´óÏó´«Ã½

When I was a child during the war, most things were rationed. This meant that we were only allowed to buy small amounts of these things. We had ration books which were marked to ensure that no one was able to have more than their allowance. Most food was in short supply, such as bread, meat, cheese, butter, tea, cakes and biscuits. We were allowed only one egg each week. All kinds of things, even soap and clothes, were rationed.

Children weren't happy that they were only allowed about two ounces of sweets, and milk chocolate was only available if you were very good friends with a shopkeeper who would sell it to you from where it was hidden under the counter.

Every home had to grow their own vegetables in the garden so that they had enough. This was called 'Digging for Victory' — I don't know why! But things like fruit from hot countries we had to do without, because most of the ships which used to bring them were being used for the war and only a few were kept for carrying food which we couldn't grow.

Only young children were allowed to have oranges about twice or three times a year, nobody else! But never were there any bananas. Children longed for bananas, they used to dream about bananas and talk about bananas and imagine what it would be like to have a real banana to eat. They used to make themselves miserable thinking about bananas because there were none to get. Our mothers used to make 'mock banana' with parsnips. It was awful! So we had to do without bananas.

One day my Mam went out to do some shopping and when she came home she was smiling. She said, 'I have a surprise, I've been to my friend's house to see her and she gave me something nice to eat, you must guess what it is.'

'Milk Chocolate,' my sister Rose said.
'No.'
'I know, ' I said, 'it's mushrooms.'

We both beamed because the only time Mam bought mushrooms was when Harry came home on leave from the RAF and it was a treat. She used to give him all the heads and we had to share the stalks but as he wasn't at home today, this meant that we would be able to have the heads too.

'No.'
We were disappointed.
'It's better than that.'

When we couldn't guess what it was, she put her hand into her bag and slowly drew it out. The anticipation was unbearable.

'Close your eyes,' she said. 'Now, open them.'
We couldn't believe what we saw.
'A BANANA!'
'Is it real?'
'Yes, it is real. Feel it — smell it.'
It was real.

She told us that her friend's husband was in the navy and was on one of the ships that carry food from hot countries, and he had brought a bunch of bananas home for her, so she had kindly given one to Mam.

'But don't tell anyone,' she had said.

'Can we eat it?'
'Not today.'
'Why not?'
'We'll have banana sandwiches for tea on Sunday.'

We thought Sunday would never come, but it did eventually. Instead of the usual custard and jelly with bread and butter, we were going to have banana sandwiches. We couldn't contain our excitement. We helped Mam to butter eight slices of bread. That was our two slices allowance each, for Mam, dad, Rose and myself.

Mam mashed the banana and mixed it with milk to make it go further. She spread it very thinly on the eight slices of bread. We had never tasted anything so delicious. Rosie and I ate our tea with our eyes closed, it was magic, we wanted to make it last forever — but it didn't. After tea we kept sniffing at the peel because we didn't want it to end.

We eventually went out to play with our friends.

'Guess what we had for our tea.'
'Custard and jelly, that's what everybody has on Sunday.'
'No.'
'Not jam sandwiches.'
'No.'
'Oh! Tell us then.'
'BANANA sandwiches.'
'Don't tell lies.'
'We're not. We have had banana sandwiches.'
'No you haven't, nobody can have banana sandwiches.'
'We have.'
'There's no bananas until the war's over, you are lying.'

'No we're not. I'll show you,' and I ran into the house and came back waving the banana peel. There was silence as they all stared at it and then they all began shouting and grabbing at it at once. When they all felt it and smelled it they believed us and asked if we had another one for them. Could our Mam get one for them from her friend?

'No, there were none left.'

Nobody would be our friend for the next half hour or so. I suppose it served us right, and none of us ever had another banana until after the war ended.

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.