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Thursday 27 October 2016

Web Page  No 2316
5th November 2016

Top Picture: Contents of a Standard Fireworks box circa 1950s


Middle Picture: Gift Box of Brocks Fireworks



Bottom Picture: Remember some of these?


Bonfire Night in the 1950s

Bonfire or Fireworks Night is a uniquely British event. It commemorates the successful foiling of a plot to blow up King James I and Parliament  in 1605. The fireworks are a reminder of the gunpowder that was placed by the plotters under the Houses of Parliament. In 21st century Britain, Bonfire Night is usually celebrated with a trip to an organised bonfire and firework display, with paid admission and controlled access.

Not so in the 1950s and 1960s when we were kids, Bonfire Night was truly a hands-on celebration. Family bonfire parties and get-togethers with neighbours were the thing. And as for health and safety: well, apart from the annual safety lecture and warnings on BBC’s ‘Blue Peter’, common sense was the order of the day.

Once the site of the bonfire was fixed we all started to collect wood from the end of summer. The trees in our garden would be trimmed and the branches piled up ready for the big day. Any old planks of wood, doors or other combustibles would also be added to the heap.

Fireworks appeared in the shops a couple of weeks or so before November 5th. There were selection boxes of fireworks (the most popular brand were Standard Fireworks) or you could buy rockets and larger fireworks one by one. Catherine Wheels and Roman Candles were particularly popular, as were sparklers and bangers.

Bangers were small tubes of gunpowder that after lighting, were thrown on the ground to explode with a loud bang, not unlike a miniature stick of dynamite! These are now banned from sale in the UK, as are Jumping Jacks, another Bonfire Night favourite. Once lit, Jumping Jacks lived up to their name by jumping about erratically. Far too much temptation for some boys to frighten unsuspecting girls!

‘Penny for the guy’ was the cry on the streets. The guy, an effigy of Guy Fawkes, would be made from straw and dressed in old clothes, and displayed in a wheelbarrow and pushed around the home area.  The money raised we raised would be spent on fireworks and sparklers for the younger children. (Following new laws in 2004, it is now an offence to supply fireworks to anyone under the age of 18).

In my own family my uncle and aunt would arrive with a box of fireworks and we would crowd round a small bonfire while dad lit the fireworks and rockets.

Some parties concentrated on special party foods treacle toffee, toffee apples and parkin, a kind of gingerbread. Potatoes were roasted in the ashes of the fire and served with butter and salt, and eaten with a teaspoon in gloved hands. Never successfully baked, they always somehow tasted delicious in the cold night air. Mugs of hot soup would warm the watchers.

These were the days of one bath a week for most families – usually a Sunday night - so if Bonfire Night should fall on a Monday or Tuesday and this meant an extra bath a week otherwise we would all stink of bonfire for days.

I did not know until recently that the night before Bonfire Night is traditionally known as Mischief Night, particularly in the north of England. In the 1960s this was a night when the local children would play pranks:  knock-and-run on neighbour’s front doors, letting down car tyres, tying metal dustbin lids to door knockers – even changing the numbers on gates to confuse the postman! It was also the night when children would pilfer the best wood from rival bonfires unless they were guarded carefully.      
        
On November 5th, as soon as it was dark, the fun would begin. The guy would be placed on top of the wooden pyre before lighting.  If it had been raining over the past few days, the wood might be wet and difficult to light. It was not unknown for paraffin to be used as an aid to lighting – with the resultant fireball!

The boxes of fireworks would be kept under the careful care of an adult. The glow of a cigarette would be used to light the fuse on the fireworks. A Catherine Wheel would be nailed to a wooden fence or a tree – often a recipe for disaster, as if not nailed securely, they had a habit of launching themselves into the air, still spinning! 

Each child would be given a sparkler which was great fun to write in the air with until it spluttered and went out. Rockets were launched from glass milk bottles; they went off in any or all directions. The next day the remnants of the rockets – the wooden sticks – were to found in gardens, on the pavements and in the streets and were often collected by children on their way to school. The ashes from the bonfires would smoulder for days afterwards.

