Web Page 1134

31st March 2013

Top Picture : Remember the old white fivers

Second Picture: So that’s what happened to Martins Bank?

Real Cash

You are all old enough to remember “old money" or Pounds, Shillings and Pence or even more confusingly L.S.D. (that stood for Libra Solidus Denarius by the way not the well known drug) was what people spent before what is affectionately remembered as D-Day (no, not the one in the Second World War!) meaning Decimalisation Day.

Before the 15th February 1971, if you needed to understand money life wasn’t quite as simple as it is today. You’d need to have understood the old system of pounds, shillings and pence.

OK, calculators ready for the younger readers, while I explain how it all worked:

Four farthings made a penny (1d)                                                                                   Two half pennies made a penny (1d) Six pence or a silver six pence made half a shilling (6d) or a tanner                                                                 Twelve pence made a shilling (1s or 1/-) or 'bob' (as in 'bob a job')                            Two shillings made a Florin (2/-)
Five shillings made a crown (although there was no such thing except on special occasions, such as to mark the Queen's Coronation in 1953, the death of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965 and for no apparent reason in 1960)
You could have spent a half crown - that's 2/6 (two shillings and six pence)
20 shillings made a pound and there were notes for 10 shillings as well.

So there were 240d (that's pence) in £1. That's 12 (pence in a shilling) x 20 (shillings in a pound) - easy isn't it? I don't know why they ever changed it! If you needed to add up in pounds, shillings and pence you needed three columns.

Banknotes started at 10 shillings (50p in today's money). The ten-shilling (or ten bob) note disappeared in 1971, being replaced by the strange shaped fifty pence coin.

Oh, and what about guineas. One guinea was 21 shillings - that's one pound and one shilling. There were no guinea coins, but you might still find bills in guineas from solicitors, accountants, auctioneers and other professionals, and if you went on holiday you might have to settle your hotel bill in guineas. It was a way of sounding posh and also making a bill seem a little bit smaller than it actually was – similar to the modern trick of £9.99 instead of £10! Even here there was a variety. I always assumed that in the days of real money when items were priced at 19/11^3/₄d or 9/11^3/₄ d was to fool us into thinking that the item was a lot less than £1.0s.0d. or ten shillings. Not a bit of it says a retired accountant friend of mine it was a security measure. When the item was sold it meant that the counter hand had to give change and so would have to go to the till and open it, whereas if the item was just £1 or 10/- the receipt for the sale could be written out and given to the customer and then the note quietly palmed into the assistants pocket. I think my friend has a suspicious mind!

It was not until 1967 that minting of the old coins ceased. However, the Royal Mint devised a method to stop people hoarding the last of the old money. All coins minted in the old denominations from 1967 to 1970 were dated 1967.

Starting from 1968 the “new money” started to be minted and put into circulation. In fact the system started with the coins being entitled 'New Pence' and issued in the values of 5p and 10p at first. These fitted in well with the old system, as they were direct replacements for the one and two shilling pieces. In those days today's pence were 'new pence' and that was what was on the coins.

The decimal half penny (½p) was introduced in 1971 and remained in circulation until 1984, by which time its value had been greatly reduced by inflation. It was not struck, except for collectors' sets, after 1983 and was no longer legal tender after 31^st  December 1984. The 50p piece was reduced in size in 1997, following the reduction in size of the 5p in 1990 and the 10p in 1992. The 1p and 2p underwent a compositional change from bronze to plated steel in 1992. However, both coins remain valid back to 1971, the only circulating coins valid on Decimal Day still to be valid.

In 1982, the word "new" in "new penny" or "new pence" was removed from the inscriptions on coins, to be replaced by the number of pence in the denomination (i.e. "ten pence" or "fifty pence"). This coincided with the introduction of a new 20p coin, which, from the outset, simply bore the legend "twenty pence".

A new bi-metallic £2 coin was introduced in 1997, and continues to be minted. Before that date, commemorative £2 coins were minted in 1986, 1989, 1995 and 1996, but these are hardly ever found in circulation.

And you just thought it was money, any way I must be off to try and find my silver threepenny pieces and my white fivers!

