Comments on: Cup-cakes and cutbacks: Being nostalgic about austerity

By: Andreas

Andreas — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 16:48:06 +0000

I didn’t mean to say that your cupcake analysis was redundant or misleading, quite the contrary. I just wanted to point out the very different meaning of ‘cupcakes’ here in the US, where it is a signifier for a certain joie de vivre, quite ahistorical and more obsessed with the latest sugar-filled craze. I would surmise that the recipes here are better too, as there are some really crazy concoctions available in that store. I think I shall get some this afternoon…
So if something delectable and delightful as that is turned into a dour reminder of the ‘glorious’ old days of austerity – then that is indeed an indication of a mindset that I would call despondent, seeking its escape in a sad past.
As for all the jubilations, to my mind they had something almost maniacal about them. That sad fleet of tug boats, tourist vessels, and assorted floating devices was in fact a rather miserable display of contemporary ‘Britannia ruling the waves’ – no matter the delirious reporting on the Beeb. As for the Olympics… well…
I think if you begin to scratch that surface of keeping calm and carrying on, you’ll find a lot of discontent, resentment, and anxiety.
Keep calm and keep baking…

By: Nadya Ali

Nadya Ali — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 16:17:50 +0000

I fear the cupcakes aspect of this post may seem redundant but I think it’s important. For me it’s a symbol of how this love of baking has been revived within the context of Austerity Britain. Consider the mission statement of ‘Awfully Nice Cupcakes’, “We are inspired by the lovely home-baked treats that used to fill many an appreciative tummy throughout the 1940′s, 1950′s and earlier…”(http://www.awfullynice.co.uk/) Why revive the cupcake and all it associated baking mania now?

Also, I think the danger is to assume that the mood of the island is despondent. I think the real danger is to think that things are OK, or good even because we have had the Olympics and a Monarchy basking in the glory of its wedding/jubilee success. The conservative vanguard has well and truly been mobilised to celebrate all things British despite the very obvious, persistent political and economic problems we are facing. Less bunting and more outrage: that is what we need.

By: Andreas

Andreas — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 15:16:56 +0000

Excellent blog entry, and easy to agree with – except for the cupcakes bit. I give you the (local DC) American version of this craze:

http://www.sweetlobby.com/

Have a look at the menu, and enjoy the visuals on the home page, above all the ‘we bake, you debate’. And yes, they are absolutely wonderful.

It would be an all too British accomplishment to turn pure culinary decadence into something austere. That, more than anything betrays to me the true Zeitgeist of a despondent island.