Web Page 868

Top Picture: Griff’s Coffee Table, see the You Write section













Bottom Picture: The Great Train Robbery robbers.


The Great Train Robbery 1963

In the year that saw Kennedy assassinated, the birth of The Beatles, Martin Luther King deliver his ‘I have a dream’ speech and British politics rocked by the Perfumo affair it was going to take a big crime to steal the headlines.

At 6:50 p.m. on Wednesday 7 August 1963 the Travelling Post Office "Up Special" train left Glasgow en route to Euston. The train consisted of 12 carriages and carried 72 Post Office staff who sorted mail.The mail was loaded on the train at Glasgow and at stops en-route, as well as from line side collection points. The second carriage behind the engine was known as the HVP (High Value Package Coach) where registered mail was sorted and this contained valuables including large quantities of money, registered parcels and packages. Usually the value of these items would have been in the region of £300,000, but because there had been a Bank Holiday weekend in Scotland, the total on the day of the robbery was £2.6 million -- worth a little over £40 million in 2010.

At just after 3 a.m. driver Jack Mills stopped the train at a red signal at Ledburn, at 'Sears Crossing'. However, unknown to him, the signalling equipment had been tampered with by members of the 15 strong gang of robbers from London led by Bruce Reynolds and included Ronnie Biggs, Ronald ‘Buster’ Edwards, Gordon Goody, Jimmy Hussey, Roy James, Jimmy White, Charlie Wilson and Tommy Wisbey. The robbers had covered the green signal light and connected a six-volt battery to power the red signal light. The locomotive's second man, 26-year-old David Whitby climbed down from the cab to call the signalman from a signal-post telephone, only to find the cables had been cut. Upon returning to the train, he was thrown down the embankment of the railway track. The five postal workers in the HVP carriage were tied up and detained in a corner of the carriage.

The robbers now encountered a problem. They needed to move the train to a location where they could load their ex-army dropside truck with the money and had decided to do so at Bridego Bridge approximately half a mile further along the track. One of the robbers had spent months befriending railway staff and familiarising himself with the layout and operation, but it was decided instead to use an experienced train driver to move the train from the signals to the bridge after uncoupling the unnecessary carriages. However, the person they selected was unable to operate this type of locomotive as he only drove shunting locomotives. It was decided that the original driver Jack Mills should move the train to the stopping point near the bridge which was indicated by a white sheet stretched between poles on the track. Mills was initially reluctant to move the train so one of the gang struck him on the head.

At the bridge the robbers removed 124 sacks which they transferred from the HVP to the truck by forming a human chain. The gang left 30 minutes after the robbery had begun they then headed along back roads listening for police broadcasts on a VHF radio and arrived at Leatherslade Farm a run down farm 27 miles from the crime scene that they had bought two months earlier as their hideout. There they began counting the proceeds of the robbery. £2.6 million was stolen in used £1, £5 and £10 notes.
The robbers had cut all the telephone lines in the vicinity, but a trainman caught a slow train to Cheddington, which he reached at 4:30 a.m. to raise the alarm. At 5 a.m. the Buckinghamshire Police arrived at the crime scene where evidence wasgathered and statements taken from the driver and postal workers. One member of the gang had made the mistake of telling the postal staff not to move for half an hour and this suggested to the police that their hideout could not be more than 35 miles away.

The Postmaster General offered a £10,000 reward to "the first person giving information leading to the apprehension and conviction of the persons responsible for the robbery" and following a tip-off from a herdsman who used a field adjacent to Leatherslade Farm, a police sergeant and constable called there five days after the robbery. The farm was deserted but they found the truck used by the robbers which had been hastily painted yellow, the Land Rovers, a large quantity of food, bedding, sleeping bags, Post Office sacks, registered mail packages, bank note wrappers and fingerprints of the robbers.

