Web Page 1020

Top Picture: Mark Wynter EP cover





Second Picture: Rebuilding Commercial Road in the 1950’s

Mark Wynter

Mark Wynter is one of the few 1960,s pop artists who have maintained a career in show business. He was born Terence Sidney Lewis on 29th January 1943) and is now known as an actor and former singer, who had four Top 20 singles in the 1960s, including "Venus in Blue Jeans" and "Go Away Little Girl". He enjoyed a lengthy sucessful career in the pop world from 1960 to 1968 but later veered off into a acting in films, musicals and plays.

Upon leaving school, young Terry Lewis started work as a shop assistant. However, he was also an enthusiastic singer and his strikingly good looks helped him make the transition in this sphere from part-time amateur to full professional. His rendition of the teenage ballads of the era proved popular- particularly with female record buyers- and he managed to reach the UK top twenty with his first release; 'Image Of A Girl' on Decca. He followed this with the Lionel Bart penned 'Kickin' Up The Leaves' and a stream of further minor hits and misses- punctuated by a change to the Pye label during mid-1962. His first release for the new company was a cover version of the US Jimmy Clanton release 'Venus In Blue Jeans' and, in common with his other releases on Pye, benefited from its arrangement by Tony Hatch. This song is now easily his most memorable hit and was sufficiently popular to earn him a UK no 4 chart spot, whereas the Clanton original went almost unnoticed in Britain.


With his early musical career established he decided to change his name to lessen the confusion with the American comedian, Jerry Lewis. His manager suggested Wynter sounded more commercial, and the complete name change was later made official by deed poll.

He was entered as one of the contenders for the UK's place in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961, with "Dream Girl", but only finished fourth behind The Allisons.
His cover version of the American hit by Jimmy Clanton - "Venus in Blue Jeans" (1962) - was his biggest success. Although he recorded a number of singles for the Decca and Pye labels in the UK, he made very few albums. Some recorded material came to light in 2004 when he discovered old tapes, they have subsequently been remastered and are now available as four CDs.

One event in his life is not well known for in 1968 he escorted a dazed young girl away from a burning BOAC aircraft, flight 712, upon which he had been a passenger.
By the early 1970s he had moved in pop stardom to a stage career in the West End of London.

He played the leading role in Conduct Unbecoming for more than a year at the Queen's Theatre in London, and for six months in Australia. He appeared with Julia McKenzie in On the Twentieth Century, and in Charley's Aunt. He also starred in Side By Side By Sondheim in Toronto, Chichester, and on the UK tour. In the 1982 Chichester Festival season he acted in several plays including On The Rocks and Henry V, and also sang in Valmouth. His other work in musicals during the 1980s included the role of the King in a revival of The King and I, the title roles in Hans Andersen and Barnum, the 1986 revival of Charlie Girl with Cyd Charisse and Paul Nicholas in London, and the part of Robert Browning in Robert and Elizabeth. During the 1990s he spent two years in Cats, and was also seen as the Phantom and M. Andre in The Phantom of the Opera, and starred as Vittorio opposite Bonnie Langford in the 1998 West End revival of Sweet Charity. He has appeared frequently in the provinces and portrayed Emile de Becque in a UK national tour of South Pacific. In 1994 he created the role of Van Helsing in the studio recording of the opera/musical "Nosferatu" by Bernard J. Taylor.

He was still working actively and successfully in theatre throughout the world well into the 1990s. In 2000 Castle Communications released Go Away Little Girl: The Pye Anthology, a double album compiling his complete output. In 2007 he toured the UK in a number of plays and musicals.

He now lives in Sussex, and tours the country with an Agatha Christie theatre company. He is married to Emma, and has three children; Barnaby, Josh and Darcey.
Stay in touch,

Yours,

Peter

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

You Write:

Stephen Writes:-

Forgetter Be Forgotten?

My forgetter's getting better,

But my rememberer is broke

To you that may seem funny

But, to me, that is no joke
For when I'm 'here' I'm wondering

If I really should be 'there'

And, when I try to think it through,

I haven't got a prayer!

Oft times I walk into a room,

Say 'what am I here for?'

