Web Page  No 2104

8th November 2014

First Picture: Wipac Wing Mirrors

Second Picture:  RAC Badge

Third Picture: Practical Motorist 1960

Happy Motoring

We must all have known, or seen, the man down the road whose car seemed to be something of an icon to worship, nothing could interfere with the great God car. There he would be out on the drive every fine Sunday morning washing, shampooing and polishing his pride and joy before taking the family off for a short spin in the countryside providing it did not look like rain and the country lanes were not too dusty. If it did rain however he soon put the car back into the garage and carefully dried it off with a piece of chamois leather. There were certain things that you could almost guarantee would be inside his car. Driving gloves, sun glasses and a driving coat, a travelling blanket neatly folded up on the back seat with a cushion placed on the top of it. Other essential items would be an out of date road atlas and maps plus a packet of Polo mints in the glove compartment to keep his breathe sweet.

He would invest in some of the up to date accessories for his car, wing mirrors (they were not standard fittings then) which he fitted himself likewise spot and fog lights, strip screen heaters to demist the front windscreen, a Perspex draft guard to fit around the driver’s door window to reduce drafts when the window was open and almost always a shiny and polished St. Christopher badge on the radiator. But for the dedicated motorist this was not good enough the badges had to be attached to a Chromium plated badge bar with his club badge (AA or RAC)  and Veteran Motorist badges all neatly spaced out along the bar .

He would invest in some of the, then state of the art, electrical pieces for his car, a car vacuum which was clipped onto the terminals of the battery and was so weak and underpowered that it would pick up virtually nothing at all. Then there was the parking light, again attached to the battery terminals, which he could hang over the window to warn other motorists where he was parked at night. But there was never, never an in car radio in his car as they were regarded as terrible American inventions meaning that you could not listen to the tone of the engine as you drove along to try to pick up any potential problems early. There again to have one a car radio the owner was not covered by the radio licence at home so it meant that he would have to purchase a separate car radio licence which cost £3.00 a year plus £1.00 tax!

He would always carry a pristine tool kit in either a dedicated tool box or they were individually oiled and then wrapped up in cloth and place in an old biscuit tin (this was the method preferred by my father). These were kept in the boot plus and an old coat to put on if he ever had to lift the bonnet or change a wheel whilst he was out and the weather was bad. Mind you those are the days when you could repair your own car at the roadside, today I lift the bonnet of mine, scratch my head and close it up again!

Once the car had been dealt with it was carefully put away in a pristine garage with strategically placed drip trays and lengths of carpet attached to the walls so the sides of the car did not become scratched. In that garage everything was neatly boxed, labelled and stacked on shelves ready for use. After having put the car away and closed the garage doors he would then walk down to the local newsagent and buy a copy of Practical Motorist, take it home and read it from cover to cover.

Then along came the 1960’s and younger folks could at last afford a car of their own, my first (a Morris) cost me the princely sum of £25.00. Being young and carefree most young car owners started to customise their cars to their own tastes.  This meant white wall tyres, fluffy dice, names on the windscreen, tiger tails and other such meaningless but fun items. There was also a period of time when the young motorist, if they had the money, could buy added fitments for inside the car, fake walnut fascia’s, extra consoles with spaces for tapes and packets of cigarettes, specially impregnated screen sponges to stop misting up, these did not work either! 

Stay in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

You Write:

Mary Writes:

I did smile when I read about the little pink pills. My first job was at St Marys Hospital in the pharmacy. I dished out hundreds of ferrous sulphate and ferrous gluconate pills mainly to the patients from the ante natal clinic. Some years later when a patient myself at an ante natal clinic in Singapore I was given the magic bottle. I didn`t feel well at all. Then it was discovered that I didn`t absorb iron very easily. I was told to eat vast amounts of spinach and even liver (this isn`t allowed today) before having to have iron injections in my legs. By the time my daughter was born my legs were covered in bruises. Perhaps it was a just punishment for doling out all those pills to those expectant mothers! 

News and Views:

On this day 8th November 1960-1965

On 08/11/1960 the number one single was It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Tottenham Hotspur. The top rated TV show was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £ and 13.68 were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels).

On 08/11/1961 the number one single was Walkin' Back to Happiness - Helen Shapiro and the number one album was Twenty One Today - Cliff Richard. The top rated TV show was The Royal Variety Performance (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 08/11/1962 the number one single was Telstar - The Tornadoes 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.

On 08/11/1963 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 The Royal Variety Performance (ATV) 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 US recognises new regime in Saigon.

On 08/11/1964 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 08/11/1965 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 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.