Web Page No 2474

12^th May  2018

First Picture: Fun on the ice

Second Picture:  Sledging in the street

Third Picture:  Tatty copy of the Beano

Wet Playtime

Whilst tidying up my granddaughter’s toy box that she keeps in our house I was putting old books and comics back in the box when I suddenly remembered putting things away in special boxes in the classroom at junior school after we had to stay in as it was a rainy playtime and we could not go out to play.

Rain at playtime must have been a big problem for the teachers as they had to stay in with us and keep control after having made a dash off to the staff room to collect their breaktime tea or coffee. This meant that they got no rest from classroom duties.  As pupils we were totally unaware of this extra duty they had to take on and to be honest it really did not matter to us at the time. Occasionally if two of the classrooms were close together one teacher would supervise both leaving the other free to retreat to the Staff Room. A wet lunch time was different as those having school dinners were all shepherded into the dining area and then they were the responsibility of the dinner ladies until the afternoon teaching session.

Rainy or frosty playtimes was always unpopular with us as pupils, as we needed time to get some fresh air and to run around and dispel some of our energy and to just get out of the classroom.

So, what did we do on those wet days? There was always a box of very back dated comics to look at, I have no idea where they come from but they were always available, but after a month or so of the autumn or winter terms we had read them all and were bored with them. There was a box of well-played with toys which must have been around for many years as they were all badly bent or scratched or both. There were also games and jigsaws but you could never guarantee that all the parts would be there!!!

Around Christmas time the wet days were less of a problem because we could all be employed in sticking paper strips together to make paper chains or Chinese lanterns for either home or the classroom. Once these chains and lanterns were made and hung up the classroom became an Aladdin’s cave of crepe paper and tinsel.

We all had our favourite games and the one time I remember that we were allowed to take our own games into school was the last afternoon of every term and it was then that we were allowed to take a favourite game into school to play with during the afternoon.  

One of the worst parts of staying in during playtime was that the classroom would get so stuffy even though the door was opened regularly when the cry ’Can I go to the toilet Miss’ was heard.

Needless to say the classrooms were well controlled by the teachers, not necessarily silent but the noise being held down to a gentle rumble of conversation, no shouting, loud voices and definitely no arguing, actually looking back this sort of playtime was hardly any break at all and I know that we would eagerly await the Spring and Summer Terms when we knew that we would be able to play outside to our hearts content.

However, there was one bonus on very cold frosty or snowy days and that it was possible, in our lower playground, to build long ice slides. These slides were enjoyed by many children until the caretaker came along with a bucket of ashes from the boiler house and covered them over as these slides were deemed, by the powers that be, to be dangerous. Still it was always fun whilst it lasted and I remember many a fall and torn trouser leg but I cannot remember a broken leg or foot happening the whole of the time I was in Junior School. By the time we had moved up to senior school we were too old for this type of thing!!!

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Peter

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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 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 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.

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 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 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 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 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 2472

5^th May  2018

First Picture: Building a childhood  den

Second Picture:  Platform in a tree

Third Picture:  Rhododendron bush great for tree rooms

The Den

Did you have a Den when you were a child? I was lucky we had a long garden and the very top that backed onto Solent Road School playground (this has since been sold to the school and is a nature area). Here I had room not only for a den but also for underground hiding places and also a tree house or platform. I have two other friends who at that time were also lucky in their play areas, one had an orchard to play in and another a whole market garden. But the area at the top of our garden was left fallow when my father was away and was a glorious wilderness for us to play in.

Where to start? The tree platform I suppose. The tree was a large beech tree which grew up against the school playground wall. Hiding this part of the garden from the house was a whole line of hazel nut trees making this area very quiet and private. With some searching around in one of my fathers sheds we managed to find enough timber that we could nail together to form a sort of platform about 12 feet up in the tree and from here we could sit and look right into the school playground. Why we should want to do this I cannot remember especially at weekends and holiday times, why did we want to be reminded of school? The platform was a great vantage point to play pirates and solders from. My friends and I spent many happy hours on this platform in this tree and in the land of make believe.

If we were not in the tree we were busy digging a subterranean clubhouse beneath the gooseberry and current bushes a few yards away from the tree. To do this we borrowed my father’s spade and fork and dug a big oblong hole. This is when the corrugated iron from the old dismantled air raid shelter came in useful. Having dug out the hole, the sheeting was put across it with a couple of supports going across the middle and the whole thing was then covered in earth. We, in our own minds, thought that it was fantastically camouflaged and no one knew it was there, but I am sure my parents knew all along. Having got the club house or den completed all it needed was an old carpet to go in the bottom of it, (this got very soggy when it rained), some alcoves dug out of the walls to place short candles in for lighting and we were ready for anything. I do remember that to try to improve the place and keep it warm especially in the autumn and winter we constructed a very basic hearth and lit a fire. The result was a group of boys dashing out of the den as it filled with smoke. We now learnt the hard way, and very quickly, the theory of flue and chimney management and with the help of odds and ends from the old air raid shelter and my fathers shed we did eventually construct a workable chimney and so make the whole thing quite acceptable, fairly water tight and warm. But we could never solve the problem of rain water running down through the doorway and onto the floor of the den making the carpet soggy. But after all we were not the first with that type of problem because practically everyone who had an Anderson Shelter in their back garden during the war years experienced the very same problem!!! 