I wrack my brain, but all in vain!

A zero, is my score.

At times I put something away

Where it is safe, but, Gee!

The person it is safest from

Is, generally, me!

When shopping I may see someone,

Say 'Hi' and have a chat,

Then, when the person walks away

I ask myself, 'who the hell was that?

Yes, my forgetter's getting better

While my rememberer is broke,

And it's driving me plumb crazy

And that isn't any joke.


News and Views:

Singer/songwriter Dory Previn-- one-time wife of composer/conductor Andre Previn-- who gave us the lyrics for Dionne Warwick's hit, "Theme From The Valley Of The Dolls" and the Oscar-nominated "Come Saturday Morning" from the movie "The Sterile Cuckoo" (a hit for the Sandpipers), died on Tuesday (February 14) at her home in Southfield, Massachusetts at the age of 86. Dory was nominated for two other Academy Awards-- for "Farway Part Of Town" from "Pepe" in 1960 and for "Second Chance" from "Two For The Seesaw" two years later.

On this day 2nd March 1960-1965

On

02/03/1960

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

02/03/1961

the number one single was Walk Right Back/Ebony Eyes - Everly Brothers and the number one album was Tottenham Hotspur. 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 were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada).

On

02/03/1962

the number one single was Rock-a-Hula Baby/Can't Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On

02/03/1963

the number one single was The Wayward Wind - Frank Ifield and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. The top rated TV show was 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 02

/03/1964

the number one single was Anyone Who Had a Heart -Cilla Black and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On

02/03/1965

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.

Web Page 1018

Top Picture: Andy Capp






Second Picture: Snoopy and Woodstock

Strip

When we were little our Dads always read the daily newspapers and that if we ever got hold of the paper it was a rare event as they were not classed as suitable reading for children. And this is before the advent of page three. But what I do remember from sneaking a look at my fathers Daily Mirror are the strip cartoons. These cartoons were many and various covering everything from comedy, to gardening tips, household tips and political satire.

Let me start with the odd ones. Gardening; now who remembers the strip that went under the title of Mr Digwell. Mr Digwell was a classic Victorian gardener with string tied around his trouser legs and he gave horticultural tips for use at home. Another of these gardening sages was Old Adam, whoever he was! Barry Bucknell had a strip for home maintenance as did a couple of other early DIYers, but I seem to remember these died out when magazines such as the Practical Householder hit the streets. There were adventure strips Garth, Dick Tracy, Tarzan, Romeo Brown and for the space enthusiast Dan Dare.

Mention strip cartoon and you have to mention Jane with her little dog Fritz. What ever the adventure it always seemed that Jane would loose her clothes at the drop of a hat and would be left standing in her underwear complete with stockings and suspenders. I can assure all you ladies out there that none of us lads had the good fortune to meet up with a Jane in our youth. If we did I think we would have run a mile! Although she did have a rival at one time Tiffany Jones but who remembers her?

The main stay of the strip cartoon were the comic strips. Here are a few I am sure you will all remember.

Andy Capp and Florrie, probably one of the most successful comic strips of all time even though the creator Reg Smythe died in 1998 the cartoon still continues now being drawn byRoger Mahoney and written by Roger Kettle.
The Perishers, another highly successful cartoon strip featuring Wellington, Maisie, Marlin, Boot the dog and the ‘Eyeballs in the Sky’. This started in the Daily Mirror in 1959 and continued until 2006 and then after a gap of four years reprints of the original strips were introduced again by the Daily Mirror.

Peanuts, is very probably the best known cartoon strip of all. Drawn by Charles M Schulz it ran from 1950 ( although it started in America in 1947 until Schulz death in 2000 although reruns can still be found in some publications. Who can forget Charlie Brown, Lucy, Pigpen and of course Snoopy and Woodstock. A typically American cartoon but it was a big hit here in the UK.

