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Wednesday 19 March 2014

Web Page 2038


29th March 2014



Top Picture:  Tea Service

Middle Picture: Sugar Tongs



Bottom Picture: Ex Government tin mug







Mugs

When did we all start using mugs as the everyday form of drinking vessel? As far as I can recall mugs were never an item in our crockery range at home. Mind you having said that I do remember an enamel one in cream and green for use when I was camping with the scouts and my Grandmother had a white and blue ex government one with the GR crest on it to keep her dripping in and a separate white and blue one to put her false teeth in at night when she soaked them in Steradent. But to sit around at home with a mug of tea or coffee in your hand was totally unheard of. Although I do actually remember plastic beakers for orange and lemon squash or Ribena!

Tea was always served in a cup and saucer and if I remember correctly there was a daily tea service and a special Afternoon Tea service.

The everyday service complete with saucers was always a relatively cheap set, often bought in the market, Woolworth’s or with Green Shield Stamps. These sets were mainly glazed pottery and were built to last so they were thick and heavy and could take no end of banging or dropping. In fact you can often see similar sets on TV dramas set in the 1950’s.

No so the Afternoon Tea Service, this was a totally different item and was solely reserved for those ‘posh’ occasions and Sunday afternoon tea. They were normally porcelain or bone china and my mother’s was a light pink with a gold design painted around the top of the cup and edges of the other items in the set. This special set was always kept on the bottom shelf of the right hand cupboard of the sideboard I the front room, a cupboard that I was not allowed to even enter. (little boys can break things!)

The set, as I remember it, consisted of a teapot, (no coffee pot) a lidded hot water jug, a milk jug, sugar bowl, slop bowl and tea strainer stand, six cups and saucers, six tea plates, one cake plate and a bread and butter plate and six desert dishes. If this lot came out of the cupboard it was either Christmas, Sunday or a relative or special friend was coming to tea. Don’t forget the tray cloth!

But that was not all because the correct accompaniments had to go with the Tea Set. Linen napkin, napkin rings cake forks, Cake stands, teaspoons, teapot stand, sugar tongs, side knives and special knives for cutting the lovingly prepared Victoria Sandwich. Sandwiches were also always served, cut neatly into quarters and were always offered around before the cake choices. All to entertain someone with a cup of tea!!! Of course this could not be the usual Brooke Bond Dividend tea or PG Tips it always had to be the best mother could by Lyons Special Blend of Typhoo.

What happened to all these bits and pieces is a mystery; they must have been lost or dispersed by my parents over the years.  Too late to ask them now! All I know is that a mug for tea or coffee was totally unheard of in our house and this went on right throughout their lives.

A whole spectrum of food related items that were used during our childhood seemed to have disappeared. Apostle spoons for your boiled egg, egg cups, toast racks, tea cosy’s, Coffee percolators which were heated on the stove, nutcrackers, tea strainers, egg coddling dishes, egg poachers, grapefruit knives and fruit knives are just a few. I am sure you could add many, many more to the list!

One final true story. My maternal grandmother lived in the Lodge on Hyde Park Corner in London. She and my grandfather moved in the 1930’s and she stayed in residence after he had died and remained there all through the war, which is when this occurrence happened. She never used an air raid shelter but relied on staying in the Lodge basement during air raids. One evening a heavy raid occurred and the Mecca Café in Marble Arch had a direct hit. Come the morning grandmother opened the back door in the basement which opened onto a sunken yard and there amongst the debris were dozens of knives, forks and spoons all with Mecca Café on the handles. She collected them and took them indoors and when she moved in with us in 1952 the Mecca cutlery came with her. I am sure that up in my loft somewhere I still have the odd Mecca fork or spoon!

