Resourcefulness

I learned something of the shame of my country and the resourcefulness of its people

The poor who cannot get or keep a home are often given bed and breakfast accommodation. These places have no cooking facilities. Poor people cannot afford to eat out, or even to buy ready made food. So it is hard for them to get any kind of hot meal beyond pot noodles, because they usually do have a kettle. But it so happens that they sometimes have access to an iron. And if you have an iron, you can buy toastie bags, make sandwiches, and iron them into a toastie. I didn't know that.

The inventiveness of the very poorest gives the lie to those who say they are dim, or lazy, or feckless. And it it is an indictment of a society which needs such inventiveness so that folk can eat