VE Day Celebrations - Village Street Party
On May 8th 1945 the second world war officially ended. VE Day celebrations were held all over England.
We had our own (belated) VE Day Street Party outside Old Weston Village Hall on July 5th 2009. Village members arrived, many in 1940s style dress (and uniform) bearing food and crockery for the tables.
In keeping with the theme the food consisted of various sandwiches (cheese, cucumber, spam, eggs, ham, fish paste, tomatoes and sardines), sausage rolls and other savouries. Scones, cakes and other delights were also on offer.
For those that enjoyed baking there was a cake competition which was judged by the "WI lady". All cakes had to be made from the same recipe and presented as instructed on the leaflet that was popped through our doors. If you didn't follow the "rules", sadly your cake was rejected.
Judging the cake was a serious affair as shown in the second part of the video below.
With only one egg per person allowed each week, it would have been difficult to bake cakes back in the 1940s. In fact they devised recipes for sponges that did not use any eggs at all, or that used dried egg. This powder was mixed with water and used in place of fresh eggs.
But what about the jam in the cakes? With each person only allowed 2oz of jam a week, many turned to preserving their own home-grown fruits. Jams, jellies and pickles were not only made from garden produce...the fields and hedgerows were also searched for foodstuffs such as blackberries, rosehips, elderberries and sloes.
So you see they didn't go without. After all you cannot enjoy the VE Day celebrations without a cake can you?
During the war, and for many years afterwards, food was rationed and people were encouraged to grown their own vegetables. The Ministry of Food offered valuable advice on how to eat well, both in the newspapers and on the wireless (radio).
The lady in the video below, shows you just what foods you were allowed each week. It wasn't much!
After the feasting part of our VE Day celebrations came the games. Phil the vet organised a series of rounders matches for anyone that wanted to take part. With so many people wanting to play, we had to restrict each innings to just 15 minutes. With team members from young children to retired folk, it was great fun for everyone. You can see the edited highlights in the video below.
Other events of the day are relayed on the following pages...
World War 2 Rifles - Video demonstration
