Oxo tins and . . .

lunch for school. I never ate a school dinner.

     The last fun question on Radio 4's Any Questions this week concerned the nutritional value of the lunches that some parents pack for their children. The questioner asked the panel what they had in their lunch boxes for school. None of the panel had had a packed lunch at school but remembered some of the dismal school dinners they were served.

     I used an Oxo tin for at least my first year at secondary school in which I packed a sandwich, a banana and a Jacob's Club,  . . . mmmm I don't remember a drink. Cheese and tomato was my favourite sandwich or rather the one I remember most. Banana is my usual choice of fruit along with apple.

     Mum and dad kept a village shop when I was at primary school so I went home for lunch while all the dinner children walked in pairs along the High Street, past my house, to the old school house in Maldon road which served as the school canteen and venue for parties and the like. Only once was this pattern broken when mum was very ill with influenza. Rather than go with the other children for school dinner I went across the street and had lunch with Mrs Enion. Her twin sons were away at boarding school. I don't know what dad was doing that he couldn't look after me; my sister must have been working as a nanny at that time and was away too. I vaguely remember our teacher collecting five shillings (5/-) dinner money every Monday morning.

     I was used to having quite a bit of time to myself in the middle of the day. I could go for a walk and some times walked to the newspaper-shop at the other end of the street to by a comic although Arthur Mee's Children's Newspaper and Eagle were delivered to the house along with the Daily Telegraph. On Fridays I'd go to Mr Brown's for a nice piece of cod and chips.