Web Page 2016

11^th January 2014

 Top Picture: The Knife Grinder

Bottom Picture: A pattern for a 1950’s sundress

Firstly welcome to Michele Laviers 

who joins   us this week.

Bits and Pieces

This week’s page will just be a few random ramblings, some memories that have dropped into my mind over the last few weeks and I have not been able to write a complete page on any of them. So we start off with clothing not the fashion of the 1960’s but everyday clothes but not the terrible school cap or beret. With the sun shining a lot this last summer l spent a lot of time in shorts. Please don't scream! But I got to thinking whereas today we readily accept men and women of any age in shorts and sandals (no socks please) but I cannot ever remember seeing my own father or my mother wearing shorts, it was not the done thing! The only time that adult men wore shorts during the days of our youth was when they were in the tropics and then they wore long shorts below the knee, long white socks and white shoes. It must be a generation thing because, thinking back even further, I cannot remember ever seeing my paternal grandfather not wearing a collar and tie and waistcoat and a trilby hat whenever he went outdoors. He died in 1958.     

I expect you all remember the amount of clothes that our fathers wore when, as a family, we spent a day on the beach. Pam tells me that her father would not dream of going onto the beach unless he was properly dressed; a suit or grey flannels, collar and tie, jacket or blazer, a hat and sensible lace up shoes. The only consolation he would make to the holiday spirit would be to unlace his shoes and remove them and his socks, but this would involve not only taking off the socks but removing the sock suspenders as well!!! He also sometimes resorted to the knotted hanky on the head. As for my father I can only ever remember him in a bathing costume one and that was on holiday in Guernsey and my mother never. 

Talking about our mothers, clothes wise they had it a little easier with summer or sun dresses, skirts and blouses, and if it was very warm, the leaving off of stockings and the wearing of a sun hat!  There was never a panic about high factor sun cream and if you got sun burnt Camomile Lotion smothered all over the affected part was the cure! 

One of the other things that I remember from those times is how mother and father would take along their own portable kitchen to make tea on the beach. I say a portable kitchen but it was only a biscuit tin with a lid on it and inside would be a small mentholated spirit stove with camping kettle with a folding handle in it. There they would sit in their deck chairs boiling water and stinking the beach with meths smells. I am tempted here to talk about 1950s bathing costumes but I covered that subject two or three years ago. 

Now onto other things. Who remembers scrumping? All of us, especially the lads, must have bunked into someone's back garden to grab an apple or pear at some time or other. Why I bothered I really cannot imagine as we had a large garden that was rich in apple, plum, damson, pear and cherry trees. Plus there were blackberries, red and white currants and hazel nuts. I need never have gone hungry! I suppose it was the thrill of doing something naughty.  

With all that fruit in the garden, come the summer our larder at home always seemed to be filled with row upon row of jars of home made bottled fruit which would last us all winter. Our next door neighbour had a large brick and concrete air raid shelter in the back garden and come the autumn she used to collect all the apples from her garden, clean them off and then carefully lay them out on the concrete floor of the shelter on newspaper and store them all winter.

Changing the subject entirely, outside our back door we had a concrete step that always came in very handy whenever my father wanted to sharpen the carving knife. In the cutlery draw was a short, bone handled, sharpening steel and I think that no one in the house knew how to use it properly, so the back step was always pressed into service. I wonder how many of you can remember your parents sharpening their knives on their back steps?  This would have to suffice until the knife grinder came round. 

Just a few random jottings as I said at the beginning, are there any odd memories lurking in the back of your brain that you could share with us?

Stay in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

You Write:

News and Views:

Phil Everly, the youngest of The Everly Brothers has died in California from lung disease complications caused by a lifetime of cigarette smoking. He last performed in public in 2011, but had been actively writing songs. The Everly career spanned five decades, although they performed separately from 1973 to 1983. In their heyday between 1957 and 1962, they had 19 top 40 hits. But the two broke up amid quarrelling in 1973 after 16 years of hits, then reunited in 1983. Their break-up came during a concert at Knott's Berry Farm in California. Phil Everly threw his guitar down and walked off stage. During their break-up they pursued solo singing careers.

On this Day 11^th January 1960-1965

On 11/01/1960 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 North by Northwest. 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 price of large eggs cut to 3/- a dozen.

On 11/01/1961 the number one single was Poetry in Motion - Johnny Tillotson and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (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 11/01/1962 the number one single was The Young Ones - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was The Young Ones - Cliff Richard. 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. he big news story of the day was Van Doren guilty in US quiz show fix.

On 11/01/1963 the number one single was The Next Time/Bachelor Boy - Cliff Richard & the Shadows 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 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 11/01/1964 the number one single was Glad All Over - Dave Clark Five 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 11/01/1965 the number one single was Yeh Yeh - Georgie Fame 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.