Another American import was Blondie. On February 17, 1933, after much fanfare and build-up, Blondie Boopadoop a carefree flapper girl who spent her days in dancehalls. marries her boyfriend Dagwood Bumstead, the son of a wealthy industrialist. Unfortunately, Dagwood's upper-crust parents strongly disapprove of his marrying beneath his class, and disinherit him and the Bumsteads are forced to become a middle-class suburban family. Blondie’s marriage marked the beginning of a change in her personality. From that point forward, she assumed her position as the sensible head of the Bumstead household. And Dagwood took over as the comic strip’s clown. The strip ran from 1930 to 2005, one of Dagwood’s obsessions was the giant Dagwood sandwich and recently a chain of Dagwood sandwich shops has opened in the USA.

For us children Rupert the Bear was one of the most popular cartoons. Running from 1920 to 2005 and encompassing books, annuals, TV series and even Sir Paul McCartney Rupert has been one of the most successful cartoons of all time despite being politically incorrect with its characters and I bet you did not know that there was a Rupert Bear Museum in Canterbury.

Not exactly a strip cartoon writer I cannot ignore Ronald "Carl" Giles who died in 1995 aged 80 he was always referred to simply as Giles whose work appeared for years in the Daily Express. His cartoon style was a single topical highly detailed panel, usually with a great deal more going on than the single joke. Certain recurring characters achieved a great deal of popularity, particularly the extended Giles family, which first appeared in a published cartoon on 5 August 1945 and featured prominently in the strip. Of these, the most famous is the enigmatic matriarch of the family, known simply as Grandma. Another recurring favourite was Chalkie, the tyrannical school teacher who Giles claimed was modelled on one of his childhood teachers, and Larry, the mop-haired child from next door, often seen with a camera, who, it is said is the alter ego of Giles himself.
There were many, many others Flook, Denis the Menace, Garfield, Tin Tin, Pop, Wack, The Larks, The Fosdyke Saga and Fred Bassett.

I am sure that I have forgotten some and I am sure that you will all let me know which ones. I look forward to hearing from you.
Stay in touch,

Yours,

Peter

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

You Write:

Jonathon Writes:-

Just for your interest, Marks and Spencers branded themselves
Woolworth's in South Africa as they wanted to do lucrative business in South African High Streets and shopping malls without appearing to be supporting South Africa. So throughout the Apartheid years they were busy here supplying goods which in some cases (especially clothing) had M and S labels.

With the ending of Apartheid, they maintained the Woolworth's branding and are still here today. So my wife can still say I'm popping out to Woolworths.....they are bound to have some.

We noticed when we came back to work in Reading in 2006 for a couple of years that Woolworths had really gone downhill in the UK it certainly was not the organisation we left when we emigrated 30 years previously.


News and Views:

Gary Glitter's "Rock & Roll Part II," which is played at many sports arenas to fire up the crowd, has been banned from the Super Bowl. The New England Patriots traditionally use the song to celebrate touchdowns. It was felt to be inappropriate to reward Gary Glitter with tens of thousands of dollars in royalties in light of his past child sexual abuse convictions.


On this day 26th February 1960-1965

On 28/02/1960 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 USSR wins Winter Olympics

On

26/02/1961

the number one single was Sailor - Petula Clark and the number one album was Tottenham Hotspur. 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 £not very interesting and 13.25 were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada).

On

26/02/1962

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. The big news story of the day was John Glenn is 1st US astronaut to orbit earth.

On

26/02/1963

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

26/02/1964

the number one single was Diane - Bachelors 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

26/02/1965

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 Goldie the Eagle escapes London Zoo.

Web Page 1016

Top Picture: The last six days of Woolworths in Cosham High Street




.
Second Picture: Southsea Woolies

Woolworths

Over the years I think that I have only recommended one book to you all and that was ‘Babycham Night’ as it dealt with a young lad’s life as he lived with his father who ran the dancehall on the end of Ryde Pier in the early 1960’s. But I am now going to recommend another book, ‘The Wonder of Woolies’ by Derek Phillips, memories from both sides of the counter. Even though this book deals with Woolworth stores all over the country, our local one in 29-31 in Cosham High Street gets quite a few mentions as do the London Road, Commercial Road, Havant, Gosport and Southsea stores but strangely there is only a passing reference to the Fareham store.

