For some reason, I was expecting them to live in the house for the entire duration of the war - 6 years or so - and was a bit disappointed to learn that they would only be there for a few weeks. Nevertheless, the “War Cabinet” did a good job in simulating wartime conditions in the compressed time frame, and towards the end you could see that they were quite tired and hungry. Despite the whining, I thought they took in the whole experience with good humo(u)r. “We’re English. Stiff upper lip and all that.” Granny’s “Kilroy” notes were quite amusing: “Wot no fuel?”, “Wot no bubble bath?”, “Wot no Yanks?”. I, too, was disappointed that they didn’t have GI billeted with them. I was also amused at how seriously the elder son took his duties as fuel warden. He was quite proud of having saved the 13 units of fuel.
I am anxiously awaiting the U.S. b’cast of Edwardian Country House . . .
I saw 1940s House, and it was interesting . . . I spent the last two years researching England in the Blitz for a book, and talked to a lot of people who’d been there. The main problem with this show—and this was addressed—is that “1940s England” wasn’t about rationing and clothes and such, but about not knowing if you and your neighbors and your country are going to be bombed to hell in the next 30 seconds, or if you’ll lose the war and Hitler will be walking down Main Street next week. There is simply no way to re-create that.
Any more volunteers ready to give up six years of their lives for a TV programme? Thought not.
I’m waiting for 1990 House.
Sorry to resurrect this thread from the past, but I just saw it on tape this past weekend. A couple of questions arose:
What was up with the bikes? I had been under the impression that rubber was in limited supply during the war and that bike tires had to be removed to contribute to the war effort.
Why rabbits? Wouldn’t chickens also have been a good choice, or was the gov’t concerned about the ability of the chickens to hold up under stress during the air raids?
I enjoyed this one far more than 1900 House, and got a kick out of the little kid being the fuel warden. The kids were great in this one–much less whining about missing pizza and being bored.
From the official 1940s House website
So, apparently the rabbits were placed there as pre-war pets so that the family would have to decide what to do with them. I hope England’s dogs and cats didn’t face this dilemma!
That’d be Rad!
Yeah, I take offense to the “people are more whiny today” stance, too. I would also say that Bush really dropped the ball when the only thing he asked Americans to do after 9/11 was to go shopping. I’d say that people haven’t been willing to make sacrifices because they haven’t been asked to!