WEB PAGE NO 848

FIRST PICTURE

: Who remembers The Ship In in Cosham High Street? As far as I can remember this was not a pub I ever ventured into!!!

SECOND PICTURE

: Sorry about the size of the picture but it is the only one I have showing the Paulsgrove area before the estate was built.

The Electric Guitar

Have you thought where would Rock ‘n’ Roll have been without the electric guitar? And what is the history of this form of guitar any rate!

The amazing popularity of the guitar over the last 50+ years is really nothing new because guitars (the word deriving from the Greek instrument the kythara) and guitar-like instruments date as far back as 2500 BC. The guitar as we know it today has its roots in Spain, where by the 19th century it was respected as a proper classical instrument rather than the 'tavern instrument' as it became known as by the rest of Europe. After a time larger far more resonant guitars were developed to meet the demands of the concert hall, and after a time it was these type of instruments that became the favoured by the growing blues and folk movements.

In 1931 George Beauchamp together with the engineer Adolph Rickenbacker invented the electric guitar by attaching a magnetic pickup to the guitar's body. It made a new sound but there were still problems - this new electrified guitar produced literally mountains of noisy, unpleasant feedback due to its hollow body; so in the late 1940’s Les Paul, a Chicago jazz musician, who sadly passed away last year, and Leo Fender, a Californian inventor both independently developed their own solid-body guitars, and in so doing revolutionising and popularising the instrument.

Les Paul (whose first solid-body guitar, which he called the Log, was created from a 4x4 plank of wood) would go on to work with the Gibson guitar manufacturers, while Fender founded the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company to mass-produce his new guitar the Broadcaster which he renamed the Telecaster.

With the invention of the solid body, it no longer mattered how a guitar was shaped - the sound would remain the same, a fact that led to some very odd designs and creations over the years.

But five of the classic electric guitars have to be these I have listed below:-

The Fender Telecaster, 1950. The Telecaster was the first mass-produced electric guitar, with a simple design that made it light, cheap and easy to repair or modify it soon became very popular. Though superceded by Fender's Stratocaster a few years later, the Telecaster still has a massive fan base even today owing to its unique twangy, bright sound.

The Fender Precision Bass, 1951. This was the first mass-produced bass guitar, the Precision gradually replaced the cumbersome double bass from the classical or jazz worlds, whose sound was being drowned out by the amplified guitars that Fender had released a year earlier. The Precision, with its clean, focused tone, remains popular among professionals and amateurs, and has been used by almost every great bassist with two notable exceptions: Paul McCartney, who played a Rickenbacker, and John Entwistle, who played the harder Fender Jazz Bass.

The Gibson Les Paul, 1952. Ostensibly a collaboration between the Gibson Guitar Corporation of Nashville, Tennessee and legendary inventor Les Paul (although the Gibson company claim that Les Paul's only contribution was limited to choosing the gold colour for the first instruments), the ‘Les Paul’ was designed as a classier, more upmarket alternative to the popular Telecaster.

The Fender Stratocaster, 1954. This has to be the world's best selling and most copied guitar in the World. The Strat, as it is known, was created after complaints that Fender's Telecaster was uncomfortable to hold and play. It was on this model that the first vibrato arm and the new curvy, lightweight design were introduced, but the most important change was technical and this was the addition of an extra - third - pickup, which gave a new versatility to the guitar's sound.

The Rickenbacker 300 Series, 1958. Adolph Rickenbacker, inventor of the electric guitar in 1931, introduced the Capri series - later known as the 300 series - to compete with Fender and Gibson for the attentions of the new rock 'n' roll musicians. It worked: the guitars' distinctive sound became synonymous with the Sixties and I am sure you have seen hundreds of pictures of player holding one, even though you did not recognize it.

Well I tried but never mastered the guitar, how about you? Are there any closet Hank Marvin’s out there?

Take care

Yours

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.com

You Write:

Tina Writes: I was just catching up on your blog when the picture of Drayton Institute hall reminded me that my mother and father used to run old time dance evenings there. Every Tuesday evening I used to go with them, up until I was about 16, then going out with friends took over. I wonder if anyone remembers if their mum and dad used to go. I don't remember for sure but I think they had to give it up in 1966/67.

News and Views:

Paul McCartney tour bus was reportedly threatened by gangs after his Mexico City concert in May 28. Security called police and the thugs scattered when they heard the sirens.
On this day 24th June 1960-1965
On 24/06/1960 the number one single was Three Steps to Heaven - Eddie Cochran and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) 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.
On 24/06/1961 the number one single was Surrender - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) 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 24/06/1962 the number one single was Good Luck Charm - Elvis Presley 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 24/06/1963 the number one single was I Like It - Gerry & the Pacemakers 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 24/06/1964 the number one single was You're My World - Cilla Black and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. 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 Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 24/06/1965 the number one single was I'm Alive - Hollies 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 Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page No 846

Top Picture:

Demolished over forty years ago Widley Street on the north side of the Havant Road at Coham stands abandoned ready for the bulldozers.

Bottom Picture:

Did your front room look like this at home? I know that there are some elements of the picture I recognise.

Fields, Circus’ and Chimneys.

I was passing the King George V playing fields the other evening and I started to remember firstly the estate of prefabs that sprung up there during the war (I don’t remember them being built!!!) and then I remembered standing by the playing fields in June 1953 as the Queen drove by on her Coronation tour. I vaguely remember that when the prefabs were flattened the area was turned into a rubbish tip for a while as some of the bomb holes etc were filled in; this resulted in the whole area being flattened by tractors with its attendant flock of seagulls. Of course after this the area was flattened to provide the playing fields and later, in the southwest corner, the building for the use of the Income Tax Offices, Lynx House. At least once the circus came to town and set up the Big Top on the field. Billy Smarts Circus actually paraded through Cosham High street all the way to the field and the lasting memory of this was the line of elephants all holding the one in fronts tail and ‘the Gov’ner’ riding along in a flash, white, open topped American car. The following day I was taken to see the Menagerie tent where one of the elephants trumpeted and scared me to death.

One of the things from the days of coal and coke fires that are almost a distant memory are those dreaded Chimney fires. One could smell the distinctive smell of burning soot streets away and it was a well known phrase to see someone sniff and then hear them say “someone’s got a chimney fire”. A chimney fire is definitely something that a householder did not want, not only because of the mess it made in the grate, on the hearth rug and the carpet BUT if the fire brigade were called and they attended, they doused the flames with a hose pipe up the chimney making even more mess. On top of all this they then would send the home owner a bill for attending. I can only ever remember us having one chimney fire at home which was promptly dealt with by my father who quickly marshalled us all out of the room and then stuffed wet sacks (where did they come from?) up the chimney to cut off the air supply and successfully putting out the fire and reducing the amount of mess that followed. These days of open fires certainly made sure that our parents either swept the chimney regularly themselves or, as they put it, ‘get the sweep in’.

My folks never attempted to sweep the chimney themselves as some parents did, they always relied on a man in a sooty black van and a large vacuum cleaner type machine and a set of brushes. We always knew when the sweep was coming as mother always pushed all the movable furniture as far away from the grate as possible and then covered everything she could with, dust sheets, old curtains, old sheets and the like. I remember it was a fascination for us kids to see the way he sealed the hearth and then started pushing rods up the chimney and asking us to go outside and let him know when the brush came out of the chimney pot. It never dawned on us that this was a ploy just to keep us out of the way, he must have known when the brush was clear through the change in resistance he felt in the chimney, but as I said, it kept us out of the way. But we were pleased to do it because, especially in December, because this meant that Father Christmas had a nice clean chimney to come down. When the chimney sweep had finished I often wondered, as he made his way back to his van with his bag of soot, what did he do with all the soot he collected?

