Web Page 3046 24th February 2023 Victor Silvester First Picture: Victor Silvester

Second Picture: 78 rpm record

Third Picture: Victor Silvester Orchestra

Forth Picture: The Twist

Victor Marlborough Silvester OBE (25 February 1900– 14 August 1978) was an English dancer, writer, musician and bandleader. He was a significant figure in the development of ballroom dance during the first half of the 20th century, and his records sold 75 million copies from the 1930s through to the 1980s He was born the second son of a vicar in Wembley and was educated at Ardingly College, St. John's School, Leatherhead and John Lyon School, Harrow, from all of which he absconded. He claimed that he enlisted in the British Army on 4 September 1916, during the First World War, serving as a private in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, and that he lied about his age to the recruiting authorities, stating this as 20 whereas he was only 16. He supposedly took part in the Battle of Arras, and said he was a member of five execution squads, where deserters were shot. However, the release of his service records in 2000 revealed that he had been discharged from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders as underage on 12 September 1916, after just a week of service. However, he immediately joined the First Aid Services (the Red Cross and St John Ambulance), and served with them in France from 1 October 1916 to June 1917, before transferring to the First British Ambulance Unit For Italy. On 4 September 1917 at Sella di Dol while acting as a stretcher bearer to evacuate wounded Italian servicemen during a heavy bombardment was injured in the leg by a shell burst, but refused medical treatment until the other wounded had been attended to. For his gallantry he was awarded the Italian Bronze Medal of Military Valour. In a letter to parents dated 20 September 1917, his Commandant wrote: "He is certainly one who will be deservedly loved wherever he goes in life, and he is besides made of sterling stuff." After the war he studied at Worcester College, Oxford for a year. He decided to resume a military career when he was offered a place at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, but he quickly decided it was not for him. He also studied music at Trinity College, London, having already had private piano lessons as a child. His interests had turned to dancing. He was one of the first post-war English dancers to feature the full natural turn in the slow waltz. This was a factor in his winning the first World Ballroom Dancing Championship in 1922 with Phyllis Clarke as his partner. He married Dorothy Newton a few days later He competed again in 1924, coming second. he was a founding member of the Ballroom Committee of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing and published the first book embodying the new standards in 1927. He went on to open a dancing academy in London, which eventually developed into a chain of 23 dance studios. By the early 1930s, his teaching had become famous and he had taught some of the top celebrities of the day. He had his own BBC television show through the 1950s, called BBC Dancing Club and was later the President of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. The lack of what he felt were adequate records for dancing led him in 1935 to form his own band, later named Victor Silvester and his Ballroom Orchestra. He insisted his recordings conform precisely to the beats per minute recommended for ballroom dances, In British eyes he became indelibly associated with the catch-phrase "slow, slow, quick-quick-slow". His band always had a distinctive sound, achieved by an unusual line-up including, as well as the usual rhythm section, alto saxophone, a lead solo violin and two pianos, one taking turn in solos and the other maintaining an improvised tinkling continuo in the background throughout every piece. Silvester himself usually did not play (he was a violinist), but stood in front of his orchestra in white tie and tails, conducting with a flourish. He continued to make music for half a century, mostly covering the popular music standards and show tunes, sometimes swing, trad jazz and in latter years, especially from 1971 when the orchestra continued under his son, Victor Silvester Jr, rock and roll, disco and pop. There were other bands led by musicians who were capable of recording in strict time. The best for ballroom competitions was probably Joe Loss, who had an even longer musical career. He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1957 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the BBC Television Theatre. Victor Silvester was appointed OBE in 1961. He died while on holiday in the south of France at the age of 78. The orchestra remained in existence under his son's direction until the 1990. Victor, his wife and son are memorialised at Golders Green Crematorium, London. Stay in Touch Peter gsseditor@gmail.com