My wife and her younger sister had a different sort of den in their grandparents garden in Ringwood. Theirs was housed under the branches of an enormous Rhododendron bush outside the cottage back door. The tree put down branches to ground level and made a wide clear space by the trunk as a main room and it also formed little side rooms off to the sides where the smaller branches met the ground. They would drag old carpets and chairs into the ‘tree house’ and play in there for hours. I remember that when we were courting and I went down to Ringwood Pam proudly showed me their old tree house and some of the old furniture was still in there quietly rotting away.

Did you have a den or secret place?

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Peter

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On this day 5th May 1960-1965.

On 05/05/1960 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 05/05/1961 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 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 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 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 West Ham win FA Cup.

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. The big news story of the day was First transatlantic TV programme via satellite.

Web Page No 2470

30th April  2018

First Picture: Ladybird logo

Second Picture:  Ladybird catalogue

Third Picture:  Ladybird badge

Forth Picture:  Ladybird Adventure Club

Ladybird

Ladybird was and still is a well-known children's clothing brand in the UK and Ireland. It focused on clothing and footwear for children aged 0 to 13 years old, and today is owned by Shop Direct, the UK's largest online retailer and parent company to household names like Littlewoods, K & Co, and Isme. Ladybird is still the third largest kidswear brand in the UK, with a growing market share of 5%.

The main aim of Ladybird has always been to make kids' clothing that's both fashionable and functional, designed to cope with the rough and tumble of a child's life, from messy playtimes to smarter occasions. Ladybird has a long history dating back to the 18th century, with the Ladybird clothing name first appearing in 1938.

Ladybird children's clothing first appeared in the UK in 1938. The brand was owned by Adolf Pasold & Son, and sold through various well-known high street retailers, including Woolworths and Littlewoods. The name "Ladybird" was bought by Adolf Pasold & Son for just £5 from the Klinger Manufacturing Company because, according to legend, company founder Johannes Pasold had seen a ladybird in a dream when first starting the family firm in the 18th century.

The 1950s saw the first of the famous Ladybird press adverts, depicting Ladybirds in various human-like roles including scientists and computer boffins. In the early 1960s Ladybird clothing was being promoted by "The Ladybird Adventure Club", a full-colour comic strip in the children's magazine Swift. This was drawn by John Canning, and depicted the unlikely adventures of three Ladybird-wearing children who contrived to flash their "secret sign" (the Ladybird label) in every episode. By the 1960s, Ladybird had established itself as one of the UK's best-known names in children’s wear, although it was often sold under a different brand name in chain stores like Woolworths and Littlewoods. At this time, Ladybird effectively sold two ranges; in high street stores, the clothing was cheaper and more accessible to ordinary families; while in independent retailers, where the Ladybird brand name was used, the garments were generally more expensive, high quality pieces bought for Sunday best or by more well-off families.

In 1965, as British manufacturing started to decline, Ladybird merged with the world's largest sewing thread manufacturer Coats Patons. The deal gave Ladybird access to a huge range of wool and thread, opening up possibilities for new ranges. Coats Patons starting discussing the possibility of offering Woolworths exclusive rights over the Ladybird range in 1984. Sure enough, in 1986 the collaboration went ahead. Fourteen years later in 2000, Coats Viyella (as Coats Patons had become) sold the Ladybird name to Woolworths outright. Over the next few years, it became the favourite kids' clothing in the UK for under-5s, and was sold globally through stores in countries as diverse as China, Saudi Arabia, India and Malaysia.

However the Credit Crunch of 2008 brought problems for parent company Woolworths, and the organisation went into administration in 2009. Both Woolworths and Ladybird were rescued by Shop Direct, the UK's largest online retailer, and relaunched online in the same year. Ladybird is now sold exclusively through Shop Direct outlets, in fact their Very company and Littlewoods advertise next day delivery. The age-old brand values remain, with a focus on creating fun, fashionable, functional kidswear. Many of our parents remembered Ladybird as being the gold standard for kids clothes albeit in very conservative designs. They were impressed by Woolworth's combining the latest styles and designs with the robust, double-stitched quality standards that made Ladybird Clothes so durable. Doubters were reassured by a money back guarantee.

