Web Page 894

First Picture:

Radio Times from 1961

Second Picture:

A face from early TV Friar Tuck (Alexander Gauge) from the Adventures of Robin Hood Series

Part two of last week’s article’

Christmas Eve and Beyond

These were the most exciting days of the year for all children. The presents had been bought and the local shops had delivered the Christmas groceries which were paid for from the weekly contributions to the shop’s Christmas club.

The postman frequently brought the electricity bill on Christmas Eve and my mother and some neighbours always commented that they thought this was done on purpose to spoil Christmas. Despite this the presents from the grandparents, aunts, uncles, distant relatives and friends had arrived and were put near the Christmas tree. I remember I always tried to put my fingers through the wrapping paper then the guessing game started, “Will I get slippers from my grandmother again this year?”; “How much money has grandfather put in the Christmas card?” Money always came with some Christmas cards until the late 1950’s when it suddenly changed to the newly introduced premium bonds.

On the same day all the goodies that had been bought for Christmas were taken out of the cupboard: packets of dates and figs, candied lemon and oranges, crystallised ginger, nuts, oranges and bananas, a large coconut, exotic Turkish delight and various kinds of chocolates and sweets.

Christmas Eve for those still young enough to believe in Father Christmas was an exciting occasion. I would put one of Mum’s best mince pies on a plate next to a glass of brandy for Father Christmas. I was told that Father Christmas was on his way around the world to visit all the children. After a cup of Bournville I went to bed with an empty pillow case left at the bottom of my bed in the hope that it might be full the next morning. Up to school age all boys and girls were taught by their parents that Father Christmas really existed, it was not until we went to Primary School that we were told by the older children that Father Christmas was in fact our parents.

Piles of coal and logs were put on the fire and I remember my parents and grandparents always said that Christmas was a time when they returned to their childhood, when life was easier and simpler before the problems of the adult life arrived.

Presents were modest for boys maybe a train set, model ships and aeroplanes, tinker toys, jigsaw puzzles, cap guns, roller skates, games and annuals as well as well sealed envelopes that not only contained a Christmas card but also a ten shilling or one pound note. Then families had time to play board or card play games together.
As far as I remember everyone was satisfied with their presents. There was no present swapping that nowadays often turns into a round of “let us see how much we can collect for the car-boot sale”. Socks and handkerchiefs were unpacked, accompanied by a genuine chorus of “Oh, that’s just what I wanted”. We were celebrating Christmas in an age when society was more contented. Presents for our parents in the included Lily of the Valley, Max Factor or Rubenstein’s perfume, fifty cigarettes in a presentation box or a packet of Manikin cigars. Items to wear were popular, especially slippers, pullovers, shirts, blouses and white “under-things”.

Christmas morning was a busy time for Mum cooking the bird, putting the vegetables on, making gravy and getting the table ready. She had a lot of work and would say from time to time that the oven was slow - not surprising as nearly every housewife in the nation was cooking the same meal at the same time that day. While my mother was in the kitchen we played with our new toys and games, read our annuals and counted our Christmas money over and over again. This was the one day in the year when we felt rich. There was plenty of time for playing as we did not have a telephone and no one could disturb us. On Christmas Day the neighbours would come in for a Christmas drink and we would also visit them. Dinner was ready at about 1 o’clock. The bird was carved and the vegetables were put onto the table. We had sage and onion stuffing, sausages wrapped in bacon, the well-done Brussels sprouts, the fresh carrots and parsnips from the garden tasted better after a frost, the boiled and roasted potatoes, thick dark-brown onion gravy and cranberry sauce and then the wish-bone had to be pulled. After the main course we would all declare that we were completely full but always seemed to have room for Christmas pudding.

After washing up our parents would plunge into a chair and just sit until 3.00 pm for the Queens Christmas message. For 15 minutes we all sat silent and listened to Her Majesty address the nation. This was an indelible part of Christmas Day. After the Queen’s speech my grandparents uncles and aunts always reminisced and told us about their lives as a child and that Christmas had changed since then.
As the afternoon wore on and the effects of the Christmas dinner wore off, we were in the mood for some fun and games. Games included “hunt the thimble” and “charades”. When father declared that it was time for some walnuts we all had to think now where did we put the nutcrackers last year?

5 o’clock and time for tea, chicken or turkey sandwiches, jelly, trifle, fruit salad etc. and Mum’s Christmas cake. Christmas in England without Christmas crackers would not be Christmas. At home my mother normally opened the box of 12 crackers at around tea time. They contained a paper hat, a small rather useless toy and a motto or corny joke. I remember one year making my own crackers by using the empty tubes of toilet rolls.

