Web Page 1054

Web Page 1054


30th June 2012

Top Picture: Face mask from Kelloggs Corn Flakes

Second Picture: Kensitas Coupons

Gifts


You may think that the sales ply of giving away free gifts is a modern phenomenon but far from it, think back to when we were kids. Several years ago I remember writing about the terrible free plastic roses which came with each packet of Daz so I will leave that type of free gift out this time.


Lets start with cereals the Kellogg Corn Flake packets in the late 1950’s and early 60’s were gold mines of free gifts. Cut out masks or cars or spaceships, different board games (with the counters inside the packets) were printed on the backs of the packets. But the real toys were to be found inside the packets buried inside the Corn Flakes. I remember a whole series of Bandsmen soldiers, complete with bearskins, each of the instruments in the band being modelled in a ghastly bright red plastic !!! Musicians caught on and Tetley tea issued a full orchestra of the Tetley tea men and their instruments


I seem to remember that these were followed by Magic Submarines, again in plastic, which sank or rose in a screw top bottle provided that you filled the reservoir on the bottom with baking powder.


Sugar Puffs issued "Flying Saucer" tokens to get your own flying saucer, I wonder how many kids were disappointed to learn that this was merely the passport to a 10" diameter inflatable toy and you would not be flying your friends round the houses in it..



Weetabix and Rice Krispies also gave away things, Little plastic airfix kits to build cars, a set of busts of Indian Chiefs etc. Together with the cards from PG Tips tea or Brooke Bond Tea, they furnished and fuelled the swapping/collecting bug at Junior school. Ricicles gave away a plastic Noddy which climbed up a string if you pulled the ends, another gift was those plastic pictures that moved when you tilted the plastic to and fro. Then there were those plastic rockets or bombs, 3" long which you put caps into and dropped onto concrete with a satisfying BANG


There were just so many things to collect back then, WITHOUT HAVING TO FORK OUT EXTRA MONEY!


Cracker Jacks at one time gave away free tattoos or a magic decoder ring!


I also remember one brand of soft toilet roll giving away miniature plastic cars and trains inside the cardboard tubes the paper was wrapped around.


In 1959 a cereal (I forget which) offered coupons to collect for a canteen of stainless steel cutlery, I wonder how many of these pieces are let today?


In our comics us lads got those triangular snap things that made an almighty bang when shaken in the air with a downward sweep, yoyo’s, kazoos and swanee whistles whilst the girls got bangles, necklaces, rings, hair slides, Alice Bands and other pretty things.


But it was not only us kids who collected things our parents where also at it. There were the little red stamps which came on the packets of tea and which could be transferred to a savings card to save up for a free pack of Brooke Bond Dividend Tea.

Our fathers would try their best to smoke as many fags as possible so they could collect the Cigarette Coupons and the promised gifts from the special catalogue. I remember my father got his first electric drill with Kensitas Coupons, he must have nearly smoked himself hoarse to get it! But Cigarette smoke was part of the background of everyday life in the sixties. Most men and women lit up and children as young as ten took up smoking for the first time. Although most people had a vague awareness of the health risk, only a minority gave up smoking. The first health warning came in 1950 when Professor Sir Richard Doll's research linked cancer with smoking. However, his report was for the medical establishment and it took him another four years to convince the doctors. Reports that smoking might be less than healthy started to appear in the press in fifties and people knew about the 'cancer scare'. Health concerns did, however, influence smokers. From the late fifties many people switched to filter cigarettes. Although people thought filter cigarettes were healthier, there was little evidence that they were any safer than plain cigarettes.

Back to collecting.


Then there were Green Shield and Pink stamps but I have talked about them before so I will only say that at this time there were always adverts in the papers for people trying to buy or sell coupons or books of stamps. Now to tax your memory and to help me out, who remembers the shop in Lake Road that sold foreign stamps and coupons and books of trading stamps? If you do remember can you tell me the name of the shop please as I just cannot bring it to mind.


As we got older the petrol companies got onto the free gift bandwagon by giving away thousands of various shaped and coloured glasses, tiger tails and other advertising items.


Bu I suppose for our mothers especially the most important gift or bonus was the Coop divi and I bet at least 50% of you out there can still remember your mother’s divi number. Ours was 33037! Coop stamps were never as good as getting you divi!


More and more memories!

