Web Page 924

First Picture: A 1960’ Perdio portable radio


Second Picture: One of the first portable record players an Oscar for the princely sum of 19 gns.





Music on the Move

It really is amazing to look back and see the development of the portable music especially the portable radio since we were youngsters. The whole thing has gone through an amazing revolution due in the main to the invention and development of the transistor and miniaturisation.

Nowadays most children from an early age have a radio or music player of some type, when we were kids if we wanted to play records out in the garden or away from a power supply we had to use an old wind up gramophone, probably acquired from a Jumble sale or elderly relative but these only took 78rpm’s and needed replaceable needles!

But I really want to concentrate on portable radios. My first one came second hand from somewhere, I really cannot remember where, and it was a grey and blue Philips valve radio and looked rather like a small attaché case and ran on an enormous PP3 Every Ready battery which took up over a third of the carrying case. Looking back that is something else, in the 1950’s and 60’s there only seemed to be two producers of batteries Ever Ready and Vidor now every supermarket has its own brand. This particular Philips radio travelled miles with me in my saddlebag but as there was no socket for earphones so I could only use it when I had stopped and it also travelled with me when we went away on holiday. Sometime in the early 1960’s managed to acquire, from a second hand shop I think, a reel-to-reel battery driven tape recorder. This was a marvellous bit of kit but only took 3” tapes. This was a great boon and I diligently recorded Pick of the Pops each week so I could listen again during the week. When this machine eventually died and it was too expensive to repair I dumped it along with the tapes. Oh! If only I still had those tapes today, they had some real classics on them.

From my Saturday earnings as a pump boy at Smiths Garage in Farlington I bought myself a smart grey and chrome Pye portable radio (it matched my new Pye record player that I had had for my birthday, no Dansette for me!) and joy of joys this came with an earphone socket and mono earphone. This lasted for years and I think it was still going when I moved to Worcester for a year in 1965.

I never did have a battery portable record player but my wife, Pam, did. This player was a strange thing. It was a Grundig and was bought in Germany when her family moved there for a couple of years. The player came in two halves, the deck in the bottom and the speaker (only one) in the top that was detachable and stood separately. Many an evening we spent closeted in her fathers front room in the dark listening to records on this when we were courting!

Actually the Pye record player was not my first record machine, I bought an old walnut bodied radiogram and my father and I removed the old 78rpm only record deck, rewired the amplifier and fitted a BSR multispeed record deck into it. It had no stereo but with a wooden cabinet it had great bass response.

But things have progressed so far since our teenage years when you could spot a schoolmate walking along with a Pifco, Bush or Perdio radio clamped to their ear. We have gone from mono to stereo, from enormous portables to pocket portables, then on to Ghetto Blasters and back in size to tiny scanners, I-players and MP3 players and most of us can even get radio stations on our mobile phones today.

We have also been through the era of mobile television sets from large 12” screen ones that ran off of the car battery, down to 3” screens and smaller which ran off normal AA batteries, this was a product I never invested in!

But what I really do regret is that when I was a kid I taught myself about radio receivers and could take a valve radio set apart repair it and reassemble it, I somehow got left behind with the transistor revolution and I never did comprehend what did what was in a transistor set. What a thing to say and me the son of a prewar radio engineer!!!

All of you must have some radio memories, most of us had a portable radio of some sort so come on, lets hear them.

Yours

Peter

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

You Write:

Willie Writes:-

It was good to be reminded of our school productions. I will never forget trying to sing in "Trial By Jury" with an immobile face glued to side whiskers. In our epic production of Handel's "Messiah" (happily without side whiskers), we were supported by semi professional singers. About ten years later I joined Sadlers Wells Opera Company ( now the English National Opera) as a scenic artist. In the rehearsal studio's canteen I recognized a vaguely familiar face. It was David Hillman , the tenor who had supported us in our production . He remembered it well . He was a quantity surveyor ,training to be a professional singer when he performed with us. During the late sixties, seventies and early eighties he became an important opera singer. But I like to think we gave him his first breakthrough role!

Jonathon Writes:

your latest got me remembering some of the old ads and jingles........

The faintly disgusting one...."You'll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent"

Then "Tick a tick Timex"

Tom Thumb Cigars for Christmas Tom, Thumb in Tins of Ten, da dee dit da dee dit da da (never could remember that bit),,,,the Christmas gift for men!!!!!"