Later that evening it would be time for a hot mince pie. While the adults indulged in a glass of wine, port or sherry we children were given hot chocolate or a cold drink and continued to play with our new toys and games while Mum admired her Christmas cards and ask why a aunt so-and-so had not sent her one this year. Frequently the missing card arrived after Christmas and the second class postage stamp was not to blame as there was only one class of postage in the 1950’s.
Soon it was time for bed and to look forward to Boxing Day when we had visits from relatives or we visited them. Boxing Day was more or less a continuation of Christmas Day when a present or two was received from an aunt or uncle or friend who had forgotten to send it before Christmas.

I remember we bought our first television just before Christmas in the late 1950’s. This changed our lives in the evenings, when we could actually watch the broadcast of the Queen’s Christmas message. In the 1950’s there were three BBC Radio stations. Before we had a TV we listened to the "Light Programme" which broadcasted popular music and light entertainment such as variety shows, comedy, and drama. The "Home Service" was the main channel for news, features, and drama although it did have some entertainment of a more demanding kind. The "Third Programme" broadcasted in the evenings only - mainly classical music and concerts as well as talks. For us “Children's Hour’ was the classic. This was listened to by most children and was designed to meet children's wants and needs in the 1950’s. “Children’s Hour” was broadcast from 5-6 pm on weekdays. Those who had a television all watched the “Andy Pandy” etc. As children we loved Christmas TV party shows with the stars like Tommy Cooper, Harry Secombe, Wilfred Pickles and Bob Monkhouse. We all waited for the seasonal TV pantomimes such as “Dick Whittington” or “The Babes in the Wood”, there were always well know celebrities in these such as Hattie Jacques, Spike Milligan, Frankie Howard or Charlie Drake and Boxing Day was not complete without the Chipperfield Circus show.

New Year’s Eve at home was very quiet in the 1950’s. Most people stayed at home and listened to the wireless or watched television. It should not be forgotten that 1st January was a normal working day in England until the 1980’s. On New Year’s Sunday we always spent the afternoon and evening with my grandparents. For us it was like Christmas Day again with the exception that we received no more presents. There was an abundance of food and drinks and we played games and talked for hours. As soon as New Year’s Day was over, I often heard my mother talking to the neighbours about new ideas to loose the weight that she had put on over Christmas. My mother always insisted that we took down the Christmas decorations and the tree on 6 January as on this day, the twelve days of Christmas finished.

Looking forward to another New Year, yours

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.Keat@ntlworld.com

You Write:

Jonathon sent me this-

SCHOOL -- 1960 vs. 2010

Scenario:
Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.

1960 - Crowd gathers egging them on "fight, fight, fight". Johnny wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up best mates for life.

2010 - Police called, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Mark started it. Both children go to anger management programs for 3 months. School board hold meeting to impliment bullying prevention programs

Scenario:
Robbie won't Keep still in class, disrupts other students.

1960 - Robbie sent to office and given 6 of the best by the Headmaster. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.

2010 - Robbie given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. Robbie's parents get fortnightly disability payments and School gets extra funding from state because Robbie has a disability.

Scenario :
Billy breaks a window in his neighbour's car and his Dad gives him a whopping with his slipper.

1960 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.

2010 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. Billy's sister tells Government psychologist that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison.

Scenario :
Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.

1960 - Mark gets glass of water from Teacher to take aspirin with.

2010 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.


Scenario :
Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from Guy Fawkes, puts them in a model airfix paint bottle, blows up an ants nest.

1960 - Ants die.

2010- Police, Armed Forces, & Anti-terrorism Squad called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, MI5 investigate parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated. Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

Scenario :
Johnny falls while running during break and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary . Mary hugs him to comfort him.

1960 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.

2010 - Mary is accused of being a predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.

News and Views

Ivor the engine found in pig shed. A collection of Ivor the Engine episodes from the 1960’s have been found gathering dust in a pig shed. Almost 40 rusty reels of videotape were discovered under a "large pile of steaming mess" in the disused sty. The 16mm footage is understood to have been stashed by the late Oliver Postgate, the creator of both Ivor the Engine and Bagpuss, who died in 2008. But they lay undiscovered for more than 40 years until they were found by his former business partner, Peter Firmin, on his property in Kent. There are now plans for the animations, which are black and white, to be digitalised and re-released.

On this day 12th December 1960-1965

On 12/12/1960 the number one single was It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was The Army Game (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.The big news story of the day was Bootsie & Snudge (granada).

On 12/12/1961 the number one single was Tower of Strength - Frankie Vaughan and the number one album was Another Black & White Minstrel Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. 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.

On 12/12/1962 the number one single was Lovesick Blues - Frank Ifield and the number one album was On Stage with the Black & White Minstrels - George Mitchell Minstrels. 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 12/12/1963 the number one single was I Want to Hold Your hand - The Beatles 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 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 12/12/1964 the number one single was I Feel Fine - The Beatles 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 12/12/1965 the number one single was The Carnival is Over - Seekers 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.