The first gang member to be caught was Roger Cordrey and his friend, William Boal, who had helped him to conceal his share of the stolen money. They were lying low in a rented furnished flat above a florist shop in Wimborne Road, Moordown, Bournemouth. The CID were tipped off by police widow Ethel Clark, when Boal and Cordey paid rent for a garage, three months' up-front, all in used 10 shilling notes.Other arrests soon followed and thirteen of the gang members were caught and the rest is history.

Keep in touch

Peter

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

You Write:

Griff Writes:

Peter has reminded me in his last piece of the woodworking and metalworking classes in the outer temporary buildings at Court Lane. Ken Wells metalworking class was a new class opportunity and if you recall correctly we had the choice of dropping woodwork and starting metalwork classes and as I remember quite a few of us did just that after 2 years with Mr Bennett. I have to say though that I do quite a bit of woodworking and carpentry in my renovation business and I don't know whether anyone else gets the same feeling but I can feel Mr Bennett sitting on my shoulder and watching me which is not a bad thing really I might add. Remember what he was always saying? Measure twice.....Cut once Boys! What Mr Bennett taught us still carries with me to this day.

The only boy I know who went on to become a fully employed carpenter, as far as I know, was John ( Patrick ) Wilson who lived on the Highbury Estate. I met him at the school reunion we held and he was still working as a carpenter in Portsmouth. If anyone knows where he is can they get in touch with me please.

I actually enjoyed metalwork more than woodwork and I still have my coffee table that we all built circa. 1961/62 and it is still used as well as a platform table for my 3 Granddaughter's Doll House because it is just the right height for them to play with the furniture. I have put up a photo of the coffeee table now 50 years old!.. amazing!

Didn't we all go on to make a model steam engine with Mr. Wells? I'm sure I finished mine but can't remember what happened to it......or did we run out of building time at the end of our 5th year at school?
I bet Melvyn Bridger still has his steam engine.....lol

Regards To Everyone.....Melvyn ( Griff ) Griffiths.



News and Views:

George David Weiss, who co-wrote the Elvis Presley standard, "Can't Help Falling In Love," Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World," Kay Starr's "Wheel Of Fortune" and adapted "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" from the South African tune "Wimoweh," died at his home in Oldwick, New Jersey. He was 89. George also was responsible for Broadway productions like "Mr. Wonderful" with Sammy Davis, Jr. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984.



On this day 4th September 1960-1965.

On 04/09/1960 the number one single was Apache - The Shadows and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 04/09/1960 the number one single was Apache - The Shadows and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho.
A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 04/09/1962 the number one single was I Remember You - Frank Ifield and the number one album was West Side Story Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 04/09/1963 the number one single was Bad to Me - Billy J Kramer and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 04/09/1964 the number one single was Have I the Right? - Honeycombs and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 04/09/1965 the number one single was I Got You Babe - Sonny and Cher and the number one album was Help - 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 Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page No 866

The final three from the Barlow Family Album, all showing Cosham High Street, see if you can spot where the Building School was and where Tesco’s is now!!!

When Peter sent me these photographs he asked why I did not talk about Court Lane Secondary School, so here goes.

But first a welcome to two new old school pals John Lockwood and Phil Wheaton who tells me that he still has an outstanding detention to serve for Reg Davis !!!!

Court Lane School

I suppose that I was like most children in the late 1950’s I thought that if I did not get into one of the Grammar Schools or the Tech. I had failed the 11+ and was doomed to a life at Court Lane.

But once I got over the nervousness of going to a new school, wearing an overlarge new school uniform (it’s got to do you for at least two years dear, I was told), I slowly began to enjoy ‘big school’.

To start with the new school was a bus ride away and if you were crafty you could run down the stairs of the bus and off the platform without paying and so manage to gain extra money in your pocket. The other way was to walk the couple of miles or so, this was fun with your mates on a fine day but I have to admit that on a wet and windy day we resorted to the bus unless there was a cute little lass that you wanted to talk to on your own!!!