Stay in touch

Peter
DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

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Anida Writes:-


As I was completing my on line grocery order the other evening it occured to me how much expense is now created by our great need to keep clean.  Back in the day as children our playground was the network of back alleyways behind the houses which as well as providing this safe, traffic free space was also the dumping ground of the ashes from the house fires.  As a consequence during the summer the ashes dried into a grey dust which coated our Clark's sandals and white ankle socks, penetrating to our feet beneath.  I cannot remember having more than one or two baths a week, oh the terrors of the geyser, but every night before bedtime a 'good wash' was required especially for the feet. The flannel also paid good attention to the back of one's neck which somehow managed to get much grubbier than today.  In between good washes there was of course that terrifying moment when your mother decided that a bit of spit on her handkerchief was required to banish all trace of your dinner from your face.
All this was achieved with some Wrights Coal Tar or Lifebouy soap, if you were very posh you had Cussons Imperial Leather, and a flannel.  Today however, the supermarket aisle is stacked with a zillion different products which apparently we must have to keep our bodies clean and fresh and smelling of a multitude of exotic fragrances.  There is a 'Men's' aisle, my Grandfather would never believed that a man needed anything more than a stripped to the waist wash at the butler sink and a rub with a very rough roller towel after a hard day in the Dockyard.  Not only do we require all these products but they must be applied every day in the shower or bath and then dried with towels softened by very expensive fabric conditioners.
Then there are hair products, whatever happened to "I am washing my hair tonight" and an application of Amami setting lotion.  Some of today's offerings seem to belong in a chemistry laboratory rather than the bathroom and does our hair really look and feel much different? 
I must admit the world is a better place for deodorants and antiperspirants, the Number 6 trolley bus from St Mary's was not the most fragrant of places on the homeward journey.
So the next time you look at your shopping bill take a moment to add up the cost of those things we seemingly need to keep us clean and our hair and bodies rejuvenated you will almost certainly find that they cost more than the food!  Must go now, Tesco's man with the van is at the door, have to pack away the shower gel, hairspray, shampoo, fabric conditioner, face wipes, blow dry lotion...............



News and Views:

Jerry Lewis has just past his 88th birthday here he is with Dena martin, Dean Martins daughter



On this Day 29th March 1960-1965
On 29/03/1960 the number one single was Running Bear - Johnny Preston and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/03/1961 the number one single was Wooden Heart - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was The Dickie Henderson Show (AR) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/03/1962 the number one single was Wonderful Land - The Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/03/1963 the number one single was Foot Tapper - The Shadows and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows.
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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.On 29/03/1964 the number one single was Little Children - Billy J Kramer and the number one album was With the Beatles - The 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 Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.


On 29/03/1965 the number one single was The Last Time - Rolling Stones and the number one album was Rolling Stones Number 2 - The Rolling Stones. 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 Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Saturday 15 March 2014

Web Page 2036


22nd March 2014



Top Picture:  Traditional Rocking Horse

Middle Picture: Mobo Rocking Horse




 Bottom Picture: 1950’s Dentist Chair







Childhood Memories from the 1950’s

Once again lets look back and some good things and some not so good. Now who had a rocking horse? I certainly did not and I cannot remember any of my friends having one either. The large wooden type with a leather saddle and reins and wispy mane were really the prerogative of the rich and as a child I only found them in communal play areas such as schools etc. But come the late 1950’s Mobo introduced a metal rocking horse on springs and this was priced far closer to the average family budget. But I still never owned one although I do remember going to other people’s houses and playing on theirs!

The subject of our four legged friends brings me nicely brings me onto Muffin the Mule. The original programmes featuring the character were presented by Annette Mills, sister of John Mills and broadcast live from Alexandra Palace from 1946 to 1952 (remember all those strings and the rattling as he moved?) and then other versions were shown until 1955 when Annette Mills died. The series then transferred to ITV in 1956 and 1957 and a modern animated version of Muffin appeared on the BBC in 2005. If you have an original Muffin the Mule Marionette you are holding onto a fair amount of money!

I was lucky that my eyesight when I was a child was just fine but I did sympathise with those children who were stuck with having to wear those old fashioned pink national Health Spectacles with the spring hooks which clipped behind the ears. Luckily not for me!

At least once we left Junior School the subject of our health was no longer on the school curriculum, no more examinations by the school nurse or the school dentist. Although I do remember when I was at Junior School I was once referred to the School Dentist who worked in a small Nissan Hut in the grounds of the Queen Alexandra Hospital. It was decided that I had to have an extraction and my mother took me to the surgery on the bus. I was given gas and the tooth was pulled and when I came round my mouth and lips were covered in blood and there was the dentist trying to explain to my mother, who was an ex children’s matron in a London hospital, why he had made such a mess of the extraction. I remember that mans name to this day, it was Mr Butcher, my mother always referred to him as butcher by name and butcher by nature. We came home on the bus but I was feeling so unwell that we had to get off two stops early and part way home I threw up in the gutter. Not a good day!