Web Page 892

First Picture: A typical 1950’s visit to Santa.





Second Picture: Fun in the playground.




I recently came across this report of a 1950’s Christmas, I don’t know who wrote it, but is certainly invokes memories of the past. The article is long, so I will split it in half. This week is the build up to Christmas and next week will be Christmas Eve, the Big Day Itself and New Year.


1950’s Christmas at Home.

Preparations for Christmas in the 1950’s started just after Bonfire night; this was the time when the small family-owned businesses began to decorate their shop windows. From week to week stockings for children filled with Mars Bars, Bounties and Crunchies as well as other festive items started to appear between the boxes of biscuits and the multi-coloured decorations in the shop windows. It was also the time of year when people were asking: “What are you doing for Christmas” or “What do you want for Christmas?” In those days it was tradition to spend Christmas with the family. I never heard of anyone flying to the Canaries or going to a hotel for Christmas.

On certain nights in December the countryside seemed to take on a distinct quality of its own, especially when the silvery light of the full moon was around. The dampness of December was frequently caused by sea fog and there were a few years in the 1950’s and 1960’s when the hedgerows, trees and the roofs were covered with a thick layer of white frost. Sometimes when the skies were clear in the evenings you could see several stars on the horizon. Frequently my mother would step outside and would scan the skies for a change in the wind to see if snow was coming our way.
Most families decorated a real Christmas tree in their homes. I do not recall any artificial Christmas trees in the 1950’s. It was as if people who had survived the war needed the security of a festive Christmas and the Christmas tree was an important symbol to set them back on their feet again. It was the centrepiece of the household and admired by all. A few days before Christmas my father and I would bring home the Christmas tree from the local shops. The tree was mounted and secured in a large pot. We then started to decorate it with colourful glass balls and bells. We also used silver tinsel. Small Christmas crackers in shiny paper were laid along the branches, on top of the tree we mounted a golden haired angel which in after a time suffered from old age but it was so high the damage could not be seen. We bought our glass decorations from Woolworths and we also purchased wrapped chocolate bells, stars, angels for hanging on Christmas trees.

By the 1950’s the new fangled electric or fairy lights were available replacing the real wax candles on our Christmas tree With a tree glittering you experienced the real feeling of Christmas. In those days we ignored fashion and used our own well loved tree decorations year after year. After Christmas they were stored carefully away in a cardboard box.

Multi-coloured paper Christmas garlands either bought or self-made were popular. They were hung across the living room, balloons were hung in the corner of each room and colourful paper lanterns were hung at the windows of many houses. A lot of our decorations were still of 'home-made'; we spent hours at school making snowflakes and stars from cardboard. At Primary School the girls used beads to make decorations.

I remember one year when the gypsies appeared going from house to house selling mistletoe. From their dress it was clear that they lived a nomadic way of life. They came for a few years in the 1950’s both in summer and winter selling pegs, hand-knitted socks etc.

Almost every home had mistletoe hanging up in the living room and in the 1950’s people recited: 'Pick a berry off the mistletoe, For every kiss that's given. When the berries have all gone. There's an end to the kissing.'

I remember that we helped our parents select the most appropriate Christmas card for the right relative or friend. For us, Christmas was the ideal time to make an additional effort to get in touch with relatives who lived away and who we had not seen for some time, no telephones in our houses! The annual Christmas card was the only regular contact that kept our long distance friendships alive.

Part of the magic of Christmas was going to the front door to see what cards had been delivered by the postman. It was always a delight when the postman came with the post. There was a morning and afternoon delivery and it was not until I worked for a week in the pre-Christmas period as a postman that I realised how much activity there is in a post office. Not only did I have to do two rounds in the cold using the post office bicycle but the letters and parcels had to be sorted by 5.30 in the morning.

The cards we received were displayed around the house, traditional motifs included candles, winter landscapes holly and snowmen were common, only a few people sent humorous cards in those days and not many cards were sold to raise money for charities.

In the 1950’s who would come to the door at about tea time? The carol singers. They went from house to house singing and as a child it was exciting when the carol singers came. It was considered to bring bad luck to send carollers away empty-handed so we always gave them some coins and offered them a mince pie.

On the subject of music I remember my Aunt frequently playing “White Christmas” on her 78 rpm gramophone record player so often that the needle had to be changed so often and I was glad when she ran out of new needles.

