Web Page 2086

7^th September 2014

Top Picture: Secret 7 Adventure books

Second Picture: Granny’s favourite 4711

Third Picture: 54321

Forth Picture: A ‘99’ Cone

Numbers

Whilst talking to a friend recently we got to discuss the significance of numbers to our lives when we were teenagers, numbers seemed to be everywhere. So let’s take a look at some of the common numbers in use at the time and see how many you can remember. (nb. these items are in no special order).

Starting with books we were all very aware of Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven and the Famous Five with all those titles involving the many adventures that featured in those books complete with lashings of ginger beer (although this phrase was never used in the books, just the film and TV versions). We all remember those books but who remembers Fry’s Five Boys Chocolate? The wrapper had five little boys on it each with a caption, they were Depression, Pacification, Expectation, Acclamation and Realisation that it’s Fry’s. All this could be washed down with bottles of 7up.

Grandmother would wear the 4711 toilet water and this would always be an easy birthday or Christmas present, not much thought required here.

Tobacco was another area where numbers predominated; Players No. 6, Benson and Hedges 555, A1 rolling tobacco, 4 Square pipe tobacco and Churchmans No1.

In Pop music first there was the 6.5 Special then the Fab Four and we cannot forget 54321 by Manfred Mann, 76 trombones from the Music Man, Love Potion Number 9 by practically every R&B band as was Route 66. Plus Seven Little Girls sitting in the Back Seat, Only 16 by Sam Cooke, 123 by Len Barry, Take 5 by Dave Brubeck and 8 days a Week by the Beatles Some of the bands were Unit Four + 2, the Temperance Seven, the John Barry 7 there were the Four tops, the Three Degrees, the Jackson 5 and the Four Aces. The Dave Clark Five,

Friday 13th was always regarded as a bad luck day but it was the only day I was top of the class (strange that!). Films featured the Magnificent 7, 1 Million Years BC, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The 7 year Itch, 101 Dalmatians and of course Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

We were encouraged to read Three men in a Boat or the Three Musketeers, or maybe we just watched 77 Sunset Strip with Ephram Zimbalist Jr !!! But by this time we were too old for Four Feather Falls, Joe 90 and Fireball XL5.

TV programmes featured Emergency Ward 10, Police 5 and Three of a kind. Food and drink were not exempt with Heinz 57 and VAT 69.

Before we had cars we relied on buses the 31 travelled to Brighton (I believe that took nearly all day to get there) or the 147 to the Dockyard gate.

And if we are really pushing the envelope we could include Hancocks Half Hour!

But think about it the whole era in which we grew up was named after numbers, the 60’s and the Prisoner was not a number he was a free man and the new Mini was still known as the Austin Seven! There was also the Austin A35 and A 40.

Still that is enough otherwise I will start talking about the marks out of ten we got for our homework at school so I think I will go and sit down and get myself a nice ice cream, preferably a  ‘99’. Then I can sit here dreaming of a 36-24-36 !!!!

  

 Stay in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

You Write:

News and Views:

On this Day 7^th September 1960-1965

On 07/07/1960 the number one single was Apache - The Shadows and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 07/07/1961 the number one single was Johnny Remember Me - John Leyton 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 One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Charles de Gaulle escapes assasination attempt

On 07/07/1962 the number one single was I Remember You - Frank Ifield and the number one album was Pot Luck - 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 07/07/1963 the number one single was Bad to Me - Billy J Kramer 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 Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 07/07/1964 the number one single was Bad to Me - Billy J Kramer 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 Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 07/07/1965 the number one single was (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Rolling Stones and the number one album was Help - 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 Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.