This book takes you on a real wander down memory lane. There are certain things that the customers all seemed to remember, the Pick & Mix counter, the slabs of Sharps toffee with the little silver hammer, the sweet scales which would measure out 1oz of your favourite sweets and the packs of broken biscuits. Embassy records, Christmas decorations and presents, Easter Eggs and being able to buy a yard of material, a pack of buttons and in the homewear department Fablon by the foot, single fuses, brackets and nails, bulb holders and switches.

The electrical counter was the bain of the shop girl’s life as every light bulb had to be tested before being sold as did all the electrical fuses and the testing machine was always very temperamental.

Now looking at the Cosham store who remembers some of these products Woolies sold. Fresh fruit, plants and rose trees, hot salted peanuts, (they were only kept hot by an electric light bulb underneath the display until and this was turned off every night so the nuts were never really very hot), toys, dolls, airfix models at the very end of the store. Here in Woolworths our mothers bought baby clothes and medical requisites and we bough toy guns, skipping ropes, dolls and cowboy outfits. For many years Woolworths was the place to go to buy lampshades and in the middle of the store was a large counter with lampshades displayed from an overhead rack as well as on the counter.

One of the most popular counters with the girls was the make up counter where one of the displays was always Rimmel products whose slogan was ‘ Beauty on a budget tray’ and my wife informs me Revlon was also another popular brand on sale. Another popular item were fragrances and I think we can all remember someone buying ‘Evening in Paris’ or ‘Tweed’ or the like.

Cigarettes and tobacco was also another mainstay of the stores turnover and just inside the door was the tobacco counter selling all makes of cigars, cigarettes, pipes, pipe cleaners, matches lighters (petrol no gas lighters in the 1950’s) and even snuff. Here you could buy your Dad a pipe rack for Christmas or his birthday.

One of the other seasonal counters were fireworks and as kids we could only stand and stare at the Catherine Wheels, Sky Rockets, Twisters, Golden Rain and coloured matches. Only stand and look as we were too young to buy any of the products.

The look of the store was distinctive and it was the corporate look across the whole of the country. The red facia board with the bright gold lettering FWW Woolworth across the front of the store, what a shame it was when they changed to white fascias with plain red lettering! Wooden floors and counters which were sectioned off by using glass and chrome fittings, and who can forget those enormous metal cash registers with the bell on the end to summon the Supervisor?

Just inside the door of almost every store was a penny weighing machine which would display your weight to everyone on an enormous dial. On the ceiling for many years until a complete refurbishment took place the Cosham store, and many others, retained the old gas lights, mantles and glass shades, just in case!!! And there was also a very distinctive aroma to the place.

Woolworths were not the best payers in the world, £3 a week for a shop girl in 1958, but it was better pay than the Coop but worse than Marks and Spencers. The uniform was not popular with the staff and as far as I can remember there were three different colours depending on which counter you worked, cream with red lettering for all food products, green for hardware and red or everything else. But whatever the colour of the uniform there was always one thing in common, all the pockets were sewn up to prevent pilfering!!

Woolworths were well known for offering part time employment and in fact would employ girls and boys of just 14 years of age as Saturday workers providing they their application form signed by their head teacher. Looking back that I really do not remember any of my school friends working in the Cosham store or even applying for a job there.

None of us would have dreamt when we were teenagers that such an institution as Woolworths would totally disappear from our High Strees. How many times over the years did we hear our mothers say, ‘I’ll just nip into Woolies a minute, they are bound to have one’.

But unfortunately no longer!



Stay in touch,

Yours,

Peter

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

You Write:

Peter Writes:

NO NURSING HOME FOR me!!! No nursing home for us. We'll be checking into a Holiday Inn!
With the average cost for a nursing home care costing £188.00 per day, there is a better way when we get old and too feeble.
I've already checked on reservations at the Holiday Inn.
For a combined long term stay discount and senior discount, it's £59.23 per night.
Breakfast is included, and some have happy hours in the afternoon.
That leaves £128.77 a day for lunch and dinner in any restaurant we want, or room service, laundry, gratuities and special TV movies.
Plus, they provide a spa, swimming pool, a workout room, a lounge and washer-dryer, etc.
Most have free toothpaste and razors, and all have free shampoo and soap.
£5 worth of tips a day you'll have the entire staff scrambling to help you.
They treat you like a customer, not a patient.
There's a bus stop out front, and seniors ride free.
For a change of scenery, take the airport shuttle bus and eat at one of the nice restaurants there.
While you're at the airport, fly somewhere. Otherwise, the cash keeps building up.
It takes months to get into decent nursing homes. Holiday Inn will take your reservation today.
And you're not stuck in one place forever -- you can move from Inn to Inn, or even from city to city.
Want to see Scotland ? They have Holiday Inn there too.
TV broken? Light bulbs need changing? Need a mattress replaced? No problem.. They fix everything, and apologize for the inconvenience.
The Inn has a night security person and daily room service. The maid checks to see if you are ok. If not, they'll call an ambulance . . . Or the undertaker.
If you fall and break a hip, NHS will pay for the hip, and Holiday Inn will upgrade you to a suite for the rest of your life.
And no worries about visits from family. They will always be glad to find you, and probably check in for a few days mini-vacation.
The grandkids can use the pool.
What more could I ask for?

So, when I reach that golden age, I'll face it with a grin.
AIDS WARNING!
To all of you approaching 50 or have REACHED 50 and past, this email is especially for you......
SENIOR CITIZENS
ARE THE NATION'S LEADING CARRIERS OF AIDS!
HEARING AIDS
BAND AIDS
ROLL AIDS
WALKING AIDS
MEDICAL AIDS
GOVERNMENT AIDS
MOST OF ALL,
MONETARY AID TO THEIR KIDS!
Not forgetting HIV
(Hair is Vanishing)

I'm only sending this to my 'old' friends.


News and Views:

Dick Kniss, bassist with Peter, Paul & Mary for most of their musical career died late last month.



On this day 20th February 1960-1965.

On

20/02/1960

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 EMI's last coarse-groove 78 rpm record was issued.

On

20/02/1961

the number one single was Are you Lonesome Tonight? - Elvis Presley 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

20/02/1962

the number one single was The Young Ones - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Unknown Sean Connery cast as 007 in Dr No.

On

20/02/1963

the number one single was Diamonds - Jet Harris & Tony Meehan 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 Liz Taylor films Cleopatra.

On

20/02/1964

the number one single was Diane - Bachelors and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Steptoe & Son (BBC) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Malcolm X visits Cassius Clay's training camp.

On

20/02/1965

the number one single was Tired of Waiting For You - The Kinks 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 1014

Top Picture: Christophers shoe shop in Cosham High Street





Second Picture: The Chelsea Boot with Cuban Heels.


Put Your Best Foot Forward

Whilst I appreciated the time and effort that many of you girls went to just to look fashionable and attractive when we were all in our teens and as I cannot pretend to be a ladies fashion guru but have you thought about us blokes? Men’s fashion at that time was another matter specially shoe styles and here I apologise in advance to Mary Ann Christopher if she reads this as she is still very much in the shoe trade in the shop her grandfather father started in 1910 in Cosham High Street.

Well, just looking back to the ‘60’s I started to realise what difficult decisions we had to make as what to wear on our feet; it certainly was not a case of trainers everywhere. Actually back then we did not call them trainers, they were plimsolls or gym shoes and no one would have even considered wearing them out socially, they were just for games and sports at school.

I suppose we lads first became aware of men’s shoe fashions when the Winkle Picker shoes first hit the streets. These shoes were accompanied by warnings from the older generation that they would cramp the toes, give us bunions and generally give us all terrible feet in the future, but we ignored the advise and persisted and even today both men and women can still buy high fashion Winkle Picker shoes. However, galling as it is, I think we all have to admit that maybe some of the older generation were right because now 50 years later many of our contemporaries suffer from cramped toes, bunions and generally terrible feet .