There were several kinds of visitors in the 1950’s and 1960’s. There were the salesmen would came to each door trying to sell books such as dictionaries and bibles to housewives maintaining that these were ideal Christmas presents for their children.They came nearly every year, so some of us therefore received identical Christmas presents. Then there was the man who sold Whitaker’s Almanac which many families considered to be essential as it containing information on keeping abreast with current affairs. My grandmother loved reading this almanac for its astronomical data, for the sun rising and setting, moon phases and the position of the
Elderly ladies collecting for charities in the pre-Christmas period will always remain in my mind. Dressed in warm clothes, a scarf around their neck and a woollen hat, they went from door to door asking for a few pence for charity. We always put a few pence in the small round tin. The door collectors went as quickly as they came this was just part of the Christmas season. I also remember that the Jehovah’s Witneses went from door to door in the pre-Christmas period. I remember the Sunday School teacher explaining to us at a very young age that the Jehovah’s Witnesses did not celebrate Christmas because they do not believe that Jesus Christ and they considered Christmas to be a pagan festival.

It was amazing how much noise the rubbish collectors made in mid-December when they collected the rubbish. The milkman also took his time to collect the weekly money wishing each housewife a happy Christmas until she understood the reason why. It was customary at Christmas to give the rubbish collectors, postman, baker and milkman a small tip for their services throughout the year.

World War Two had finished only five years before the start of the 1950’s and many things were still rationed until about 1953. Despite this, Christmas was still enjoyed at its utmost although presents were modest. Commercial television did not exist until late in the 1950’s so there was no pressure for our parents to have to buy the latest toy or game.

At a time when most people did not have vehicles busses were the order of the day. A visit to the city in December was a big adventure. Frantic shopping and last-minute present buying also existed in the 1950’s and, with more money available in the 1960’s, people started saying that they were spending far too much money at Christmas. The highlight of the trip was a visit to see Father Christmas in one of the big stores.

As with many customs associated with British Christmas, the tradition of Father Christmas remained, when the religious elements were lost. He became a benevolent, jovial character, synonymous with the goodwill of Christmas, but his saintly attributes were gradually disappearing. I do not recall the Father Christmas ever asking me questions about my prayers, my reading, writing and arithmetic but only about whether I had been a naughty boy.

Walking around town on any Saturday in December you would always see the Salvation Army singing Christmas carols on a street corner trying to attract the attention of passers-by to help fill their collection tins. Many stopped to admire their dark blue uniforms and to listen to their singing.

Our parents seemed to spend ages going from shop to shop. In particular they spent a lot of time in Woolworths and Marks and Spencers, the main two stores for shopping in the 1950’s. As we walked around the bags got heavier and heavier and I was told in certain shops to look the other way. We usually had a drink in Woolworths and a well deserved rest before spending a penny (which did actually cost a penny in those days) and continuing with the shopping before returning back home on the bus.

At primary school we made Christmas decorations which were put up in the classroom or taken home. We also made Christmas cards for our parents by either drawing festive motives or cutting out pictures from Christmas cards we had saved from previous years. We rehearsed for the annual Christmas concert and we always had an enjoyable Christmas party with lots of food, drink and games, it took place on the last Friday before Christmas. Nativity plays are one of the traditions of Christmas as four year old who was a shepherd in the Nativity Play I was a witness to this. At that young age it was an adventure to dress up and remain standing for about 20 minutes in front of a full school hall.

Christmas was the busiest time of the year for mothers, in December they started talking about the baking and cooking for Christmas. I remember that this was the main topic of conversation with my mother, wherever she was. There was always the fear that the local shops would run out of ingredients to make the Christmas cake, plum pudding and mince pies.

Next week, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year

Stay in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

You Write:

Steve writes:

Hi Peter, after reading your blog on bizarre pop titles I remembered this one that also ranks alongside those and possibly the longest title then. Regards Steve.
"The Anaheim, Azusa, and Cucomonga Sewing Circle Book Review And Timing Association"
By Jan & Dean.

News and Views:

Melv points out that there was an obituary in the News for John Ray born 1947 attended Court Lane and Manor Court.


Joan Baez was taken to Stanford University Medical Center Wednesday (November 17) after falling while climbing down from a treehouse at her Woodside, California home. The 69 year-old's injuries were only minor and she is resting at home. She reportedly sleeps in the treehouse all Summer to be close to nature

On this day 5th December 1960-1965

On 05/12/1960 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 Armchair Theatre (ABC) 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 05/12/1961 the number one single was Little Sister/His Latest Flame - Elvis Presley. 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 Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV)".

On 05/12/1962 the number one single was Lovesick Blues - Frank Ifield and the number one album was On Stage with the Black & White Minstrels - George Mitchell Minstrels. 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. The big news story of the day was Heavy smog kills 55 in London.

On 05/12/1963 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 05/12/1964 the number one single was Little Red Rooster - Rolling Stones 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 05/12/1965 the number one single was The Carnival is Over - Seekers 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.

Web Page No 890

Top Picture: Dee Dee Sharp as she was in 1960

Bottom Picture: The Four Jewels,

( you will not believe the title of their song! Just scroll down and see.)

