# School Milk Scheme 1982



## truthseeker (7 Feb 2008)

Does anyone remember when this was brought in?

Talked it over with a couple of friends last night and all our memories of it are of cartons of milk left lying in warm places and tasting warm and slightly gone off - all from different schools - was wondering what other peoples experiences were?


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## ney001 (7 Feb 2008)

I remember, warm milk and horrible brown bread and corned beef sandwiches that nobody ever ate on a wednesday and a Friday - I wouldn't have drank milk if you'd paid me when I was in school anyway.  I do however remember a couple of the poorer kids in the class hanging around after school on a Friday waiting until everybody left so that they could take home the milk and sandwiches


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## muesli (7 Feb 2008)

Not sure when it started but I remember our school winning a Milk Cooler because of our above average consumption - Gerry Loftus came to present it !


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## snuffle (7 Feb 2008)

Yep, tiny cartons of milk left lying out in the sun on the classroom sink, not allowed touch them til lunchtime by which time they were all warm and yucky. What was the point of doing that?


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## ClubMan (7 Feb 2008)

Ah - them were the days. Tepid quarter (?) pint bottles (I don't remember cartons*) of milk and gank white bread sambos with margarine and jam or corned beef. I think it put me off drinking milk alone for life. Wednesday ("bun day") and the nice soft currant buns were always eagerly anticipated though. 

* Were there ever "pyramid" shaped _TetraPak _style cartons at some stage or am I thinking of the orange "juice" that was sold in those receptacles in the 70s?

Update: hang on the thread title and a quick _Google _suggests that the scheme was brought in during 1982. But I'm talking about the early 70s!


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## ney001 (7 Feb 2008)

ClubMan said:


> Ah - them were the days. Tepid quarter (?) pint bottles (I don't remember cartons*) of milk and gank white bread sambos with margarine and jam or corned beef. I think it put me off drinking milk alone for life. Wednesday ("bun day") and the nice soft currant buns were always eagerly anticipated though.
> 
> * Were there ever "pyramid" shaped _TetraPak _style cartons at some stage or am I thinking of the orange "juice" that was sold in those receptacles in the 70s?



I forgot all about the buns, they were on a Friday as well we all ate them just not the sambos


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## truthseeker (7 Feb 2008)

Id forgotten the horrible corned beef sambos!!!!
and the currant buns!!!! i hate currants - wonder if thats why!!

I remember quarter pint cartons, and exactly like snuffle says, left in the sun and not allowed to touch them til lunchtime. Looks like a lot of schools had similiar 'lack of refrigeration' problems!!!


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## Caveat (7 Feb 2008)

Was this all only for primary schools? I was in secondary school by 1982 - certainly don't remember anything about this.


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## ClubMan (7 Feb 2008)

Primary only as far as I know. That's where I remember it in the 70s anyway.


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## truthseeker (7 Feb 2008)

I can only remember it in Primary - and also only in the first primary I was in, we moved house and I changed school at 10 and the new primary didnt have it - but it was outside of Dublin so perhaps that made a difference at the time?


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## Cahir (7 Feb 2008)

We had cheese sandwiches one day, corn beef two days and bun days were wednesday and Friday.  Very few people ate the sandwiches but we always ran out of buns so you had to scramble for them!  The milk was always manky.


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## ney001 (7 Feb 2008)

Cahir said:


> We had cheese sandwiches one day, corn beef two days and bun days were wednesday and Friday.  Very few people ate the sandwiches but we always ran out of buns so you had to scramble for them!  The milk was always manky.



I always remember our milk never had straws and most of the cartons had been pecked at by the birds when the milk was left outside school door early in the morning!


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## snuffle (7 Feb 2008)

ney001 said:


> I always remember our milk never had straws and most of the cartons had been pecked at by the birds when the milk was left outside school door early in the morning!



Yes, forgot about that! no straws, so you either pierced the little foil hole and tried to somehow vacuum the milk out, or you opened the side and ended up with milk all down your jumper, plus the resulting vomit-inducing smell until you could get home and wash the horrible milk out of your jumper. 

What's all this about sandwiches and buns though? did some schools provide these too? With us it was only milk provided, and bring your own lunch (although they were never much better than the sandwiches discribed above -  some unfortunate would have egg salad sandwiches thinking they were posh, and the foul odour emitting when the lunchbox was opened....urgh).

Ah, the days of jam sandwiches and warm milk.


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## Thirsty (7 Feb 2008)

Yes, Clubman I remember the pyramid shaped TetraPak; milk was sold in them for a while - they were dreadful to open!