Do 'ave a Dubonnet

Sanatogen fortifies the over forties...........crikey we are over 60 now..........we were young at 40 and surely didn't need fortifying

The countless and now non PC adverts for cigarettes especially the Peter Stuyvessant one that extolled the "glamour of smoking cigarettes in New York, Melbourne or Johannesburg.

So thanks again for the memory of all those booze and fag ads that persuaded you to consume alcohol and smoke and then clean off the tar on your teeth with whitening paste.......


News and Views:

Marianne Faithfull was given the Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters honour by the French government during her concert in Paris on April 22nd.

On this day 27th March1960-1965.
On 27/03/1960 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 27/03/1961 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 27/03/1962 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.

On 27/03/1963 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 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 27/03/1964 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 Earthquake hits Alaska.

On 27/03/1965 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.

Web Page 922

First Picture:

The Savoy Ballroom in Southsea, I cannot believe that there is no trace of that left any more, it is just a boarded up empty site. Compare this with the picture on the side bar!!!!!

Second Picture:

Another music venue in Portsmouth The Blue Lagoon at Hilsea. It is good to see that all these years later Chris Farlowe is still performing. In fact I met him in Portsmouth a couple of years ago.




Stop Press: Last week marked he most hits I have had in a week since I started counting!!!

THE ADVERTISING SLOGAN

We grew up in a world that had suddenly cottoned onto the power of the advertising poster and slogan. I know I have covered some of these before some time ago but I thought I would look at a few that I missed and that you may have well forgotten.
So lets start with Medicines: We all remember the ALKA SELTZER Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is! Slogan but how many of you remember the one liner from the American comedian, Shelley Berman (of Hello Mudder, Hello Fadder fame), when he is stumbling around with a massive hang over and drops two Alka Seltzers into a glass and while holding his head, looks into the glass and says “don’t be mean Alka Seltzer, don’t fizz!” I know that feeling! But there again we in the UK knew that ‘nothing acts faster than ANADIN’ and that your parents had to use ANDREWS LIVER SALTS for ‘Inner Cleanliness’ and that they were ‘Worth a guinea a box’. Whilst talking about physical things do you remember CHARLES ATLAS saying don’t let the bully kick sand in you eyes, take my body building course and then ‘You Too Can Have A Body Like Mine’. An advert most certainly not for females!

Now food is always a good hunting ground for slogans. BIRDS EYE PEAS were ‘Sweet as the moment when the pod went 'pop'’ and everyone said ‘Ahh BISTO! But not so many remember that you were supposed to Sleep sweeter with BOURNVITA or that it was supposed to be ‘the food drink of the night’. No night starvation here!
The BRITISH EGG MARKETING BOARD were past masters with the slogan, here are just three ‘Go to work on an egg’, ‘Happiness is egg shaped’ and ‘ You can rely on the lion’ which brings me on nicely to another big cat the tiger.

“They’re G-r-r-r-eat!” is one of the most recognised slogans in the world. Back in the 1950s, Tony the Tiger growled his way into consciousness with this memorable slogan for Frosted Flakes. In the UK the product was known as SUGAR FROSTIES. Tony’s catchphrase has become one of the longest running and most recognized slogans in TV advertising history. Tony the Tiger’s character has evolved over the years: he stands upright rather than on all fours now, has travelled to more than 42 countries, and now has a wife and a daughter. I wonder if he had a cousin who appeared in the ESSO petrol adverts when we were told to put a tiger in our tanks?
Customers have been ‘Take a Break, Take a KIT KAT” since 1957, Kit Kat’s slogan has also been “Have a break…Have a Kit Kat.” However the commercials really took off in the ‘80s. At this spot I have to mention that "The MILKY BARS are on me!" we all remember this advert first shown in 1961 to promote Nestlé Milky Bars featuring "The Milky Bar Kid", a blonde, spectacle-wearing lad dressed as a cowboy. And don’t forget that "OPAL FRUITS were ‘Made to make your mouth water’; and that "A MARS a day helps you work, rest and play."

But it does not end here because a couple of years ago a national daily paper did a survey of Britain’s favourite advertising slogans and "Beanz Meanz HEINZ" beat 84 rivals to win the top place. Of the top 10, eight were more than a quarter of a century old with just two coined in the last 25 years, the NIKE and the INDEPENDENT newspaper. No slogans from the last decade made it anywhere on to the list.