Stay in Touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk

You Write:

Joy Writes:

I have been trying to find my best friend PAMELA TANDY. I left Court Lane in 1956.  My name was JOYCE LEWINGTON.  I was the first person to join Mr Fentiman's art class and I was greatly influenced by Miss Bray.  I fondly remember Miss Blitz and recall with terror Miss Pipe. Is there anyone around still who could have been in my year? I too am nostalgic for the days of black & white television with one channel and I wallow in the nostalgia of your wonderful reports.

John writes:

I don't know if you have ever done an article on the schools annual poetry competition, but many years ago I won a prize (Can't remember what it was) when I wrote a piece of poetry and it was published in the schools newsletter.

I can still recite it today.

It may be a bit of fun to get your readers who did the same to send them in.

The Nightmare 

"Night falls, monster creep.

Coffins open the dead step out

Werewolves cry into the sky

Haunted men they fall and die

Horror houses have many creeps

I just cannot get to sleep".

The mindset of a very young 12/13 year old lad

News and Views:


Dionne Warwick filed for bankruptcy in her home state of New Jersey, listing assets of $25,500 and liabilities of over $10 million, mostly stemming for tax debts to California and the federal government. Claiming "negligent and gross financial mismanagement," she says the original tax debt was paid, but penalties and interest continue to mount.

On this day 31st March 1960-1965

On 31/03/1960 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 31/03/1961 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 31/03/1962 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. The big news story of the week was US Air Force consider using lasers to shoot down missiles.

On 31/03/1963 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 31/03/1964 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 Radio Caroline starts broadcasts.

On 31/03/1965 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 1132
24th March 2013

Top Picture : Michael Caine

Second Picture: Palmerton Road in 1952

What’s in a name?

Entertainers adopt new professional for different reasons maybe to abandon an embarrassing name given to them by their parents, like Marion Morrison who became John Wayne or Archibald Leach, Cary Grant. The fortunate are simply born with the right name, like Marlo Brando or Elvis Presley, others need the magic of a makeover. "Hello, my name is Maurice Joseph Micklewhite" somehow doesn’t sound as good as  "Hello, my name is Michael Caine ".

Name changes seem to be the only way that some folks can get on in the entertainment business but this is a universal situation so I shall only take a quick look at a few British artists’ and see how a name change has affected them and given them a career.

Foe example, in their 50^th Anniversary year, would you go and see a band whose line up included William Perks, Lewis Brian Hopkin-Jones and Michael Phillip Jagger. They are of course Bill Wyman, Brian Jones and Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones. Likewise how does the name William Howard Ashton and the Dakotas sound? Not so good eh!

Some stars retained some of their names Donovan is actually Donovan Phillip Leitch, Eric Clapton is Eric Patrick Clapp (I think I understand why he changed that name). Manfred Mann was actually Manfred Lubowitz, Rod Stewart is Roderick David Stewart and Tom Jones’ full name is Thomas Jones Woodward and would you believe that Helen Mirren’s given name is - Ilyena Vasilievna Mironov.

But as we can see from above some stage names are totally different. Would Adam Faith have made it to the top as Terence Nelhams or Billy Fury as Ronald Wycherley.  Most of us know that Elton John was originally Reginald Kenneth Dwight but did you know that Georgie Fame was Clive Powell (Clive Powell and the Blue Flames does not sound right does it!) and Jonathan King was Kenneth King. but I doubt if many of you knew that James Marcus Smith actually made his name as PJ Proby. Mike Berry retained part of his real name Michael Bourne and Tommy Bruce kept the lot Thomas Charles Bruce. Acker Bilk is actually Bernard Stanley Bilk and Clinton Ford rejoices in the name Ian George Stampford Harrison. Tony Meehan from The Shadows was born Daniel Meehan and Matt Monro would never have made it as Terry Parsons. Naturally we must not forget Sir Harry Webb (oh! sorry Cliff Richard). Adam Ant was known as Stuart Leslie Goddard and David Bowie was David Robert Hayward-Jones. Just two more here (Sir) Sean Connery was born Thomas Connery and Michael Crawford was known as Michael Patrick Dumbell-Smith

The ladies also have succumbed to name changing too. I am sure that Dusty Springfield would not have been such a hit as Mary O'Brien or Lulu as Marie Lawrie or Cilla Black as Priscilla Marie Veronica White and Sandie Shaw using her given name Sandra Ann Goodrich. Even Julie Andrews was originally Julia Elizabeth Wells.