We all must have worn some of their items although I doubt if the boys will admit that they wore clothing with Ladybird on the label.!!!!!

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On this day 30th April 1960-1965.

On 30/04/1960 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.

30/04/1961 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.

The On 30/04/1962 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 30/04/1963 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 30/04/1964 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.

30/04/1965 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 No 2468

23^rd April  2018

  First Picture: National Dried Milk

Second Picture:  My ration book

 Third Picture:  National Orange Juice

Forth Picture:   National Cod Liver Oil

Post War Memories

We must all remember having the distinctive tins of National Dried Milk around at home. This was full-cream milk that had been roller-dried into a powder and then artificially fortified with vitamin D. It was intended for feeding to children at a time when milk rationing was still in operation. It was also convenient for mothers.

At first, it was available only to children under 1 year of age; later 2 years. The National Dried Milk scheme had been announced by the autumn of 1940; by then, doctors and nutritionals were debating how it should best be served to infants and whether full-cream was indeed the best Product for them.

The storage and distribution of National Dried Milk across the country was contracted out to a company called SPD. You needed ration coupons to purchase it with and it could only be got at chemists. There was a proviso, though, which housewives learned to watch for: once the tin at the store was past the "Not for consumption after..." date, it could be sold off to anyone and was off the ration, providing a real windfall to the lucky average shopper. A half-cream version of the Dried Milk was introduced in 1941 but it is the full fat version that is mostly remembered.

Well after the war, National Dried Milk was still being sold right through until mid-1965, though by that point, it only accounted for 12 percent of milk sales. People on welfare could purchase it at subsidized prices, but there was a limit to how much you could buy at these prices. Everyone else could buy unlimited quantities at regular prices.

In the mid-1960s, a 1 lb. (450g) tin sold for 4/-, or 2/4 at the subsidized price. National Dried Milk was finally discontinued in 1976, when there was no longer any point, as people were opting to purchase the special infant formulas that had started to flood the market instead.

Many people in their Second World War, and post war, memoirs confuse National Dried Milk with "Household Milk" which was a dried skimmed milk for general consumption; National Dried Milk was dried "full cream" milk aimed at feeding infants like you and me.

One unforeseen benefit was that after the tin was emptied it was very handy for storing nuts, bolts, screws and washers. Every shed or garage had at least three of these on the shelf. However, one very surprising use was developed by my father in law. In the early 1950s they lived in Newcastle upon Tyne and in the greenhouse attached to the house he nurtured a superb grape vine with sweet black grapes on it. Come the picking season he would harvest bunches of grapes, wrap them up carefully and place them in a Dried Milk tin. This he would seal and wrap and post off to his mother in Ringwood and apparently, they always arrived in prime condition.

All children under five were allocated cod liver oil; those under three got daily milk (fluid or full-cream dried) and orange juice as well. Our mothers would collect the bottles of cod liver oil and concentrated orange juice, both of which were provided by America, at the local clinic or "Welfare Centres" that were especially set up to monitor public health. I remember that the orange juice was sticky but tasted wonderful but the cod-liver oil was absolutely disgusting. No matter how much I complained my mother made sure that I took it.

Clearly the refusal to take cod-liver oil was widespread, as it soon became available as 'cod liver oil and malt', this became a totally acceptable brown sticky substance that tasted like toffee and had to be spooned out of a large jar, this was a totally different matter and made the medicine popular and once we were at school, there was free milk, but I have spoken of this before.

To obtain all these essential ‘goodies’ mother had to present my ration book which can be seen at the top of the page.

Just one other thing that comes to mind is that my mother, being an ex-nurse, insisted on me swallowing a large spoon of ‘opening medicine’ to keep me ‘regular’ every Saturday morning. Yuck!!!!!

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Peter

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Mary Writes:

I admit it, I love Jelly Babies,  Sugared Almonds, Pontefract Cakes and Turkish Delight. Rarely do I indulge myself but the memories live on! I remember taking huge containers of Bassetts Allsorts to Australia where my sister in law craved them. She said that they don`t taste the same in Australia. Lots of lovely things there but nothing like British sweets.  Last night as I was about to switch off the TV I saw the sixties pop star Jess Conrad on a programme about older stars in Las Vegas. He is still a nice looking man but there he was struggling to open a cereal pkt. He said his wife did everything for him and how he misses her. I found that very sad, especially when I remembered seeing him at the Guildhall in Portsmouth. 

On this day 23rd April 1960-1965.

On 23/04/1960 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.The big news story of the week was 1500 killed in Iranian earthquake.

On 23/04/1961 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 Dalmatians. 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 23/04/1962 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 23/04/1963 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 23/04/1964 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 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 week was the head of Denmark's Little Mermaid was stolen.

On 23/04/1965 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.