Stay in touch,

Yours,

Peter


DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk



You Write:

Robin Writes:- I remember the Auxiliary Fire Station which was where Manor Court school was built. It was on Grove Road approximately at the centre of what is now the sports field with some wooden huts to the right at the Lower Drayton Lane end which were used for the storage of furniture from bombed out buildings. The Fire Station was used as a Scout Hut amongst other things certainly in 1952. I also remember the Dump for ex Army tin helmets, Gas Masks and a host of other surplus equipment which was on the far right of the school grounds, the Station Road end and I wonder how much was found when the school was built! I also remember the allotments as my father had one until at least 1956, their access was via West Lane now called Scholars Walk. 

News and Views:

Herb Reed, who has died aged 83, was the last surviving original member of The Platters, the 1950s group behind such hits as Only You and The Great Pretender. Reed, who sang bass, was the only member to appear on all the group’s recordings and he sang on their four No 1 hits, including The Great Pretender, My Prayer (1956), Twilight Time and Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (1958).

On this day 30th June 1960-1965

On 30/06/1960 the number one single was Three Steps to Heaven - Eddie Cochran 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 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. The big news story of the day was Ghana and Somalia to become republics.

On 30/061961 the number one single was Runaway - Del Shannon and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Harpers West One (ATV) 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 30/06/1962 the number one single was Come Outside - Mike Sarne with Wendy Richard and the number one album was West Side Story Soundtrack. 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 30/06/1963 the number one single was I Like It - 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Zip codes introduced in US

On 30/06/1964 the number one single was It's Over - Roy Orbison and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Club Night (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 30/06/1965 the number one single was I'm Alive - Hollies 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 Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page 1052


23rd June 2012

Top Picture: Alf Garnet

Second Picture: GEC Advert





In the 1960’s we witnessed a procession of very different celebrities passing before our eyes. Here are just a few:-



HAROLD WILSON was one of the most prominent British politicians of the latter half of the 20th century, serving two terms as Prime Minister. The first from 1964 to 1970 was notable for substantial legal changes in a number of areas, including the liberalisation of censorship, divorce, homosexuality, immigration and abortion. He carefully managed his public image very carefully as a modern leader and linked himself to the burgeoning pride of a 'New Britain'.



DAVID BAILEY was the photographer credited with capturing and helping to create the 'Swinging London' of the 1960s: a culture of high fashion and celebrity chic. He socialised with actors, musicians and royalty and soon found himself lifted to celebrity status photographing people from The Beatles to the Kray twins he also directed several television commercials and documentaries. The film Blowup (1966) is largely based on him.



THE KRAY TWINS were the foremost arranger of organised crime in London's East End during the 1950s and 1960s. Ronnie and Reggie were involved in armed robberies, arson, protection rackets, violent assaults and murders. As West End nightclub owners, they mixed with prominent entertainers and politicians and even became celebrities in their own right, being interviewed on television. They were arrested in 1968 and the following year were sentenced to life imprisonment



ALFRED HITCHCOCK the English filmmaker and producer who pioneered many techniques in suspense and psychological thrillers. Although the 1950s were considered his peak years, in the 60s he produced his most famous feature; Psycho. He came first in a 2007 poll of film critics as: "Unquestionably the greatest filmmaker to emerge from these islands." MovieMaker has hailed him as the most influential filmmaker of all time, and he is widely regarded as one of cinema's most significant artists.



JAMES BOND first appeared on the big screen in October 1962. Dr. No was a low budget movie that became a huge financial success in spite of receiving mixed reviews. This success was due in no small part to the casting of Sean Connery in the title role. The movie delivered sex, violence and colourful action sequences all delivered with a dry wit. It also established many iconic sequences such as the distinctive James Bond Theme, the gun barrel sequence and the scene of Ursula Andress emerging from the water.



MICHAEL CAINE the London born actor became well known for a number of popular and critically acclaimed performances throughout the sixties. One memorable role was that of Alfie Elkins in the film Alfie, which tells the story of a young man and his promiscuous lifestyle until several life reversals make him rethink his purpose in life. However, he is best remembered for his line in The Italian Job; "You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!" which has been voted one of the top ten lines in movie history.



ALF GARNETT was a creation of scriptwriter Johnny Speight and with Warren Mitchell's brilliant interpretation British television was graced with an iconic creation, which was paradoxically as repugnant as it was well loved. The TV series 'Till Death Us Do Part', showed the darker face of British society.



