At times, we young ones, forgot there was a vicious war waged all over the globe.
We knew food was not in abundance; a lot of articles were only available on coupons.
Surrogate coffee and tea, surrogate soap, cigarettes made from Dutch tobacco (!), slippers with soles of cardboard, rope made of paper.
Mum and Dad exchanged some tobacco for a packet of butter or a few pounds of potatoes. Thrift was the buzzword.
The war must be going bad for the enemy as the occupiers started to seize all the copper; they could put their hands on.
Coins, kitchen utensils, even bikes were not safe.
You had to watch it, the Germans took them while cycling on the road, and only persons with a special bike permit were allowed to ride on.
Bronze clocks were taken from their lofty heights to be melted for the fabrication of ammunition and weapons.
However the winter seemed not as gloomy when everything is covered with a mantle of snow.