1. Beanz Meanz Heinz - Heinz baked beans (1967)
2. We try harder - Avis car rental (1962)
3. Don't be vague, ask for Haig - Haig whisky (1930s)
4. Heineken refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach - Heineken lager (1974)
5. It is. Are you? - the Independent newspaper (1987)
6. Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet - Hamlet cigars (1960s)
7. Think small - Volkswagen (1962)
8. Go to work on an egg - The Egg Marketing Board (1957)
9. Guinness is good for you - Guinness (1929)
10. Just do it - Nike sports equipment (1988)
But the list didn't include these old favourites, how could they miss any of these?
1. P-p-p-p-p-pick up a Penguin
2. A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play
3. Aaah...Bisto
4. Have a Break, have a Kit-kat
5. Hands that do dishes feel soft as your face with (all together now) Mild Green Fairy Liquid...
6. Only the crumbliest, flakiest chocolate tastes like chocolate never tasted before
7. That's why the lady loves Milk Tray
8. Papa... Nicole...
9. That's Martini
10. Mr Kipling makes exceedingly good cakes

Well another wander down the nostalgia lane of memories, maybe you can remember some I have forgotten, if so let me know.

So keep in touch

Peter

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

You Write:

Peter Writes:-

I hope you won't mind me correcting your latest blog but " SS Southsea" means Steam Ship Southsea. It was actually "TSMV Southsea" which means Twin Screw Motor Vessel. The Southsea and her sister ship Brading were launched within a few weeks of each other and fitted out alongside in the same basin at Denny's Dumbarton yard. Built in 1948 by W.DENNY & BROS of Dumbarton, she was 986 tons, L 181.6' X B 46' X 8.3'. They had Diesel 2 Stoke eight cylinder engines by SULZER. They had a Speed of 14.5 knots and could carry 1,331 Passengers. In 1951 Denny's built the 3rd ship "TSMV SHANKLIN".

Denny's of Dumbarton were a very highly rated shipbuilder and built several of the Solent Ferries over the years.

The " SOUTHSEA & BRADING " were both built to replace wartime losses from the old Paddle Steamers. They were modern good looking ships of their time and were much loved in the Solent.

Late in 1980, " SHANKLIN" was sold to a consortium of people, and amongst other things, was used for pleasure trips in the Bristol Channel. She was declared a total loss after running over hidden rocks off the Gower Coast. Fortunately there was no loss of life.

As the " SOUTHSEA & BRADING" got older they got towards the end of their working lives and were eventually replaced by the two Catamarans " OUR LADY PAMELA & OUR LADY PATRICIA" which were named after the daughters of Lord Mountbatten. The "BRADING" was taken out of service first as it had become uneconomical to maintain. It was eventually scrapped. When the "SOUTHSEA" was taken out of service in the mid 80's, she was initially used for pleasure trips in the Solent. She became uneconomic to run and was laid up in various places and fell into decay whilst various consortiums tried to buy her to restore her. Eventually in the early 2000's she was towed back into Portsmouth Harbour a really sorry state, where a group were going to try and restore her but they were unable to raise the necessary funds and sadly, she ended up in the Scrapyard.

This was the end of an excellent era in the Solent.

I hope you don't mind me sticking my oar in

News and Views:

Veteran rock ‘n’ roller Jet Harris who was the original bass guitarist with The Shadows has lost his battle against cancer in the early hours of 18th March, he was aged 71. .

Jet lived in Bembridge, Isle of Wight and tributes have started to pour in from Shadows fans around the world. He joined Cliff Richard’s backing group The Drifters in 1959. It was he who came up with the name The Shadows. After breaking away from the band he forged a partnership with the former Shadows’ drummer, the late Tony Meehan and they topped the singles charts in the 1960s with Diamonds. About a year ago he received an MBE from the Queen for his services to music. He was also the first musician to use an electric bass guitar.



On this day 20th March1960-1965.

On 20/03/1960

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 20/03/1961

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 20/03/1962

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 20/03/1963

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 20/03/1964

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 20/03/1965

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.

Web Page 920

First Picture: A coin from the past, the Half Crown.

Second Picture: Cycle racing at Alexandra Park in the early 1950’s

Memories of Jean

Griff Writes:

Jean and I went out together for a short while in our 4th year at School. The one thing I do remember though is that Jean and I went swimming at the Lido one blustery June evening and the sky turned from a nice blue to dark grey and it started to honk it down with rain. We were the only 2 people in the Lido swimming,..... we had the place to ourselves..... not unsurprisingly.