NOT ONLY...BUT ALSO... regarded by many as one of the few groundbreaking comedy shows and possibly the definitive 1960s sketch comedy. Starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore and attracting a number of well-known guests, including John Lennon, Ronnie Barker and Peter Sellers, but the true stars were Pete and Dud, two cloth-capped sages from Dagenham, who discussed weighty topics over a pint such as how the bottoms of Rubens' nudes seem to follow you around the room. (whilst trying not to giggle)e r



TH ENGLAND WORLD CUP TEAM To date the only England team to win the World Cup was the side of 1966. Geoff Hurst was expected to be a reserve player for the tournament, but an injury to Jimmy Greaves offered an opportunity and an England legend was created. His hat-trick in the final has not been equalled to date. The victory made stars of many of the England players not least of all their captain Bobby Moore. Mo



GEORGE BEST was arguably the first celebrity footballer, bringing a pop star image to the game. He acquired an agent and a secretary and went into business, opening two boutiques. But the accompanying champagne and playboy lifestyle degenerated into alcoholism, bankruptcy, a prison sentence and, eventually, a liver transplant. As a footballer he had speed, superb dribbling skills, the ability to accelerate past players and was adept with both feet and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players to have graced British and world football. But he eventually succumbed to alcohol addiction.



Though not strictly Celebrities I cannot close without mentioning the DALEKS - one of the most iconic television 'monsters' of all time. First appearing in the second tale of Dr. Who, they immediately captured the imagination of the British public as well as the media who couldn't write enough about them. Dalek toys, annuals and playsuits were produced and although 'killed off' in the series the BBC were quick to commission writer Terry Nation to produce a 'comeback' story in 1964 in good time to capture the Christmas market. The Daleks have hardly been off our TV screens for the past 50 years!



Ah well more and more memories !!!!




Stay in touch,


Yours,


Peter



DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk



You Write:

Steve Writes:

Regards your blog article on Home medicine, yes some home remedies were a nightmare.  My Mother used to doll out sennapods at any sign of me being constipated, which basically were the real things boiled in water and drank down quickly whilst holding my nose. Yes it tasted foul, but probably worked!

I remembered the Kaolin & Morphine mixture for upset stomaches, flu etc; I don't think you can get it now well maybe a substitute without the Morphine?

The Malt extract was another regular dosage, I still like Malt but in beer form today. And Vick is still in use today for me, as I suffer with my chest and breathing.

Can't ever remember getting sunburnt although like the rest of us in those long hot Summer holidays, I was out for most of the day in the sun. Last time I used Camomile lotion was after a scorching two weeks holiday in Cornwall in the late 60s. I was roasted and toasted and could barely walk!  So welcomed the cooling lotion when I got back home, even if I looked like a ghost with so much plastered on.

News and Views:


The Australian portion of the Queen's birthday honours was released Monday June 11th. Rolf Harris ("Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport") has been named an Officer of the Order of Australia (he already was a Member of the Order of Australia and is a Commander of the Order of the British Empire). John Paul Young ("Love Is In The Air") will be made an Officer of the Order of Australia, as well, for his performing and charitable work. 


On this day 23rd June 1960-1965

On 23/06/1960 the number one single was Three Steps to Heaven - Eddie Cochran 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 Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 23/06/1961 the number one single was Surrender - 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 23/06/1962 the number one single was Good Luck Charm - Elvis Presley and the number one album was West Side Story Soundtrack. 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 23/06/1963 the number one single was I Like It - 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 23/06/1964 the number one single was You're My World - Cilla Black and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. 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 23/06/1964 the number one single was You're My World - Cilla Black and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. 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.

Web Page 1050


16th June 2012

Top Picture: Michael Holliday’s memorial in Anfield Cemetery .

Second Picture: A Michael Holliday 1957 EP cover



Michael Holliday

Norman Milne, was a Liverpool-born sailor who became “Britain’s Bing Crosby” and with it, one of the biggest stars in the business. It was to be a brief stay in the spotlight. His stardom lasted only eight turbulent years, from his breakthrough on television in 1955 to his suicide in 1963. He served in the Merchant Navy during World War II, having been born into a seafaring family. On a 'stop-off' in New York, he took the opportunity to enter a talent contest at Radio City Hall- which he won. This gave him the confidence to try and become a professional singer and he began by offering his services around Liverpool's dance halls. His first important professional work came as a member of the Eric Winstone Orchestra. From this he soon became a top performer during the dying days of the Variety theatre and drew sufficient attention to get into Television and records.

Michael Holliday was a household name in the Fifties and truly, a big star. His records outsold those of his contemporaries such as Alma Cogan, Dickie Valentine and Frankie Vaughan. He topped the charts twice with “The Story of My Life” and “Starry Eyed” and enjoyed a string of other hits. He was just as well known on television as much an icon of Fifties TV as that of Tony Hancock or Richard Dimbleby.