Web Page 3044 17th February 2023 Lionel Blair First Picture: Publicity Picture

Second Picture: Lionel and his wife

Third Picture: Lionel in his early tv days

Forth Picture: Wedding picture with Bernie Winters

Lionel Blair was born Henry Lionel Ogus on12th December 1928 and was a Canadian-born British actor, choreographer, tap dancer, and television presenter. From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, he made regular appearances as a dancer and entertainer on British television. He also presented the quiz programme Name That Tune, and was a team captain on the televised charades gameshow Give Us a Clue. Henry Lionel Ogus was born in Montreal to Jewish parents, Myer Ogus and Debora "Della" Greenbaum. His father, a barber, emigrated from Russia to Canada to start a new life, and his wife joined him shortly afterwards. Lionel Blair came to Britain when he was two years old, and the family settled at Stamford Hill in north London, where his father continued to work as a barber. Although his parents were Jewish they were not orthodox; they would eat chicken on a Friday night, but also ate bacon. Due to the anti-semitism of the time, his father changed the family name to Blair. Lionel’s first public performances were with his sister Joyce (1932–2006) in the Manor House station air raid shelters and on the trains of the Piccadilly line during the air raids of the Second World War. During the Blitz, mother and children were evacuated to Oxford, but when they saw a German plane crash from the back garden, the family decided they might as well be in London. When Blair was thirteen, his father died after what should have been a routine operation on an ulcer. After this, Blair became the breadwinner for the family and took to the stage. He started out with girlish parts, as his voice had not yet broken. He was singled out in several reviews for his performance as one of the children in a touring performance of the play Watch on the Rhine during 1943, and attended the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford in 1944. In 1946, he joined a touring company called the Savoy Players. He rekindled his passion for musical theatre and began working in the West End. He gave up acting for dancing in 1947, although he subsequently appeared in a national tour of Who Killed Agatha Christie. He took his stage name around this time later changing it by deed poll just before he married in 1967; his sister also decided to use the same surname professionally Before his break into television, he had played the juvenile lead in The Five Past Eight Show at the Alhambra Theatre, Glasgow, where he played straight man to many Scottish comedians, including Jimmy Logan. By the mid-1950s he was choreographing shows at the Alhambra which were considered stylish and were hugely popular. He came to the fore in the 1960s when, with his dance troupe, he appeared on television variety programmes. He also appeared in the films The Limping Man (1953), The World of Suzie Wong (1960), The Cool Mikado (1963), The Beauty Jungle (1964), A Hard Day's Night (1964), Maroc 7 (1967) and Absolute Beginners (1986), cameoed in an episode of The Persuaders!, and appeared in television comedy, including the short film, The Plank. In addition, he choreographed films such as Jazz Boat (1960), in which he made an uncredited appearance, and The Magic Christian (1969). He appeared in Miss World 1969 and 1970 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He was one of the team captains on the game show Give Us a Clue from 1979 until the early 1990s, and was the second presenter of the British version of Name That Tune in the 1980s. In 1980, he made a small contribution to the children's music album Captain Beaky and His Band. In 1983, he appeared as the celebrity dart player for charity on Bullseye. He published his autobiography Stagestruck in 1985. In 2005, he took part in the Channel Five reality series, The Farm. Until 2005, he appeared extensively in pantomime, for which he earned up to £15,000 a week. In 2003, he released his first full-length album as a singer, in a tribute to Fred Astaire titled Blair Sings Astaire. He continued to work as an actor, having filmed an episode of BBC One's medical soap opera Doctors in 2014. He appeared in the British short film Evil's Evil Cousin in 2016. On 14 December that year, he guested on the ITV panel show, Loose Women, to announce and celebrate his recent 88th birthday. The panellists presented him with a personalised cake. In 2017, He was one of the celebrities appearing in the second series of the BBC reality series The Real Marigold Hotel. In 2018, he joined 26 other celebrities at Metropolis Studios, to perform an original Christmas song called "Rock with Rudolph. The song was recorded in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital In 2019, he was named "Oldie of the Year" at the annual awards promoted by The Oldie magazine. He always found working on pantomime particularly lucrative and reported that he could earn £100,000 for a six-week run. He married Susan Davis at Kensington Register Office on 21 March 1967, with Bernie Winters as best man. They had three children and three grandchildren and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on 21 March 2017. The couple lived in Banstead, Surrey. On 21 September 2006, he and comedian Alan Carr helped save a man about to fall from a pier in Blackpool. The man was holding on by his fingers.