Nowadays, stricter rules on the sale of fireworks and safety campaigns have persuaded many families that it's safer to leave it to the experts and attend an organised display – much to the relief of fire and ambulance crews!

Just as a tailpiece, who remembers Coloured Matches.


Keep in touch
Peter

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On this day 5th November 1960-1965

On 05/11/1960 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 05/11/1961 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 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. The big news story of the day was Severe flooding in SE England

On 05/11/1962 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 The Royal Variety Performance (BBC) 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 05/11/1963 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 Beatles perform at Royal Variety Show.

On 05/11/1964 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 05/11/1965 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.


Thursday 20 October 2016

Web Page  No 2312

29th  October 2016

Top Picture: Tommy Trinder and Jean Colin.


 Middle Picture: Tommy Trinder


Bottom Picture: The Television Toppers at the London Palladium.
Tommy Trinder
Thomas Edward Trinder CBE was born on 24th March 1909  and died on 10th July 1989) was known professionally known as Tommy Trinder and made his name on the stage, on screen and from appearances as a radio comedian of the pre- and post-war years. His catchphrase was 'You lucky people'.
He was born at 54 Wellfield Road, Streatham in South London and today a plaque from the Streatham Society marks the spot. He was the son of Thomas Henry Trinder, a London tram driver, and his wife Jennie Georgina Harriet Mills. Over the years Tommy Trinder became one of the best-loved comedians in Britain during the period from the late 1930s until the 1960s.
He left school before the age of 12 to take on a job as an errand boy but by the age of 12 he was on stage. He toured South Africa with a revue company in 1921 and appeared as a boy vocalist at Collins' Music Hall the following year. Minor successes in music hall, revues and working men's clubs followed. By 1926, aged 17, he was the star of a travelling variety comedy shows.
National recognition began to come in 1937 with the revues Tune In and In Town Tonight. By World War II he was one of Britain's foremost entertainers and his shows brought welcome relief during the darkest days of the war.
Ealing Studios signed him up to make films during the war. His most famous was the comedy Sailors Three in which he, Claude Hulbert and Michael Wilding capture a German pocket battleship.
He also took straight acting parts in The Foreman Went to FranceThe Bells Go Down (a tribute to the work done by firemen in London during the Blitz); and Bitter Springs about a family fighting to make a new life in the Australian Outback.
After the war, as a national figure he was soon recruited to television. In 1955, he became the first compere for the new ITV television programme Sunday Night at the London Palladium.
He would begin his act with, 'The name's Trinder. That's T-R-I-N-D-E-R, pronounced Chumley.' This was a gentle dig at the snobs of society, who insisted on pronouncing ordinary names in a fancy way.
He lived in an Art Deco-style apartment block in Balham the largest such under one roof in Europe in the 1930s. He moved in with Violet Trinder (née Bailey; they had married in 1932) in 1939, and was still there in 1955. His second marriage was to Gwyn (Toni) Lancelyn Green. He moved to a large private estate, Burwood Park in Hersham, Surrey called the house "Tiverly". He is buried in Burval Cemetery, which is close by to where he lived.
He hosted his own TV series, Trinder Box on BBC, in 1959.
He was the subject of This Is Your Life in May 1959 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.
He was a lifelong devoted supporter of Fulham Football Club and was chairman of the club between 1959 and 1976.
In 1979 he appeared in an edition of The Old Boy Network, doing his stand-up routine and presenting a condensed history of his life and career.
Using a wheelchair after a stroke in 1986, he made his final television appearance in I Like The Girls Who Do recalling his contemporary Max Miller.
Always a favourite with the Royal family (he made six appearances in Royal Variety Performances between 1945 and 1980), he was awarded a CBE in 1975. He died on 10 July 1989.

Keep in touch
Peter

On this day 29th October 1960-1965
On 29/10/1960 the number one single was Only the Lonely - Roy Orbison and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Bootsie & Snudge 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 29/10/1961 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 Coronation Street 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.The big news story of the day was Stalin removed from Lenin's tomb.

