THERE'S A PIG IN MY BED! (GERMAN OCCUPATION OF CHANNEL ISLANDS)
If you have read about rationing in the UK during World War II, you will know that it was difficult, time-consuming, but also that it basically worked, due to the Ministry of Food, Lord Woolton, (don't forget Lord Woolton's pie!)
But rationing on the Channel Islands was another thing entirely, because this was the only place in the UK occupied by German troops, who landed there to use the deep harbors. They took whatever they could find, left little for the citizens, and their occupation led to some seriously crafty ways of getting around restrictions and military oversight.
One recent story I read--true--is about a small pig which had been hidden in some crofter's cellar. How they managed to do this without detection I do not know, except people could be very secretive in those times. The pig was butchered, neighbors alerted, and a small feast was prepared. But then the Germans marched into the house, searching for contraband. The alert householder put the pig under a sheet in a bed upstairs, lit candles by the bedside, and set out a big Bible. They told the Germans that their Grandfather had just died, and they were having a funeral for him. Even the Germans did not dare to interrupt this proceeding. (From "Spuds, Spam, and Eating for Victory," by Katherine Knight.)
There is another story about trying to get enough to eat during the German occupation. Apparently, the doctor on Jersey Island was raising rabbits, but in order to keep them from being discovered, he had them in cages in the upper loft of a barn with a barred entrance, only able to be reached by a ladder. I think this protected the rabbits not only from the occupiers but also from hungry neighbors.
Apparently, folks--as usual--hoped to have a bit of alcoholic comfort during this time. The same doctor was able to distill ethyll alcohol and flavor it with cardoman and juniper, effectively making gin. This prescient man had also, at the beginning of the war, bought up a large quantity of bread from a baker and made rusks from it, which lasted for years. He also bottled 20 boned chickens which again lasted for some time. When I say "bottled" I mean preserved in glass canning jars.
Salt was impossible to come by, so folks had to actually buy salt water (you could not go down to get your own as the beaches were mined) and boils it down. Sweeteners were made from sugar beets using a tedious process of grating them, covering with water, and boiling outside over a sawdust-filled oil drum to make a thick, dark syrup. All baking had to be done in communal ovens as gas was impossible to come by.
And why go through this now, you might ask? Well, when diesel fuel reaches $6.44 per gallon and oil is trapped in the Middle East, you will see groceries going up even more than at present, since much of our food is transported by trucks, which use diesel. This does not reflect the recent price jump.
Some of us are stocking up on canned goods in anticipation of shortages. Myself? I am storing rice, dried beans, canned fruit, tuna, lentils, and other dried sources of protein. I have a freezer full of frozen garden veggies as well. I am lucky. There will be many who will not be able to afford even basic groceries and certainly will struggle to pay for heating oil and gas come winter.
We know who is to blame! But what I find harder than preparing is simply trying to stay grounded, centered, and not falling into a depression about what is happening to our country, others as well, and our climate. Going to church, listening to music, singing, cooking, walking the dog, giving money to shelters or food pantries, seeing friends, and praying seem a good way to go in these very difficult times which bring to mind the rationing folks had to do during World War II. It sometimes feels as if we are at war, doesn't it?
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