When Michael Holliday sang, he sounded like a Bing Crosby and for thirty years, British singers had competed for the label of “Britain’s Bing Crosby” until Michael Holliday came along,. But what started out as an accolade became a millstone around his neck.

He made it all seem so easy. At a time when formality was still the order of the day, Michael Holliday was cool and casual. BBC newsreaders might still be wearing dinner jackets but Michael Holliday sang his songs in a sweater and open-neck shirt. His TV ‘set’ was normally a make-believe flat, his props were a rocking chair and a sofa and the mischievous wink that he gave to the camera. “Life’s a breeze” seemed to be his message and the public in the ‘never-had-it–so-good’ days of Fifties went along with it. In fact much of his recorded output, in common with other British artists, were covers of American songs. He also hosted his own TV series and was one of the first to adopt a 'relaxed' style as used by Val Doonican a few years later.

He saw his dreams come true and Bing Crosby went from being an idol to a friend. They met in California in 1959 and when Bing turned up unexpectedly to make some recordings in London, Michael Holliday was there. He swapped the terraced house in Liverpool, where he was born, for a mansion in the Surrey hills. The newspapers caught him strolling in his orchard or riding his white palomino, “Shadow” across the downs. With a beautiful wife and son, he was everybody’s ideal next door neighbour. “In tune with life, in tune with song” said one TV announcer. No-one on the outside would have doubted it for a minute.

But when Michael Holliday walked into the night club run by his friend, ex-boxer Freddie Mills in the early hours of October 29th, 1963, he had already decided that he could take no more. His marriage was in tatters, his taxes were unpaid, and he had convinced himself that he was through. “You’re late” laughed Freddie Mills when he appeared around 1.30 am. “You’ve missed the show. Come back tomorrow night”. Michael Holliday looked him deep in the eye. “There won’t be a tomorrow night” he said.

“Drugs Kill TV’s Michael Holliday” screamed the morning papers. The inquest revealed another side to the star. The fairytale had become a nightmare. Michael Holliday was two people in one body. One part of him loved the limelight and the adulation of stardom; the other wanted the anonymity and solitude of his days in the merchant navy. He looked so relaxed on stage, as if he didn’t have a care in the world, but before every appearance, he was a shivering wreck who had to be virtually pushed onto the stage. He loved his wife Margie and leant heavily on her in his darker moods, but couldn’t resist the girls that came his way. His homely, family image was a world away from the man who disc jockey, Pete Murray called the “number one crumpet man of all time”.

They buried him by the wall of the Catholic chapel in Anfield cemetery. Three thousand fans turned out to pay their last respects. The Beatles, Cliff Richard and a host of other stars sent their own floral tributes. But when the crowds had gone, society turned its back. The Swinging Sixties were just around the corner, but suicide was one of society’s last taboos. It was as though he had never existed. Within a matter of months, showbiz had erased Michael Holliday from its memory. Fifty years on, the Catholic chapel is long gone. The black headstone stands incongruously alone. Even that maintains the anonymity – “Dear Mike – Beloved by Many” is the only clue to the alter ego of Norman Milne who lies there.



It really does not seem 50 years since we heard him singing the theme to ‘Four Feather Falls’, ‘ The Yellow Rose of Texas’ and ‘The story of my Life’.

Stay in touch,



Yours,





Peter



DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk



You Write:

Peter Writes

You mentioned in this weeks Blog my fathers Chemist Shop,  "BAKERS OF 
COSHAM".  The business "Baker & Son Chemists Ltd" was established in 1845 
and the premises which were demolished in 1963 to make way for the new style 
"Bakers of Cosham" was originaly Cosham Post Office until 1845.  My father 
John Barlow was the son of a well known Chemist in Palmerston Road, T.O. 
Barlow, which was bombed in the second world war.  The family moved to 
Bakers in 1946 where John Barlow was to shortly buy the business from Mr 
Cyril Baker who lived at Lumley Mill, Emsworth but it wasnt until the late 
1950s that Mr Baker eventually retired.  Once John Barlow owned the business 
he quickly transformed and modernised the Chemist and Stationery side into a 
small department store, the Chemist part being the main department and 
introducing Quality China, Pictures, Greetings cards and Stationery.  He 
dramatically changed the Cosmetics Department and introduced regular Beauty 
and Make Up Demonstrations with many of the main cosmetics companies such as 
Elizabeth Arden, Lancome etc; etc;  He employed approximately 10 very loyal 
long serving staff.  John died in 1971 aged 53 and his wife Mary carried on 
the business until 1974 when it was closed down.  I enclose one or two 
photos of the original business before it became "Bakers of Cosham"

News and Views:

Paul McCartney has told the BBC that he will be closing the Olympic ceremonies in London on July 27th.