I also remember something called a Chimney Imp which was a very volatile product that was supposed to burn off the soot within the chimney, but I know my father never trusted this and so never used it.

This talk of open fires opens up a completely new area of memory. The coalman, cutting fire wood to light the fire, making spills out of newspaper etc but I have dealt with all of these subjects on earlier in earlier postings.



Ah well back to today,

Keep in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk

You Write:

Nothing this week!

News and Views:

Engelbert Humperdinck was inducted into the Walk of Fame in Leicester, on Sunday April 25th.

On this day 18th June 1960-1965.

On 18/06/1960 the number one single was Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers 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 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 Arnold Palmer wins US Golf Open.

On 18/06/1961 the number one single was Surrender - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) 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 18/06/1962 the number one single was Good Luck Charm - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 18/06/1963 the number one single was From Me To You - The Beatles and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) 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. The big news story of the day was Cassius Clay defeats Henry Cooper in London.

On 18/06/1964 the number one single was You're My World - Cilla Black and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. 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 Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.


On 18/06/1965 the number one single was Crying in the Chapel - Elvis Presley 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 Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was UK drink-drive alcohol limit to be introduced.

Web Page 846

First Picture: NME front cover

Second Picture: Bill Haley and the Comets

STOP PRESS. After trying on and off for the last 8+ years at long last I have been asked to assist some of the support staff at the old school in writing the history of the school !!!!!!! I will keep you all informed.

I came across this report of a concert in 1957 by Bill Haley and the Comets. The article first appeared in The Observer over 53 years ago. It really shows how different life was in the 1950’s.

Bill Haley and His Comets, 1957

'This way for the elite,' shouted the teddy-boy, clutching his guinea tickets in the foyer of the Dominion, Tottenham Court Road, for the first night of Bill Haley and his Comets. The front stalls, all at a guinea, were an odd mix-up of people. There were rows of teddy-boys and teddy-girls, usually segregated - the boys, nearly all short with hairbrush hair; the girls in tight black skirts or tartan trousers, with their thick thatches of hair over-hanging their foreheads like lettuces, making their intent, small faces look oddly the same.

Bang next to them were sedate elderly people, expense-account businessmen or bored-looking middle-aged couples, drawn to Bill Haley by some mysterious motive - seeking their youth perhaps, or a cure for boredom, or just watching how the other half lived. The other half didn't like being watched; the 'cats' looked at the 'squares' as if they were snooping schoolmarms. ...
Would there be any trouble? 'There's a couple here needs watching,' he [the cinema commissionaire] said, looking down at a lively couple by the exit who had been jiving, deftly and elegantly, without actually leaving their seats. (The management said that if they started jiving in the aisles, the show would have to stop.)

The curtain went up and there was the famous chubby-faced man with a kiss-curl, wearing a red tartan coat, smiling like a shy schoolboy, strumming at his guitar, pointing it dramatically towards the audience like a cheerful machine-gunner. He had an innocent greedy look, slipping his tongue round his mouth and looking upwards with boyish eyes, like a Fat Boy eyeing a huge ice cream. His band, all red, thumped and wailed round him, doing circus tricks with their instruments. 'Hullo Bill,' yelled the Circle.

The audience began to get worked up, but they watched one another carefully. The girl next to me nodded and stared at Bill Haley intently, mouthing every word of the jargon lyrics... 'K from the "kick" of a "rim-shot beater".'

The pair by the exit jived, still in their seats, swaying lower and lower. The boy next to the aisle bent right back onto the floor. A cinema official hurried up, bending down at the bent body to make sure it hadn't left the seat, and smiling with admiration....

At last came the oldest and greatest favourite:
One, two, three o'clock four o'clock rock...

It was too much. The couple by the exit rose in a trance from their seats. Others followed. In the back stalls a phalanx of teenagers rose solemnly, like a protest meeting, and shouted 'ROCK ROCK.' Tall, steely-eyed men appeared from nowhere, and looked menacing. The jivers by the exit sat down quickly. Then suddenly the curtain went down, without a goodbye or a thank you, after only 30 minutes of Bill Haley.

The Phalanx started clapping rock rhythm, and shouting 'We Want Bill.' More people stood up. More tall men appeared, looking more anxious. But there was still a weapon left. Over the loudspeakers at full strength blared out 'God Save the Queen'. There was a brief, anxious battle between 'God Save the Queen' and 'We Want Bill'. The Queen won. Never had the monarchy seemed so impressive. The teddy-boys slouched out, defeated.

It's a long way from the bad old days last September, when Rock 'n' Roll was causing juvenile delinquency in South London. Then it was regarded as something nasty, sexy, suggestive and un-English. Local councils banned the film. Bishops disapproved of it.

Now, it seems, it is all very different. Mr. Haley turns out to be a nice kid, just like us, who drinks milk and wants to make young people happy. Rock 'n' Roll is a recognised cure for frustrations, repressions and boredom. Even Prince Charles's dancing teacher gives lessons in Rock 'n' Roll. It shows that Britain is still virile and robust. Like Marilyn Monroe, Rock 'n' Roll has become respectable.

Written by Anthony Sampson, 10 February 1957

Out of interest Bill Haley's landmark 1954 track 'Rock Around the Clock' is considered the first popular rock 'n' roll record.

How things have changed! I, along with most of us, was not even a teenager when Rock ‘n’ Roll first began but I think it did not stop me appreciating the music and I do remember all the fuss associated with Rock ‘n’ Roll concerts.

Boy, I must be getting old!!!!

Keep in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk

You Write:

Had this sent to me-----
The BBC has hired Lulu to serve as host for ten programs entitled, "Rewind The 60s," which will explore the music, culture and television of each year in the decade. The shows will use archive footage and first-hand accounts.

Ray Writes:-

It is a long time since I last contacted you on any of your myriad subjects, but have long been meaning to ask you a question about one of your previous teachers.

As you may remember from when I have written before I attended, not Court Lane Schools but, Copnor Infants and then Copnor Junior Mixed Schools before moving to Northern Grammar School. It was whilst I was in the Junior School in my penultimate year, 1954/55 , age 9/10 years, class 3A we had a teacher in charge of this class called Mr. Greer, never knew a christian name as they were always Mr. Mrs or Miss. in those days. Having seen your photos. of your "Bill Greer" I have wondered, often, if it would be the same gentleman. There is certainly a strong resemblance, as I remember him and "Greer" is not what I would recall as being a particularly common name.

I remember he used to arrive at Copnor riding a push-bike which had one of those small petrol engines connected to, and driving the rear wheel, a real advance in technology at the time, altho' the name of this particular contraption evades me for the time being (Oh! what time does to the memory).
I also seem to remember that he lived either in Gosport or the Isle of Wight from where he commuted each day.
I do remember him with a great deal of affection and respect and wonder if you can confirm that it is the same person.

Trust that you are keeping well, and that you will continue to allow me to share your pictures and photographs of an age long since departed, stirring as they do such long held, wonderful memories.

Of course it was the same Bill Greer!

