Web Page No 2738

 

6^th December 2020

 

1^st Picture: Eric Sykes and Tommy Cooper

2^nd Picture: Jimmy Edwards as a policeman

3^rd Picture: Roy Castle in a dust cart

4^th Picture:  The destination for The Plank

 

The Plank

 

Do you remember the film called The Plank?  It was fifty minute  classic British slapstick comedy film made for television in 1967 by Associated London Films. It follows the misadventures of two builders who require a single floorboard to complete a job after one of the characters uses the last floorboard for heating in a brazier, so  the two hapless carpenters, played by Eric Sykes and Tommy Cooper  have to buy a replacement. They return to the house with the plank on top of a Morris Eight, but the journey is fraught with unexpected difficulties.

The film is a series of "plank jokes" elaborating on the "man with a plank" slapstick routine seen for many years on the Music Halls and silent films, and adding a few new visual jokes. For instance, at one point the plank is tied to the top of the car and projects backward into the open back of a large van. A man (played by Roy Castle) enters the back of the van and sits down. The van drives away, leaving him suspended in mid-air sitting on the end of the plank.

The story was based on an episode of Eric Sykes' BBC comedy series Sykes and a... from 1964, called "Sykes and A Plank". Although not strictly a silent film, it is unusual in having little dialogue; instead, the film is punctuated by grunts, other vocal noises and sound effects.

The cast features many of the top comedians and comic actors of the time.

·         Eric Sykes as the Smaller Workman

·         Tommy Cooper as the Larger Workman

·         Jimmy Edwards as Policeman

·         Roy Castle as the Delivery Man

·         Jimmy Tarbuck as the Barman

·         John Junkin as the Van Driver with the Eye Patch

·         Bill Oddie as the Window Cleaner

·         Stratford Johns as the Station Sergeant

·         Graham Stark as the Amorous Van Driver

·         Jim Dale as the House Painter

·         Hattie Jacques as the Woman with the Rose

·         Libby Morris as the Tourist's wife

·         Johnny Speight the Pipe Smoker in Bus Queue

·         Kenny Lynch as the Dustbin Lorry Driver

·         Dermot Kelly as the Milkman

·         Joanna Lumley as Hitchhiker

·         Derek Guyler

·         Arthur Lowe

·         Diana Dors

·           Harry H. Corbett

·           Charles Hawtrey

·           James Hunt

·           Kate O'Mara

·           Ann Sidney

·           Frank Windsor

A real whose who in the entertainment world. The timber yard entrance scenes were filmed in Delamere Road Hayes, the yard itself was in Ashburnham Road on the corner with Willow Bank, Ham near Richmond and the internal scenes filmed inside number 13 Elstow Avenue in Reading.

However the real star of the show was The Plank and this sold at auction after filming was complete for £1600.

The film was remade in 1979 in a truncated version lasting only thirty minutes This version won the prize at the 1980 Festival Rose d'Or, held in Montreux, Switzerland.

Stay in touch

 

Peter

 

gsseditor@gmail.com

 

Griff Writes:

 

Reading Peter's article on washing lines got me thinking. My Mum never owned a washing machine in her lifetime. Not ever.  Come to think about it even more I have absolutely no idea why she didn't have one.

I do know that my Sister use to take her bed sheets etc. and wash and iron those for her in her later life.

Rotary lines for me rather than the straight washing line ones with the obligatory large support pole.

I wonder who came up with the idea for rotary washing lines in the first place?

 

 

Peter writes; Neither did my mum

 

 

News and Views:

 

On this day 6^th December 1960-1965

On 06/12/1960 the number one single was It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Armchair Theatre (ABC) 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.

 

06/12/1961 the number one single was Tower of Strength - Frankie Vaughan The top rated TV show was "Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmatians. 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 Sunday Night at the London Palladium.

 

06/12/1962 the number one single was Lovesick Blues - Frank Ifield and the number one album was On Stage with the Black & White Minstrels - George Mitchell Minstrels. 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 06/12/1963 the number one single was She Loves You - The Beatles 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 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 06/12/1964 the number one single was Little Red Rooster - Rolling Stones 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.The big news story of the day was Poet Edith Sitwell dies

 

On 06/12/1965 the number one single was The Carnival is Over - Seekers 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 Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

 

 

 

 

 

Web Page No 2736

 

29^th November 2020

 

1^st Picture: Washing Line quandary

2^nd Picture: White and coloured washing separated

3rd Picture: Washing Line prop

4^th Picture:  Washing Line in Venice

 

 

Washing Line Rules.

 

These are some of the rules that our mothers swore by:-

 

The clothes line must always be wiped with a clean cloth to wipe any muck, soot or bird droppings off before any clothes could be hung up. This was done by walking the length of the line with the cloth in hand.

 

Woolen socks must always be hung on the line by their toes never the tops.

 

Trousers must always be hung by the turn up end never by the waistband.

 

Always make sure that towels and sheets are hung on the line so that they hide your ‘unmentionables’.

 

Clothes must always be hung in order and not mixed. Whites should hang with whites and hung first and then coloured items with other coloured items.

 

Men’s shirts must always be hung by the shirt tail and never by the shoulders.

 

For economy always line up your clothes line so that each item shares at least one clothes peg with another.

 

Never put washing out when there is a frost as it will just freeze and not dry.

 

Conversely some mothers claimed that putting clothes out in frosty weather killed all the germs.

 

Always use a clothes line prop to keep large items off of the ground.

Wash Day was Monday, never hang out washing over the weekend.

 

Pegs must always be gathered up and taken in doors when the washing was taken in, they should never be left out on the line.

 

The best dolly pegs were bought from the door to door women gypsy seller.

 

Clothes off the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes basket and ready to be ironed. Now ironing is another totally different subject.

 

 

 

A clothesline was a news forecast,

To neighbours passing by,

There were no secrets you could keep,

When clothes were hung to dry.

 

It also was a friendly link,

For neighbours always knew

If company had stopped on by,

To spend a night or two.

 

For then you’d see the “fancy sheets”,

And towels upon the line;

You’d see the “company table cloths”,

With intricate designs.

 

The line announced a baby’s birth,

From folks who lived inside,

As brand new infant clothes were hung,

So carefully with pride!

 

The ages of the children could,

So readily be known

By watching how the sizes changed,

You’d know how much they’d grown!

 

It also told when illness struck,

As extra sheets were hung;

Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe too,

Haphazardly were strung.

 

It also said, “On holiday now”,

When lines hung limp and bare.

It told, “We’re back!” when full lines sagged,

With not an inch to spare!

 

New folks in town were scorned upon,

If wash was dingy and grey,

As neighbours carefully raised their brows,

And looked the other way.

 

But clotheslines now are of the past,

For dryers make work much less.

Now what goes on inside a home,

Is anybody’s guess!

 

I really miss that way of life,

It was a friendly sign

When neighbours knew each other best…

By what hung out on that line !

Peter

 

gsseditor@gmail.com

 

You Write:

 

News and Views:

 

 

On this day 29th November 1960-1965

On 29/11/1960 the number one single was It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) 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 29/11/1961 the number one single was Little Sister/His Latest Flame - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Ipswich Town. The top rated TV show was "Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £not very interesting and 13.25 were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV)".

 

On 29/11/1962 the number one single was Lovesick Blues - Frank Ifield and the number one album was Out of the Shadows - Shadows. 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 29/11/1963 the number one single was She Loves 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 Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Cape Canaveral renamed Cape Kennedy.

 

On 29/11/1964 the number one single was Baby Love - Supremes 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 29/11/1965 the number one single was The Carnival is Over - Seekers and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Take Your Pick (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.