On this day 16th June 1960-1965

On 16/06/1960 the number one single was Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.



On 16/06/1961 the number one single was Surrender - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Probation Officer (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.



On 16/06/1961 the number one single was Surrender - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Probation Officer (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.



On 16/06/1962 the number one single was Good Luck Charm - 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 week was Brazil wins World Cup Final.



On 16/06/1963 the number one single was From Me To You - The Beatles and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. 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. The big news story of the day was Prince Charles (14) buys cherry brandy.



On 16/06/1964 the number one single was You're My World - Cilla Black and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. 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 16/06/1965 the number one single was Crying in the Chapel - Elvis Presley 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 Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page 1048




9th June 2012

Top Picture: J Collis Browne’s cure-all

Second Picture: Coughs and Sneezes poster from 1950






Home Medicine




I think that I must have suffered more than most because my mother was an ex nurse, in fact she was an assistant matron in a children’s hospital before she married. In those days married nurses were not allowed and she had to leave. The upshot of this was that every cough, sneeze, wheeze, scratch and cut was dealt with as though it was a nursing priority. Every spot had to be squeezed, every cut bathed in Detol, and oh! Didn’t that hurt! Head colds were dealt with by plunging my head over a bowl of hot water with Vick in it and with a towel over my head and a course of Owbridges the lung tonic as also required and for that tickly cough it had to be Zubes .


I sometimes wonder looking back just what were the origins and effectiveness of some of the remedies our mothers used on us in the late 1950’. A stomach ach or upset and it was out with the bicarbonate of soda and hot water. It never settled anything just made me violently sick. J Collis Brownes Chlorodyne medicine in ominous blue bottles was supposed to settle stomachs as did the Kaolin and Morphine mixture. Nits in the hair and out with the nit comb and that foul smelling shampoo!


Do you remember that evil thing called a poultice? I remember my mother boiling up one on the kitchen stove and applying it to a group of bee stings on my leg, not a pleasant experience! Normally the single sting was dealt with by placing a Drummer Boy Blue Bag on the sting and being told that it would ease the pain, did it …..! I also remember mother making a warm bread poultice to place on a boil which erupted on the back of my neck.


With us all playing outside for most of the summer sunburn was the biggest problem. There was no factor 15 in those days if you were sunburnt you were liberally plastered with Camomile lotion which dried hard and turned your skin from bright red to brilliant white.




Then there was ‘opening medicine’ when you were constipated and ‘closing medicine’ when diarrhoea was the problem and a spoonful of Syrup of Figs to keep you regular. If all else failed it was down to the Liquid paraffin as it was considered to have a limited usefulness as an occasional laxative. Cod liver Oil was supposed to be good for us as was Malt Extract, terrible stuff!


Come the winter Vaseline would be rubbed on our lips to stop them getting chapped and the luck ones had Vick rubbed into their chests, it smelled terrible but not as bad as the other remedy Goose Grease!


Olive oil in the ear was the popular way to ease earache - this was of course in the days before bottles of the stuff lined the shelves in all supermarkets. You bought a tiny bottle from the chemist shop and it came with a dropper so just enough could be dripped into your ear. I also remember a flannel bag, filled with salt and left to warm in the airing cupboard. You held it to your ear on going to sleep for some gentle warmth - and presumably this allowed ear wax to soften and ease the pain.


For the real invalid it had to be Lucozade and if you were really ill Claves Foot Jelly or Beef Tea. Luckily I never had the last two but I must admit that I was very fond of Lucozade.


In those days a trip to the chemist was a real adventure. The dark wooden shelves containing everything from aspirins to Toni Home Perm Kits. In the pride of place were the three big bottles of coloured liquid, one red, one blue and one green. The chemist was the place to get oneself weighed and have your photographs developed apart from the enormous range of personal and medical products.


Go back through the side bar of this blog and have a look at what real chemists looked like, ie Bakers of Cosham High Street, which looked what like a real chemist should be. They did not sell sandwiches, drinks and crisps, just essentials like ointments, bandages and medicines.


Maybe I am getting old fashioned!!!!!