Sad Songs

When we look back at the music of the 1960’s it is almost always through a pleasant rosy glow, stating the life was good. And I must admit that for me life did seem very good, the fashion was great, the teenager had just been invented (although it took some time for me to convince my parents of that) and the music was ground breaking. But hang on just a minute was it really like that? Don’t get me wrong I really enjoyed being a teenager and growing up in the ‘60’s and the new wave of music from groups and artistes such as the Beatles, Stones, Freddie and the Dreamers, Eden Kane, Joe Brown etc. etc. However our memory nearly always plays odd tricks on us and when we actually get down to look at a lot of the pop music of that period it was not all as happy and jovial as it might first seem, in fact if you really looked at the words a lot of it was down right miserable.

So, for example, let’s take a look at just a few of the songs of the day. Firstly we will completely discount all the doom, gloom and dying songs that seemed to flood the market at that time, songs like ‘Terry’, ‘Leader of the Pack’, ‘Tell Laura I Love her’, Honey and ‘Donna’, I have covered those before. I have decided that I will just look at those charting songs which seem to feature suffering, desertion and most of all unrequited love and there seemed to be a lot of that about in the 1960’s!.

I suppose I must really start off with ‘Crying in the Rain’ & ‘Cathy’s Clown’ by the Everly Brothers hastily followed by the heartfelt plea of ‘Why must I be a Teenager in Love’ by Dion and the Belmonts and the classic ‘Just Walking in the Rain’ by the crooner and heart throb Johnny Ray. Even one of the masters of the upbeat Rock and Roll song, Neil Sedaka entered the charts with ‘Oh! Carol’ and Don Gibson with ‘Oh! Lonesome me’. Then we cannot ignore Dusty Springfield with ‘You don’t have to say you love me’, Andy Williams with ‘I can’t get used to losing you’, and not forgetting Brenda Lee’s ‘I’m Sorry’!
I could carry on with ‘Make the World go away’, ‘ Love Letters in the Sand’, ‘Singing the Blues’, ‘All Alone’ and ‘Johnny Remember Me’. What a sad lot they were!!! Here I was thinking that 1960’s teenage love and romance was supposed to be a happy period for most of the time.

As far as I am concerned I never wandered around town whistling or singing these morbid tunes, neither did I ever hear anyone else do it, so I have started to wonder, who actually bought all these sad records? Or was it more the case of we listened to the music and not the words, which is far more likely? Another possibility is that some folks bought anything that certain singers recorded regardless of what it was, even if it was terrible to most peoples ears!

Surprising things started to happen when the pop revolution took hold and the more upbeat the record the more startling reactions it got. For example many local dance halls banned, or tried to ban, any form of stamping in time to the beat of the Dave Clark Five’s 'Glad all Over' but as you can imagine they had very, very little success.

But these were the days when half a crown, 2/6d, worth of petrol put into a motor scooter in Portsmouth would send its owner tearing off along the South Coast to Brighton or Bournemouth and back just to hear one particular band. At that time there was no obligation to wear a crash helmet and this meant riding along with your hair and your pillion passengers’ hair blowing free in the wind. As can be seen in the ongoing ‘On this Day’ section of this site the value of the £1 has changed greatly and for a lot of us if, at the end of the week, if we had a couple of shillings left it was usually enough to be spent on a Hot Dog or Burger in the new Wimpy Bar in Southsea or on a packet of ten Cadets or if we were really hard up a packet of five Players Weights or Woodbines and a box of matches!!! There were actually shop keepers who would sell you a single cigarette and one Swan Vestas match!

But to go back to the original subject at start of this page it is interesting to reflect that the 1960’s was the era when the old style light music of the 1940’s and 50’s, early Rock and Roll, skiffle and individual crooners and singers were replaced by an explosion of music and talent from Liverpool and Birmingham, a legacy which still continues today. It really is remarkable that not only my sons but my grandson actually like the music of the 1960’s, despite the doom and gloom, sadness and regret that music must have had some sort of magic. OF COURSE IT DID!!!

Keep in touch

Peter

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

You Write:

Geraldine Asks:

Who would like another get together? Maybe something very informal, ie we arrange to meet in a pub somewhere and those who can come do so. What do you think? Please let Peter know so we can start to arrange things if it is to go ahead.

