- Contributed by听
- Essex Action Desk
- People in story:听
- Dolly Ashy (nee Twelvetree) and Anita M. Sackett
- Location of story:听
- Rushden, Northants
- Background to story:听
- Civilian
- Article ID:听
- A6038048
- Contributed on:听
- 06 October 2005
鈥淭his story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by volunteer Anita M. Howard (nee Sackett) from Essex Action Desk CSV on behalf of herself as A.M.Sackett and has been added to the site with her permission. She fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.
Bananas were difficult to get during the war as they were imported from abroad and when they did get into the greengrocer鈥檚 there was always a long queue for them. Also if you lived in the Midlands as I did as a child, bananas rarely reached those parts as the towns nearest the ports had them before us.
Some years ago I was asked to write a poem about the taste of bananas for a children鈥檚 anthology about 鈥渢aste.鈥
I remembered queuing up for bananas but found it difficult to describe how they tasted but I wrote the memory of the 鈥渜ueuing up.鈥
BANANA QUEUE
She called over the fence,
鈥淭ell yer mum, bananas is in
round the corner.
Om jist going afore they鈥檙e orl gorn.鈥
Then off she strode in her felt hat
And brogues.
Bananas were rare
and mum longed for one
but she was at the factory
and Gran was out.
Alone, at home I brooded,
Then crept upstairs
Hand hovering over
the dinner money box.
Heart thumping
I took a shilling
Rushed to the shop
And joined the queue
Of stern faced women.
I arrived home
Triumphant, with my trophy.
Mum greeted me, wide smiled.
Can鈥檛 remember the taste
Though we had them for tea,
And she wasn鈥檛 cross about the money.
Anita Marie Sackett 2005
I told this story to my Auntie Dolly, my mum鈥檚 best friend, many years later and she told me the next story about bananas in her broad Northamptonshire accent.
She had a cousin in Ipswich near the docks and often returned home with some.
AUNT DOLLY鈥橲 BANANAS!
Bananas, gal,
You coon鈥檛 get 鈥榚m
For love nor money.
Ever so rare they wur
Roun air way
During the war
But at me cousin鈥檚
Near the docks
There they wur
鈥楿ndreds of 鈥榚m.
Large as life.
You coda knocked me down.
They ullwas got 鈥榚m
When the ships cum in.
W鈥檃ll you shooda seen me ,gal,
Carried as many as I cood.
Wern鈥檛 arf popular
When I got 鈥榦me
I can tell yer!
Anita Marie Sackett 2005
Aunt Dolly is well over 90 now and is no way 鈥渂ananas.鈥
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