[36] Lionel Blair died on the morning of 4 November 2021, at the age of 92. Stay in Touch Peter gsseditor@gmail.com Forth Picture: Wedding picture with Bernie Winters Lionel Blair was born Henry Lionel Ogus on12th December 1928 and was a Canadian-born British actor, choreographer, tap dancer, and television presenter. From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, he made regular appearances as a dancer and entertainer on British television. He also presented the quiz programme Name That Tune, and was a team captain on the televised charades gameshow Give Us a Clue. Henry Lionel Ogus was born in Montreal to Jewish parents, Myer Ogus and Debora "Della" Greenbaum. His father, a barber, emigrated from Russia to Canada to start a new life, and his wife joined him shortly afterwards. Lionel Blair came to Britain when he was two years old, and the family settled at Stamford Hill in north London, where his father continued to work as a barber. Although his parents were Jewish they were not orthodox; they would eat chicken on a Friday night, but also ate bacon. Due to the anti-semitism of the time, his father changed the family name to Blair. Lionel’s first public performances were with his sister Joyce (1932–2006) in the Manor House station air raid shelters and on the trains of the Piccadilly line during the air raids of the Second World War. During the Blitz, mother and children were evacuated to Oxford, but when they saw a German plane crash from the back garden, the family decided they might as well be in London. When Blair was thirteen, his father died after what should have been a routine operation on an ulcer. After this, Blair became the breadwinner for the family and took to the stage. He started out with girlish parts, as his voice had not yet broken. He was singled out in several reviews for his performance as one of the children in a touring performance of the play Watch on the Rhine during 1943, and attended the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford in 1944. In 1946, he joined a touring company called the Savoy Players. He rekindled his passion for musical theatre and began working in the West End. He gave up acting for dancing in 1947, although he subsequently appeared in a national tour of Who Killed Agatha Christie. He took his stage name around this time later changing it by deed poll just before he married in 1967; his sister also decided to use the same surname professionally Before his break into television, he had played the juvenile lead in The Five Past Eight Show at the Alhambra Theatre, Glasgow, where he played straight man to many Scottish comedians, including Jimmy Logan. By the mid-1950s he was choreographing shows at the Alhambra which were considered stylish and were hugely popular. He came to the fore in the 1960s when, with his dance troupe, he appeared on television variety programmes. He also appeared in the films The Limping Man (1953), The World of Suzie Wong (1960), The Cool Mikado (1963), The Beauty Jungle (1964), A Hard Day's Night (1964), Maroc 7 (1967) and Absolute Beginners (1986), cameoed in an episode of The Persuaders!, and appeared in television comedy, including the short film, The Plank. In addition, he choreographed films such as Jazz Boat (1960), in which he made an uncredited appearance, and The Magic Christian (1969). He appeared in Miss World 1969 and 1970 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He was one of the team captains on the game show Give Us a Clue from 1979 until the early 1990s, and was the second presenter of the British version of Name That Tune in the 1980s. In 1980, he made a small contribution to the children's music album Captain Beaky and His Band. In 1983, he appeared as the celebrity dart player for charity on Bullseye. He published his autobiography Stagestruck in 1985. In 2005, he took part in the Channel Five reality series, The Farm. Until 2005, he appeared extensively in pantomime, for which he earned up to £15,000 a week. In 2003, he released his first full-length album as a singer, in a tribute to Fred Astaire titled Blair Sings Astaire. He continued to work as an actor, having filmed an episode of BBC One's medical soap opera Doctors in 2014. He appeared in the British short film Evil's Evil Cousin in 2016. On 14 December that year, he guested on the ITV panel show, Loose Women, to announce and celebrate his recent 88th birthday. The panellists presented him with a personalised cake. In 2017, He was one of the celebrities appearing in the second series of the BBC reality series The Real Marigold Hotel. In 2018, he joined 26 other celebrities at Metropolis Studios, to perform an original Christmas song called "Rock with Rudolph. The song was recorded in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital In 2019, he was named "Oldie of the Year" at the annual awards promoted by The Oldie magazine. He always found working on pantomime particularly lucrative and reported that he could earn £100,000 for a six-week run. He married Susan Davis at Kensington Register Office on 21 March 1967, with Bernie Winters as best man. They had three children and three grandchildren and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on 21 March 2017. The couple lived in Banstead, Surrey. On 21 September 2006, he and comedian Alan Carr helped save a man about to fall from a pier in Blackpool. The man was holding on by his fingers.[36] Lionel Blair died on the morning of 4 November 2021, at the age of 92. Stay in Touch Peter gsseditor@gmail.com