News and Views:

Francis Rossi of Status Quo has made a substantial investment in the 196 year-old Glen Rossie whiskey brand and the spirit will switch to a label featuring what looks like a guitar pick in his honour. Francis has been drinking the whisky for ten years after a waiter noted the similarities in their names.

On this day 11th June 1960-1965.

On 11/06/1960 the number one single was Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers 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 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.

On 11/06/1961 the number one single was Surrender - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Probation Officer (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 11/06/1962 the number one single was Good Luck Charm - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions

On 11/06/1963 the number one single was From Me To 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 11/06/1964 the number one single was You're My World - Cilla Black and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. 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 Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions

On 11/06/1965 the number one single was Long Live Love - Sandie Shaw 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 Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Beatles in Queen's Birthday Honours

Web Page: 842

Top Picture:

The end of the Highbury Estate in the 1960’s

Bottom Picture:

News magazine of the 1950’s




Another new school mate this week, welcome to

Chris Ashby

who says:- I was only there for one year, what was then the 'first year' at secondary school. Out of the three secondary schools I attended I always thought Manor Court was one of the friendliest and was the one I liked the most.

Venues

I have been thinking about bands and pop venues in the 60’s, so I have put together some memories that you might find interesting. It takes in venues and some of the local bands who played around the clubs and ballrooms in the sixties, which, after all was a golden era for Pompey venues and bands.

Now lets see who remembers any or all of the following:- The Classics basically a Gosport band who matured into Simon Dupree (nee Simon Clifford from Lee on Solent) and the Big Sound, Manfred Mann which again leaned heavily on an input from Gosport's Mike Hugg and Paul Jones (nee Pond) as its leading members. These bands became well know but how about Sons of Man, St Louis Checks, Rory Storm and Harlem Speakeasy (previously Harlem Soul Band). I know the members of Manfred Mann are still performing but I think all of the Big Sound have retired but I understand that Rory Storm is still going in the north of England.

And now the venues:-

The infamous Birdcage Club moved around the town and ended up in Milton Road next door to the pub near Bransbury Park on the corner of Henderson Road, the Birdcage was certainly infamous for the music it hosted and pills that could be bought, to say nothing of the regular Police raids!!!. However The Birdcage was the only place that I have seen The Who appear live. I understand that the Birdcage re-invented itself and turned into the Brave New World at the beginning of '68.

The Savoy Ballroom had its dance floor on the first floor dance floor and was opposite the South Parade Pier where concerts were held in the theatre and on the odd occasion’s pop cruises which would leave from the Pier head for a float around the Solent for the evening. The Savoy hosted many varying bands both from the pop world and the Trad Jazz world, I remember seeing the Clyde Valley Stompers there along with the Graham Bond Organisation and Georgie Fame amongst many others.

The South Parade Pier theatre, when there was no Summer Show on, saw the likes of Julie Felix, Acker Bilk and Kenny Ball but the concerts here were always very formal affairs and this is before Ken Russell got his hands on the place.

I, along with what seemed to be hundreds of others (probably on 150), crammed into the Railway Hotel in Fratton on a Saturday evening to see Manfred Mann and other R&B bands; in fact the Railway also turned into a jazz club on Friday evenings and amongst the bands I remember seeing there are the Back o’ Town Syncopators, the Down Town Syncopators with Alexander Murray-Smith, the Bourbon Street Six with Jo Collinson (who, every performance dressed in a different costume) and Gerry Brown and his Jazzmen. I understand that on one of the folk evenings, a young American carrying a guitar came in off the train from Fratton station to try to get a gig. The promoter gave him an impromptu audition but the music was not to his taste and told the young man to try somewhere else !!! The name of the young man Paul Simon ! Later to find fame with his singing and song writing partner Art Garfunkel, I wish I had been there!! One other thing that I do remember about The Railway is that it was one of the first pubs in Portsmouth to have a video juke box which was turned off on live music nights.

The Locarno in Arundel Street ran pop shows but I never remember going there also the St Marys Institute in Fratton Road (where in later years radio Victory was to find a home) hosted gigs in the Sixties as did Kimbells in Southsea.

The Guildhall was a good venue for 60’s pop featuring the best in the music world. I regret that I did not see The Beatles there (I could not afford to go that week) but I did see the live broadcast of Juke Box Jury. Over the other weeks I remember seeing Helen Shapiro, Del Shannon, Billy Fury, Gene Vincent, Louise Cordet and many other bands who were touring at that time.

Other local bands and groups I remember from this period are; Dave Dee and the Bostons who became Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Titch - from Salisbury, The Troggs from Andover. Jimmy James and the Vagabonds where regular visitors to the area and who would believe that Lulu and the Lovers appeared at the Thorngate Hall in Gosport as did Johnny Kidd and the Pirates.

The Odd Fellows Hall in Kingston Road ran R&B nights on Saturdays, the Animals played here and Kimbells as did Chris Farlow and Long John Bawldry.

Ahh the days of my youth!!!!!!

Keep in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk

You Write:


Sue Writes:

I remember the excitement when Fine Fare opened in Cosham High Street. It was advertised that the first 100 customers would receive a free chicken. My mother sent me, with £1 to queue up but I was too late.

News and Views:

After 50 years Bobby Rydell’s entire album collection with Cameo Records are being re-released in digital stereo remasters.

On this day 4th June 1960-1965.

On 04/06/1960 the number one single was Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (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.

On 04/06/1961 the number one single was Surrender - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) 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 04/06/1962 the number one single was Good Luck Charm - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 04/06/1963 the number one single was From Me To 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 04/06/1964 the number one single was You're My World - Cilla Black and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. 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 Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions

On 04/06/1965 the number one single was Long Live Love - Sandie Shaw and the number one album was Bringing It All Back Home - Bob Dylan. 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.

Web Page: 840

Top Picture: In the centre of the picture can be seen the conveyor which transported spoil whilst the Paulsgrove Estate was being built.







Bottom Picture: A traffic easing solution tried in Commercial Road in the early 1970’s. Note the Dockyard School on the right and the pub on the corner was the Friary Meux Jolly Roger with its poem on the sign which read ‘This sign hangs high and hinders none, refreshment take and then jog on’.

Cheers

Talking about pubs I tend to think that the older I get the more I fondly remember things from the past. I began to think, the other day, about the popular drinks that we no longer see or hear asked for over the bar in the local, that’s if you have still got a local! I know that I have already talked in the past about the fancy drinks such as Babycham, Pony and Cherry B etc., but now let’s look at those drinks that were usually poured by the barman behind the public bar.

For example when was the last time you heard of someone walk up to a bar and ask for a Brown Split (half bitter and half brown ale), a Boiler Maker (a pint of bitter with a shot of Whisky or Vodka) or a Black Velvet (stout and it should be Champagne or a Sparkling Wine but in our case it was only Cider). Speaking of Cider does anyone remember a Bats Blood (Cider and Blackcurrant Juice) or for those who did not like the bitter taste of commercial Bitter ale, a Lemon Top (bitter with a dash of lemonade in it), and when was the last time that you saw a pint of Mild being served, a Little Bricky or any of the Brickwoods Sunshine Ales? Or even bought a 7 pint can of Pitkin or have gently downed a Merrydown Cider. I bet today’s modern bar staff would have little or no idea what these drinks are and as for Bernard Miles forever telling us that ‘It looks good, it tastes good and by golly it does you good’ they would be completely lost. But not as much as if they ever heard the Stanley Unwin ‘keggy in a blufflade’ advert.

