--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I started school in the autumn term of…" description: "\"I started school in the autumn term of 1949 when there was a tomato glut. We had tomatoes in every form known to God, man or beast - and they were all ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/david-starkey-4242_autumn_i-started-school-in-the-autumn-term-of-1_3186705.png" --- # I started school in the autumn term of 1949 when there was… ![“I started school in the autumn term of 1949 when there was a tomato glut. We had tomatoes in every form known to God, man or beast - and they were all equally detestable. When you pushed them with your fork, a warmish liquid spurted forth. It was rather like sort of bursting a boil.” quote by David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/david-starkey-4242_autumn_i-started-school-in-the-autumn-term-of-1_3186705.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/david-starkey-4242_autumn_i-started-school-in-the-autumn-term-of-1_3186705.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/david-starkey-4242_autumn_i-started-school-in-the-autumn-term-of-1_3186705.png) > “I started school in the autumn term of 1949 when there was a tomato glut. We had tomatoes in every form known to God, man or beast - and they were all equally detestable. When you pushed them with your fork, a warmish liquid spurted forth. It was rather like sort of bursting a boil.” [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator describes a 1949 tomato surplus, describing the fruit as unpleasant and likening its texture to a burst boil. **In simple terms:** A historical tomato glut was seen as repulsive and messy. Key Takeaway Avoid waste by finding new uses for surplus food. Themes history food waste perception Mood reflective analytical Type historical educational When to use this quote - post‑war Britain - culinary history - food preservation Key Concepts agricultural economics sensory description Questions to Reflect On - How can surplus foods be repurposed creatively? - What cultural attitudes shape our food dislikes? A Different Perspective May overgeneralize taste preferences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autumn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Glut Tomatoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glut-tomatoes-5861598/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Tomato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomato/) [Tomato Glut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomato-glut-5861597/) [Tomatoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomatoes/) [Tomatoes Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomatoes-form-5861599/) ## Related quotes > [In Spain, we mainly use red plum tomatoes, but it is always fun to experiment. 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Pizzas on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-tunnicliffe/i-don-t-know-how-long-i-spent-wandering-about-the-supermarket/) [Hannah Tunnicliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-tunnicliffe/) > [He says I'm beautiful as a red tomato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-duprau/he-says-i-m-beautiful-as-a-red-tomato/) [Jeanne DuPrau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-duprau/) > [“Ever since, two summers ago, Joe Marino had begun to come into her bed, a preposterous fecundity had overtaken the staked plans, out in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/ever-since-two-summers-ago-joe-marino-had-begun-to-come-into-her-bed/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The time will come when this luscious golden tomato, rich in nutrition, a delight to the eye, a joy to the palate whether fried,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-johnson/the-time-will-come-when-this-luscious-golden-tomato-rich-in-nutrition/) [Robert Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-johnson/) > [“The raw tomato, devoured in the garden when freshly picked, is a horn of abundance of simple sensations, a radiating rush in one's mouth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/the-raw-tomato-devoured-in-the-garden-when-freshly-picked-is-a-horn/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [“Her smile was somehow a little too bright, but I watched as she showed me how she had scored the puff pastry and brushed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-tunnicliffe/her-smile-was-somehow-a-little-too-bright-but-i-watched-as-she-showed/) [Hannah Tunnicliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-tunnicliffe/) > [Many of the things the slow food people honor were innovations within historical times. 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But when I paint a tomato, then I see it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/when-i-eat-a-tomato-i-look-at-it-the-way-anyone-else-would-but-when-i/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [Tomato and lettuce-especially lettuce-is an abomination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mimi-sheraton/tomato-and-lettuce-especially-lettuce-is-an-abomination/) [Mimi Sheraton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mimi-sheraton/) > [If you don't like tomato soup, you don't buy tomato soup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-parker/if-you-don-t-like-tomato-soup-you-don-t-buy-tomato-soup/) [Kathleen Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-parker/) > [“According to analyses conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 100 grams of fresh tomato today has 30 percent less vitamin C, 30 percent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-estabrook/according-to-analyses-conducted-by-the-u-s-department-of-agriculture/) [Barry Estabrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-estabrook/) ## More by David Starkey > [I enjoy cooking, but stick to modern dishes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/i-enjoy-cooking-but-stick-to-modern-dishes/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [Only bad teachers lecture at a tutorial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/only-bad-teachers-lecture-at-a-tutorial/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [I was born in a council house, my father left school at the age of 11, had his teeth out without anaesthetic at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/i-was-born-in-a-council-house-my-father-left-school-at-the-age-of-11/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [I was a complete and typical only child. I was bookish, and sport was out of the question anyway. I had read all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/i-was-a-complete-and-typical-only-child-i-was-bookish-and-sport-was/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [I hate niceness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/i-hate-niceness/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [Compare the scale and magnifcence of Versailles with St James's - the brick-built hovel in which the 18th-century kings of England lived. 