FIRST PICTURE: POST WAR ROAD SIGNS.
SECOND PICTURE: THE TRADITIONAL PHONE BOX WITH BUTTONS ‘A’ AND ‘B’.
On the Streets
Walking along the street the other day I came to a set of traffic lights and as I waited I remembered that when we were kids each set of traffic lights were preceded by a rubber counting strip set into the tarmac. It was always a challenge for us to jump up and down on the strip to try to get the light to change, of course it never worked as we were far too light to make any impact on the mechanism but we would always try. But then I thought, with the coming of electronics we do not see these strips any more, when did they go? I really do not know. This naturally set me off to thinking about other street items we no longer see.
The first thing I thought about was lamps and lamp posts. In the 1960’s most of the major roads were illuminated by large square glass lamps which gave off an eerie blue glow which made everyone look as though they were dead! But the minor roads were lit by what looked like conventional light bulbs (I assume they were a different voltage from the domestic ones, otherwise they would not have lasted long), which gave a warm yellowish glow. From the top of Portsdown hill looking down on Portsmouth the scene showed a fascinating view of different coloured lights all over the city. Today, of course, the City is lit wholly by modern lights with their bright orange glow, far more efficient than the old ones but nowhere near as pretty from a distance! Associated with street lights were lamp posts and in the minor roads these were silver painted cast items with the city crest set into the door at the bottom. This also applied to the long disused tram poles that survived in certain areas in the city and the trolley bus poles.
Something else which is long gone is the policeman on point duty, standing in the middle of a cross roads keeping traffic moving. For greater visibility the Officer would wear long white arm bands on each arm and during evening rush hours in the dark days of winter he was very often illuminated by a big overhead light. Of course the most famous traffic constable was the one on Fratton Bridge, PC ‘Dutch’ Holland, I am sure you all remember him and if you look back at my emails three or four years ago you will find a whole article about him.
Even the road signs have changed! Remember the School sign before the one of the two children stepping off the kerb. The flaming torch was used for many years and affectionately known by generations of school children as the ice cream cone. The hospital sign used to be a black St. Johns cross on white background which was replaced by the simple ‘H’ years ago, but the strange thing is that the sign for an ungated railway crossing is still a steam engine and we have not used them regularly on the main line railway for decades. A sign which has subtly changed is the hill or gradient sign, I knew what a 1 in 12 meant but I have to think what a 20% gradient means!
What else? Bus stop signs without the words ‘Fare Stage’ attached to them, telephone boxes which took pennies and were worked by pushing button ‘A’ and ‘B’. Police boxes small and large like the very large one at the top of the Eastern Road. Bubble gum machines that took ha’pennies and pennies, milk machines, postage stamp machines (where have they gone?), newspapers hanging in racks outside the paper shop, a match stand on the counter of the tobacconists for the convenience of the smoker. Those were the days when you just turned up at the doctors and waited to be seen and did not have to telephone (if you had one) for an appointment and if you asked for a home visit your own doctor actually turned up on your doorstep.
Flashing Belisha Beacons, road sweepers with their hand carts, drain cleaners with long snorkels which sucked up the muck and dustmen who carried the dustbins on their shoulders and emptied them into side filling lorries.
Ah well so much for memories, I am sure you can add a whole list of things to the items that I have mentioned. I look forward to hearing from you.
So stay in touch
Peter
DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.com
YOU WRITE:
Peter Writes: -
I have recently read your Manor Court Update. I went through school at Court Lane from Infants to Juniors to senior Secondary Modern at Court Lane School in Hillary Avenue. Manor Court started as I left the 5th year in September 1958. I now live in Murcia, Espania. I started school at Court Lane Infants in 1948 having first attended a preparatory school in Carmarthen Avenue Run by a Miss Neville. My parents had a Chemist Shop in Cosham High Street, "Bakers of Cosham". Every morning, A miss Woodman picked my brother Robert and I up in the High Street, And walked with us along the Havant Road to Carmarthen Avenue, where she was a helper/teacher.
In 1948, I started at Court Lane Infants School which was at the Salisbury Road End of the School. This was before the new infants school was built at the other end of the site at the Court Lane End. In the same part of the infants school, was the Junior Girls school and after a gap, was the Boy's school, Juniors and seniors. I remember my parents taking me there on the first day of term in September and handing me over to the Head Mistress Miss Henderson. I seem to remember my first teacher was a Mrs Wallis? there was also Miss Haysom. We sat at very old fashioned desk's with an old canvas bag attached to the back of the chair for our books. I remember the names of one or two of the other children in my class. There was Elizabeth Primmer, who lived in Hillary Avenue, Mary Foster, Simon Ward, Pearl Wilson.
Griff Writes:
An elderly man in Queensland had owned a large property for several years. He had a dam in one of the lower paddocks where he had planted mango and avocado trees. The dam had been fixed up for swimming when it was built and he also had some picnic tables placed there in the shade of the fruit trees.
One evening the old farmer decided to go down to the dam to look it over, as he hadn't been there for a while. He grabbed a ten litre bucket to bring back some fruit. As he neared the dam, he heard voices shouting and laughing with glee. As he came closer he saw it was a bunch of young women skinny-dipping in his dam. He made the women aware of his presence and they all went to the deep end.One of the women shouted to him, 'We're not coming out until you leave!' The old man frowned, 'I didn't come down here to watch you ladies swim naked or make you get out of the dam naked.' Holding the bucket up he said....................
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'I'm here to feed the crocodile.'
NEWS AND VIEWS:
Mary Travers, of Peter, Paul & Mary, lost her battle with leukemia at the age of 72. She died in a Danbury, Connecticut hospital on Wednesday September 16th.
ON THIS DAY 3RD OCTOBER 1960-1965
On 03/10/1960 the number one single was Tell Laura I Love Her - Ricky Valance and the number one album was Down Drury Lane to Memory Lane - A Hundred and One Strings. 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.
On 03/10/1961 the number one single was Johnny Remember Me - John Leyton and the number one album was Ipswich Town. 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 £not very interesting and 13.25 were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV)".
On 03/10/1962 the number one single was She's Not You - Elvis Presley 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 03/10/1963 the number one single was She Loves You - The Beatles 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 03/10/1964 the number one single was I'm Into Something Good - Herman's Hermits 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 03/10/1964 the number one single was I'm Into Something Good - Herman's Hermits 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 03/10/1965 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.
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