We never got the milk in school though; I think it was up to the school to particpate in the scheme?


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## ninsaga (7 Feb 2008)

Used to get a cup of milk & a quarter of a bun in primary school - used only be dished out up to 1st class me thinks.

In secondary school it was brought in again in the early eighties sometime. We used to get milk in plastic cartons which had these foil lids (like you get with cartons of cream).. & a straw. Didn't last to long though after someone had a carton of milk 'fall' & pour all over their head from 2 flights of stairs upwards!


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## tallpaul (7 Feb 2008)

Yes I now remember this. We had red and white tetra packs of warm milk. 

Anyone know why they did this? Was it to get rid of the EEC milk lakes (as opposed to the butter mountains) that they had at the time?


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## Jock04 (7 Feb 2008)

Probably not much help, but in the mid 60's eek: ) in Glasgow, we used to get a 1/3rd pint bottle of milk free, and we could buy digestive biscuits for a penny each. We got these at morning break, not lunchtime, and the milk was as cold as the classroom.
Anyone who had sambos would probably have been mugged for them!

The much-loved Mrs Thatcher did away with this outrageous act of generosity & concern for child welfare when she was Minister for Health, sometime in the 70's, I believe.


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## ninsaga (7 Feb 2008)

Jock04 said:


> Probably not much help, but in the mid 60's eek: ) in Glasgow, we used to get a 1/3rd pint bottle of milk free, and we could buy digestive biscuits for a penny each. We got these at morning break, not lunchtime, and the milk was as cold as the classroom.
> Anyone who had sambos would probably have been mugged for them!



Hah!... Milk AND digestive biscuits!.... well you were lucky


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## Caveat (7 Feb 2008)

In 1979 I think - _Milk Snatcher Thatcher_ (unsurprisingly) I believe was the refrain of the day.

_*EDIT: Just checked; it was actually 1971!! Harold Wilson had previously ended free school milk to secondary schools in 1968 it seems.*_


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## stephnyc (7 Feb 2008)

ClubMan said:


> * Were there ever "pyramid" shaped _TetraPak _style cartons at some stage or am I thinking of the orange "juice" that was sold in those receptacles in the 70s?


 
I have a notion these orange drinks were called "wigwams" and we used to freeze them in the summer?


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## Sue Ellen (7 Feb 2008)

Our milk  had a touch of class as it was always served in a small glass bottle and therefore didn't taste too bad unlike the sambos.  Buns on Wednesday were great.


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## redstar (7 Feb 2008)

I used to envy my teacher who was served  (yes, by a lady with a trolley !) tea and Lincoln Cream biscuits at morning break time. My desk was in front of his, and I used to sneak a look to see if he would leave any biscuits ! For years afterwards I wanted to become a teacher when i grew up !


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## ClubMan (7 Feb 2008)

I worked in one job where we had a tea lady with trolley who came around twice a day with tea/coffee and bickies. I would say that this was a semi-state operation but I'm afraid that I might be responsible for increasing _Purple's _blood pressure even further with all this discussion of public service/semi-state perks!


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## BillK (7 Feb 2008)

Here in the English Midlands back in the mid 1950's we had the 1/3rd of a pint bottles of milk at my secondary school. No biscuits or sandwiches though.


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## ClubMan (7 Feb 2008)

sueellen said:


> Our milk  had a touch of class as it was always served in a small glass bottle and therefore didn't taste too bad unlike the sambos.  Buns on Wednesday were great.


Yeah - we had the glass bottles too. Wasn't sure of they were 1/4 or 1/3 of a pint.


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## Black Sheep (8 Feb 2008)

Definitely no milk in our school. We just brought sods of turf. Check with your Grannies they might remember.


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## Betsy Og (8 Feb 2008)

I remember the early protoypes were sealed bags which were the best craic for easy squirting and leaving in front of car wheels for explosive effect.

Then as time moved on there was all sorts of flavoured milky gunk including Benny Bunny.

This was later used to hilarious effect in secondary school where the few eco warriers before their time were slagged with the slogan

"Free the Benny Bunnies"


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## Lauren (8 Feb 2008)

ClubMan said:


> I worked in one job where we had a tea lady with trolley who came around twice a day with tea/coffee and bickies. I would say that this was a semi-state operation but I'm afraid that I might be responsible for increasing _Purple's _blood pressure even further with all this discussion of public service/semi-state perks!


 

On a client site I visit regularly, they have this...Actually I'm there today and I can hear the trolley now for morning tea! lol


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## ClubMan (8 Feb 2008)

Black Sheep said:


> Definitely no milk in our school. We just brought sods of turf.


