Well!

It seems that my unidentified object (now, that's an idea!  Maybe it's a UFO?) piqued lots of interest...let's see what I can do today!

I had some new books arrive yesterday, well, new to me but well-known to lots of people in my grandparents' generation, because they're "Make Do and Mend" and "Eating for Victory".  Fascinating stuff, but at the same time very sad, because it's made me think about several things.

How much have we forgotten how to do?  This was what it was like at the Fall of Rome...people forgot stuff and so we had the Dark Ages (allegedly).

Also - how TOUGH was it!  I baulk at the idea of patching items of clothing, and indeed, my idea of "make do and mend" would be laughed at by the Wartime Generation.  I cut down trousers for my 3 year old to turn them into shorts (he has quite a lot of lovely shorts made from size 18-24 months trousers - too short for him in the legs, but as he is a boy, he has no hips, so therefore they still fit him quite well as shorts), but it's hardly something I *have* to do.  I was reading about clothing coupons to my husband this morning from "Make Do and Mend".  Adults were allocated 66 coupons to last an entire year.  That might sound a lot, but it's not really.  An unlined Mac or other sort of unlined overcoat was worth 9 coupons!  In order to buy a fully lined coat, you would have to sacrifice 18 coupons.  A separate lining would save you some, but not much, as it was 7 coupoons.  A child's coat was 7 coupons, with separate lining being another 4.  Children received 10 coupons more than adults...Don't forget too, and I only just realised this, you had to, on top of submitting your coupons, pay for the items as well.  The coupon system was so the government could limit how much new stuff people bought so the bulk could be reserved for the war effort.  For some reason I had presumed that it was more of a socialist sort of arrangement, with the government paying wages in coupons, but it seems not to have been the case at all.  I can see how the black market became so important during war time.  Yes, the coupon system made it fair for everyone (and "Make Do and Mend" stresses this quite often - "trying to beat the ration is the same as trying to cheat the nation"), but it must have cheered people up a little (and goodness, surely even Mr Churchill would have approved of a little cheer occasionally?) when they'd managed to get a luxury item from their local racketeer!

Now, back to my Unidentified Object.  The latest ideas are:  a stretcher for a beret or cap; a comfy seat for a pixie; a hat block of some sort; an *enormous* pincushion; or a display thingummy for jewellery or similar. 

Honestly, your guesses are as good as mine...