On the medical front who remembers the foot x-ray machines in the Clarks shoe shops?  I was always taught  that x-rays were dangerous and things to be avoided and there was my mother happily letting me stand at this enormous machine and having my feet bombarded with x-rays to see if my shoes fitted properly. All this done by a shop assistant and not a doctor or nurse! Does anyone else remember these fiendish machines?

Now one thing that I am sure that we all remember is taking the 11+ examination. For my part I do not actually remember taking the exam but I do remember the build up to it. It is strange that I do not remember taking the exam as the rest of the exams I took throughout my school life I do remember.  However we were not a school when the results came out as it was over the Summer Holidays and so the results were posted to our parents in envelopes that we had addressed ourselves, so we knew when the dreaded letter arrived. Most of us regarded gaining a place at the local Secondary Modern School as failing the examination and we waited with baited breath whilst our parents opened the letter and discussed the results. I know my parents were disappointed that I did not get into the Technical High School and for a short time considered sending me to a private school at Mile End but I suspect that the financial situation of a MOD worker had a lot to do with the decision to let me go to the local school. But as we all know the selection of Court Lane was probably the best thing that happened to most of us, I know I have been very glad of its education. After all without that ‘failure’ I would never have gone on to Manor Court, would have not made so many long lasting friends and this 13 year weekly blog would never have got written. It really is a sobering thought that I have now been writing this weekly blog for longer than I was at school!!!!! 

Stay in touch

Peter
DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

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Jonathan Writes:


Yes I was a member of the I Spy Tribe in my young teens. I have a good memory of I Spy in the Street, I Spy on the Road and I Spy in the Country. I relished filling in the books and felt a tremendous satisfaction when I spotted something RARE that was worth 50 points...........I can even remember some of the 50 point sightings. One was in I Spy in the Street you got 50 points for seeing a VICTORIAN pillar box. They are very rare these days though I know where there are two in Warwick. Another was a particularly colourful toadstool in I Spy in the Country. You could send your book off to Big Chief I Spy and it would be returned with a Feather and a Certificate. I am not sure whether todays computer screen fixated generation would appreciate these books now.........but I thought they were absolutely superb entertainment. Does anyone know if they are still in print and if anyone acts as Big Chief today????????? (watch this space in a few weeks time, Peter)


Marilyn Writes:

Does anyone remember the group J Crow Combo? I also remember the Rendezvous and Rod Stewart and the Animals and a great band called the Graham Bond Organization fantastic organist.  (Graham Bond jumped under a tube train at Finsbury Park Station in 1974. Peter )




News and Views:

It's been learned that Peter Callander-- lyricist for such hits as "The Ballad Of Bonnie & Clyde," "Billy Don't Be A Hero," "The Night Chicago Died" and "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast"-- died of a heart attack February 25th in Haresfield, Middlesex at the age of 74.



On this Day 22nd March 1960-1965
On 22/03/1960 the number one single was Running Bear - Johnny Preston and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 22/03/1961 the number one single was Walk Right Back/Ebony Eyes - Everly Brothers and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 22/03/1962 the number one single was Rock-a-Hula Baby/Can't Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 22/03/1963 the number one single was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Alcatraz prison closes.

On 22/03/1964 the number one single was Little Children - Billy J Kramer and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

22/03/1965 the number one single was The Last Time - Rolling Stones and the number one album was Rolling Stones Number 2 - The Rolling Stones. 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 Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.





