When the war ended, petrol became available in limited quantities for private use and petrol coupons became a valuable commodity. It was sufficient to enable every family to open up their garage, push out the car or motorbike and begin a restoration programme.  I remember Richard Dowdell's dad bringing out a 1934 BSA 250cc with side-car and spending every weekend for months restoring it with loving care.

 

As restrictions eased, people began using cars more but in those days,  there were no steering locks, and one common ignition key fitted all Morris and Austin cars.  If you had coupons and had put petrol in your tank, the car was vulnerable to stealing. One solution was to lift the bonnet, open the distributor and remove the rota arm.  This little knobbly component could fit neatly in the waistcoat pocket of a motorist, and prevented a thief from making off with your car. Some people also pushed a cone made from wire netting into the petrol filler pipe, to stop fuel being syphoned off. It was some years before someone invented the locking petrol cap.

 

We built a buch in our second bedroom after the war. This was to accommodate the dresses and other clothes of the family.  Ideally, we would have liked a wardrobe, but such were the restrictions after the war that you could not buy furniture without long delays. My father put a rail across the alcove and hung a curtain in front and to make space for clothes.  The family saying was: “You cannot buy wardrobes, butch-you-can-make 'em”.