THE deprivations of the 1970s continues to prompt memories from readers.
Sue Hinchliffe, of Rastrick, says: “I thought about the difficulties we had thrown at us. I remember the sugar shortage and trying to crush granulated sugar with a rolling pin to make it a bit like caster sugar and I succeeded to a small degree.
“I did put it in a bag first so it didn’t go all over the kitchen table.
“At the time I was a catering officer in a school but don’t remember any real difficulties there, so maybe sugar was rationed in the industry and we managed to eke it out.
“There was a toilet paper shortage in the 1970s too.
“I came across someone who came to my parents’ home as a youngster and remembers seeing a mountain of toilet paper which my parents had bought, making sure they didn’t run out … for many years!
“The biggest problem was the electricity cuts during the miners’ strikes.
“I went to work very early in the mornings to use the mixers and slicers before the electricity was cut off for four hours and we rolled out pastry by candle light. Luckily, our ovens were gas, without any usage of electricity for controls and we literally and metaphorically cooked with gas.”