Web Page 3042 10th February 2023 Cremola Foam First Picture: Drums of Cremola Foam

Second Picture: Cremola mug

Third Picture: Cremola advert

In 2005, Allan McCandlish of Cardross started producing a re-creation of Creamola Foam under the name ‘Kramola Fizz’. In April 2019, his daughter Agnes and son Andrew of McCandlish Farmhouse Confectionery relaunched the product under its original name of Creamola Foam (registered trademark) and is now available on the shelves again in Scotland as well as worldwide. Creamola Foam came in the form of coloured crystals which were dissolved in cold water to form a sweet, fizzy drink. It was packaged in a small tin labelled with a cartoon girl and boy drinking with straws. The drink originally came in raspberry, orange, and lemon flavours; and cola was a later addition to the range. The product was originally owned by Rowntrees before coming under the banner of Nestle UK until being sold off to Premier Foods. The relaunched Creamola Foam drink now comes in 17 different flavours, including the original flavours which are Raspberry, Orange, Lemon, and Cola. The original packaging consisted of a small tin with a tight metal lid, normally pried off with a teaspoon. A paper seal covered the foam crystals. The packaging included the phrases: • "CREAMOLA FOAM CRYSTALS" • "MAKES 10 BIG DRINKS" • "FULLY SWEETENED" The original ingredient list read: • Sugar • Fruit acids • Sodium bicarbonate • Gum acacia, a thickener/stabiliser • Saccharin • Saponin, a foaming agent • flavouring • colour A revision was introduced in the 1980s featured a plastic lid and modernised branding. The label reads, "Creamola FOAM". The ingredients were: • Sugar • Citric acid • Sodium bicarbonate • Tartaric acid • Flavoring • Saccharin, sweetener • Gum acacia, stabiliser • Extract of quillaia, a foaming agent • Carmine, food coloring agent (in this example, raspberry flavor) The effervescence, when the powder dissolves as it is stirred into water, is due to the reaction of the citric and tartaric acids with sodium bicarbonate, forming carbon dioxide gas. These weak organic "fruit" acids also provide a sharp taste. The addition of stabiliser and saponaceous foaming agents extends the life of the bubbles. The artificial colouring and flavouring, plus the fruit acids, give the impression of a fruity base, although the recipe is essentially synthetic. Stay in Touch Peter gsseditor@gmail.com

Web Page 3040 5th February 2023 Eli Woods First Picture: Eli Woods

Second Picture: Jimmy James

Third Picture: Roy Castle, Jimmy James and Eli Woods

Eli Woods was born John Casey on the 11th January 1923 comic actor, who was born in Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham and, possibly best known for his work with stage comedian Jimmy James (who in reality his uncle), and particularly for his part in the famous 'elephant-in-the-box' routine. He made his first professional appearance on the stage of the Hippodrome Theatre in Aldershot in Hampshire. Jimmy James developed his famous act over many years, but from the first it required two 'stooges'. One was John "Jack" Casey—tall and stick-thin, with a bony face and a stammering delivery—who originally appeared as "Bretton Woods" (named after the location of the famous 1944 United Nations monetary and financial Conference), and only later redubbed as "Eli" Woods (often "Our Eli"). The other stooge, 'Hutton Conyers' would be played either by members of the Casey family - including, on occasion, James Casey - or (from 1956 to 1959) by Roy Castle. Much later, Eli Woods was in the support cast of Castles in the Air, a comedy series that was on BBC Radio 2. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Eli Woods featured in three Eddie Braben scripted comedy shows: The Worst Show on the Wireless (20 episodes, 1973 -75) The Show With Ten Legs (26 episodes, 1978–80) and The Show with No Name (13 episodes, 1982–84). Both shows harked back to the UK’s music hall tradition. As a performer, Eli Woods turned his lifelong stutter to his advantage, using it to comic effect in many contexts. For many years he was active as a stage and radio performer, he also appeared in a number of television comedies, as well as playing small parts in a variety of films including A Private Function released in 1984. The apex of his career (in terms of recognition) was appearing in a comedy sketch (the elephant in a box routine) with James Casey and Roy Castle in the 1982 Royal Variety Performance in which they also sing Kisses Sweeter than Wine. Although Eli Woods's birth name was John Casey, he was always better known to his family as Jack. He died at home in Stockton-on-Tees in the early hours of Thursday 1st May 2014, aged 91 Stay in Touch Peter gsseditor@gmail.com