Yours truly,
Geraldine

More on House Colours:

David Writes:

I think Fleming was Red.

Griff Writes:

Fleming House was Red. I was the House Captain for the year 1961/62 and I am still trying to find my House Captain badge which was an elongated oval type badge.

Melv Writes:

Fleming was Red not Green.

Another Occasional School Report from my site 9 years ago:

School Productions

Why was it that I seemed to get chosen to take part in most school productions and some people never did? The first I remember I was not involved in but from the programme I see that Griff was. This must have been in our first year in Court Lane under Bill Greer. The production was two short playlets the second being about Noah’s Ark, a play in which Melvyn G took a starring role as an elephant. Moving on, then came The Pirates of Penzance a production in which I was in the Pirate chorus. I seem to remember wearing an eye patch, red and white striped trousers which my mother borrowed from someone and waving a fake cutlass around a lot. Players wise I remember very little but I think Carl (Fred)Randell was one of the lead characters but the rest I forget. Then it was Trial by Jury, false whiskers held on with gum Arabic(Yuk), to play the part of a juror, ‘Hark the hour of ten is sounding, hearts with anxious fears are bounding etc, etc’. I have a far clearer memory of this, I don’t know why. Rodney Veal played the Defendant, Katherine Bone the Plaintiff (I think she went on to become a minor lead in the actual D’Oyle Carte Opera Company), and Alan Cox the judge. Loraine tells me that she was one of the bridesmaids in this production and on the most important night, the night when the Governors came, Oriana, who was the first bridesmaid tripped over a chair as they were going on stage and they all fell on rather than entering daintily. They then all got the giggles for the rest of the performance. Very unladylike. She also tells me that they kept their stage makeup on after the performance and paraded up and down Cosham High Street, I think her words in the E Mail were ‘like a couple of tarts’. Well! All the above productions as far as I can remember were in the hall/theatre of Court Lane Junior School, which actually make them before Manor Court. Then came the big one Handel’s Messiah a picture of the choir who sung it is on the side bar. I seem to remember hours of practice under the music master John Stephens. Somehow I was cast as a bass, parents and friends also being involved to make up maturity of sound. The production was in the school hall in Central Road and involved a semi professional orchestra to augment the school orchestra and there were invited soloists. The whole thing was very professional and was recorded on reel to reel tape, I wonder what happened to that recording. Hours and hours of practice, hundreds and hundreds of Hallelujah’s ,I still swear blind that we rehearsed the thing so often that if you gave me a score I could still sing the bass part most of the way through. Just a few memories from school production days there must be far more out there somewhere, do you have any and will you share them with us? If so E-Mail me and I will continue the story.

Peter

.
A

Star is Born --- By Melvyn Griffiths.

The year is 1958 and I had recently, at Christmas, been promoted from 1a2, Molly Butler's class at Cosham Park House to join the "swots" in 1a1 located in the Main School which to this day I could never fully understand why. The only logical explanation was that I had a"starring" role in the School Christmas play which was produced by Bill Greer (who was 1a1's form teacher ) and I to much acclaim as the principle character of the "Beast" (has anyone got that Xmas programme?) turned in a performance worthy of any Schoolboy Oscar Award or at least that was what I thought. Little did I know the fickles of the theatrical world, with the applause of the audience still ringing in my ears and the greasepaint hardly removed it was then I decided that this was were my future lay-- Acting! Why, Bill Greer himself had said that my performance and acting in the Xmas play had equalled the mighty James Dean and that he was considering a new production for this coming July which would be entered into the Portsmouth Schools Theatrical Competition which was held every year. He had indicated that my position in this new production was guaranteed and to stand by for the call to" tread the boards" once more which was certain to come.

I had an older Sister at the School, Suzanne, 3 years older in fact and she was in Mr. Greers class along with Beverley Hatch, John Samson, Shelia Gard all very good actors. In fact John Samson went onto star in BBC drama programmes and played Jesus Christ in a major production. Before long I was rubbing shoulders and giving limp-wristed handshakes with the Upper School " Luvvies". I digress this story is about me!

The great day arrived and Mr. Greer read out, in his posh Oxford English accent, (I was from Drayton don't forget, we ain't posh!) a list of names of people to stay behind after School to tell them what parts they had been awarded in the new production which was to be called "Noah" Scene 1, Act 1 "A Glade before the Mighty Flood".

