Web Page No 2498

5th August 2018

1^st Picture. Door Curtain

2nd Picture. Wallpaper Frieze ready to be trimmed

3^rd Picture. The Snug at the Rovers Return

4^th Picture. Velocette Police Bike

Another of those do you remember pages.

Things you only know if you grew up in the 1960s!

Now here are some things you only know if you grew up in the 1960s!

Most households didn’t have a freezer, so going out and buying a waxed cardboard carton or tub of ice cream from the van in the street was extra special.

While everyone else was mad for the Rolling Stones, maybe you preferred Cliff Richard, Tommy Steele or Elvis.

The summers were long and glorious, the sun always shone and there were very rarely wet days during the school holidays. But, with no central heating and even with curtains across the doors the winters were FREEZING.

DIY was in its infancy and when Dad bought wall paper it came in untrimmed rolls so the first thing to do after cutting the piece to length was to carefully trim each edge, with a steady hand. Then there was always a frieze to go around the top and this too had to be trimmed although later on these came with perforated edges which had to be carefully torn round. No ready glued wallpaper in those days and only white distemper for the ceiling and the walls of the larder.

You were an expert at hula hooping, manipulating the Yoyo not to mention doing the twist.

Food was seasonal. Hot cross buns had to be preordered and were only eaten on Good Friday. In some households the dish of the day on Good Friday was always salt fish.

Your mum bought fresh fish and prawns from Macfisheries or Sidney Slape’s.

Your corner shop favourites were Spangles, Marathon bars, Fry’s Chocolate Cream, Caramacs or sugar mice plus also liquorice sticks and bootlaces .

You grew quickly bored of your Slinky, but loved your clackers, cat's cradle, marbles and model cars and Airfix Kits.

The Woodentops, Noggin the Nog and Lord Sooty were some of your best pals.

Heinz Baked Beans or fish fingers were your favourite teas and sometimes tinned spaghetti on toast.

You still remember Minnie Cauldwell, Ena Sharples and Martha Longhurst in Coronation Street.

You longed for a Sindy doll, and if you were lucky enough to get hold of one, you spent hours knitting and stitching little outfits for her. Otherwise you spent your time making gonks.

You could tell if someone had been drinking Tizer from the colour of their tongue. No one had ever heard of Iron Bru!

Your parents hardly ever went out for a meal in the evening.

The World Cup we won!

You were always outside whether riding your bike, playing hopscotch or jacks, skipping, calling for your friends or jumping from the highest point of the swing (hoping your mum didn’t catch you). Exploring Portsdown Hill or Farlington Marshes, playing on the rec  and braving the spookiness of Flint House were also favourite pastimes.

We were proud of our wooden pencil boxes with the sliding tops.

We remember the start of ITV,

Garages sold Regent, Cleveland and National Benzole petrol as well as Esso, BP and Shell, plus Reddex upper cylinder lubricant, the order four gallons and four shots was often heard in petrol stations.

You could spot many different makes of British motor bikes on the road, Royal Enfield, Triumph, BSA, Francis Barnett, Sun, James, AJS, Matchless, Velocette (especially the Police Bike) and Vincent to name just a few.

In 1967 Evel Knievel attempted to jump the fountain at Caesar’s Palace casino in Las Vegas on a Triumph Bonneville. The jump failed and he broke over 40 bones in his body. He never attempted that jump again. Just 15 years after this jump attempt Triumph’s Meriden factory in the West Midlands closed its doors for the last time.

Some other things and events from the 1960s

1961 - First man in space First human space flight to orbit the Earth: Yuri Gagarin, Vostok 1.

1969 - First humans to walk on the Moon

1960 Population of Britain was about 53 million

1960 World's population was just over 3 billion.

The average house price was £2,530

Loaf of bread 5p

A season ticket to see Manchester United cost £8.50.

People could buy sliced bread.

Plastic buckets could now be bought.

The audio cassette invented.

BBC 2 went on air in 1964 and was the first channel to have colour in 1967.

1967 First heart transplantation operation.

New cars of the 60s included the Capri (1961), Consul Cortina ( 1963) and Ford Escort (1968), which replaced the Anglia.

Keep in touch

Yours

Peter

gsseditor@gmail.com

You Write:

Mary Writes:

When you did the article on Billy Cotton, that brought back some happy memories. As a family we always watched his show. When I started my first job at St Marys Hospital we were sometimes given free tickets were shows and dances. I had 2 tickets for the Billy Cotton Bandshow at the Kings Theatre. Off we went and I must say it was great. He was a wonderful entertainer. He threw paper balls out to the stalls and we threw them back at him. My husband to be threw one at Billy which knocked his hat off. There was a lot of clapping and cheering and a happy atmosphere. 

News and Views:

On this day 5^th August 1960-1965.

On 05/08/1960 the number one single was Shakin' All Over - Johnny Kidd & the Pirates 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 Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Castro nationalises all US property.

On 05/08/1961 the number one single was Well I Ask You - Eden Kane and the number one album was Black & White Minstrel Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Top Secret (AR) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 05/08/1962 the number one single was I Remember You - Frank Ifield 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 05/08/1963 the number one single was (You're the) Devil In Disguise - Elvis Presley 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.The big news story of the day was Fears over Washington Freedom March.

On 05/08/1964 the number one single was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - 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 Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 05/08/1965 the number one single was Help - The Beatles and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Riviera Police (AR) 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.