The next movement in shoe fashion was the chisel point shoes, these being wider and cut off at the end were far kinder on the feet and gave your toes room to move and so were far more acceptable to our parents (especially mine, I was never allowed to buy Winkle Pickers). This logic also applied to the resurrection of the Chelsea Boot (it was originally an Edwardian fashion). Here we had two basic types available the zip sided, which I preferred and still prefer and the elastic sided whose draw back was stretched elastic after a time which made the shoes floppy. These styles were fine until the advent of the Cuban heel and once again the argument about these sorts of shoes being bad for the feet emerged but this time the supposed fact that these high heels were bad for young men’s backs and hip joints was circulated but as far as I can remember this had no effect on our purchasing plans what so ever.

For time suede shoes in varying styles were all the rage and this is when the Hush Puppies Company really came into its own. I remember having a grey pair of suede shoes of which was inordinately proud!!! But I never actually owned a pair of genuine Hush Puppies.

High sided Desert Boots were popular as were sandals and as many of you know sandals are still my favoured form of footwear and have been for decades!

All this was well before the popularisation of Doc Martens with Airwave soles and other semi industrial shoes which suddenly broke onto the fashion market and definitely well before the platform shoes of the 1970’s, now those really were dangerous!!!

So ladies I hope that you can see that it was not just you who had to make decisions about shoe styles. Granted we did not have to decide between stiletto heels of varying heights or the more practical and comfortable kitten heels. We had our problems too!!!!

Stay in touch,

Yours,

Peter

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

You Write: Ferry Memories

Anida Writes:-

Seeing your pictures of the IOW ferries reminded me about those tin strips that you would punch out your name on. The machine was like a large clock with the letters of the alphabet instead of numbers and you turned the large steel pointer to each letter and stamped it on the tin strip. There was one on Ryde pier which kept us amused whilst waiting interminably for the ferry home. What was the purpose of those things who really wanted or needed a piece of tin with your name (usually misspelt) on it!! Ah well, little things........

Still those long days on the beach at Whitecliff Bay were worth the wait for the ferry at the end of the day. I also remember the wash created by the paddle steamer calling at South Parade Pier, a highly prized event when bobbing about in the water in the huge rubber inner tube! Happy days.

Dave Writes:

It was good to see that picture of the PS Ryde, the photos I have seen lately show her to be a derelict. From 1966 to 1968 I worked on the Isle of Wight ferries and during the summer I crewed on the Ryde as the bow rope man. Because she was a paddle driven vessel, when she was going astern I and the ordinary seaman would have to man a wheel in the bows that worked the bow rudder, the rudder at the stern didn't have enough effect to turn her. We used to get passengers from all over the world come and sail on the Ryde because steam ships were becoming a rarity by then. I had many happy times working on her.

By the early 70s it was going to be scrapped but someone purchased her and moored her at Binfield on the Isle of Wight and she became a night club. In the late 70s there was a fire on board, and, soon after the night club closed. She has been left there ever since and is rotting so badly that there is no chance of rescuing her now.

The time I spent working on the Isle of Wight ferries were good times and I made some life time friends amongst the crew. During the summer on a Wednesday night there was a service called the Beat Cruise. We would take on passengers at the Hard in Portsmouth and the pier at Ryde and then sail the MV Shanklin up and down the Solent until 1 or 2 in the morning. We had a DJ and two good bands on board, (on a site called Portsmouth Music Scene they state that it was a radio 1 DJ, I don't think that is likely), I seem to remember Procul Harem, Amen Corner and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Titch. Does anyone else remember these cruises?



News and Views:

Bobby Rydell has just announced a new series of tour dates in the USA and Australia.

On this day 12th February 1960-1965.

On

15/02/1960

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.

On

15/02/1961

the number one single was Are you Lonesome Tonight? - Elvis Presley 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.The big news story of the day was 18 US figure skaters killed in air crash.

On

15/02/1962

the number one single was The Young Ones - Cliff Richard & 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

15/02/1963

the number one single was Diamonds - Jet Harris & Tony Meehan 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 Liz Taylor films Cleopatra.

On

15/02/1964

the number one single was Needles & Pins - Searchers and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Steptoe & Son (BBC) 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

15/02/1965

the number one single was You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' - Righteous Brothers 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 Canada's Maple Leaf flag raised for first time