Confident that the part of Noah was surely going to mine I sat back and listened as Mr. Greer read out the names. Alan Cox was to play Ham, Naomi was Patricia Eustace, Shem was David Murdoch, Sella was Lynn Palmer, Mrs Noah was Vivienne Thompson, Ada was Margaret Dodd and finally for the top part Mr. Greer announced the star part of Noah would be played by------Paula Lavington, Paula Lavington?---- but that's not me! that's a girl! how on Earth can a girl play a Man's part of Noah. Girls only play the part of Dandy the thigh slapping Prince in Pantomimes. This is not a Pantomime this is serious stuff, the Bible and all that, even Charlton Heston had to start at the bottom before becoming "El Cid"

Worse was to follow, Mr. Greer read out the minor walk on parts--- The Bear--- Norma Plumb, The Lion--- Elaine Adams, The Cow--- Anida Folland, The Tiger--- Philip Thomson, The Monkey---Pauline Day, The Elephant---- Melvyn Griffiths! me playing a Bloody Elephant!! What a comedown! How the mighty are fallen! Worse, what if everybody started calling me names, like "Trunky" or "Big Ears" Why couldn't I be the Lion? It's so unfair! It was a performance I never forgot!!! and no, we didn't win the Schools Drama Competition.

And this from Geraldine:-

I really don't have any publishable memories I can pass on but one thing that does come to mind, is in the 3rd Year, while still at Court Lane, we had a school concert - entertaining each other! I remember there was a fantastic girl group that sang 'Why Must I Be A Teenager In Love'. The group comprised Claudia (Dunthorne), Carol (Janczwa?), myself and two others. Does anyone remember who they were? We were definitely the 'Spice Girls' of the 50's

News and Views:

The Little Black Dress Exhibition at Portsmouth Museum. Celebrating the history of the LBD and showcasing some of the most amazing examples of this versatile and simple fashion style a multimedia exhibition that charts the history of this fashion icon from material to manufacture and moments from film and pop culture such as a dress worn by Marilyn Monroe. Of course the little black dress should be accompanied by matching underwear and Portsmouth had a very important corsetry industry which you can find out more about. You will also be able to see an example of a vintage little black corset. The exhibition is open until the beginning of June.

On this day 13th March 1960-1965.

On 13/03/1960

the number one single was Why - Anthony Newley and the number one album was The Explosive Freddy Cannon - Freddy Cannon. 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 13/03/1961

the number one single was Walk Right Back/Ebony Eyes - Everly Brothers and the number one album was The top rated TV show was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada) 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. The big news story of the day was The Dickie Henderson Show (AR).

On 13/03/1962

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 13/03/1963

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 13/03/1964

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 13/03/1965

the number one single was It's Not Unusual - Tom Jones 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.

Web Page 918

First Picture: The Lava Lamp

Second Picture: Typical 1950’s living room.

Firstly some sad news. I understand that Jean Green nee Bennett passed away on the 1st March. I think that this is the first time I have had to report the death of a school pal since I started this web site nearly 10 years ago.

The Mystique of the Lava Lamp

Lava Lamps, those oozy symbols of spaced-out kitsch from the 1960s, and they are making a comeback around the world. The original Lava Lamp is a defining and iconic image that is still regarded as a contemporary piece today. This is the history of the quirky little lamp with the uniquely hypnotic light.

Born in Singapore, Edward Craven-Walker, the inventor of the Lava Lamp flew Mosquito aircraft on reconnaissance missions for the Royal Air Force during World War II. He got the idea for the original lamp design after walking into a pub here in Hampshire and noticing a rather odd item sitting on the counter behind the bar. It was a glass cocktail shaker that contained some kind of mucus-like blob floating in liquid. Upon inquiry, the bartender told him it was an egg-timer. The 'blob' was actually a clump of solid wax in clear liquid. The bartender explained you put the shaker in the boiling water with your egg, and as the boiling water cooks the egg it also melts the wax turning it into an amorphous blob of goo. When the wax then floated to the top of the jar, your egg was done. Edward Craven-Walker saw a money-making opportunity in front of him - turn the egg-timer into a lamp with thicker oil that would form sculptural shapes and sell it to the public. He set about tracking down the inventor of the original design. The inventor, known only by his last name of Dunnet, was deceased, allowing for Edward Craven-Walker to patent the invention for himself.