Firstly

a new member today someone I have been looking for, for years an old mate Peter Westcott, welcome to the fold Peter.

Secondly

I cannot believe that, by looking at the counter on the blog there are over 500 people a week reading the site!

Odd Girl Groups

The girl groups of the 60’s were an individual music genre all of their own and the range and subjects of their songs was also very strange and diverse. Most of the singers and groups were American but I suppose that really goes without saying!!!!

For a time there was a selection of songs which featured food and drink. Here are just a few, although I have to say that I do not remember any of the song titles or the groups except just two of them, how about you?
Here they are:-

Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes) by Dee Dee Sharp,
Peanut Duck by Marsha Gee,
I Love Onions by Susan Christie
Buttered Popcorn by the Supremes ( I have heard of them!)
Chicken Chicken Cranny Crow by the Jaynetts
Bubblegummer by the Teardrops
I Wish I Was the Bottle by Connie Hall
Snowman Snowman Sweet Potato Nose by the Jaynetts
Chicken Back by Sally and the Roses
Slop Time by the Sherrys
Swamp Water by the Chantels( I have heard of them too!)

As always LOVE and romance was a leading contender for the subject of a pop song for most of the time. But how about these strange titles?

Funnel Of Love by Wanda Jackson
I'm in Love with the Ticket Taker at the Bijou Movie Theater
by Donna Loren
The Way I Love My Baby (Milk is Milk)
by the Smith Girls

Then of course there was always the complete opposite HATRED.
Remember these?

I'm Gonna Destroy That Boy by the What Fours
Sticking Pins in a Dolly by Marlene Willis

BOYS were always a popular topic for the girl groups to sing about and again I can only remember one of the groups listed below and definitely none of the songs. Quite frankly I find the meaning of some of the titles very puzzling indeed.
There were:-

The Naked Boy by Estelle (Bennett)
Wee Willie Water Dilly by the Keefer Sisters
He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss) by the Crystals ( I remember them)
You Can't Take My Boyfriend's Woody by the Powder Puffs
Frankie's Out on Parole by the La Dell Sisters
Hey Mr. Scientist by Jennie Lee Lambert
Wooden Head Willie by the Knight Sisters.

And naturally there were lots of songs about ME, for example

Please Hurt Me by Carole King
I'm Me by Priscilla Paris
Dumbhead by Ginny Arnell
Big Honky Baby by Kellie Douglas Don't Dig Twiggy by Barbara Windsor
I'm Blue (the Gong Gong Song) by the Ikettes

Now this last list of titles really do defy all attempts to either describe them or understand them.

So, Do the Zonk by Donna Loren
When My Pimples Turned to Dimples by Jeanne Hayes
Iko Iko by Dixie Cups (didn’t they do ‘Going’ to the Chapel?)
The Hucklebuck '65 by the Birdies
The Car Hop with the Hard Top by Marcy Jo (with Eddie Rambeau)
Special Agent 34-24-38 by Mamie Galore (Mamie Davis)

Tar and Cement by Verdelle Smith
Shake Me, I Rattle by Marion Worth
Waddle Waddle by the Bracelets
The Sentence by Miriam Grate and the Dovers
I'm Gonna Pick Up My Toys by the Devonnes
Whoopee by Mimi Allen
Inside O' Me by Honey and the Bees
Funky Wunky Piano by the Castanets
Shoo Fly by Barbara English
Jerk It by the Gypsies
Winky Dinky by the Jaynetts
Hot Spot by the Bronzettes
Two Way Poc-A-Way by the Dixie Cups
The Screw by the Crystals
Walkin' Through a Cemetery by Claudine Clark
Condition Red by the Goodees
That's What They Put Erasers on Pencils For by the Four Jewels
Makin' With the Magilla by Little Eva
Save a Little Monkey by Mary Sue Wellington.

Well there you go a really weird selection BUT if we are lucky we may never, ever have to hear them again if we all make a pact that none of us will ever, ever, contact Brian Matthews and ask him to play any of these records on his Saturday Morning Programme. It’s a deal!!!!!!!


Keep in touch

Peter
DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk

You Write:

Griff Writes:

Whilst going through some long forgotten documents recently that had been packed away for nearly 50 years in my Mum's attic I came across this newspaper cutting regarding Bert Ray leaving Manor Court. The strange and very odd thing is that this particular newspaper cutting was not cut out for this reason by my Mum but she had cut out something else she wanted to keep and Bert's school leaving just happened to be above the article she had cut out.
I think I am right in saying that Bert Ray did not live for that long after leaving Manor Court but Pete will probably know the answer to that question I think?

