Willie Low's cheese ends saved many a day

William Low was the mini supermarket on Market Street in St Andrews, and the mainstay of impoverished students.  We affectionately called it Willie Low's.  On occasions when my flat-mate and I could not afford to eat, which happened more often than it should, there were potatoes and rhubarb from the garden to supplement the more long-lasting items we'd bought from Willie Low's when we could afford to.  These included sachets of dried vegetables that could be reconstituted in water, tinned tomatoes, plus pasta kept in the cupboard for harder times.

The pasta could turn into spaghetti Bolognese, using sausage meat instead of mince because it was much cheaper, combined with tinned tomatoes and an onion from the garden.  And it could make macaroni cheese.  This made a significant contribution to our diet because the cheese was free.  We'd go to the cheese counter at Willie Low's just before closing time and ask if they had any end cuts.  These were the pieces of cheese left over when sections cut from large cheeses had been sold.  They were sometimes a little hard, but that didn't matter if they were to be cooked into a cheese sauce.  The point was that they would be even harder next day, so the kindly staff gave them to us for nothing rather than throw them out.  They formed the mainstay of many a meal.