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Thursday 28 November 2013


29th November 2013

Pictures: Practical Householder




Lower Picture: Berry’s Magicoal Electric Fire


New school pal today, welcome to Bob Barlow.


Board it in!

Back in the early 1960’s DIY was becoming very popular and in some cases essential if your father wished to ‘modernise’ your home. TV DIY programmes featuring the infamous Barry Bucknell and the appearance of magazines such as Practical Householder all helped to add fuel to the desire to make things look up to date.

This period of time should really be called the boarding in period because everywhere men, and some women, were busy carrying around sheets of plywood or hardboard to board something in.

The first thing normally tackled were the doors, normally those downstairs. The original, heavy four panelled doors were declared old fashioned and so the covering of these doors seemed inevitable. After careful measurements had been taken, the board was cut and tacked onto the pre-marked door to make sure it was central. This is where Mum and the kids came in as they had to hold the door in position for Dad whilst he fixed it into position. But this was not the end of it there was the other side to treat in this manner and then the tricky bit began. When panelling in such a door it was not possible to cover the entire door because if that was done, the door would no longer fit within the existing door frame and so would not close unless the door was re-hung, and that was too much like hard work especially for my father.  The solution was simple the panel was cut smaller than the door and then fixed so that a three inch gap was left around the sides. Now the tricky bit began, the edges had to have beading fixed all round the panel to finish it off and this meant four mitre joints per panel and I seem to remember to get these joints a tight fit with the rebates the right way round always seemed to cause my father much sweat and head scratching. But why was it done? All this in the name of modernism; and to give a nice flat surface to paint, the bye product of which was a nice flush door panel with dribbles of paint somewhere on the surface if you were not careful. After the flushing of the doors we always hoped that dad had not forgotten to modify the door catch and handles!

But it was not just door that faced the boarding in process fireplaces were also treated in this way. With the increase in the cost of coal (did your folks always buy their coal at summer prices ? Mine did! It meant that all summer long there was a great pile of coal sat in the coal bunker outside the back door) the general public were persuaded by the electrical retailers, manufactures and the SEB that electric fire were the clean modern way to go. No one mentioned the higher cost and the social loss that followed. I refer to the evenings sitting around the coal fire making toast and crumpets; toast over an electric fire did not taste the same. But the modern family were convinced this was the way to go so out came the fireplaces, the mantelpieces and over mantles along with the hearth and grate and the resulting hole was then framed out and boarded over with a small piece of skirting board added to the bottom. Unfortunately most dads, mine included could not plaster so having filled the gap around the edge of the boarding with polyfilla the board was sealed with a coat of wallpaper paste, allowed to dry and then when the room was decorated this area was papered over, boarding and all, in the hopes that no one could see the join. Then a Berry’s Magicoal electric fire was placed in front of the boarded out piece so that it looked like we had a fireplace again!!

The biggest benefit was obviously that there was no longer a draft coming down the chimney into the room. The biggest drawback was if a bird fell down the chimney. In that case all the boarding had to be removed and the corpse removed, can you imagine the terrible smell that would eventually occur if the body were left there? It would even worse if the bird was still alive and it was left in the struggling to get out!

 So there we were with a modernised living room, all dad had to do now was to make and fit the ribbed hardboard pelmets! 


Keep in touch


Peter


You Write:

Anida Writes:

Going back a couple of weeks I had a chat to Mum about Charlotte Street and I also have a tape of my Grandmother talking about her childhood and Charlotte Street also features in her memories.


My Grandmother was born in 1896 and therefore her earliest memories would be from around the turn of the 20th century.  They lived just off Lake Road, just a short walk away. her mother would often take her to Charlotte Street market in the evening when, in the winter, the stalls would be lit with flares.  She particularly remembered Christmas they would go to the market late on Christmas eve, to buy a piece of meat cheaply for the next day.  The atmosphere was very exciting to a small child who was anticipating something special from Father Christmas, and doubtless would provide the oranges and walnuts to be found in the Christmas stocking..



This tradition of going in the evening carried on as my mother was also taken there in the dark, after tea her mother would say she was going to the market and Mum would jump at the chance to go with her.  She remembers a shop that sold only eggs and day old chicks which she loved to look at and hold if they would let her.  Part of the reason for going in the evening was to save time the following day, shopping for dinner (always at 12.00) was a daily chore and if you could get some of it done the day before it allowed more time in the morning. 



I also remember going to Charlotte Street as a small child and taken as a treat to the British Home Stores Restaurant for lunch, where they had red leatherette banquette type seating (strange what you remember)..  The hustle and bustle of the market was fascinating to children and adults alike.  I well remember the man who sold the china and displayed it along his arms, "I am not going to charge you £5, not £2.00 the lot for a £1", with lots of cheeky banter in between.