Wednesday 12 March 2014

Web Page 2034


15th March 2014







Top Picture:  Walls Brothers Fair Van

Middle Picture: 1950’s Fair Tractor Unit
Bottom Picture: Steam Powered Gallopers


All the Fun of the Fair

In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s the August Bank Holiday was eagerly awaited because we all knew that the travelling Fun Fair would be setting up on the hill near the Queen Alexandra Hospital. This originally started as a ‘Trading Fair’ and was an extension of the Free Mart Fair held in Old Portsmouth. As time went by it was transformed into a ‘Fun Fair’ with all the usual attractions. It proved to be very popular with the locals but there was always a certain amount of trouble in the early days of the ‘Treading Fair’ and a small lock-up was built to the east of Fort Widley to contain any trouble makers who were held here until the end of the Fair and then released!  

There were several travelling fairs in the area, Davis, Rose and Matthews but the largest and the one that visited Portsdown Hill was run by Johnny Wall & Son. The Wall family are still running and I believe that Johnny’s granddaughter Debbie runs the show now. This particular travelling Fair was established in 1881 by the Wall Brothers of Farnborough, when everything was moved around in horse drawn trucks, they then progressed onto steam power and eventually todays trailer mounted fun fair rides. The Wall family hold the Charter rights to all the Traditional Charter Fairs in Hampshire, such as Petersfield, Alresford, Wickham, and Alton as well as Haslemere in Surrey, Chichester Sloe Fair and Marlborough Mops. Today’s family business is based at Hook and tours annually all the established venues including Basingstoke, Fleet, Aldershot, Old Windsor, Andover, Southampton, Gosport and Eastbourne, but Portsdown Hill has long disappeared off their list of venues. The company still operate, maintain or support a wide variety of vintage fun fair vehicles that often attend a variety of rallies across the country.

Most folks in the area always welcomed the five days of the fair. During the day the place was packed with children and parents and the swings and roundabouts would be working full tilt for hours on end. The sideshows were always popular as were the Candy Floss and toffee apple stalls.

Come the evening the whole atmosphere of the fair changed, the lights went on, the music got louder and the teenagers descended on the place. I remember walking up there to wander round the stalls, not spending much, not even on the rifle ranges and never the coconut shies, as I hate coconut. The whole area was riddled with groups of lads trying their luck with the groups of girls wandering around the site. I must admit I never struck lucky and always went home with the group of lads I went with. Once you had a regular partner it was the accepted thing to go to the fair. Here you could cuddle upon the rides, try your luck on the stalls and feast on greasy beef burgers, hot dogs or freshly cooked doughnuts. The atmosphere, the smell, the music combined with the shouts of the Barkers at all the different stalls made for a very exciting and enjoyable evening.

I remember taking Pam up to the fair one year when we had only been going out for a few weeks. On one of the stalls I won her a black Plaster of Paris poodle with a red bow round the neck, we both agreed that it was a ghastly thing. Pam took it home and placed it in her bedroom and when we married she brought it with her and strangely enough somewhere in the loft that black dog still survives as a memory of our youth, whenever we turn the loft out we both look at it and say shall we throw it away and then both say ‘No’ and it goes back in the box.  

One thing that was always done just after the fair had left was to go and search the fairground for any lost coins, the fair ground people collected most of it but there was always the chance that you would be able to pick up a penny, florin or half crown!

All was well at the fair whilst the sun shone and the evenings were warm and balmy however if it turned out to be a wet Bank Holiday, the fair was deserted after all one cannot look the pick of the modern fashion whilst wearing gumboots!

Stay in touch

Peter
DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

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On this Day 15th March 1960-1965
On 15/03/1560 the number one single was Running Bear - Johnny Preston and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was The Larkins (ATV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 15/03/1561 the number one single was Walk Right Back/Ebony Eyes - Everly Brothers and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 15/03/1562 the number one single was Rock-a-Hula Baby/Can't Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the week was Skull found buried in Downing Street.

On 15/03/1563 the number one single was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champion.

On 15/03/1564 the number one single was Little Children - Billy J Kramer and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 15/03/1565 the number one single was The Last Time - Rolling Stones and the number one album was Rolling Stones Number 2 - The Rolling Stones. 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 Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.




Wednesday 5 March 2014

Web Page 2032


8th March 2014



Top Picture:  The Millionth Morris Minor




Middle Picture: Drophead 1961 E-Type jaguar






Bottom Picture: Danny Blanchflower


1961

1961 was quite a momentous year for many of us. It was the time when we started to think about either the forthcoming exams and further education or leaving school and going out into the wide world of work. But if we had stopped to look around us 1961 was a real turning point in history; just take a look at the events of just that one year.

