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

You Write:

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.