WITH all the food scares these days - from eggs, beef and GM crops - my mind goes back to my schooldays in the 1940s when we were still growing and always seemed hungry.

After school lunches we often bought teacakes or chips if we had a spare sixpence.

Once, the shop near school had some off-ration mint flavoured caramels made from goodness knows what, but we ate them.

However my most interesting snack was offered by an acquaintance who regularly bought a pound of dog biscuits to eat.

He offered one, I ate it, it was all right.

As far as I know there were no after-effects woof! woof!

G WHEATMAN (Mr), Whalley New Road, Blackburn.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.