Article from The Portsmouth Evening News: (no date)

Mr B. Ray, Science Teacher of Manor Court School, Drayton is leaving the school to take up a post for coloured boys in Bermuda.
Born in the Isle of Wight Mr Ray has taught at Manor Court, and it's forerunner Court Lane School since leaving Bognor Regis Training College in 1949.
" I have enjoyed every minute of my years at the school but felt it was time for wider experience" he said. " With my Wife and my 5 year old daughter, Ann, I shall be leaving England in the next few weeks".

Mr Ray, who lives at Oakwood, Bedhampton attends St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Havant and is a former member of Portsmouth and Southsea Angling Club.

I reply:-

Great clip I think Bert did 5 years in Bermuda then came home and died very soon after.

News and Views:

Gerry Rafferty collapsed and was admitted to a hospital in Bournemouth on Friday November 5 and placed on life support with liver failure. Doctors hope to be able to transfer him to a London hospital, though his overall prognosis is poor. Gerry left a London hospital where he was being treated for liver failure last year and was not seen publicly for six months before lawyers issued a statement in February that he was "extremely well" and writing songs in Italy.

On this day 28th November 1960-1965.

On 28/11/1960 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 Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) 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 28/11/1961 the number one single was Little Sister/His Latest Flame - Elvis Presley 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 £13.25.The big news story of the day was Sunday Night at the London Palladium

On 28/11/1962 the number one single was Lovesick Blues - Frank Ifield 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 28/11/1963 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. The big news story of the day was Cape Canaveral renamed Cape Kennedy.

On 28/11/1964 the number one single was Baby Love - Supremes 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 28/11/1965 the number one single was The Carnival is Over - Seekers and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Take Your Pick (AR) 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.

Web Page 888

First Picture:

Dave Dee and the Bostons

Second Picture:

A picture from Steve Timms. Taken in Second Avenue Farlington these budding racers are David Tribe, Roger Tribe, Dave Offer and Raymond ? with the plank.

Dave Dee

A former policeman from Salisbury, Dave Dee, led his group until 1969 when he broke away to go solo, the group then disbanded the following year. He later became an A&R man for WEA Records, launched his own record label in the early 1980s, and helped to raise millions of pounds for a music charity that helps severely-disadvantaged children. He became a magistrate, presided over a failed hotel venture, and later reformed his old band, albeit with a slightly-changed line-up. In 2000 he was diagnosed with cancer.

He was born David John Harman on December 17 1941 in Salisbury, the son of a joiner. In 1946 he arrived home from school to find a man in a kilt talking to his mother. It was his father, whom he had never seen, and who had just returned from the war having served in the Black Watch. As a boy, he boarded at the Adcroft School of Building, formerly the Hammersmith School of Arts and Crafts which had been evacuated during the war to an old army camp at Trowbridge. Having been warned off the building trade by his father, he dabbled in plumbing and in his spare time became interested in music, initially the sort that accompanied Morris dancing. At 13 he joined a skiffle group and later sang in a Salvation Army choir.

On leaving school he joined Swindon police and as a Police Cadet in April 1960, he attended the wreckage of the car crash on the A4 at Chippenham in which Eddie Cochran had been killed at the age of 21. Having helped to recover Eddie Cochran's Gretsch guitar, he later admitted trying it out while it awaited collection at the police station.

Deciding that policing was not for him he turned to the pop music scene and joined four friends in a group called Ronnie Blonde and the Beatniks. By 1962 they had become Dave Dee and the Bostons and were appearing at clubs in Hamburg and Hanover with several other aspiring British groups following in the steps of The Beatles. It is as Dave Dee and the Bostons that I first saw them in the Drayton Institute.
They obtained a recording contract with Fontana, and changed their name to Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich, which was a mixture of their real names and nicknames. The group's first single ‘No Time’ appeared in 1965, and they engineered an appearance on ‘Ready, Steady, Go!’ by setting up their equipment in the foyer of Rediffusion House and performing a couple of songs on the spot.

When their first two records flopped, Dave Dee was on the point of rejoining the police, but he and the others were dissuaded. In March 1966 they had their first chart hit with ‘Hold Tight’, based on a football chant, which reached number four. It was the first of several numbers that became hits, including ‘Bend It’ (1966), ‘Zabadak!’ (1967) and, their biggest success ‘The Legend of Xanadu’ (1968), featuring the bull whip.

Dave Dee left the group for a short-lived solo career, after which he became head of A & R for WEA Records, signing among others AC/DC, Boney M and Gary Numan.
In the 1970s he became a founder committee member of the charity Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy, the largest charitable provider of music therapy in the country. For more than 30 years, he actively involved himself in fund-raising and increasing the charity's profile.

He returned to performing in the 1980s, touring Europe with a successful solo act which included many of the band's hits. Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich were reformed in the 1990s with Dave Dee as lead vocalist again. He performed his last gig in Eisenburg, Germany, in September 2008.