On 29/10/1962 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 The Royal Variety Performance 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 29/10/1963 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 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 29/10/1964 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 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 29/10/1965 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 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.





Thursday 13 October 2016

Web Page  No 2310

22nd  October 2016

Top Picture: Pinky and Perky EP Cover

 Second Picture: Early Pinky and Perky




Third Picture: With creator Vlasta Dalibor

Two Little Pigs
Looking back, what a ridiculous scenario it was to have two marionettes clattering and dancing on a television programme whilst singing the latest pop songs.

Yes I am talking about Pinky and Perky.

But did you know that they were originally going to be named Pinky and Porky but there was a problem registering Porky as a character name. This was solved by Margaret Potter, the wife of their producer, Trevor Hill, who also discovered them, when she woke him up one night announcing "I've got it! Pinky and Perky!
 
They were created by Czechoslovakian immigrants Jan and Vlasta Dalibor. The characters of pigs were chosen because the pig is seen as a symbol of good luck in their home country. If you remember the puppets, who had only very limited movements, looked very alike. Pinky wore red clothes and Perky wore blue, but this distinction was of little use on black and white TV, so Perky often wore a hat.

They spoke and sang in high-pitched voices, created by re-playing original voice recordings at twice the original recorded speed; the vocals were sung by Mike Sammes, the originator of the Mike Sammes Singers. while the backing track was played at half normal speed (Mike Sammes did the same job for Ken Dodd's Diddymen, as Ross Bagdasarian did for the original Chipmunks in the early 1960s. As we must all remember Pinky and Perky would often sing cover versions of popular songs, but who remembers that they also had their own theme song, "We Belong Together".
They had their own fictional TV station "PPC TV. on which they also performed comedy sketches usually with a human foil. Actor John Slater worked with them as a straight man for many years, enduring soakings from water pistols and similar pranks. Other human companions included Roger Moffat, Jimmy Thompson and Fred Emney.

Their show included other puppets such as the Beakles, (a bird parody of the Beatles), Topo Gigio, a mouse puppet who appeared in many later episodes, as well as a female pig. Other puppets included Ambrose Cat, Basil Bloodhound, Bertie Bonkers the baby elephant, Conchita the Cow, Horace Hare and Vera Vixen. How many of those do you remember?

The puppets also appeared on TV in the United States on a number of episodes of The Ed Sullivan Show: where they shared the bill with the Beatles and Morecambe and Wise.

The pigs featured in series, such as Pinky and Perky's Pop Parade and Pinky and Perky's Island, for 11 years until 1968 on the BBC before transferring to ITV until 1971. There were no real people, sketches or stories in the shows at all. Instead, the puppets would be seen lip-synching and dancing to songs by the likes of Petula Clark.Each episode would end with the characters singing the Scaffold's hit "Thank U Very Much". At this point, there would be the only piece of spoken dialogue, which went along these lines:

"Who's going to say it?"
"Oh, let me!"
"No! I want to!"
"Alright, then, let's do it together! Ready—MUCH!"
The characters enjoyed a brief revival in the 1990s, on the short-lived children's series The Pig Attraction. A children's annual was also produced in the '60s featuring their adventures.
The Pinky and Perky Show reappeared in an all-new CGI-animated television series on CBBC, beginning in November 2008 on BBC One. There are 52 episodes, each 13 minutes in length. Some of the old characters remained in the show, such as Vera Vixen (who often hatches schemes to try to get rid of the two pigs) and Morton Frog (who works in the production control room, usually running the end titles at the end of an episode. Alongside them, there were a host of new characters, such as K.T. the studio manager cat, Wilberforce the tortoise security guard (who comes up with impractical ideas for new acts or games for the show), and a pair of poodle receptionists called Tara and Tamara. There was also a steady stream of special 'celebrity' guests, many of which spoof better-known franchises, such as Doctor Who as "Dr. Roo".
It is amazing to record that this duo released 25 singles, 15 EP’s and 11 albums.

Keep in touch
Peter

On this day 22nd October 1960-1965

On 22/10/1960 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 22/10/1961 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 22/10/1962 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 22/10/1963 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 22/10/1964 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 22/10/1965 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.