Stay in touch,


Yours,
Peter


DUSTYKEAT@aol.com


Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk




You Write:

Mary Writes:-

All this talk of the Diamond Jubilee gets my brain going  I still remember coming home and asking my mother why our programme wasn’t on the radio and why were they playing sad music .She explained that the King had died. A year later my mother bought my brother and me our Coronation China. I have mine in this house but I don’t know about my brother. We had trays, biscuit tins, tea caddies etc all celebrating the event. When the great day arrived we went to my father’s friends house where we watched the service on a tiny black and white screen in a huge cabinet. Later that day we went into the city of Portsmouth and saw all the decorations on the buildings. Solent Rd School took us to the Odeon cinema and we saw the Coronation in colour. The school gave us a book on her Majesty which featured photos taken in Portsmouth. Then there was the Fleet Review. We went up Gillman Lane to the top of the hill. It was very dark and lots of people were there to see the ships lit up. It was a wonderful sight. My brother who was only 4 slid down a grassy bank and disappeared into a ditch. Dad rescued him. The memories stayed with us and for a long time we played “coronations". I don’t think her Majesty would be amused by our antics or perhaps she would! She’s said to have a good sense of humour. A circle of cardboard was the crown and I would sit on a kitchen chair in the garden holding a piece of copper pipe for my sceptre. The orb was the ballcock from a toilet cistern!!! Weren’t we lucky having a father in the building trade? The years seem to have gone by very quickly and whenever there was anything to celebrate I bought my children items to remember the day. Any royal wedding we would have a special meal and watch the service on TV. In the next week I will be buying some things for my grandchildren hoping that they will enjoy it as much as I did. And on another topic, I think the name of the lady who ran the woolshop in Drayton was Miss Moffatt. 

Anida Writes:

Well we have had the Olympic flame, and very exciting that was too, and now it is almost time for the Jubilee. 

At the National Trust we are asking people for their memories of the day of the Coronation and of how we heard about the Queen's accession to the throne. I suspect that most of the memories are going to be much the same, however, I don't remember, as some of my colleagues do, being told at school that the King had died.

I do remember the Coronation itself, although it is amazing that I should since we did not see it on television, we did not have one or know anyone who did.  I suppose it is the excitement of the preparations and our own celebrations that are most vivid, going to London to see the decorations (in my school uniform!) and meeting my friend who lived in the next road outside Buckingham Palace!  There was a fancy dress parade organised by Court Lane School, I think this was when we were presented with our blue mugs impressed with an image of the Queen and our blue book (both of which I still have).  Some of the costumes did not seem to have much connection to the event; one friend who shall remain nameless went as a tube of Smarties!  However, Patsy and I were resplendent in crowns, blue circular skirts, and little white gloves and sashes proclaiming "God Save the Queen", a special touch was the wine glass filled with red jelly to raise in a perpetual toast to our new Queen.  Of course the sun shone continually - didn't it?

I am pretty sure that we were taken by the school to the Odeon cinema in Cosham to see a film of the Coronation some while afterwards, and I am certain that you will remember if I am correct!  My Grandfather bought me a large book full of coloured pictures of the Coronation, with details of the parade and who took part in it which was very well thumbed as I poured over pictures of the ladies in waiting holding the enormous ermine trimmed cloak and studied the details of her coronation robes and marvelled at how she managed to keep the crown on her head whilst walking with the orb and sceptre, all words that were completely new to me.

How different today’s celebrations, every detail texted, tweeted and twittered around the world in an instant, bombarded with peoples comments and opinions, we simply knew what our Mum and Dad thought about it all.  If I had one wish it would have been to have seen it on one of today's 50" LCD, HD, 3D televisions - how good would that have been?  And here's a thought, we still have enough time to see two more coronations - you never know!

What do you remember about the big day and the celebrations in your house?

Bye for now.

Anida

News and Views:


I understand that Frank Ifield's mother, Hannah died May 12 at the age of 96.


On this day 9th June 1960-1965


On 09/06/1960 the number one single was Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.




On 09/06/1961 the number one single was Surrender - 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 09/06/1962 the number one single was Good Luck Charm - 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 week was England lose World Cup Quarter Final 3-1 to Brazil.




On 09/06/1963 the number one single was From Me To 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the week was Buddhist monk burns himself alive as protest.




On 10/06/1964 the number one single was You're My World - Cilla Black and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. 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 week was 1st World Book Fair in London




On 10/06/1965 the number one single was Long Live Love - Sandie Shaw 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 Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the week was 750th anniversary of Magna Carta.