Now looking towards the ladies and their tastes in drinks. For a time, for those who did not want anything alcoholic, a Tomato Juice with salt, pepper and Worcester Sauce was the ‘in’ thing or maybe a St. Clements (orange juice and lemonade). If the lady wanted something with a little punch an Egg Flip or Egg Nog or a Snowball might have been ordered or maybe a rum and black or a whisky Mac. Port and Lemon was often the drink for the older ladies, as was Dubonnet, Sweet Martini or Martini Bianco or maybe even a sweet sherry could have been the drink of choice. I remember that my grandmother occasionally liked a bottled Guinness, a product still on the shelves today but the likes of Milk Stout and Porter are long gone these days I think.

Country and fruit wines were also the ‘in’ drink in the mid 1960’s. Many of these were promoted by the Gales Brewery of Horndean (now gone). Lots of pubs had these wines behind the bar and I can remember the long line of them ranged along the back of the bar in the original Uncle Tom’s Cabin on the Havant Road in Cosham. I know I, along with others, managed to work our way all along the line and complete the full range. We even started again but then the landlord changed and a new one came in and the wines disappeared from their place on the shelf behind the bar, never to return.

I think the area we all lived in and went to school in was not over endowed with pubs and those that were there in are teenage years still appear to be there today. The New Inn ( the place where you would find a little knot of teachers on a Friday Lunchtime), the Sunshine ( Iseem to remember a Jazz Club running out the back of this place for a short while) , the Old Manor and the Shaftsbury are all still in business, as is the Railway (sometime known as the Rocket), the Portsbridge (being the nearest pub to Highbury College it was often frequented by students in term time), The Red Lion, the George and the Wymering Arms. But the likes of Uncle Toms Cabin, the East Cosham Tavern, the Ship and the George and Dragon in Cosham High Street, which had the distinction of being the first pub in Portsmouth to install a condom machine in the gents, the Clacton, the Beacon, the Old House at Home and the Beehive in Paulsgrove have all gone. To say nothing of the Harlequin in Portsdown Park. Before you think that I have forgotten the Churchillian, it took a long time to open and was not serving refreshments until 1957 and is still there. There has only been one pub opened in the area as far as I am aware and that is the First Post in Cosham High Street, but this is a designer pub and not a real boozer with a Bottle & Jug or Off Sales.

In those days the posh wine was Mateus Rose or Leibfraumilch and of course we are back in the days of frothy coffee!!! But that is another story that I explored on the site a long ago.

Ah well back to today,

Keep in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk

You Write:

From Anon:-



I am an Ex Manor Court boy, I do remember Mr Bennett’s woodworking classes and bringing home the mis-shaped coffee table, there were good times & bad times but it was a good school but it was a shame the name was changed. I too remember the Model Shop in Wayte Street, Cosham where we used to go and buy model aircraft kits and balsa wood. The plastic Airfix kits were always bought from Woolworths. The model shop traded under the name of Haywards and belonged to the parents of a Manor Court girl called Barbara Quinnell who lived in the Tudor style house in Central Road.

News and Views:

"Unchain My Heart," a stage musical of the life and music of Ray Charles, will open on Broadway November 7, with previews beginning October 8. No cast has yet been announced.

On this day 26th May 1960-1965.

On 26/05/1960 the number one single was Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (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.


On 26/05/1961 the number one single was You're Driving Me Crazy - The Temperance Seven and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada) 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 26/05/1962 the number one single was Good Luck Charm - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Panic on Wall Street.


On 26/05/1963 the number one single was From Me To You - The Beatles and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) 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 26/05/1964 the number one single was Juliet - Four Pennies and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. 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 Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.


On 26/05/1965 the number one single was Where Are You Now (My Love) - Jackie Trent and the number one album was Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. 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.

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Top Picture: Everybodies father used this!!!









Bottom Picture: A youthful Bob Monkhouse advertises Mars.






Welcome This week we welcome Geoff Ranger to our circle, if anyone wishes to get in touch with Geoff, let me know and I will forward your messages on.


ALSO, don’t miss Peter’s memories in the You Write section.

Back to School

How many of those strange and obscure measurements that we learned at school, or were printed on the back of our exercise books can you remember? We learnt that there were 12 inches to the foot and 3 feet to the yard, OK so far? Good! But how about five yards and one foot six inches to the rod (or pole or perch), 4 rods (or poles or perch) to the chain, 22 yards or 100 links to a chain, 10 chains to the furlong, and 8 furlongs to the mile. I am now getting a little confused how about you? I think that probably the only people who use these unusual measurements these days are jockeys, race horse owners for furlongs, cricketers for chains and I understand that allotment are still rented out in rods!

Near me when I lived in Farlington, as in many other parts of the country, was an area called 40 acres, this being the ancient area of land that one man could work on his own. Now who remembers that one acre is 4,840 square yards, which is equivalent to the area of a rectangle one furlong in length and one chain in breadth. I certainly cannot!

Down at the local other measures were used gills, pints, quarts and gallons. Of course gallons have always been somewhat confusing, as Americans visiting this country for the first time quickly discover, but the confusion isn’t confined to the difference between an Imperial gallon of petrol and an American gallon of gasoline, oh no! The volume of a gallon of wine is 231 cubic inches, whereas that of a gallon of beer is 282. Now in Scotland the chopin was half a standard pint and, at 51.7 cubic inches, was close to the English quart at 57.75 cubic inches. A mutchkin was half a chopin. You didn't know about mutchkins and chopins did you? Neither did I! Well not to worry two generations on from now no British schoolchildren will know about gills and quarts either. They will be lost in the mists of antiquity and we will not even go into the sizes of Firkins (9gallons), Kilderkin (18gallons) and barrel (36 gallon), Hogshead (1.5 barrels), a puncheon (2 barrels), a Butt (3barrels) or even a Yard of Ale.

Now to other things. Down at the fishmongers our mothers bought a pint, or half pint of shrimps, why not a pound or half pound? Or a pair of kippers, why not a couple? In the grocers eggs were boxed in long hundreds even though there were only 360 in the box, A Bakers dozen was always 13 and if you bought a box of tomatoes it was a chip. I remember that certain grocery stores, Pinks being one of them, sold loose sherry which meant that you had to take along an old sherry or wine bottle and have it topped up, but the loose liquid was sold by the pint and not by the bottle or half bottle.

Off now to the sweet shop where we lined up to buy a quarter of humbugs, or if we were a little short of pocket money just two ounces. Whatever quantity you wanted they were weighed out in little Avery scales which only weight up to one pound, the sweets were then slid into a little paper bag before we could get out hands on them. Of course money was different then and we could buy candied shrimps at four for a penny or even one for a farthing! Ah! this is back in the days of shillings, florins, half crowns and guineas, EMI even produced a line of LP’s under the title of the Golden Guinea range at just £1 1s. 0d each.

Nautically speaking I have never understood that particular terminology, just what is a fathom or a league, a cable or a nautical mile.

And we thought that going metric was a problem!!!
Take Care and keep in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.com


You Write:

Peter writes:-

I notice that one of your recent memory pictures was Uncle Toms cabin on Havant Road at Cosham. I remember that stretch of Road before that. It was basically a long Terrace of buildings from the top of Park Lane round to the top of Cosham High Street. At the top of Park Lane, was an Off Licence called Smeeds, ( they had several branches throughout Portsmouth ). At the time I am talking about, late 50's early 60's I believe the Manager was a Mr Pugsly. They also had a shop in the middle of Cosham High Street which was run by a Mr Vacary. I went to Court Lane with his daughter Jacky Vacary.