Food was plain, wholesome and above all fresh and free from all the nasty substances we eat with our meat and veg today. What a long way we have come from this friendly busy market to sprawling supermarkets with too much choice.



News and Views:


Joan Regan has died aged 85. She was a leading light of the 1950s variety performance circuit whose popular singing style drew on the sunny delivery of her American contemporaries and belied her Essex roots .




On this day 27th November 1960-1965


On 29/11/1960 the number one single was It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/11/1961 the number one single was Little Sister/His Latest Flame - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Ipswich Town. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25.The big news story of the day was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV)".
On 29/11/1962 the number one single was Lovesick Blues - Frank Ifield and the number one album was Out of the Shadows - Shadows. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/11/1963 the number one single was She Loves You - The Beatles and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was 119 killed in Montreal jet crash.

On 29/11/1964 the number one single was Baby Love - Supremes and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/11/1965 the number one single was The Carnival is Over - Seekers and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news of the day Mrs Mary Whitehouse formed the National Viewers Association









Thursday 21 November 2013


22nd November 2013

Pictures: Screw top lemonade bottle




Lower Picture: Rizla machine

Bottles.

Someone mentioned to me the other day the system that worked well for us kids in the 1950’s and 60’s and that was the money back on the empties scheme. I could always guarantee that I would make a few bob after Christmas when I scoured the house for the old beer bottles, which could be taken back to the New Inn and money, exchanged for them. Not that my family were big drinkers but the pub also took pop bottles. As I remember we had to be careful because if the pop bottle did not have the screw top and rubber seal in the neck the landlord would not pay and if the beer bottles came from another brewery it was the same result. “They are not mine take them somewhere else” was the dreaded phrase. The New Inn was ideal place to take bottles back because the dead bottle store was situated in the yard behind the pub and this was only protected by a set of double gates and a padlock and chain. Now came the exciting part. The gates, even when chained, never closed properly and so selecting the smallest boy amongst us we would push him through and he would quietly empty the nearest crate and pass the empties back out to us on the outside. Not being foolish enough to take them straight back we would hid these bottles, normally in a den in my back garden, and took them back a few days later making just enough money for a trip to the Saturday Morning pictures or on a bad day a large bag of chips from Fishy Francis chip shop in Drayton.

Whilst discussing this with another friend recently he shed even more light on the money back systems of our youth. He was brought up in Liverpool and there not only beer and lemonade bottles earned money, jam jars did as well. He remembers taking his mum’s empty jars to the local shop,  here the owner would pay 1d for a full size jar and 1/2 d for the smaller, honey type jars. He had no idea what happened to the jars afterwards he assumes they went back to the bottlers. Now I never remember any system like that running in our area, maybe some out there does if so please get in touch. But this was an aftermath of war when basic items were in short supply and salvage was still one of the watchwords of the day.

The other thing that I remember about bottles when I was a youngster was my father or mother taking any form of screw top bottle into Pinks the grocers in Drayton and buying loose sherry, port or wine. These bulk drinks were stored behind the counter in large wooden barrels and were tapped as and when needed. I remember the assistant behind the counter taking the bottle from my mother undoing the top and then taking a good sniff at the bottle to make sure it had not been used to store paraffin or turpentine in!

This makes my family sound as though there was always a lot of alcohol in the house but that was not true. It was only bought in for special occasions, a family get together or meeting or for use over the Christmas period. But I remember my grandmother, having her half pint of Mackeson or some form of stout in the evening, the iron content I was told, it did her good.

One other thing that does come to mind has nothing to do with bottles and drink but another vice, smoking. Both my father and grandmother smoked. Father smoked Kensitas and collected the coupons, this is how he got his first electric drill, a Wolf Cub single speed machine complete with a set of masonry bits! I cannot remember what my grandmother, who actually lived with us, smoked but I do know that in the late 1950’s, as an economy measure, she tried rolling her own. Of an evening out would come her tin box with the Old Holborn tobacco, Rizla cigarette papers, filters and the rolling machine and she would sit there all evening and make enough cigarettes for the following day whilst watching the television and if I was good I was allowed to help her. I am sure the cigarettes I made were terrible and that they were broken up and re-rolled as soon as I went off to bed. So with my grandmother and her fags and Mackeson we have come full circle back to beer bottles, did I mention that we used to take them back to the New Inn? It was at this time that a new phrase entered into the British Vocabulary, “Anything back on the empties, mate?” 