Groups were just the same did you know that The Detours became The Who and that the Drifters became The Shadows? Other well-known examples are The Silver Beatles to The Beatles and Dave Dee (who is really Dave Harman) and the Bostons to Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Titch. Even the Irish group The Batchelors were originally known as The Harmonichords.

Name changes applied to comics too. Now just who was Maurice James Christopher Cole?  Why Kenny Everett of course. Now try this one who is the sister of Basil, Baron Feldman of Frognal? The answer is Fenella Feldman known to us as Fenella Fielding (contrary to many popular rumours she is not Kenny Everett’s’ sister). Lastly in this comedy section and locally Benny Hill, was actually born Alfred Hawthorn Hill but his family (for a time I employed his cousin and she looked just like him when he was in ‘drag’) knew him as Alfie.

 

Finally now lads would you have found Brigette Bardot just as alluring under her real name of real name Camille Javal? Or Yana as Pamella Guard and most certainly not Diana Dors if she was still using he given name Diana Mary Fluck.

Stay in Touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk

You Write:

John Writes:

What about the Apron for woodwork and metalwork, My Nan made mine and my twin brother. it was a bit short.

News and Views:

It was announced on Tuesday March 12 that Bob Dylan has been selected for the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is the first rock star to be chosen among the best in music, literature and visual arts by the society, founded in 1898. Memembership is limited to only 250 and new members are added only upon the passing of an old one.

On this day 24th March 1960-1965

On 24/03/1960 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. Chuck Berry is jailed and fined in the U.S.A.

On 24/03/1961 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 24/03/1962 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. The big news story of the week was French Algerian War ends

On 24/03/1964 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 week was 10 found guilty of Great Train Robbery.

On 26/03/1965 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 1130

17th March 2013

Top Picture : Double World Champion, bikes and cars  John Surtees

Second Picture: Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony.

1964

I thought that I would look at what was happening here at home and to other Brits in 1964 and what a year that was, so much happened we were teenagers and the Queen was only 38. So what of 1964?

The Average Weekly Wage in 1964 was only £18.2s.2d                                        

But

A  Sliced white loaf cost 1s 2d (5.8p)                                                                             20 Cigarettes - 4s 11d (24.6p)                                                                                         A Litre of petrol - 1s 0.24d (5.1p)                                                                                 A Pint of milk - 9d (3.8p)                                                                                                   A Pint of beer - 1s 6.5d (7.8p)

In May the first change in tobacco and alcohol duties since 1961was imposed.

Philips introduce the musicassette ( compact cassette )
Rudi Gernreich 'designs' the topless swimsuit
Henry Cooper wins the European Heavyweight boxing title                Chemotherapy is first used in the treatment of cancer
Unemployment was at 405,000
The first MOOG synthesiser is developed by Robert Moog ( who died last May)
British troops are sent into Cyprus
Miss World is Ann Sidney ( Miss United Kingdom )
The first electronic ticket barriers and unmanned trains are seen on the London Underground

But what about the Olympics you ask?

Lynn Davies and Mary Rand won Gold in the Long.  Anne Packer won Gold in the 800metres and Ken Matthews  Gold in the 20km walk

Other sporting happenings

Donald Campbell captures land ( 403.10 m.p.h. ) and water ( 276.33 m.p.h. ) speed records in Australia

John Surtees becomes the only man to win world titles on two and four wheels

Now month by month.