Coming along Havant Road from Park Lane in this long terrace, was the old Uncle Toms Cabin and right next door, The East Cosham Tavern. Their fronts were a 4ft pavement width from the road. Just beyond that, was an Esso Garage called Lettons. They served Petrol on the frontage from the old fashioned tall pumps and had workshops behind. My father Mr Barlow, who owned Bakers of Cosham, ( the chemist ) always got his petrol there for his 1936 Morris Eight and then his 1949 Vauxhall Wyvern and then his 1958 Ford Zodiac Executive. Wherever he was, he would never use any other Petrol than Esso.

The terrace continued on towards the High Street with houses and I always remember one of them had a bedridden lady in the front room where the window was always wide open so that she could see the people and traffic passing by. As you came into the High Street was Dodd & Reads Newsagents where I had my Paper Round. Seven days a week Morning and evening I got 14 shillings.

On the other side of the road where there are now Flats, there was a raised area which was the back of Widley Street. Along that raised area, was a Cobblers shop called Kelseys. On the North East top corner of the High Street was a Scrap Yard called Coopers. I remember them well because they had to big Conker Trees in their Yard. One Sunday afternoon when all was quiet, me and a couple of school friends climbed over their wall with a sack to collect conkers. Unfortunately we got caught and they accused us of nicking scrap even though the sack had conkers in it. They called the police and we were marched down to the new Cosham Police Station. Looking back on it, I am sure that both they and the Police knew we weren't nicking scrap but they certainly gave us a rough time and a clip round the ear.

I hope this gives a bit more insight into how it was at the top of the High Street back in the 50s & early 60s ( The Good Old Days )


News and Views:

At The Hard on 26th March a statue to commemorate the Portsea Mudlarks was unveiled. It was commissioned through the work of the Portsea Action Group, worked tirelessly for nine years to raise the money for a permanent reminder of the cherished childhood memories.The names of some of the mudlarkers now have a place in history as their names have been etched onto plaques around the plinth. I ex Mudlarker said "I first saw my wife when I was a mudlarker. She used to come over from the Isle of Wight with her mum and threw money down. Years later she recognised me and that's when we got together." The ceremony was opened by MP for Portsmouth South, Mike Hancock, who said, "As a kid, I was one of those who messed about in the mud for money and got a good hiding for it when I got home."

More News and Views:

An auction of Buddy Holly memorabilia, including a recording of songs made weeks before his death, was held on April 9th in Dallas. Buddy's widow, Maria Elena, was there to talk about both the items and Buddy himself.


On this day 19th May 1960-1965

On 19/05/1960 the number one single was Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Royal Variety Performance (ATV) 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.

On 19/05/1961 the number one single was On the Rebound - Floyd Cramer and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada) 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 19/05/1962 the number one single was Nut Rocker - B Bumble & the Stingers and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Marilyn Monroe sings Happy Birthday for JFK.

On 19/05/1963 the number one single was From Me To You - The Beatles and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Liberal Party Political Broadcast (all channels) 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 19/05/1964 the number one single was Don't Throw Your Love Away - Searchers and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. 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 Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Microphones found in Moscow's US Embassy.

On 19/05/1965 the number one single was King of the Road - Roger Miller 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. The big news story of the day was Queen visits West Germany

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Top Picture:

An icon of the 60’s a Davy Crocket Hat, see News and Views Section.

Bottom Picture:

Pictures from the School Reunion, was it really over eight years ago? Who do you recognise?

Robin Hall and Jimmie Macgregor

Robin Hall and Jimmy MacGregor are remembered as one of Scotland’s most popular folk duos. They first teamed up in January 1960 after meeting in Vienna. But most of us will remember them as providing, along with Cy Grant, the musical section on the BBC magazine programme ‘Tonight’ introduced by Cliff Michelmore and they subsequently appeared most nights for the next 14 years. Tonight was watched by roughly seven million viewers. Macdonald Hastings, Fyfe Robertson, Slim Hewitt and Alan Whicker roamed the world for Tonight. Whilst in the studio, Cliff Michelmore, Derek Hart and Geoffrey Johnson-Smith along with reporters Kenneth Allsop, Christopher Brasher, Julian Pettifer, Brian Redhead and Polly Elwes became household names.
Robin Hall even hit the political headlines when the programme's producers asked him to remove his CND badge from his guitar before he went on air. His refusal was a stand on a point of political principle, the Scottish roots of his music sprang as much from the gritty parodies of the anti-Polaris protesters as from the Celtic twilight. It is significant that one of his last gigs reunited with his old partner was a reunion concert in the early Nineties for all those anti-bomb protesters whose songs had ensured that the Scottish revival was rooted in concerns of the present.

The release on the Decca label of the single Football Crazy in 1960 received a great deal of airplay and became one of their most popular songs. In the early sixties Robin and Jimmie regularly (though not exclusively) performed as part of the Galliards, a quartet made up of them, Shirley Bland and Leon Rosselson, appearing regularly on radio, and are particularly remembered for the series Hullabaloo. They went on to tour the world, recorded more than 20 albums, and appeared on countless television programs. Another series that brought them great acclaim and recognition was The White Heather Club, which they hosted for five years. Their distinctive harmonies and enormous repertoire of songs, many of which they introduced during this period, have gone on to become folk standards.

Their television appearances made them a big national attraction, and they headlined concerts where the support act was a then little-known Merseyside group, the Beatles. They even topped the bill at the Cavern, in Liverpool.
They began recording almost immediately after they started singing together. After an initial series of EPs for the tiny Collector label, they made their first LP for Decca in 1961. As its title, Scottish Choice, implied, it was a selection of songs from north of the border. Then followed a series of 21 other albums, concluded in 1978 by Songs for Scotland, for Decca's Celtic subsidiary, the Beltona label. Robin Hall's decision to break up the partnership in 1979 came as something of a shock to his partner. When Jimmy Macgregor speaks of it today he is still hurt by its suddenness, though he believes it was their daunting workload of concerts prompted Robin Hall to leave so suddenly. They came together again in 1994 for a final appearance, for a 20-minute spot in a Christmas concert at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall, and, Jimmy Macgregor recalls, "It was as if we'd never been away."
Robin Hall was born in Edinburgh in 1937, studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and tried acting for a while. He suffered from Polio as a child, though he never allowed it to intrude on his public performances. Though he did some radio work after the break-up of the duo, he was off the scene for many years. His second marriage ended, and he lived alone in Queen Margaret Drive, Glasgow. This is where the police found his body on 18 November 1998. He appeared to have been dead for several days.

Jimmie Macgregor has had a long and varied broadcasting career latterly as an award winning radio and television presenter. When he arrived in London with sixty pounds and an old Abbott-Victor guitar, he soon found himself in demand in the few folk clubs which existed at that time, and with jazz and skiffle clubs opening up, it was possible to make a modest living doing the one thing that he wanted to do - make music. Specialist radio programmes began to appear: Guitar Club, Stringalong, Roundabout, Easy Beat, Skiffle Club, Saturday Club etc. Jimmie performed regularly in all of these, solo or with a variety of partners and groups, and latterly with Robin Hall. As his long term partnership with Robin Hall drew to a close, Jimmie Macgregor moved on as an award winning radio presenter. His daily Macgregor's Gathering for BBC Scotland ran for more than ten years and further enhanced his reputation as one of Scotland's top personalities Jimmie has had a lifelong interest in wildlife, is a dedicated conservationist, and periodically escaped from the studio to make radio and television programmes on long distance walks in Scotland, Ireland, Canada and the Arctic. Most of these trips resulted in books. He now presents them as illustrated talks around the country, and his energy and enthusiasm for his various interests remains undimmed.