This was the year that the millionth Morris Minor came off the production line. It was painted a strange light lilac colour and had Morris Minor 1,000,000 in chrome letters on the bootlid where it normally said Morris 1000. For some reason I often saw it driving up and down Lealand Road in Drayton, maybe at some time it was owned by one of the residents. In total motoring contrast this was the year of the introduction of the famous E-type Jaguar, this was a car that could cruise easily at 100mph and could reach a speed of 150 mph all for just £2,196, just £500 cheaper than the average house price at the time but it was still a lot of money in 1961! Also on the transport front, London Underground ran the last steam train on the subterranean underground lines.

There were a lot of other notable events that year, many I expect passed us by at the time. Dr Michael Ramsey was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury succeeding Dr. Geoffrey Fisher who had actually crowned the Queen on Coronation Day. In the City plans were announced to build a Post Office tower complete with a revolving panoramic restaurant at the top, The BBC decided to drop Children’s Hour on the radio after almost 40 years continuous service. On the legal front George Blake was arrested and tried as a spy and CND protestors such as the jazz singer and author George Melly, the actress Vanessa Redgrave and the Philosopher Bertrand Russell were all jailed for their part in a Ban the Bomb protest which was held outside the American Embassy. We also find in this year Margaret Thatcher becomes the youngest woman Conservative MP to get a job in government.

Prices for utilities and in the shops were the hot topic of the day, for example, cigarettes went up by 1/2d to 1/9d for ten (for the younger readers that would be about 7.5p) and then to add insult to injury in a mini Budget later in the year another 4d was added and it was at this time that another 3d a gallon was put on petrol!

The first edition of Private Eye hit the shelves, Pop Art was introduced and was developing a huge following as was the satirical world of ‘Beyond the Fringe’.

Fairly locally it was a really exciting time at Fishbourne as the earliest Roman mosaics in the country were discovered as serious excavations began eventually exposing the fantastic remains of the Roman Villa now world famous.

Sportswise Danny Blanchflower  was the very popular Spurs Captain and he was the first person to refuse to appear on ‘This is Your Life’ even the introduction to the programme by Eamon Andrews was completely withdrawn, so, in that modern phrase, the BBC had to show ‘One that they had done earlier’!  This was a great year for British Tennis as we had two British players, Angela Mortimer Barrett and Christine Trueman Janes, contesting the ladies Wimbledon Singles Final. Angela won 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Abroad John F Kennedy became the youngest ever President of the United States, the USSR puts a man into space and East Germany erects the Berlin Wall and the 20-year-old Bob Dylan performed in New York for the first time.

By this time pop music had become the biggest force in entertainment but the song lyrics still explored the age old topics such as love, loss and attitude but there was far more personal freedom than ever before with more and more young people getting together and forming groups and performing.

Those notables who left us in 1961 were Sir Thomas Beecham, Gary Cooper, Jeff Chandler, Ernest Hemmingway and George Formby.

Not that we would know them, here are a few well known people who were born that year. Barack Obama, George Clooney, Eddie Murphy, Princess Diana and Boy George.

As you can see it was a very eventful year, for myself I was looking towards RSA’s and GCE exams, we went on holiday to Guernsey and I had my first steady girlfriend. But it is all so long ago!


Stay in touch

Peter
DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

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On this Day 8th March 1960-1965
On 08/03/1960 the number one single was Why - Anthony Newley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was The Larkins (ATV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 08/03/1961 the number one single was Walk Right Back/Ebony Eyes - Everly Brothers 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 One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 08/03/1962 the number one single was Rock-a-Hula Baby/Can't Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 08/03/1963 the number one single was The Wayward Wind - Frank Ifield and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was International direct dialing introduced.

On 08/03/1964 the number one single was Anyone Who Had a Heart -Cilla Black and the number one album was With the Beatles - The 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 Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Malcolm X breaks with Nation of Islam.


On 08/03/1965 the number one single was I'll Never Find Another You - Seekers and the number one album was Rolling Stones Number 2 - The Rolling Stones. 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 Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.