Heres an odd thing. Last week in Ballina, County Mayo, we bought a cake (victoria sponge since you ask) in a very nice Home Bakery. I am partial to nice pastry, especially flakey crust apple pie.
But the thing was that there was a sign saying the baking was “gluton free”. I askec Mrs FJH what this actually means and she told me.
A few hours later we were in a coffee shop in Knock, County Mayo…and there was another sign. “Gluton free”. I didnt want to embarras myself by asking what it meant but I suggested to Mrs FJH that it must be some kind “southern thing” as Id ever seen such a sign in the North. But Mrs FJH said they are “all over the place”.
And as three is the charm, we came home to an invitation to a function in aid of a charity where “gluton free bakery” will be available.
Not wanting Mrs FJH to explain it all to me again, I asked my daughter-in-law. and the strange thing is that my baby granddaughter is on a gluton-free diet.
Turns out Im just not very observant.
My sons are 29 and 27. Nobody had invented Gluton Free in those days. The big obsession was “nut allergy” (neither of my sons suffer).
But going back into the 1950s and 1960s I dont recall anybody knowing or caring about Nut Allergy.
Diet Coca Cola had not been invented.
Neither had E numbers. I have no idea what they are but a former co-worker was absolutely obsessed with E numbers.

And sometime around 1985, the Scientists invented Asthma.
Somehow 98.3% (I err on the side of caution) of children have Asthma…I dont recall it in the 1960s. Why do we have Asthma? Why do Farmers children rarely have Asthma?