In 1996 he bought a Queen Anne mansion in the Cheshire countryside and turned it into a luxury guesthouse. But when the business failed after two years, he sold the property to pay off his debts. At the suggestion of his second wife, hearing him complain of some injustice, he applied to become a magistrate and sat as a Justice of the Peace, first in Brent, north London, and later at Macclesfield, Cheshire.
After contracting and fighting cancer for six years he died on 8th January 2009. He was survived by his second wife Joanne, and their daughter Olivia, as well as his twin sons from his first marriage to Carole, by Lesley, his partner for the last two years, and his mother.

A real link to my past as the group was often at the Institute and I was always in the audience.

Stay in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

You Write:

Martin Writes:-

Indeed as the others confirm the library at Court Lane was located...........if you stood in the corridor facing the assembly / hall it was to the left..........I remember it well as Pandy Ellis's big sister was a librarian I think..........anyway Carol was the main reason I would spend time at the library...........As I recall there were two grocer shops on Knowsley Road..............One was right on the corner of Knowsley and Cosham High Street........I believe their name was "Elite Grocers" or something like that.....Leslie and Carol Chapman lived a few doors down from the place on Knowsley Road.....then at the other end of Knowsley............I think as you would turn right onto Rosebury Avenue there was another small but full service.......grocer....cannot remember his name........I do recall one of the illustrious scallywags of Court Lane..........David Mosley worked there for quite sometime............

Tell Anida we did have a Windebank at school........Her first name was Adrienne......as I recall reddish hair and quite delight full to look at.............

The Gosport ferry boat picture stirred up a very distant memory.........One rainy November day my father took my sister (Francine) and I to visit an aunt who lived in Gosport...........on the ferry trip back in the rain and cold this rather inebriated sailor tried to engage my dad into an argument.....fortunately the drunkie had a friend and he tried to intervene....but to no avail.....finally the drunk says to my dad you are one big shaggy shag bag..........with that dear old dad turned around and decked the fellow.......Francine and I were amazed....finally one of the ferry crew came over and escorted us to a place of refuge........the drunkie's companion (both in uniform HMS Vernon) apologized and handed us two kids a Mars Bar to share........Never thought the old man had that in him......... What a fun trip that was.........Tell Paul the name of the street was Magdala Avenue.....

Fran Writes:-

Thought I'd drop a line re the Library at Court Lane. In third form ( 3A1 ) our form teacher Colin Ramsay whom incidentally I have never heard mentioned over the years , maybe he was not a staff member very long but an excellent teacher, well he was in charge of English, Drama and the library I believe. He invited to be a junior School Librarian. Classes had a weekly Library Lesson when we could borrow books. My job along with other pupils that were librarians was to look after the pupils while they chose their books ,stamp their books etc. They usually came in groups of about 8.Each pupil had a library card which we recorded details of books they borrowed . I missed a few other lessons such as RI and Music while I was librarian for looking after other library classes. That was a bonus ! We were rostered on each term. The library was open before and after school as well and maybe dinner time for half an hour if I remember correctly. We also worked in the school holidays mending,covering cataloguing etc. as well as many hours before and after school. Pupil John Sansom was Head Librarian and Terry Gray Senior Librarian. In 4th Form I was then a Senior Librarian. Mr Ramsay had left and Bill Greer was in charge. I cannot remember names of other pupils doing this - Beverly Hatch comes to mind ? It was great fun when the new books came in as we read them first if we wished. I really enjoyed my 2 years in that little room. I think these were the years of 1958 -59. As you can see it's half a century ago so the memory is faded a little ! I wonder if there are others who worked with me in the library out there reading this ?

Ok Peter that's all from me for a while other than to say thanks again for all the time and energy you put into this ,yes folks are certainly reading what you write,probably from around the world.

News and Views

Mary Malcolm, postwar BBC television announcer, has died aged 92. Together with Sylvia Peters and McDonald Hobley, Mary Malcolm made up the trinity of announcers who nursed us into becoming a nation of television watchers.
October 2010)

On this day 14th November 1960-1965

On 14/11/1960 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 14/11/1961 the number one single was Little Sister/His Latest Flame - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Another Black & White Minstrell Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. 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.
On 14/11/1962 the number one single was Lovesick Blues - Frank Ifield 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 14/11/1963 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 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 14/11/1964 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. The big news story of the day was Tower of Pisa in danger of collapse.

On 14/11/1965 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 The Royal Variety Performance (ATV) 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.

Web Page 886

First Picture: This was one of Brickwoods’ lesser known products Double Stout






Second Picture: One of the old coal fired Gosport Ferries.

Follow up on last week

Well last weeks piece about Court Lane really got you writing, so much so that I have decided to devote this weeks page entirely to the emails that I have had about last weeks posting.

