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Thursday 28 March 2019


Web Page No 2566

23rd March 2019


1st Picture. Ladybird book of The Hangover
 2nd Picture. Ladybird book of The People Next Door

 3rd Picture. Ladybird book of The Zombie Apocolypse

4th Picture. The Haynes Marriage Workshop Manual



5th Picture. Ladybird book of the Three Little Pigs



Was Vera Part of Your Childhood, Too?

Late last year Barry sent me the following article which

I think we can all identify with.

So was Vera Part Of Your Childhood, Too? And you did not know it!

No... not Vera Duckworth from Coronation Street!

We're encouraging our six-year-old little girl to read more. We needed books which aren't too long, where the words are just at the right level of difficulty... and which have a really good story.  So I thought back to my childhood... 

Aha... got it! Ladybird Books!  My daughter will enjoy them and I can relive all the  happy memories that they will no doubt bring back for me.

So I had a look online... and it seems that Ladybird Books are enjoying somewhat of a nostalgic resurgence... but for adults.  I found books covering The Hangover (Pic1) and the People Next Door(Pic2) 
and even... the Zombie Apocalypse (pic3),

Freaky!

And it seems like others are getting in on the act too.

Did you ever have one of those manuals, for your first car which kept going wrong?  I remember buying one for my first car but I didn't ever quite get round to doing any repairs...

Anyhow... Haynes (who dominated the niche) are up to the tongue-in-cheek, cash-in-on-the-humorous-nostalgic market too as you can see from Picture 4
But enough of that... back to Ladybird Books for children....

I found a classic... The Three Little Pigs... but it didn't look anything like I remembered... (Pic 5)

Oh no (I thought)... it's been sanitised and "adapted for 2018" (ugh).  

(It turns out that if I'd looked a bit harder I could have found the version that I remember, but they didn't have that one on the online book store at the time).

When the book arrived I opened it and  read it with trepidation.  

What would happen to the pigs?

... and, most important of all, what's going to happen to the wolf at the end? It's bound to be something milder than I remember.

After all, it wouldn't be very "children's book in 2018" correct for the wolf to meet such a grisly end... He'll probably get a mild telling off... Or not be allowed to watch television for a week...

But as I read the story I became increasingly optimistic...

The words had a familiar ring to them...
The first little pig (straw house)... eaten!  Hurray (I know that's not what I'm supposed to say when the piggy is chomped... but "hurray" because that's what happened in the version I read when I was little).

Second piggy (house of sticks)... 2nd course for the wolf.  2 down, 1 to go...

Would they dare to give the wolf the fate I remember?

Surely not... far too gruesome... But wait!   They did... Scolding pot of water on the fire... wolf climbs down the chimney... and the wolf is boiled to death...

Yippee! (does anyone still say that anymore?)

What an unexpected treat...

They haven't sanitised it at all... or any of the others in the set of Ladybird Books that we're working through (or not so far anyway)

So thank you Ladybird... what a wonderful surprise. Finally, someone hasn't dabbled with a nostalgic classic...
NOW
Who is Vera?  It turns out that Vera Southgate is the person who wrote (strictly speaking "re-told the tales because most of the stories have been around for years) a load of the Ladybird Books versions that I remember from the 1960s... including the Three Little Pigs.

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Peter



On this day 23rd March 1960-1965.

On 23/03/1960 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 23/03/1961 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 23/03/1962 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. The big news story of the day was French Algerian War ends

On 23/03/1964 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. The big news story of the day was 10 found guilty of Great Train Robbery.

On 23/03/1965 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 20 March 2019



Web Page No 2564

16th March 2019

Shopping in the 1960's

1st Picture. Typical Ironmongers
 2nd Picture. Cornet Cakes
 3rd Picture. Flit Gun


4th Picture. Sputnick One

There are always things from the past that come to mind in a quiet moment and all of a sudden, we find ourselves thinking, I have not seen one of those for years. This is a page all about them. I may have spoken about some of them before but it is worth looking at again.

Firstly, into the Bakers shop, in my case Campions or Smith and Vospers. When was the last time you saw a Crusty warm Cottage Loaf? Or a Viennese Loaf, or a real home-made Lardy Cake or even one of those cornet shaped cakes with marshmallow inside and sprinkles on the top. Now if anyone in the family was on a diet it would be the Energen Loaves or Rolls, that were bought. They were terrible things, thay had no substance and were just a mouthful of air.