He spent the next 15 years perfecting Dunnet's invention so that it could be mass-produced. In the meantime, he supported himself by making 'art-house' films about his other passion: nudity. Travelling Light, one of these so-called 'art-house' films, was the first naturalist film to receive public release in the UK. Described as an underwater ballet, this film was shot off Corsica and was released in 1960.
The Astro Lamp was launched in 1963, just ahead of the craze for all things psychedelic. Craven-Walker's factory was built in Poole, Dorset where it still is in production today. He sold rights to his creation to Mathmos, one of Britain's fastest-growing companies3, staying on as a consultant until his death at age 82 of cancer.

In 1965, Craven-Walker introduced his Astro Lamp at a novelty convention in Hamburg, West Germany. Two Americans named Adolph Wertheimer and Hy Spector, in awe with the lamp's beauty, asked to purchase the American rights to the lamp. The Astro Lamp was then taken to North America and renamed Lava Brand Motion Lamps and production took off in Chicago. Lava Brand Motion Lamp sales peaked in the late '60s when slow-swirling coloured wax happened to coincide perfectly with the undulating aesthetics of psychedelia. They were advertised as 'head trips that offered a motion for every emotion'4.

At their peak, more than seven million Lava Lamps were sold around the world each year, but by the early 1970s the fad had run its course and sales fell off dramatically. By 1976, sales were down to 200 lamps per week, a mere fraction of what they had been a few years before. By the late 1980s, however, sales began to rebound. As style makers began to ransack the sixties for inspiration, Lava Lamps came back. Formerly flea-market finds, original 1960s Lava Lamps (especially those with paisley, pop art motifs on their bases) became real collectibles in the late 1980s, selling in chic boutiques for more than a brand new one. And speaking of new ones, they weren't hurting for business either. By 1998 manufacturers in England and the United States were selling more than two million of the lamps per year.
Although the Lava Lamp was invented in 1963 by Edward Craven-Walker, and patented by his company in 1964, the US Patent dates to 16 March, 1971. There are conflicting records at the US Patent Office that also state that the Lava Lamp was submitted for patent by David George Smith on behalf of Craven-Walker's Crestworth Company in 1968 under the heading 'display devices'. Whichever the case, only the companies that make Lava Lamps know precisely what chemicals are in the lamp and in what combination, making the recipe a trade secret. There are, however, many websites and books offering 'poor man's' versions of the Lava Lamp that you can make at home. It is not recommended attempting any of these formulas, simply because many of the ingredients suggested are flammable and can cause personal injury.

Random Facts
• Employees take an oath of secrecy upon being hired so that the mystery of the Lava Lamp's inner workings are never revealed.

• Lava Lamps can be seen almost every night on prime time television.

• Haggerty Enterprises, Inc is the only official manufacturer of the Lava Brand Motion Lamp in the United States. Mathmos is the only official manufacturer of the Lava Lamp in the UK.

• More Lava Lamps were sold in the 1990s than in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s combined.

• There are over 100 different style and colour combinations of Lava lamps, including glitter motion lamps.

• The largest Lava Lamp on the market towers over four feet tall and holds ten gallons of the 'secret' formula.

• No two Lava Lamps are the same. They all have their own personality.
If you buy my lamp, you won't need drugs... I think it will always be popular. It's like the cycle of life. It grows, breaks up, falls down and then starts all over again.
- Craven-Walker

How right his words were!

Keep in touch

Peter

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

You Write:

John Writes:-

I was thinking about what went on in school all thoughts of years ago and it struck me, now that I'm a lot older the names of the Four House and what colours they were.

If I'm correct their were as follows

ELGAR was Yellow
SUTHERLAND was blue
FLEMING was Green
MASEFIELD was Red

I was in Sutherland House and the House's would compete against each other in Sports, Art, Music, and other comp's.

Ed writes:
I was in Masefield and that was Green can anyone else add to the list?

News and Views:

The BBC's The Sky At Night programme was first broadcast on 24th April 1957 - making Sir Patrick Moore the longest-running presenter of the same television show in the world. Today the programme celebrates its 700th episode, and Sir Patrick has fronted all but one of them.

On this day 6th March1960-1965.

On 06/03/1960

the number one single was Why - Anthony Newley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was not listed and the box office smash was Some Like It Hot. 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 06/03/1961

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. The big news story of the day was Minicabs introduced.

On 06/03/1962

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. The big news story of the day was RCP London publishes 'Smoking & Health'.