Take Care and keep in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.com

You Write:

Val would like to know what happened to Michael Hutchins, can anyone help?

News and Views:

Fess Parker, best known for his TV roles of Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, died on March 18 at his home in Santa Ynez Valley, California from natural causes. He was 85 and had been married to the same woman for 50 years. He was born in 1924 in Ft. Worth, Texas and served in the Marines in World War II (though at six foot, six inches, he was too tall to achieve his ambition of being a pilot). After the war, he graduated from the University of Texas before moving to California to become an actor. He was under contract to Warner Brothers but it was at the Disney studios that he made his mark. The song, "Ballad Of Davy Crockett," which came originally from a December 1954 episode of "Disneyland," became a no. 5 hit the following Spring for Fess. Disney took the TV episode along with its two sequels and created the movie, "Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier." He also charted with the song "Wringle Wrangle" from his Disney film, "Westward Ho, The Wagons!" Other movies included "Old Yeller" and "The Great Locomotive Chase." In 1964, he starred in NBC-TV's "Daniel Boone," which showed for six seasons. He later entered real estate development in California, including the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort in Santa Barbara and a winery nearby.

On this day 12th May 1960-1965

On 12/05/1960 the number one single was Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (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.

On 12/05/1961 the number one single was Blue Moon - The Marcels and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) 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 12/05/1962 the number one single was Wonderful Land - The Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Film star Emilio Estevez born

On 12/05/1963 the number one single was From Me To You - The Beatles and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) 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 12/05/1964 the number one single was Don't Throw Your Love Away - Searchers and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) 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 12/05/1964 the number one single was Don't Throw Your Love Away - Searchers and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) 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 12/05/1965 the number one single was Ticket to Ride - The Beatles 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.

Web Page 834

Top Picture: A typical Ponds Lipstick Advert from the mid 1950’s. I wonder do Ponds still make lipstick and if not when did they stop making it?











Bottom Picture: A modern kitchen in the late 1950’s!


Firstly we welcome Maureen Todd into our midst, if anyone wishes to get in touch with her, let me know and I will pass on your messages. At one time Maureen was the youngest Landlady in Portsmouth she was just 18 when she took over the Sunshine Inn in Farlington.

Junior School

I am sure you will all remember going to school with, what seemed like, every piece of clothing named either by hand in pen using Indian Ink or with purpose made Cash’s name tapes which had been sewn on. I always thought this was a thing introduced by our schools for easy identification of our coats and hats etc but on further research I have discovered that it has a rather macabre history dating back to the dangerous days of the Second World War. From a war time notice that I read very recently, comes this advice to all parents to name every piece of clothing that each child wears to school. The reason for this was to aid identification and the rather ghoulish reason being that if a school received a direct or close hit and the pupils suffered horrendous injuries and death, the body parts found could be identified by reference to the clothing labels. It is amazing how many wartime measures continued after the war and we did not realise it and this was just one of them.

But moving on to far more cheerful things. In those days when we were in our Junior Schools we all had named shoe bags to carry our plimsolls in and if we were very lucky we had plimsolls with the elasticised fronts so we did not have to tie the laces. Definitely no sports trainers for us! They were not even invented when we were young. No track suits, shell suits or sports socks, only normal shorts and vests. We had no special sports clothing, only what we had at home and what was called our PE kit.

The sports equipment at school was also very basic, rubber gym mats, bean bags, skipping ropes, rubber quoits, long wooden benches, netballs, rounders bats and airflow balls. Things were so much simpler then!!! If we did not make it into a school sports team it did not matter we dealt with the disappointment we did not have to have a consolation prize for not making it.

I seem to remember that when I was at Solent Road Junior School we were all expected to keep the tops of our desks clean and tidy and to polish them. To this end it was very lucky that the Betterwear door to door salesman would give away tiny tins of furniture polish as free samples and we took these to school, along with a duster to polish the desk tops. From conversations with modern parents recently I understand that pupils do not even have their own desks at school any more, so that is something else that has gone into history and we won’t even mention making up the dried ink powder being the ink monitor and filling the ink wells!!!!

Junior school was a breeding ground for strange habits, my mother always sent me off to school in the morning with two or three biscuits wrapped in greaseproof paper to eat during morning playtime. But when I went back after lunch I was not given another parcel of biscuits for afternoon break, maybe a substantial lunch was deemed enough? I suspect we all remember visits from the School Nurse and the fear and curiosity that generated in most of us plus the terror generated by standing in a queue waiting to receive an inoculation.

But there were always the happier things, class parties and friends birthday parties, school concerts and visits, playing with your mates in the playground and what seems like the twenty three a side football matches which raged right across the playground. At Solent Road Junior School the playground was tarmac, we had no grass or wooded area so if we wanted to play on grass we had to walk along to the Recreation Ground in Farlington Avenue near the Portsmouth Waterworks property. As we got older and more independent journeys further afield became possible and then the whole of Portsdown Hill and beyond, the Farlington Marshes, Hilsea Moat and the Railway Triangle became our play grounds.

Now one thing that has always puzzled me is who decided on the seasons for games and toys especially with us boys? All of a sudden racing Dinky cars was out and something else, maybe Yo Yo’s were in, who decided when the fashion changed? It just seemed to happen. I know things like conkers are obvious but the timing of a lot of our other seasonal playthings is still a mystery to me even after all these years.

Take Care and keep in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.com


You Write:

This from an old Manorcourtonian:-

Sitting at my PC at home in Chesterfield I could not believe that the Teachers that Peter Keat was writing about were still in my mind, as an Ex Manor Court lad I can recall these teachers. some were ?? Monsters and other I loved to be taught by, but then those were where I believe happy days




News and Views:

There is an action group called Hilsea Lido Pool for the People who are trying desperately to re furbish and re-open the lido to provide an all year round premier venue for the people of Portsmouth. They want to make the Lido so much more than just swimming. They were formed when the Lido faced the decision by the City Council to close the Lido for good. Good luck to them I say you can read all about it on their web site WWW.hilsea-lido.org.uk after all many of us learnt to swim there, sunbathed there and met our girlfriends and boyfriends in the grounds there. Long may it remain.


On this day 5th May 1960-1965

On 05/05/1960 the number one single was Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (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.

On 05/05/1961 the number one single was Blue Moon - The Marcels and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) 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. The big news story of the day was US minimum wage rises to $1.15.


On 05/05/1962 the number one single was Wonderful Land - The Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions

On 05/05/1963 the number one single was From Me To You - The Beatles and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) 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 05/05/1964 the number one single was A World Without Love - Peter & Gordon and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) 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. The big news story of the day was First office fax machine.

On 05/05/1965 the number one single was Ticket to Ride - The Beatles 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.

Web Page 832

Top Picture: Hilsea Lido Gardens in the early 1950’s.






Bottom Picture: A 1960’s icon Bob Dylan

I know I have posted things like this before but I like this one!

WE WAS BRUNG UP PROPER !!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1940's, 50's, 60's. First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, raw egg products, loads of bacon and processed meat, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer.

Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints, and they had butterfly nuts on the bolts which, after a bit if fiddling we learnt to undo ourselves.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes around the garden, the playing fields or rough ground, we had no helmets or shoes, not to mention, the risks that some of us took when we were teenagers when we started hitchhiking.

As children if we were ever lucky enough to ride in a car, we rode in the front seat with no seat belts or air bags.
Take away food was limited to the local fish and chip shop, no pizza shops, McDonalds, KFC, Subway or Burger King.

Even though all the shops closed at 6.00pm and didn't open over the weekends, somehow we survived and didn't starve to death! We all shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner store and buy Toffees, Gob stoppers, Bubble Gum and some bangers to blow up frogs with and no one questioned it.

We ate biscuits, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because......

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on our parents were happy. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts and sledges out of old prams and bits if wood, then we would ride down the hill, sometimes with disastrous results . We built tree houses and dens and played in riverbeds and streams with matchbox cars.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo Wii , X-boxes, no video games at all, no 999 channels on SKY , no video/dvd films, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms...........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no Lawsuits from these accidents. Only girls had pierced ears!

We made mud pies made from dirt, and you could only buy Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns at Easter time...

We were given air guns and catapults for our 10th birthdays, We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Mum didn't have to go to work to help dad make ends meet!
FOOTBALL, RUGBY and CRICKET had try outs and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! Getting into the team was based on MERIT.

Our teachers used to hit us with canes and gym shoes and bully's always ruled the playground at school. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.
They actually sided with the law!

Our parents didn't invent stupid names for their kids like 'Kiora' and 'Blade' and 'Ridge' and 'Vanilla'

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL! And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.

And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.

PS -The big type is because your eyes are not too good at your age anymore.

Take Care and keep in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.com

You Write:

Steve Writes:-

Re Anida’s article: My Father kept chickens in our garden in Copsey Grove and maybe before that when we lived in Southsea but I was to young to remember that. Whether he sold the birds for the table or the eggs was a mystery to me then. I do remember, when he wasn't working, him sitting outside in the evenings with an axe, to kill the rats that were invading the Chicken coup! It probably set the scene for the much later T.V. series 'The Good Life' ? Back in the Fawcett Road (Southsea) prefab days, which was my first home and my earliest memories, I remember him growing copious amounts of spinach and him telling me I would grow up strong like Popeye if I ate my Spinach! Well, that became true as I have always prided myself on my fitness and strength.

But life was like that in those early and poor days of the late fifties.

News and Views:

Bob Dylan (see picture) has been denied permission by the Chinese government to perform in Shanghai and Beijing and so has cancelled his entire planned Asian concert. Said a promoter, "The chance to play in China was the main attraction for him. When that fell through everything else was called off. "

On this day 28th April 1960-1965

On 28/04/1960 the number one single was Do you Mind - Anthony Newley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (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.

On 28/04/1961 the number one single was Wooden Heart - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada) 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 28/04/1962 the number one single was Wonderful Land - The Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 28/04/1963 the number one single was How Do You Do It? - Gerry & the Pacemakers and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) 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 28/04/1964 the number one single was A World Without Love - Peter & Gordon 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 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 28/04/1965 the number one single was Ticket to Ride - The Beatles and the number one album was Rolling Stones Number 2 - The Rolling Stones. 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.

Web Page 830

21st April 2010

Top Picture: One of the Hilsea Gas Works Saddle Tank locomotives in store in 1973








Bottom Picture: The Sunshine Inn with Max’s transport Café behind




THE DUSTBIN MEN AND CHILDHOOD WINTERS.


When we were kids the old refuse or bin wagons used to come around regularly every week. This was well before the days of wheelie bins and different collections on alternate weeks. In those days the dustbin men would walk up the garden path to where your family normally kept the bin, lift the heavy metal bins, made even more weighty with the daily ashes from the grates of all the coal fires, onto their shoulders, carry them down to the lorry and then empty them into the wagon through a hatch which had a sliding top. He then would return to bin to its rightful place in the garden, no putting the bin out in front of the house in those days. Those were also the days when a half crown pressed into the dustman’s hand ensured that any old household rubbish or awkward size or shape, providing that it could be fitted into the dust cart was willingly taken by those men with the leather pads on their shoulders and funny lop sided caps. I also remember that we had a separate galvanised bucket with an attached lid outside the back door for pigswill, I do not remember who collected it (I know it was not the dustmen), where it went or when this collection stopped.

Looking back at the winters of our youth, on snowy or icy days the householders would scatter the ashes from the living room fire onto the paths, drives and pavements just to give a good foothold. After a period of snow, which had turned to ice on the pavements, council workmen would come along and break up the ice with shovels and throw it into lorries to be taken away and dumped in the sea. Kids would often make snowmen with lumps of coal for eyes and mouth and create giant snowballs by rolling an ordinary size snowball downhill in the snow until it got bigger and bigger. Snowball fights were common, especially in the mornings while waiting for school to start, and when the overnight fall was still fresh. How well I remember the pain of freezing cold woollen gloves after one of these fights! Sledging took place and lying face down on the sledge and steering with your feet was known as going belly-flappers. With all the dirt of industry, smoky chimneys, steam locomotives etc. the snow did not stay pure and white for long. But one of the best things was to make ice slides along the pavement or in the playground. These were far from popular with the teaching staff who would instruct the caretaker to go out before school and after playtime to sprinkle, ashes, salt or sand around so as to ruin the slides we had painstakingly made.

Something else that we do not see very often these days is a street cleaner. When we were kids there always seemed to be a guy with a two wheeled rubber tyred bin trolley which held a selection of brooms and shovels for keeping the gutters clean and free from litter and leaves and the pavements clear of papers and dog mess. In fact all these cleaners seemed to have a regular route and an area for which they were responsible. Today all we see is a large, left handed driven mechanical vehicle that sprays a minimal amount of water around and slowly moves down our streets with fast rotating round brushes on the front and a vacuum tube behind. These might be modern but they do not sweep under parked cars or round other obstacles like the old road sweeper did and so today we tend to get only partly swept streets. Another thing that seems to have completely disappeared from the road scene is the council tanker lorry with the long snorkel attachment at the back that was used to suck the muck up out of drains. Long gone but I suppose that is why we see so many blocked drains in the autumn now! This must be nature’s revenge!

All these things are now things of the past as are police cars, ambulances and fire engines with bells, fire engines with extension ladders with large wheels attached so they could be manhandled, rag and bone men, police boxes, two postal deliveries on a Sunday and three a day during the week, the Corona man and other door to door traders.

I (we) really must be getting old !!!!!!

Take Care and keep in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.com


You Write:

Jonathon Writes:-

Your article on Izal Bog Paper was both memorable and funny.......yes we all hated the stuff and as you said the adjustment in finger pressure with the advent of tissue took a few times to master!!!!!!!!! ;-)

The other thought provoking subject was remembering the free school milk we got which was great in winter....cold and creamy ......but in summer after standing in the sun all morning awaiting first break could often be a bit yeukky in the after taste department.

Remember who took it away from us????? Margaret Thatcher, erstwhile Minister of Education......remember how we used to chant Thatcher Thatcher Milk Snatcher.



News and Views:

I understand that the Scots singer Kenneth McKeller died a few days ago.