Keep in touch


Peter


You Write:Going back a couple of weeks I had a chat to Mum about Charlotte Street and I also have a tape of my Grandmother talking about her childhood and Charlotte Street also features in her memories.


My Grandmother was born in 1896 and therefore her earliest memories would be from around the turn of the 20th century.  They lived just off Lake Road, just a short walk away. her mother would often take her to Charlotte Street market in the evening when, in the winter, the stalls would be lit with flares.  She particularly remembered Christmas they would go to the market late on Christmas eve, to buy a piece of meat cheaply for the next day.  The atmosphere was very exciting to a small child who was anticipating something special from Father Christmas, and doubtless would provide the oranges and walnuts to be found in the Christmas stocking..



This tradition of going in the evening carried on as my mother was also taken there in the dark, after tea her mother would say she was going to the market and Mum would jump at the chance to go with her.  She remembers a shop that sold only eggs and day old chicks which she loved to look at and hold if they would let her.  Part of the reason for going in the evening was to save time the following day, shopping for dinner (always at 12.00) was a daily chore and if you could get some of it done the day before it allowed more time in the morning. 



I also remember going to Charlotte Street as a small child and taken as a treat to the British Home Stores Restaurant for lunch, where they had red leatherette banquette type seating (strange what you remember)..  The hustle and bustle of the market was fascinating to children and adults alike.  I well remember the man who sold the china and displayed it along his arms, "I am not going to charge you £5, not £2.00 the lot for a £1", with lots of cheeky banter in between.



Food was plain, wholesome and above all fresh and free from all the nasty substances we eat with our meat and veg today. What a long way we have come from this friendly busy market to sprawling supermarkets with too much choice.



News and Views:


It's been learned that Tina Turner formally relinquished her U.S. citizenship on October 24th. The singer, who lives near Bern, Switzerland, was granted Swiss citizenship last Winter and was married there July 17th.

Graham Stark who was frequently cast in supporting roles in comedy films starring his close friend Peter Sellers died on 30th October aged 91.


On this day 22nd November 1960-1965

On 22/11/1960 the number one single was It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Take Your Pick (AR) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 22/11/1961 the number one single was Little Sister/His Latest Flame - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Another Black & White Minstrell Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 22/11/1962 the number one single was Lovesick Blues - Frank Ifield and the number one album was Out of the Shadows - Shadows. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was First broadcast of That Was the Week That Was.

On 22/11/1963 the number one single was You'll Never Walk Alone - Gerry & the Pacemakers and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was JFK shot dead in Dallas and we all remember where we were on that day!!!.

On 22/11/1964 the number one single was Baby Love - Supremes and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 22/11/1965 the number one single was Get Off Of My Cloud - Rolling Stones and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Take Your Pick (AR) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Mohammed Ali beats Floyd Patterson In Las Vegas.







Wednesday 13 November 2013


16th November 2013

Pictures: Two pictures of Charlotte Street 1950 –1965





Lower Picture: The Charlotte Street entrance to Woolworths.

Down the Market

One of the busiest places in Portsmouth, especially on a Friday and Saturday, during the 1950’sand 60’s was Charlotte Street. To look at the place today you could never visualise the hustle and bustle of the thriving market that ran there for years.

Walking down the street was a real experience starting from the jewellers on the corner of Commercial Road, passing The Shirt King and the back entrance to Marks and Spencers onto the car park with the back entrance to Woolworths. At the end of the road we passed the Government Surplus store Robert Mack ( both he and his wife were City Councillors) all this was on the left hand side of the road and opposite Mack’s stood the Admiralty store which at one time (and now is again) St. Agatha’s  church. I actually only remember stalls on the left hand side of the road and the buildings on the right hand side, before the Tricorn, is rather a blur.

To wander down the Road was to assault the nose with a myriad of scents and smells. apples and pears, exotic fruit and potatoes, wet fish and shell fish, sausages and faggots, meat and cheese. All this was balanced by the unappetising smell of those products that were somewhat less than fresh, rotting cabbage and sprouts, out of date eggs and other products which today would have be classed as beyond their sell by date. One other bye product of this food market were the piles of empty boxes and crates, bags of meat and offal off cuts and empty Hessian potato sacks which were piled up behind the stalls.

The food market ended near the car park and gave way to flower and plant stalls and eventually stalls selling almost anything. On a Friday and Saturday the car park was closed and given to all sorts of stallholders. There were those who sold make up and skin preparations, organic preparations, tools and ironmongery but the one stall people always remember was the guy who sold crockery, his sales technique was amazing. He would stand at his pitch surrounded by plates, saucers and bowls, he would take a complete dinner service, plates, bowls and terrines in his arms and toss and throw them in the air whilst he continued with his sales pitch, I never saw him drop one item in all the years I visited the market.

