A Pint Of Peas

[MrsLadyBug]

Does anyone else out there remember back to 50's i think when frozen peas became available. Not having a freezer I remember being sent to the butchers with a jug to get a pint of peas!
Am I imagining it? My lot think I am going senile

[ummmm]

Lol Postdog, why?

[bhg481]

I must say that we prefer frozen peas to fresh peas cooked, so we buy peas in the pod and sit and eat them whilst watching TV.

[ummmm]

I do that, bhg, and sugar snap peas.

[EDDIE51]

When Iceland shops first opened they had open cases of loose frozen food and veg in the freezers, with scoops to serve yourself with as much of each as you wanted. You took a plastic bag and used the scoop to put as much of each item in it as you wanted. You took your bags to the till and paid by weight. They also had things like Fish Fingers , chicken portions, chips and frozen pies loose and you just put as many as you needed in your plastic bags and paid at the till by how many you wanted. It was a lot cheaper than buying the same items prepacked in a cardboard box. Was it this you remember?

[MrsLadyBug]

used to love shelling the peas. Eat a lot too.
When I was growing them some years back used to have pea shelling nights with the kids. As they were ripening altogether. Shell them and freeze them straight away.

[MrsLadyBug]

No it wouldn't have been Iceland. Not in 50's east or south london.
But that is such agood idea.

[marval]

I used to love shelling peas with my mum and granny. I also used to eat some while doing that.

[EDDIE51]

Here
http://about.iceland.co.uk/our-story/
They started in 1970 by selling loose frozen food.

[bhg481]

We bought our first freezer in 1970 or 1971 - a chest freezer because they were classed as commercial so there was no purchase tax on them. We shopped in Bejam, later taken over by Iceland, and bought 20lb of peas at a time and also bought large bags (about 20lb) of carrots off the market and peeled, blanched and froze them ourselves.

[marval]

I used to work for this company, before Iceland took them over.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/24284096773

[tonyav]

Bejam, now theres a blast from the past marval.

[marval]

Yes, it was as long time ago. We used to get vouchers, great for Christmas food.

[MrsLadyBug]

I remember Bejam. But this was even before their time. I thinkthat it may well have been the fishmonger because he would have ice available, as a new thing when the frozen peas first became available. just offering an extra service to his customers. He may have been the only one doing it and as far as I can remember we would have been living in Lewisham or New Cross at that time.
It started me off on the niceness of frozen peas over canned. Wouldn't have canned peas in the house ever.

[bhg481]

What a nostalgic link, marval. Nearly all those companies have gone now.

[marval]

Yes they have bhg, such a shame.

[EDDIE51]

We had a Bejam deep freeze for many years. In fact we only got rid of it about 10 years ago . It must have lasted at least 25 years.
I forgot Iceland was originally Bejam. It was probably Bejam stores that I remember selling loose frozen food , it was definitely the late 1960s as it was when I was still at school,left school in 1968.

[tonyav]

Would have been Bejam back then, EDDIE.

[Jackdaw33]

A funny story about shops. 30 odd years ago I used to do the shopping for my late mother. The store was called Fine Fare and it had a section called 'Weigh your own', whereby you dipped a big trowel into the tub and served yourself. She insisted that I get her cornflakes from there, which I duly did. One day a light bulb came on; something was not quite right. I did the maths and realised that they were more expensive than a box of Kellogg's. I duly bought a box of the latter, only to receive a severe scolding for wasting money! Nothing I could say would convince her.

[tonyav]

I remember Fine Fare to, jd. Also Wrensons and George Masons.

LOL, hard to convince a mom isn't it.

[marval]

My mum used to go to a Fine Fare too.