For those of you that did not know one of our comedy icons, Sir Norman Wisdom (now proudly 933/4) has had to give up his home on the Isle of Man and move into a care home. With the agreement of his son and daughter his dream home on the island is being sold to help pay for his care.

On this day 21st April 1960-1965

On 21/04/1960 the number one single was My Old Man's a Dustman - Lonnie Donegan 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 Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Brasilia becomes Brazil's new capital.


On 21/04/1961 the number one single was Wooden Heart - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was The Budget (All Channels) 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 21/04/1962 the number one single was Wonderful Land - The Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions

On 21/04/1963 the number one single was How Do You Do It? - Gerry & the Pacemakers and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. 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 21/04/1964 the number one single was Can't Buy Me Love - The Beatles and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Liberal Party Political Broadcast (all channels) 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. The big news story of the day was BBC2 goes on air but is soon blacked out.

On 21/04/1965 the number one single was The Minute You're Gone - Cliff Richard and the number one album was Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street 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.

Web Page 828

Top Picture:

Holiday Poster for Southsea

Bottom Picture:

The miracle hair preparation for men.

When we were born

Have you ever thought what life must have been like for our parents when we were born? I am thinking of the period 1946-1950.

Well let’s take a look. All the examples cover the whole of the country and not especially our area, but there are a few surprises to be found.

Also do not miss the great piece from Anida in the You Write Section.

In the last few years of this decade almost a quarter of British homes had no electricity and there were often more than three children in every family. People often lived in the same town or area all their lives near their families and sometimes the only time they left home was when they were called up for National Service.

One third of the British population went to the cinema at least once a week but with the advent of television even this started to decline as did attendances down at the ‘local’. There were only 14,500 television sets in the whole country and there was only one channel (BBC). Very homes had a television in fact in 1954 only 46% of homes had a set and in most cases it had been set up in what was always the holy of holies, the Parlour, but most families still listened to the wireless for their entertainment. This set was usually in the dining room or kitchen.

Many homes did not have a telephone or in many northern and Midland cases, an indoor toilet.

Cooking was done from scratch using produce grown locally. Our mothers could only buy items that were in season and most of what you bought was made or grown in the UK. Fridges were rare and in Wales only 8% of homes had one. Frozen food was just about getting going with Birds Eye Chicken pies and Fish Fingers. Rationing ended in 1954 when the last two items, meat and bacon came off the ration.

Cleaning was far harder then with only 18% of households having a washing machine. Most people washed their clothes by hand and hung their clothes out to dry on a line. In wet weather the clothes were hung in front of the fire making the whole house damp and steamy.

There were only just over a million cars on Britain's roads. Petrol rationing remained until 1954. For most people, this made the car an unaffordable luxury. Most people used public transport to get around. Air travel was mainly for the rich. To go abroad, most people travelled by ship.

The home was an important aspect of lifestyle. It's decoration and furniture revealed what type of person you were and how well off you appeared to be. There was no central heating. Houses were kept warm from the heat of the fire in the fireplace. Few houses had fitted carpets; most homes had wooden or stone floors.
In 1948, the average weekly wage was £3 18s, most people in Britain worked in manufacturing industries. Heavy industries like coal mining, iron and steel making, ship building and engineering employed millions of workers. Most of these workers were men as the majority of women stayed at home to look after their families and their homes.

Today, most people work in service industries such as education, health, shops, banks and insurance, where they provide services for other people. New technology means that factories use more machines to do the work and fewer people. Far more women work today, it now seems to be a necessity of modern life.

There were no supermarkets in the 1940s. To do your weekly food shopping you would have needed to visit several different shops, one for fruit, one for bread, one for meat and so on. Our mothers did not serve themselves in the shops, they stood or sat on a conveniently placed chair on one side of the counter and the shopkeeper would serve them. The first supermarket (a Co-op) was opened in Southsea in 1954 and the first Tesco opened in Essex in 1956.

The Education Act became law in 1944 and this gave every child a free education up until the age of 15 (raised to 16 in 1973). But what I do remember about my early days at school is that the classrooms were cold and the windows were high up so you couldn't look out. We all had our own desk with a lid. Lessons were formal and we learnt things by heart. There were very few textbooks so most things had to be copied off the blackboard. The teachers were strict and corporal punishment was common. Children were punished for being naughty or getting their work wrong by getting the cane or slipper, (this mainly applied to the boys)

One bright spot was Free Milk, since the thirties, the government paid for all children to receive free school milk. I am sure we can all remember the small glass third of a pint bottles and the drinking straws.

As kids we had very few, if any expensive toys and we spent a lot of time making up their own games and weren’t they fun?

But all this is coming on for 60 years ago!!!!!
Take Care and keep in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.com

You Write:

Great piece here from Anida:-

It’s in the genes!
Long before Tregarron Avenue and most of Old Manor Way were developed the land was utilised as allotments in the Government’s ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign in World War II. Both my Grandfathers had a plot here and produced vegetables for their families both of whom were living in Pangbourne Avenue at the bottom of Court Lane. The man who lived next door to my mother and her parents bred rabbits in his back garden, not for pets of course, but for their meat to supplement a very restricted wartime diet. He also had a lucrative side line in producing items made from the rabbit skins i.e. gloves, pram covers, so nothing was wasted.

Bizarrely my grandparents chose to leave their Cosham home and return to North End to live as my Grandmother didn’t like living ‘in the country’! They, of course, had to endure the nightly air raids and the immense difficulties encountered in the aftermath of each raid.
After the war, my Grandfather decided that I needed to have a regular supply of eggs so in a miniscule back garden he had several chickens which did the job very effectively!

My father then took up the allotment challenge and he obtained a plot next to the sewage works at the end of Court Lane. This might suggest that the productivity of these allotments were considerably higher than any others, I don’t remember this being so but they were extremely smelly at certain times! I used to trudge off with him, to dig my own plot and bring home the produce to my mother to be turned into good wholesome meals taken at lunch time every day.

Later my father had a further allotment at the rear of Roseberry Avenue, I wonder if they are still there or have been swept away by development?

And so I find myself very many years later enjoying the spring sunshine on a South facing slope overlooking a beautiful South Devon valley digging my own allotment. Despite the fact that allotmenteering is now very fashionable I have been ‘digging for victory’ for five years and can only but recommend it for fitness, companionship and of course healthy eating. Thinking about it though maybe it’s just in the genes!

News and Views:

Bobby Rydell underwent "major shoulder surgery" Wednesday (April 7). He slipped on hail after a concert in Oregon Saturday and fractured his shoulder in three places, requiring a plate and screws be installed. As a result, he had had to bow out of concerts April 8-11 with Lou Christie filling-in for him. Bobby is at home recovering. I am in contact with Bobby and will keep you updated as to how he is doing.

On this day 14th April 1960-1965

14/04/1960 the number one single was My Old Man's a Dustman - Lonnie Donegan and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (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.

On 14/04/1961 the number one single was Wooden Heart - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) 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 14/04/1962 the number one single was Wonderful Land - The Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was The Budget (All Channels) 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.

On 14/04/1963 the number one single was How Do You Do It? - Gerry & the Pacemakers and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. 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 14/04/1964 the number one single was Can't Buy Me Love - The Beatles and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was The Budget (All Channels) 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. The big news story of the day was Two footballers suspended over match fixing allegations.

On 14/04/1965 the number one single was Concrete & Clay - Unit 4 Plus 2 and the number one album was Rolling Stones Number 2 - The Rolling Stones. 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.