On 1st January The first 'Top of the Pops') programme is broadcast from a disused church in Manchester. The Rolling Stones start their first tour as a headline act, supported by The Ronettes. 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' by The Beatles was released in the United States                                                                                                       



February  Britain and France agree to build a Channel tunnel
 Beatlemania hits the States as The Beatles arrive to start their first U.S. Tour and they make their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show
The first £10 notes are issued

March. Malta gains independence                                                                                         The Dave Clark Five make their debut on the Ed Sullivan show singing 'Glad All Over' and they were still only semi professional then!                                                 Prince Edward is born
The Dave Clark Five turn professional
A Dallas jury finds Jack Ruby guilty of killing JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald
Radio Caroline starts broadcasting, Britain's first 'pirate radio' station



April 1964 The first commercial hydrofoil service to France from the Channel Islands is introduced. The Great Train robbers receive a total of 307 years imprisonment. BBC2 broadcasts its first programme - 'Play School'
Thieves steal the head of the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen



May 1964. The first Habitat store opens in London at 77 Fulham Road                                     Mods and Rockers clash in seafront riots at Brighton and Margate                                                                                                                                  Radio Sutch ( later Radio City ) begins broadcasting

June 1964. Blue Streak is used in a launch from Woomera, Australia. Christine Keeler is released from prison. A crowd of 300,000 greet The Beatles on arrival in Adelaide, Australia. The Vatican condemns the female contraceptive pill

July 1964 ITV is off-air for five days due to strike action. 275 BEA flights are cancelled at Heathrow due to strike action. The first family planning clinic opens. Jim Reeves dies in a plane crash near Beery Field airport, Nashville

August 1964. A Rolling Stones gig in the Kurhaus in Scheveningen ends in a riot after 15 minutes. Great Train robber Charles Wilson escapes from Winston Green prison. Ian Fleming, author of 13 James Bond books dies in Canterbury, aged 56. Freddie Trueman becomes the first man to take 300 Test wickets in cricket. Three women are found guilty of indecency for wearing topless dresses in public.The first 'Match of the Day' programme is broadcast, Kenneth Wolstenholme commentating

September 1964. The Forth Road Bridge opens over the Firth of Forth in Scotland. The presses at 'The Sun' start rolling at 10 p.m. Licences are granted to 22 applicants to drill for oil and gas in the North Sea.Bill Haley returns to Britain for the first time since 1957 as a support act to Brenda Lee

October 1964.  Musician Cole Porter dies. Harold Wilson becomes Labour Prime Minister in U.K. general election. EMI records reject The Who. Northern Rhodesia becomes the independent Republic of Zambia, ending 73 years of British rule. The Windmill Theatre, famous for its nude tableaux, closes down.

November 1964. The first episode of 'Crossroads' is broadcast. The House of Commons votes to abolish the death penalty for murder in Britain. The first British commercial radio station, Radio Manx, goes on air.

December was a quiet month!

So how many of them did you remember?

 

Stay in Touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk

You Write:

Peter (Willie) writes:-

The Soloists at our production of Handels Messiah were Loris Sutton,Soprano. Pamela Walker, Contralto. Richard Wood, Bass , and David Hillman , Tenor. Loris Sutton was an Australian singer who must have been about 30 at the time of our performance. She sang in many Australian competitions, and was a promising singer as early as 1951. How she came to perform in our production is just another of John Stevens miracles.

Pamela Walker and Richard Wood I cannot remember, but David Hillman went on to become a distinguished opera singer. He was an important Tenor with Sadlers Wells Opera and later when it became the English National Opera. He was just setting out as a professional when he performed with us.  He had been a quantity surveyor ! ..I met him again when I was a scenic artist with the English National Opera , and was able to remind him of his humble roots at Manor Court!  He remembered it very well..........He died in 2009.

News and Views:

Dale Robertson, who took his Oklahoma drawl and a way with horses into a long career as a star of westerns on television and in the movies, died on 27^th February in San Diego. He was 89.

The cause was complications of lung cancer and pneumonia, his wife, Susan, said. He had been hospitalized near his home in San Diego. He was a skilled rider at 10 and training polo ponies by the time he was a teenager. He often said that the only reason he acted professionally was to save money to start his own horse farm in Oklahoma, which he eventually did.

He appeared in more than 60 films and 430 television episodes. He refused to call himself an actor. Rather, he said, he was a personality with a distinctive style, not unlike that of the actor he most admired, John Wayne.