Another stallholder specialised in linen and blankets, in fact Pam and I bought a pair of Witney blankets, in fact we still have them 47 years later.

Cheap jewellery, bangles, chains, beads in fact anything which would today be classed as Bling were on sale on many of the smaller stalls.

One stall I do really remember was run by a cockney called Jim and his brother and sold what was called ‘fancy goods’. I got friendly with Jim and discovered that during the summer he ran a ‘fancy goods’ stall on the landward end of Shanklin Pier. In 1964 I worked the season in a hotel in Shanklin and there renewed my acquaintance with Jim  who offered me an evening job in the pier shop. This was a great place for watching the girls walking onto the pier and \i got paid for it as well! What did I do? As far as I can remember I served behind the counter, stocked the shelves and spent a lot of time with a school type pencil rubber carefully rubbing the ‘seconds’ stamp off of the soles of the rubber sandals made in Malawi.

All totally dishonest of course. I only worked the stall for that one season and when, come the winter, Jim moved backed to Charlotte Street to join his brother I lost contact with him.

Keep in touch


Peter


You Write:

Griff Writes:


Not forgetting that before the Taylor's bought the corner shop on Station Rd. it was a Smith & Vospers bread and cake shop. Many an iced bun consumed from there. I was living but a hop, skip and a jump from the front door.


 I cannot remember the name of the people who had the general stores on the opposite side of the road of that S&V shop that Keith Taylor's parents bought. Perhaps Keith can remember?

Peter Writes:

 
The name of the Esso Garage on the Havant Road was "Lettons". My father John Barlow always got his Petrol there for our 1936 Morris 8 and then our future cars until Lettons closed and was demolished. He always filled up with Esso Extra with two shots of Redex which was a fuel additive to help the engine. He also got the car serviced there. While on the subject of that section of Havant Road, there were some terraced houses as you came round from the top of the High Street into Havant Road. There was a woman who was bed ridden living in one of them. Her bedroom was on the ground floor and the window was always wide open with her bed near the window. I presume it was pretty much her only contact with the outside world. Why were people bed ridden, nobody ever seemed to know but I have recently had a hip replacement and up until the operation, I was virtually immobile. I can imagine that if hip replacements were not possible, I am sure you would definitely be bed ridden. 

On the other side (north) of that section of Havant road and set up on a bank, was the back of Widley Street. I think the Havant Road side of the houses was the front of them but to my knowledge, you actually entered the houses from Widley Street. This was a fascinating street with houses that I suppose you would have to class as slums. I used to deliver papers morning and evening to nearly all these houses. A lot of them would have more than one paper and usually magazines. The paper bag seemed to weigh a ton at the start of the round. They all had fairly long narrow gardens, a lot with Rabbit Hutches and Chicken Coups and bits of old shed and little vegetable patches and flower beds. At the end of the terraced houses of Widley Street on the Havant Road side, there was a cobblers shop called Kelseys and my mother would often send us up there to have our shoes mended. 

News and Views:

On this day 16th November 1960-1965



On 16/11/1960 the number one single was It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 16/11/1961 the number one single was Little Sister/His Latest Flame - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Another Black & White Minstrell Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 16/11/1962 the number one single was Lovesick Blues - Frank Ifield and the number one album was West Side Story Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 16/11/1963 the number one single was You'll Never Walk Alone - Gerry & the Pacemakers and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 16/11/1964 the number one single was (There's) Always Something There to Remind Me - Sandy Shaw and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 16/11/1965 the number one single was Get Off Of My Cloud - Rolling Stones and the number one album was Liverpool. The top rated TV show was "Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69. The big news story of the day was Take Your Pick (AR)".




Thursday 7 November 2013


9th November 2013

Top Picture: A Typical Corner Shop



Bottom Picture: That famous Hovis advert.

The Corner Shop

One of the essentials of our childhood was the corner shop. Where I lived on the boarders of Drayton and Farlington we were particularly well off for these as we seemed to have these in all directions around us. Our nearest shop was over the Havant Road and down Lealand Road, right opposite to Keith Conlon’s house, Mrs Barrister’s shop was at number 17. Actually it was registered as Albert Bannister, grocer, but I never remember seeing him but says he Keith does. We were all sent either across the road or down the road  for various things that our parents wanted ranging from three pieces of sliced bacon to Dad’s fags and a box of matches. Mr Bannister died in the 1960’s but his wife carried on the business for several years afterwards with the shop stop ever depleting until she gave up completely. This store, like the others in this article were sited in one room of a normal house usually the front room and were run for many years providing and essential cottage style service.