So on to the Ironmongers, in Drayton that was Nappers or Lights. Fly papers, I can still see these hanging down with dead or dying flies on them, a cruel death!!! Whitewash, lead based putty, mothballs, Flit Guns, creosote and seed potatoes were all to be found in the same shop as were seeds, fertilizer and garden equipment. There were wicks for gas lamps and paraffin heaters and the old fashioned Rawlplugs which came as a powder and had to dampened and then packed into the hole with a special tamper before the screw could be fixed in. Wallpaper came untrimmed rolls and when Dad bought a roll the first thing he had to do after cutting the piece to length was to trim each edge, with a steady hand. Then there was always a frieze to go around the top and this too had to be trimmed, easy if it was straight, not so easy when it was a decorated leaf or flower pattern! No ready glued wallpaper in those days only cold water Polycel  and if the ceiling was to be painted  only white distemper or white wash could be bought.

As far as clothing went, school caps and berets, garters to keep our long socks up and satchels for our schoolbooks. Pencil cases, caps, berets, Cash’s name tapes and shoe bags. Sew on school badges, plimsoles and sports shorts and House colours we used to wear round our necks.

At home milk bottles were kept in a jug of water, on the floor of the larder to keep it fresh as we had no refrigerator. Meat and cheese were stored on a concrete or slate shelf, again in the larder. Not only did we not have a fridge but mum had no washing machine so it was a case of boiling the whites in a big bowl on the stove and then into the shed to use the mangle.

You were always outside on fine days whether riding your bike, playing hopscotch or jacks, skipping, calling for your friends or jumping from the highest point of the swing or attempting to master roller skates. Whatever you were doing it was always an adventure. We’d pretend to smoke our sweet cigarettes – complete with a pink tip – and scoff brown coconut ‘tobacco’ from a pouch. Plus we all looked forward to the arrival of the Corona lorry.

Garages sold Regent, Cleveland and National Benzole petrol as well as Esso, BP and Shell, plus Reddex upper cylinder lubricant, the order four gallons and four shots was often heard on the petrol station forecourt when I worked there on a Saturday.

You could spot many different makes of British motor bikes on the road as well. Royal Enfield, Triumph, BSA, Francis Barnett, Sun, James, AJS, Matchless, Velocette, DOT, Greaves, Vincent and the Triumph Bonneville to name just a few. The same went for cars Morris, Austin, Ford, Vauxhall, Hillman, Riley, Wolsey and Standard were just a few of the home makes.

We had all heard about the Civil Rights movement in the USA but were probably not involved until the next decade, However, we must all remember hearing the distant bleeps of Sputnik One as they were broadcast on the radio and TV.

We, most certainly lived through great times!

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Peter



On this day 16th March 1960-1965.
On 16/03/1960 the number one single was Running Bear - Johnny Preston and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was 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 16/03/1961 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 16/03/1962 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 16/03/1963 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.

On 16/03/1964 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.

On 16/03/1965 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.

Thursday 14 March 2019


Web Page No 2562

9th March 2019
                                                 Twinkle

1st Picture. Twinkle in the family home

 2nd Picture. Twinkle

Image result for Twinkle singer

 3rd Picture. Twinkle Album Cover 
Image result for Twinkle singer



 4th Picture. Twinkle in later years


Lynn Annette Ripley better known as Twinkle was born on 15th July 1948 and died on 21st May 2015 after a six year battle with cancer,  She had chart successes in the 1960s with her best known song, "Terry" which she wrote aged 14 while bored during French lessons at Queen’s Gate School in Kennsington.
She was born in SurbitonSurrey into a well-to-do family, and was always known to her family as "Twinkle". She attended Queen's Gate School with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and was the aunt of actress Fay Ripley.
She owed her rapid entry into the recording world at the age of 16 to her then-boyfriend, Dec Cluskey, of the The Bachelors, who was introduced to her by her sister, a music journalist, and who passed on to his manager a demo that Twinkle's father played to him. Her song "Terry" was a teenage tragedy song about the death of a boyfriend in a motorcycle crash. The recording conjured up a dark mood with its doleful backing vocals, spooky organ, 12-string guitar but the record caused a furore, accusations of bad taste leading to a ban from the BBC. Its success owed something to her dolly-bird looks – but also to the horror with which it was greeted by the establishment. Condemned as “dangerous drivel” by Lord (Ted) Willis, the song was subsequently banned by both the BBC and by Ready Steady Go! on ITV, though it brought Twinkle a good luck card from Sir Alec Douglas-Home, a friend of her father’s.