I love hearing from you, it makes me realise that there are people out there that read what I write and that is great.

Well so far I have had five pieces come through to me and here thay are in no particular order, only as to the time received.

You Write:

Melv B sayes:-

Firstly Melv phoned to say :- There certainly was a school library at Court Lane Secondary School it was a very small room near to the hall on the Cosham end of the corridor.

Griff Writes:

The Griff Emailed me with this:-

For some unknown reason I can remember your scrawly hand writing, like a spider had dropped into an inkwell and crawled across the page. I must remember this detail perhaps from a rollicking you may have got at some time in class. (Very True, I have just managed to tame the spider! Peter)

I was at Solent Rd. when I won, or came second, can't remember now, a handwriting competition when we were about 8 years old. I had only just transferred from Purbrook C of E school that September after moving into Station Rd. Drayton. We had a female teacher who set about re-inventing the wheel by insisting that her class learnt the new Marion Richardson style of writing.......disaster!

At Purbrook we were streets ahead of Solent Rd school in Reading, Writing and Arithmetic and I had been taught to write in a proper English style which was very neat and precise. The upshot of this sudden and dramatic change was that my writing style, even now, is a combination of the two styles that I had been taught at both schools. Still, its legible and still very neat I have to say.


Anida Writes:-

Then Anida joined in with this fascinating piece:-

To turn to libraries, all you say about Cosham Library is absolutely true, Sandra Pullen and I once went twice in one day having read our books in the morning we tried to go back and change them in the afternoon. Couldn't be done, against the rules - not allowed two books to be taken out in one day, so we had to trail home and go back the next day - seems quite barmy now!!

There was a Boots lending library over the top of their shop on the corner of Albert Road, my Mum used to take me there and also a small library next door to a haberdashers shop about half way down on the left looking towards the railway station. I have this memory of the old lady who ran the haberdashers it was a really old fashioned place with lots of drawers and glass cabinets, Mum confirms that she existed which is comforting!!

Incidentally Mum says that washing up was done with a handful of soda before the advent of washing up liquid, that was what my grandmother used and my Mum followed suit. Of course there was steel wool followed by the Brillo pad for the really stubborn baked on bits, since most cooking pans were enamel they were pretty impervious to rough treatment.

Whilst I am writing, I had a conversation with someone who guides with me at the National Trust, she grew up in Paulsgrove and we were trying to remember the name of the grocer's shop on the corner of Knowley Road, Mum can't remember either. It was a typical pre-supermarket shop, you stood in line whilst the assistant took each article off the shelf and put it on the counter ready to go into Mum's string bag. It took absolutely ages and I suppose that is why I remember it, so boring! Latterly there was a greengrocers here next door to Garlands, I can't remember the name of that either. Of course most of the grocery shopping was done from the Co-op where you put your order in and it was delivered by a boy on a bike, you also picked up your milk and bread checks at the same time!

I am sure you remember I told you that I have the chimney pot from the 'Olde Sweet Shoppe' in my garden, I rescued it when the shop was being demolished - so sad, it did reveal it's true history though as when the wrecking ball went through it a huge inglenook fireplace was revealed complete with a very old fireback which disappeared. The sweet shop and the Hampshire Telegraph office next door had at one time been one building and clearly had a great deal of age attached to it. Good to see a decent photograph of the shop though. I will have to dig out some photographs of the buildings in the High Street which I took on the day they were demolishing some of them - I could hardly bear it but thought that a record should be made. When the ball went through the Co-op fish shop next door to the Midland Bank the walls released a massive fishy smell as I believe it had been a fishmongers for a very long time. It was originally built for a John Windebank a builder and carpenter, they were a very old Cosham family, didn't we have a Windebank at school?

Paul Writes:-

The it was Pauls turn to write:-

Yes there was a Library at Court Lane 1960 when I was a first year senior, it was to the left or west of the main hall, a very small room very nearly opposite the main hall way leading to the Head Masters room. There was only one window which looked out onto John Stephens music room and the alley that ran from Court Lane to Magdalen Road.

Thanks for all these memories,

Stay in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

News and Views

At the beginning of October legal proceeding were started against Donny & Marie Osmond by the producer of their Las Vegas show, who says he was told the Osmonds would only renew their contract with the Flamingo Hotel if the producer took a 50% pay cut and signed off on his rights. In his suit, he calls them "underhanded, devious, fraudulent and greedy." In a statement, Donny noted that the producer "neither created, financed or owns the show, nor does he engage the talented and dedicated people who produce and perform the show each night."

On this day 7th November 1960-1965

On 07/11/1960 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 £ 13.68.The big news story of the day was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels).


On 07/11/1961 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 07/11/1962 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 07/11/1963 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 07/11/1964 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 07/11/1965 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.