sandwiches with wax paper. It kept some of the moisture in, but was impossible to keep closed, so there were dry bits.
School here lasts until mid-afternoon, so lunch was a necessity.
You know... I know there was no choice... people survived those times the best way they could -- same here in the U.S! But I have such great respect for people who lived through that era... today I made a big pot of "vegetarian" chili ... 15 bean - but no meat! Amanda was here - and she said YUM - cuz she would like to be a vegetarian! Krysti turned up her nose at it! Derek wouldn't touch it if his life depended on it - and IF Mathew were here, he would eat it but grumble because there's "no meat". Dennis came home from work and said "well... it SMELLS good"... LOL! It was delicious! But we are SO SPOILED that they grumble over a delicious meal because of "no meat"... Sometimes I think we should ALL have to live through post war, or depression era conditions! It builds character! It must - look what a character you are!!! :)
ReplyDeleteOh... as for school lunch when I was a kid? We had the BEST school lunches in the WORLD! I wish my kids knew THEM too! We had German woman - mother of a friend of mine - and she was the cook in my elementary school -- she made the BEST hot lunches! I bought lunch almost every day - and I NEVER complained about school lunch! YUM! I didn't want to leave elementary school. Junior High and High School was not the same. Lunches were okay... but the weren't Mrs. Loll's lunches!
ReplyDeleteGray bread with bugs doesn't sound very good. I suppose we all get through some of those odd times as kids to make better times of it later on! Please feel free to come and visit, I just got my post up, as I hadn't found out until late who was hosting! http://lilmouse.blogsite.org
ReplyDeletescream! a bug in your bread.
ReplyDeleteWe are quite spoiled now, aren't we.
My late mama told me how a girl in her school would bring an orange, and my mama and her sister would eat the peels.
I used to eat Orange flavoured Club biscuits... they are totally chocolate covered little biscuits and very lovely... or at least WERE. Because they don't seem to exist any more!
ReplyDeleteI looked everywhere for them and could find them nowhere last time I wanted some!!
Ewww! I can't imagine biting into bread and finding a beetle! I would never eat another sandwich again. LOL
ReplyDelete