ONE of the many benefits of old age is noticing the changes that have occurred over the years, some beneficial, some not, but they all inevitably involve the production of extra CO2. It’s remarkably serious as at the same time our numbers have increased from just two billion in 1930 to almost eight billion now.

In the late forties we didn’t go far, as only 10per cent of households had a car, compared with 80per cent now, with a third now having at least two! Then we all traveled by tram or train and flying was unknown so we holidayed locally, often at the nearest coastal resort.

It was the same with clothes. You didn’t have many, a Sunday best, and then the work or school ones, made from cotton or wool. Shoes were mended time and again and most clothes were patched, darned and even dyed to extend their life.

There were no fridges or washing machines, and the coal fired boiler laundered all the clothes on Monday, and after mangling they were hung on a kitchen drying rack as tumble driers were decades away. Additionally the iron was heated on the coal fire.

Few homes had phones and mobile ones only occurred in science fiction.

However adults then had skills that have now disappeared, as food preparation illustrates. We grew our own vegetables, bottled fruit, eat rabbit, made bread, and ready meals were unheard of. The milk was ladled from a churn, or left in a glass bottle. Waste was minimal.

Then lovely milk puddings, made from sago or tapioca, were popular, but sadly none of Bradford’s big supermarkets now stock them. While one is from the sago palm, and the other the cassava tree, they are both gluten, fat and protein free, providing a useful boost of carbohydrates.

So bring back sago and ‘frogspawn’ tapioca !