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Their work has become ever more specialised and, as they steadily lose the context of their studies, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/historians-have-become-far-too-precious-their-work-has-become-ever/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [Floating the idea that every kid in Brixton can become a whizkid at information technology is dishonest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/floating-the-idea-that-every-kid-in-brixton-can-become-a-whizkid-at/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [The reign of Henry VIII is the axis around which England turns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/the-reign-of-henry-viii-is-the-axis-around-which-england-turns/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [What I love doing is creating a room, with attractive paintings and colours and furnishings - very much my mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/what-i-love-doing-is-creating-a-room-with-attractive-paintings-and/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [I mean, really, compared to a senior civil servant, I'm very modestly paid!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/i-mean-really-compared-to-a-senior-civil-servant-i-m-very-modestly/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [I'm not a completely envy-free zone - I envy 25-year-old men with magnificent bodies - but when I look at my colleagues on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/i-m-not-a-completely-envy-free-zone-i-envy-25-year-old-men-with/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [What Black Lives Matter is doing is a deliberate inversion of the proper processes of historical analysis. It is beginning with a conclusion. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/what-black-lives-matter-is-doing-is-a-deliberate-inversion-of-the/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) [Explore all 114 David Starkey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) ## More Autumn quotes > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [The American spring is by no means so agreeable as the American autumn; both move with faltering step, and slow; but this lingering pace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-trollope/the-american-spring-is-by-no-means-so-agreeable-as-the-american/) [Frances Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-trollope/) > [“Flowers that had bloomed brilliant from spring through autumn blackened under the killing frost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/flowers-that-had-bloomed-brilliant-from-spring-through-autumn/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“FALL I've never liked orange not even a hint of yellow though that doesn't mean I'm derange, you know. but it's still a riddle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kynna-claire/fall-i-ve-never-liked-orange-not-even-a-hint-of-yellow-though-that/) [Kynna Claire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kynna-claire/) > [The trees change their voices in autumn as well as their shapes. No longer do they whisper to one another in muffled tones as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-strong/the-trees-change-their-voices-in-autumn-as-well-as-their-shapes-no/) [Patience Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-strong/) > [The measured blood beats out the year's delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/the-measured-blood-beats-out-the-year-s-delay/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last for ever. Even on the most beautiful days in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-crickets-felt-it-was-their-duty-to-warn-everybody-that-summertime/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He found himself wondering at times, especially in the autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-found-himself-wondering-at-times-especially-in-the-autumn-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Easter blessings All life’s sacrifices like autumn leaves awaken our senses and power to love and be whole Our Mother Earth, Our Father Sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/easter-blessings-all-life-s-sacrifices-like-autumn-leaves-awaken-our/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [The lush green of the fields became a rich gold that swayed sturdily under the wind and fell at last before the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/the-lush-green-of-the-fields-became-a-rich-gold-that-swayed-sturdily/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. 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We must esteem them as teachers, learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/we-must-learn-to-do-economic-work-from-all-who-know-how-no-matter-who/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) [Browse all 1,210 Autumn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I started school in the autumn term of 1949 when there was a tomato glut. We had tomatoes in every form known to God, man or beast - and they were all equally detestable. When you pushed them with your fork, a warmish liquid spurted forth. 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