THEY were the days of rationing when pigs' trotters and sheeps' hearts were a regular part of the diet and suet puddings helped keep out the cold.

Everyday food in Britain during World War Two wasn't for the gastronomically faint-hearted - yet when the war ended, Brits were better fed and healthier than they'd ever been. Obesity wasn't a problem.

During those dark days of war - and the years of austerity that followed - the trick was to create nourishing fare out of what was available.

It was a skill that had to be mastered and a group of senior citizens in Thornbury have been recalling how they rose to the challenge.

Residents of the Quaker Court sheltered housing scheme have launched their cook book - "Memories are Made of This" - containing recipes based entirely on wartime ingredients, both on and off ration.

Featuring such hearty delights as stuffed hearts, fried conger eel, brawn and pigs' trotter sandwiches, the book gives a real taste of the "make do" cuisine of the time, mixed in with wartime memories from the South Gloucestershire and Bristol area and a good sprinkling of photographs, including many from residents' own albums.

As well as showing how to create tasty meals from items that wouldn't normally grace the dining table, the book is also a telling commentary on today's throwaway society where, according to recent reports, Britons waste almost seven million tonnes of food each year.

"It's shocking when you hear about the muck they eat nowadays and the way they throw things away," said Almondsbury born and bred Joan Ward, 89, who has contributed her recipe for faggots and pigs' trotter sandwiches.

"Cooking on the ration was hard work. Some of the dishes we produced weren't exactly fit for a king - some of them did taste a bit like chaff - but we did our best with what we could get.

"If you had a family to feed and your man was away fighting you had no choice."

Nellie Sherman, 86 - born in Pullins Green, Thornbury, just a stone's throw from Quaker Court - recalled queuing for cooking fat and making butter for a special treat.

"We used to collect the cream from the top of the milk through the week and then on Sunday we'd shake it up in a jar until we had a bit of butter to go on our bread for Sunday tea," she said.

One of the youngest in the home, 82-year-old Dorrie Morris, remembers her mother, a WVS member, cooking for desolate soldiers returning home following the Dunkirk evacuation.

"We were living in Hampshire at the time and we took tea and snacks to Basingstoke station for the men as they passed through.

"Some of the men looked very broken and I started to cry but my mum told me that wouldn't help and to just get on with it!"

The 28 page book is being sold to raise money for the home's coffee club which arranges day trips and various small events for residents.

Priced £5.99, it is available direct from Quaker Court, Quaker Lane, Thornbury BS35 2NY. Cheques should be made payable to Quaker Court Residents' Club.

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