Also within striking distance of home and south of the Havant Road was Mrs Clark’s shop in 28 Station Road. Now this really was a front room which had been converted into a shop with things piled high around the wall and in the hallway and very often  when you went in the shop was empty and Mrs Clark would shuffle through from her sitting room in the back to serve you. Unlike Mrs Banisters, which I remember as being a fairly light and airy shop Mrs Clark’s was the opposite, it was dark and somewhat foreboding.

Round the corner in Central Road but listed as 30 Station Road was a shop that was a purpose built extension to the main house to which it was attached. The Davies family, whose daughter, Anne we were at school with, ran this particular shop that also was on the light and airy side and always seemed to stock a reasonable amount of items.

Further down Station Road towards the bottom were the two stores on either side of the road run and separated by Old Manor Way. These shops were run by the Taylor family; the grocers being at number 83 on the eastern corner of Station Road and north of Grove Road whilst the Wine Merchants was over the road at number 86 on the south west corner of the Grove Road junction.

Looking north of the Havant Road in my area I remember Mr Kent’s shop on the corner of Solent Road and Portsdown Avenue. This had a strange step arrangement leading up to the door which was on the corner of the building giving it two shop windows. Not a shop I frequented often and it always appeared to be devoid of customers.

Further along Solent Road with an entrance in Highlands Road was Mr Shaw’s shop. As kids we always referred to him as Old Man Shaw, he must have been at least 40 then. This store was different as it was in the back room of the house and spilled over into a lean to on the back. Being right opposite Solent Road School this was the local tuck shop and was always full of junior school children before and after lessons. He did a great line in home made ice poles and cola. He also stocked toys and sweets for pocket money prices everything from chewing gum, black jacks and fruit salads to cap bombs and caps and cowboy outfits.

You must all have had local shops near where you lived, I know there were several on the Highbury Estate and Pam reminds me of the Chusan Stores which was on the corner of Roseberry and Lonsdale Avenues.

Why these shops sprung up as they did, I do not know most were house conversions of extensions but unfortunately none of the above-mentioned shops survive today. Such is the power of the supermarket and the end of the daily shopping routine but for a very long period of time especially all through our formative years these little shops were essential to our parents ways of life, and often a lifeline and the gossip centre for the whole community.

Keep in touch


Peter


You Write:


Anida Writes:-

Great pic of Uncle Tom's Cabin, strangely I didn't remember the cottages between it and the Baptist Church.  Interestingly when I was doing my work on Cosham I discovered that the Widley Poor Houses were situated directly behind UTC arranged in a horsehoe shape.  I guess they would have been very roughly built, probably chalk blocks, and soon disappeared when they fell into disuse.  It would be really great if at some point we could discover a picture of this area.  I am struggling to remember the geography of it now, but I should think that it was incorporated into the market (lately the car park of the cinema).  I do remember jumping over the wall at the back of the Baptist Church which brought you to roughly the same place! anything to escape Miss Crocker's sewing class - "Anida Folland I can see your stitches from the top of Portsdown Hill!!" still 10 years later she was happy to buy our flat from us!


The thing that struck me about the roadworks was the smallness of them just a wooden barrier a bit of a hole and a couple of roughly made notices all taking up no more than about 20 feet, not like today when we have to have miles coned off for days with nobody to be seen!  What a load of piffle health and safety is!



Somewhere in the dark recesses of our loft I have a picture of the two cottages that sat back in between the East Cosham Tavern and the Esso station, they were made of flint and were rather pretty - all gone the same way as everything else.  Martyrs to the temples of consummerism, Iceland, Tesco and the like.  I will dig it out one day and send on if I can find it.


Griff Writes:-

"Note the signal flags on the road works".



The first thing I noticed was that 2 men were digging the hole and 2 men were watching the process. Nothing has changed in 70 years when it comes to road repairs.

News and Views:

On this day 9th November 1960-1965


On 9/11/1960 the number one single was Tell Laura I Love Her - Ricky Valance and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was US places embargo on goods to Cuba.

On 11/11/1961 the number one single was Walkin' Back to Happiness - Helen Shapiro and the number one album was The Shadows - Shadows. The top rated TV show was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 11/11/1962 the number one single was Telstar - The Tornadoes and the number one album was Best of Ball Barber & Bilk. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 11/11/1963 the number one single was Do You Love Me? - Brian Poole & the Tremoloes and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 11/11/1964 the number one single was Oh Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 11/11/1965 the number one single was Tears - Ken Dodd and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.