What did they taste like?


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## truthseeker (8 Feb 2008)

ClubMan said:


> What did they taste like?


 
Probably nicer than the warm slightly turned milk!


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## z104 (8 Feb 2008)

The only people that got them in my school were the kids whose parents were on social welfare or dole or whatever it was called back then.

If a kid who was entitled to it was out somebody else got to take their place.


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## z105 (14 Feb 2008)

> I have a notion these orange drinks were called "wigwams" and we used to freeze them in the summer?


Yep definitely called Wigwams ! - Takes you back doesn't it !

As for the size of the milk bottles, I think they were 1/3rd pint.

It seems that the EU got involved in the scheme in 1982, but I went through primary in the 70's and we had the milk, sandwiches/buns etc, perhaps our own government were sponsoring it at that stage ?


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## Purple (14 Feb 2008)

ClubMan said:


> I worked in one job where we had a tea lady with trolley who came around twice a day with tea/coffee and bickies. I would say that this was a semi-state operation but I'm afraid that I might be responsible for increasing _Purple's _blood pressure even further with all this discussion of public service/semi-state perks!


Not at all, sure if she woke you lot up when she gave you your tea she probably increased productivity...


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## Gordanus (20 Feb 2008)

We definitely had free milk in primary school in the early 60s....also sandwiches daily with buns on a Wednesday. Then moved to a different primary school in 1968 and they didn't have the sambos or buns, just the milk. (Both schools in Dublin)


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## Purple (20 Feb 2008)

We had free milk in the 70's and 80's.


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## rmelly (20 Feb 2008)

if there's one thing I hate, it's room temperature milk.


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## Purple (20 Feb 2008)

rmelly said:


> if there's one thing I hate, it's room temperature milk.


 Yea, especially when the room is 27°C


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## jonnyhotspur (21 Feb 2008)

Late 70's milk scheme ----- Japers won't sleep for a month now. 
Around that time my Ma used to pack our prairie sandwiches in an old butter carton (before the days of a lunch box). One day we were all asked to show the teacher what we brought to school for lunch. Opened the lid and what did i find? Butter. The humiliation.
I might have dreamt this up but did Charlie Haughey give us all tooth brushes around then?


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## Caveat (21 Feb 2008)

jonnyhotspur said:


> prairie sandwiches


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## jonnyhotspur (21 Feb 2008)

Caveat said:


>


 
On the days that you didn't want corned beef, easy singles, sugar or salad you'd ask your Ma for a prairie one. Just two slices of buttered bread stuck together. Come to think of it my Ma had strange names for lots of things. The immersion heater was known to us as the emergency heater. Hundreds&Thousands were jimmydedogs.


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## truthseeker (21 Feb 2008)

jonnyhotspur said:


> Come to think of it my Ma had strange names for lots of things.


 
As did mine - to this day I call the remote control 'the button machine'.


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## ClubMan (21 Feb 2008)

My friend's father used to call any meal that was not meat and two veg "spaghetti bolognese" - it was his generic, catch all term for any "foreign" food.


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## Gordanus (22 Feb 2008)

But to  go back to the original post, when were these Milk and Sambo schemes introduced? and Where? and Why? Anyone know?


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## truthseeker (22 Feb 2008)

Gordanus said:


> But to go back to the original post, when were these Milk and Sambo schemes introduced? and Where? and Why? Anyone know?


 
Well the milk scheme was in 1982, i dunno about the sambos - my other half has often complained long and loud about his mam giving him manky sambos for school, i thought it was strange i remembered the same sambo fillings - til we realised itd been the free sambos he was remembering!!
so it must at least have been around the same time as the milk for sambos - if not before.


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## TheBlock (22 Feb 2008)

ney001 said:


> I remember, warm milk and horrible brown bread and corned beef sandwiches that nobody ever ate on a wednesday and a Friday - I wouldn't have drank milk if you'd paid me when I was in school anyway. I do however remember a couple of the poorer kids in the class hanging around after school on a Friday waiting until everybody left so that they could take home the milk and sandwiches


 

I was one of the many kids in our school that took the spare milk home....was in glass 1/3 pint bottles at the time. It was our reward for cleaning up the class rooms. Mother was delighted as there was 8 of us and every penny counted in the 70's.

I remember going to play some ball after school one summers day with about 8 of these 1/3 pint bottles in my schoolbag. Bag was used as a goal post and needless to say the stench out of it when the milk was split all over the place was cruel.


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