On 06/03/1963

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 day was World In Action documentary on defence banned.

On 06/03/1964

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 Cassius Clay changes name to Cassius X Clay.

On 06/03/1965

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 US pledges to send 3500 troops to Vietnam.

Web Page 916

First Picture: Connie Francis and Dionne Warwick in Las Vegas last year



Second Picture: At the Goodwood Revival meeting in September Tesco (one of the major sponsors) built and opened a 1960’s Tesco store with loads of retro packets and boxes which were not for sale but other products were. They even re-wrapped Starburst in original Opal Fruits wrappers and these were on sale. No Green Shield Stamps though but they did give Tesco Club points!!!





Third Picture: Goodbye to the Cosham Essoldo (Carlon), this is all that is left.

Odd Girls Songs

The girl groups of the 60’s were a music genre all of their own and the range and subjects of their songs was to say the least very strange. Lets take a look at some of them. You will find some well-known names in the list and also some terrible songs and song titles, most I have never heard of and I think that I hope I never will!!

For a time there were a group of FOOD AND DRINK based songs.
Here are just a few:-

Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes) by Dee Dee Sharp,
Peanut Duck by Marsha Gee,
I Wish I Was the Bottle by Connie Hall,
I Love Onions by Susan Christie,
Buttered Popcorn by the Supremes,
Chicken Chicken Cranny Crow by the Jaynetts,
Bubblegummer by the Teardrops,
Chicken Back by Sally and the Roses,
Swamp Water by the Chantels

Then there was the perennial subject LOVE

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 the opposite HATRED

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

We all know that GIRLS were bound to sing about BOYS and visa versa so here are a few odd ones:-

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,
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,
Snowman, Snowman, Sweet Potato Nose by the Jaynetts,
Special Agent 34-24-38 by Mamie Galore (Mamie Davis),
Big Honky Baby by Kellie Douglas,


FEELINGS were high on the list of song titles but I can only find one odd one:-

I'm Blue (the Gong Gong Song) by the Ikettes

Then of course there were the JUST PLAIN STRANGE

So, Do the Zonk by Donna Loren
When My Pimples Turned to Dimples by Jeanne Hayes
Iko Iko by Dixie Cups
The Hucklebuck '65 by the Birdies
The Car Hop with the Hard Top by Marcy Jo (with Eddie Rambeau)
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
Danceannett, Hawaiiannette, Italiannette by Annette!
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
Don't Dig Twiggy by Barbara Windsor ( I did not know she had made a record)
Two Way Poc-A-Way by the Dixie Cups
I'm Me by Priscilla Paris
The Screw by the Crystals
Walkin' Through a Cemetery by Claudine Clark
Condition Red by the Goodees
Please Hurt Me by Carole King
Dumbhead by Ginny Arnell
Slop Time by the Sherrys
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 what a weird lot!!! Do you know any I have missed? If so please let me know

Stay in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.com

You Write:

Mary Writes: Re Steve’s letter about Farlington Newsagent:-

I think the name of the newsagent was Budden. They were our newsagents. They were open for long hours and were most obliging. At Christmas time one of our treats was an ice cream cake but we didn’t have a fridge. Who did in those days/? Dad used to nip off to Buddens and come back with the cake, all wrapped in newspaper. It was put in an outhouse and when we finished our main course, there it was, just perfect. I`m sure this was on Boxing Day.

News and Views:

PJ Proby has appeared in court charged with cheating the benefits system out of more than £47,000. Magistrates in Worcester ruled he should be committed to stand trial at the city's crown court. He denies the charges. PJ Proby, who lives in Twyford, faces nine charges, which relate to claims for pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit. Among the charges are two counts of failing to declare savings and investments, and four of failing to inform the authorities of a change in circumstances. He was granted unconditional bail to reappear at Worcester Magistrates' Court for a formal committal hearing on March 30.

On this day 27th February 1960-1965

On 27/02/1960 the number one single was Why - Anthony Newley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was not listed and the box office smash was Some Like It Hot. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was BBC asks for second TV channel

On 27/02/1961 the number one single was Sailor - Petula Clark. The top rated TV show was The Army Game (Granada) 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. The big news story of the day was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada).

On 27/02/1962 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 27/02/1963 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 Labour 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 27/02/1964 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 Labour 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 27/02/1965 the number one single was I'll Never Find Another You - Seekers and the number one album was Beatles For Sale - 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 Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.