The follow-up, "Golden Lights", was also written by Twinkle She dated Peter Noone in 1965. Twinkle made few live appearances but performed "Terry" at the annual New Musical Express hit concerts. After recording six singles for Decca Records she "retired" at the age of eighteen in 1966. She said that the £15,000 she made from ‘Terry’ was gone in a couple of weeks, but the money did not matter. “I moved into a flat owned by Daddy in Hampton, and he gave me an allowance. I lived there with a housekeeper, seven dogs and a pig and spent my time writing songs and taking in stray animals.”
In 1969 she recorded a self-written single, produced by Mike d'Abo for the Immediate label. The single vanished, unpublicised. In the ensuing years she recorded a suite of songs inspired by her relationship with "Micky", the actor/model Michael Hannah, who was killed in an air-crash in 1974. These remained unreleased until they were included on CD compilations. Her later recordings appeared under the name Twinkle Ripley. She recorded a 1975 single, "Smoochie" with her father, Sidney Ripley as "Bill & Coo".

Photographic publicity portraits of Twinkle taken in the mid-1960s are exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery.[7]
In 1972, she married actor-model Graham Rogers, who starred in the Milk Tray chocolate adverts. They had two children, Michael and Amber.

She died at the age of 66.

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On this day 9th March 1960-1965.
On 09/03/1960 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 09/03/1961 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 Dalmatians. 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 09/03/1962 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 09/03/1963 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.

On 09/03/1964 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.

On 09/03/1965 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. The big news story of the day was First public talking computer.







Wednesday 6 March 2019


Web Page No 2560

2nd March 2019
1st Picture. Spur Road Cosham



2nd Picture. Original QA Hospital

3rd Picture. Wart Freezing


Foot Care
One of the dreaded words that I remember from my Junior School days is Verruca. For my mother to be told by the school nurse that I had a verruca on my right foot, caused much looking, washing, scrubbing and cleaning with Surgical Spirit all to no avail. After being referred, by the nurse to our local Doctor, Dr. Cheyne, an appointment was made for me to be seen by the foot specialist team at the Queen Alexandra Hospital. 

My mother could not drive and my father was away working in Ceylon and so this involved a bus trip into Cosham followed by a climb up the steep concrete steps to the QA. This, of course, was the original QA there had been not new building on the site almost since before the war apart from the odd asbestos hut dotted around the site.

I remember going into that impressive brick façade (is it still there? If so it is well hidden) and down a long corridor to check in. I still did not have much idea what was to come so trotted along quite happily. We entered the department and checked in and my mother, as she always did, made it known that before she married, she was the Assistant Matron in a well-known London Children’s Hospital, so she knew what she was talking about. This was always rather embarrassing when she did this. 

We were called into the surgery and my foot was examined and my mother was told that the verruca would have to come out. The doctor then set about preparing his instruments for the minor operation. I must admit that seeing a tray with a selection of scalpels on it was a bit daunting and when he mentioned dry ice I was really getting concerned. Having prepared my foot the doctor produced an insulated container which, when he removed the lid emitted what looked like smoke (it was actually vapour) all over the room. I watched him withdraw a thin column of dry ice and place it on my foot. I was expecting pain but was too fascinated by the smoking dry ice to notice and the next thing I knew was that the doctor said “All done nurse can you put a dressing on it please”. I was amazed when he explained that the dry ice froze the area around the verruca which enabled him to cut it out with the scalpel which I was still fascinated by the smoke.

It was not an experience that I wished to have again but was quite pleased that I had no pain but I had forgotten those long concrete steps down from the QA into Cosham and the bus stop. Walking along the flat was fine although I hobbled a bit but putting one foot after another down a steep flight of steps when one of the feet has a raw area with a bandage and pad over it under your sandals is certainly something that I really do not recommend   

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Peter



On this day 3rd March 1960-1965

On 03/03/1960 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 02/03/1961 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 02/03/1962 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 02/03/1963 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 week was International direct dialling introduced.

On 02/03/1964 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 02/03/1965 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.