He was born Dayle Lymoine Robertson in Harrah, Oklahoma, about 30 miles east of Oklahoma City, on July 14, 1923, to Melvin and Varval Robertson. He starred in sports in high school, boxed professionally as a young man and attended the Oklahoma Military Academy. In World War II, he served in the Army in Africa and Europe and was wounded twice, earning bronze and silver stars.

He developed, owned and starred in the “Wells Fargo” series, playing Jim Hardie, a troubleshooter for the stagecoach company. To make the character distinctive, he had the otherwise right-handed Hardie draw his gun and shoot left-handed.

“Wells Fargo” was originally shown in black and white and in half-hour episodes. In 1961, however, the producers wanted to turn it into a full-hour show in colour but he refused, and sold the show to them.

He was married four times. In addition to his wife whom he married in 1980, he is survived by his daughters, Rochelle Robertson and Rebel Lee, and a granddaughter.

On this day 17th March 1960-1965

On 17/03/1960 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. The big news story of the day was Venereal disease rising in teens.

On 17/03/1961 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 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 17/03/1962 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 17/03/1963 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 17/03/1964 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.

On 17/03/1965 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 1128

10^th March 2013

Top Picture: A DER Repairman

Bottom Picture: I Love Lucy Poster

TV Repairman

“Children’s Television starts in 15 minutes better put the telly on to warm it up”. Do you remember Mother or Father saying that phrase from way back in the late 1950’s and early 60’s? Then after our own children’s TV programmes there was an hour and a half special Intermission before the adults programmes began when nothing was transmitted. This was deliberately programmed in so parents would have time to bathe and feed the children and put them to bed, then eat their own meal before settling down to an evening in front of the telly. Albeit there was only one channel to watch!

We would all rush in to watch Children’s Television as this was the time that if it was dry you’d be out in the garden playing Cowboys and Indians or Pirates and if it were wet, you’d be inside building models with your Meccano Set or running your Hornby Railway whilst the girls would be outside playing with their prams and skipping ropes or inside with their Doll’s Houses!

When my home first had a television set it was just after the Coronation in 1953 (we actually watched the Coronation on a neighbours telly), my father, who at one time was a radio engineer, was rather suspicious of television, maybe the technology had overtaken him, I don’t know!

Why did we have to turn the set on early? The reason for the fifteen minutes warning was so that the TV would have time to warm up enough for you to see anything at all! Dad would switch the set on and then after a short while a small whitish speck of light would magically appear in the middle of the screen and this would eventually mature into a full sized picture to fill your 14” screen, a picture with a distinctly blue tinge and set into a large piece of furniture made to look like a cocktail cabinet or some other piece of furniture!

Mind you it was well known that these early sets were very unreliable and every so often nothing would happen or maybe you would be halfway through Crackerjack (did I hear you shout just then?) or Nationwide and the screen would go black or a plume of smoke would gently drift up from the insides of the set and so it was time to call in the Radio Rentals or DER repairman, (it took Dad years to actually buy his own set) and calling the repairman was easier said than done as we did not have a telephone at home and it meant catching the bus into Cosham and visiting the shop in the High Street to book an appointment for the repairman to call. So it was back home with no TV and until the repair man arrived it was back to the radio and the Archers and Mrs Dale’s Diary, the Home Service, the Light Programme and the Third Programme for our entertainment, although as we got older it was more likely to be Radio Luxenbourg.

However at the appointed time the repairman would arrive clothed in his Radio Rentals uniform in a van with radio Rentals on the side ( the up side of this was that it showed all your neighbours that you had a TV in the house). The repairman would come in with his leather case full of tools and a small case of bits and pieces. After a brief inspection of the set he would normally declare that one of the valves had blown. He would dig into his case and produce a brand new valve, fit it and we would be up and running again.  With a cheery wave the repairman would be off saying I’ll see you again in a few weeks. Such faith in the 1950’s valves!

Ahh! These were the days of black and white telly, of one single channel and we were grateful for it. The days when the continuity announcers wore smart suits and dresses during the day and then changed into Dress Suits and Cocktail dresses for the evening links and we all felt that as these announcers came into our own homes they were our special friends! We did not seem to moan about the quality and quantity of the programmes then we just looked forward to them whatever they were.