Thursday 6 October 2016

Web Page  No 2308
15th  October 2016
Top Picture: Typical British Postman of the 1960s


Second Picture: London parcels sorting office 1950s



Third Picture: The most famous 1960s postman Alan Smethurst

Wait a Minute Mr Postman

It was about this time of year in the early 1960s that our minds turned to Christmas employment. As I have mentioned before I regularly worked for Bob Fraser in his electrical shop in Drayton but Christmas was the time when a senior pupil or student could earn really big money and that meant the Christmas deliveries at the Post Office.

At that time the GPO took on many students as temporary postmen to get them over the Christmas rush. As far as we were concerned the rush started in October to get the application forms filled in and submitted as these jobs were very popular. There were only a few criteria to become a temporary postman, first you had to be over 16, second you needed three independent references and thirdly you could not have a criminal record.

I was lucky and managed to get a job three Christmases running, the first whilst I was still in the sixth year at school and the other two whilst I was a student in Portsmouth. For most of us this was our very first experience of full time industrial employment and we soon learnt that this meant being on time and doing your job.

Our starting time was 6.00am and luckily a bus went passed my front door at 5.40 and with only a 10 minute run into Cosham this meant that I could arrive warm and dry in time to start work in the Cosham sorting office behind the main Post Office. I really did not fancy riding my bike at that hour of the morning.

The first year that I worked I was assigned a letter round, known as a walk, around Paulsgrove and the second two years I had an easy time of it as I was given parcel deliveries in Drayton and Farlington, home ground to me!
On arrival and buckling on the temporary postman arm band we made our way to the sorting area. For those of us on letters this meant standing behind a sorting rack, making sure all the letters were the right way round (this made things much easier when out on the delivery) and then sorting them into roads and numbers. Having done this the packs of letters were tied with string (no rubber bands then) and placed into the delivery sack in the reverse order so they came out right when delivering. If you were assigned to parcels the routine was very similar except much larger as all the parcels and packets had to be sorted into specific bags which were then tied up and placed, as before in reverse order.

Then came breakfast when most of the sorting office descended on works canteen for a traditional English Breakfast and a mug of tea. Having been fed it was out into the cold to deliver our letters and parcels.

If you were on a walk some way from the Sorting Office there was no transport laid on and you were expected to either was to your area or catch a bus. Some conductors on the bus were friendly and would welcome you aboard and make a place for your delivery bag under the stairs and would turn a blind eye to the fare, but some were not so friendly and the poor old posty had to sit on the bus cuddling the sack and pay for the privilege!

Once out on the walk we were told that we were never to accept tips as these were intended for the regular postman and not for us. Most people abided by these rules but one or did not and got very short shrift from the regular postman if they found out. Luckily I was never put in this position. The return was easier as the sack was empty and the buses less crowded.

If rostered on the parcels run life was much easier. After breakfast we loaded a hired furniture van with sacks of parcels and off we went with two or three of us casuals riding in the back (something not allowed today). Once at the delivery site it was off the van and the regular postman would get on and undo the bags and supervise us while we delivered the various parcels and packets. It never failed to amaze me how many women would answer the door at that house of the morning in their nighties or lingerie, it cheered a young lads morning I can tell you.

Once the first delivery was over it was back to the sorting office for a hot cup of tea and a meat pie and then it was left up to us as to what we did next. We could clock off and go home and catch up on our sleep or take an hours break and sign on for overtime for the second delivery.

But all this has gone, I cannot remember when I last saw a temporary post man probably about the same time as I last saw a Telegram Boy!
   
Keep in touch
Peter

You Write:

On this day 15th October 1960-1965
On 15/10/1960 the number one single was Tell Laura I Love Her - Ricky Valance. 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 Hotspurs were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was No Hiding Place (AR).
On 15/10/1961 the number one single was Michael - The Highwaymen 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 15/10/1962 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 15/10/1963 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 15/10/1964 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 15/10/1965 the number one single was Tears - Ken Dodd and the number one album was Help - The Beatles. 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.