I must be getting old!!!!

Stay in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk

You Write:

Carl(Fred) writes

Hi Peter, firstly a big thank you for having the diligence to continue with your splendid work with The Manor Court Updates. As I think I have mentioned to you in the past I spend a lot of time in France these days where I still do not have an internet connection, hopefully to be rectified this year when i get back out there, so I am not able to contribute as I would like to do so. however prompted by your most recent addition to the blog I've been fishing out some old photos and bits & bobs which may be of interest. I'm trying to put my hand on a copy of the programme of our production of " Messiah " in which I think I sang bass ( I'm a couple of years younger than you & I think my voice changed soon after we started such that I had to move from the tenor section). I'll know for certain when I find the programme which was signed by John Stephens. I think a lot of us got him to sign our programmes. yes where did the recording disappear to. Oddly, I do not remember there being any adults singing in the production other than the soloists. I was in the 1st year at Court Lane when Trial By Jury was produced & too young to be involved. I had started to learn the violin with Mr Harrison, the start of my life long interest in music. I hadn't realised that " Pirates " had been done by the school before & just after " Trial By Jury ". After John Stephens left a Mr K A Bailey joined the staff to teach music ( I remember his initials as he gave me his copy of a music theory book with his name in it ). Ken was his name. A very quiet soft spoken man with a bit of a hunch back who had great difficulty controlling 3b boys which was my class but we got on just fine as although at the time I was easily influenced by others, as my school reports regularly indicated, music did it for me. During that year I effectively left school to join the Royal Marines Band Service but during the Easter holiday a problem with my medical precluded me from going into any of the armed forces or even the police at the time so it was back to school head down, nose to the grindstone & try & make something of myself. When Ken Bailey left (he went into the church I believe) John Fellowes joined & took over music & things really looked up.  Ray Dopson produced " The Pirates Of Penzance " with John Fellowes looking after the music side. I was the Pirate King (being a bass) but I have a newspaper cutting listing all the principal players which I'll get to you with the other bumph. It was a great production & I was proud to have been part of it. I must say though that every time I listen to "Mesiah" I say to myself " bloody hell that was some achievement " which is why I'm so disappointed that no recording seems to have survived. Ray Dopson lives here on Hayling. I bumped into him a while back & said I would call to see him but had to go back to France but I will make the effort now & enquire as to the recording. 

I think I can put some names to question marks in some of the photos you have used over time but I expect that the gaps have been filled in by others now. Keep up the good work Peter it is appreciated & as soon as I find that programme I'll copy things over to you. Bye 4 now.P.S. I forgot to add that Brian ( Eggy ) Hobbs & Bobby Cummings did make it into the RM Band Service & whilst I never met Eggy again I bumped into Brian in Farlington one day & despite having had a fabulous life on the ocean wave ( including serving in H.M.Y. Britannia ) he was thinking of coming out.

John askes:

This science teacher article has got me thinking, There was a Science Teacher his name I cannot remember but I think it was Dave ******** (something), I believed he lived on the Railway Cottages just inside the Railway Triangle just off the Highbury Estate, if I can recollect he was only a youngish chap but he suddenly dropped dead of a heart attack I believe whilst teaching a science class.

Can anyone shed light on this, it must have happened about 1966/1967 ?  

News and Views:

The jazz legend Kenny Ball died today 7th March of pneumonia he was 81 years old. 

Tina Turner has been granted Swiss citizenship, according to an official notice by the the Kuesnacht city council Friday (January 25). The move still requires approval by state and federal officials but, if granted would mean that the Nutbush, Tennessee native will renounce her American citizenship. She has lived in the Zurich suburb since the mid ‘90s. Said Tina, “I'm very happy in Switzerland and I feel at home here... I cannot imagine a better place to live

On this day 10th March 1960-1965

On 10/03/1960 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 10/03/1961 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 Bootsie & Snudge (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25.The big news story of the day was The Dickie Henderson Show (AR).

On 10/03/1962 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 10/03/1963 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.

10/03/1964 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 10/03/1965 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.