Court Lane itself was a bit of a shock. One long corridor with classrooms off, and a two storey building In the middle which housed the headmasters office, his secretary and the holy of holies, the Staff Room. Talking of the Headmaster, he was Wally Dunstan and if you look lower down on the side bar of this blog you will see a photograph of Anida Folland presenting Wally and his wife with a leaving gift. The one thing I cannot remember is his Secretary’s name. Can anyone help?

That long corridor was quite daunting at the east end the first class room was that of Miss Curtis, Flossy as she was known to us! Moving down there was Harry Harrison, Miss Fields a motorcycle riding science terror that we were all terrified of. The George Pledger, the technical drawing expeteacherrt how he ever managed to make such neat drawing on the blackboard with those enormous set squares and rulers I will never know. Further along came June Blitz and her French class, then Ray Dopson who taught English, and finally Mick (Chalky) White another English teacher. Now who remembers these last two collecting the little plastic guards bandsmen from the Corn Flake packets? They encouraged us all to bring in ours from home so that they could race to see who could get a full band first! These were the classrooms where our drama presentations were planned, see the side bar for a programme of three plays from that period. These were the rehearsal rooms, dressing rooms and props rooms whilst the main hall in the Junior School was used as the theatre.

Opposite the headmasters block was the main hall with its two separate entries from that long corridor. Oh, how I remember sitting on the floor in there on my first day as we nervously waited to hear to which classes we were assigned. This hall, as most school halls at the time doubled as a gym hall and a dining hall, I experienced the first but never the second. Off this hall were two classrooms one the music room ruled over by Mr John Stephens, what a production the Messiah was a few years later in Manor Court! The other room was the domain of Bob Coulthard and his Geography students.

Over the years the school had grown and outer building were added, again see the side bar. Here on the east end of the site was the Domestic Science Room of Enid Tuffin and the Needlework room of Miss Crocker. ( I remember Anida telling me that she was never very good at needlework and one day Miss Crocker said in a loud voice Anida Folland I am sure that I would be able to see those stitches from the top of Portsdown Hill. Some eyesight Ehh!!!). Right down by the school fence were the two workshops , the metalwork room of Ken Wells who only passed away in the last couple of years and the woodwork shop of Harold Bennett, I do have to say that I never did well in either of those workshops.

I have left the double ended hut at the west end of the site to last as that is where any red blooded boy really wanted to go as in one end was the class room of Miss Burden and the other the room of Jill Coggan, both well worth staring at for a complete lesson!!

Finally we did not have any playing fields so on sports afternoon it was time to crowd onto a double decker bus as it made its way to the playing fields at East Lodge. The worse thing was there was no time to change before we left either end so we had to change on the bus, very unhygienic. The other sports trip we had was to the original Victoria swimming baths which were right next to the City Mortuary (bet you did not know that!). This was even worse changing wise as three of us had to crowd into a poolside booth and attempt to either put on a woollen bathing costume or afterwards trying to get socks onto damp feet.

On reflection I enjoyed myself at Court Lane with its big playground out the front and what we all thought of as old buildings 53 years ago and they are still going strong!

I also remember the move from Court Lane to the brand new Manor Court, did you know it was originally going to be called Court Manor, doesn’t have the same ring does it? I also remember at the end of the Summer Term of 1960 pushing several four wheeled trolleys loaded with chairs and desks from one school to another, Ah well So much for memory.

Keep in touch

Peter

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

You Write:

John Asks:-

The 4 distinct different area's that Manor Court pupils came from in the Schools catchment area were
· Highbury
· East Cosham
· Drayton
· Farlington
Was there any rivalry, did some kids look down on some of the others, I think they did and I was aware of a few fights and stand off between these groups. Hopefully things have changed since them times or have they?

News and Views:

Jack Parnell the man who provided the music for shows such as Sunday Night At The London Palladium and wrote the theme tunes to programmes including The Golden Shot during his time as musical director at ATV died a couple of days after his 87th birthday. In 1951 left the Ted Heath band to lead 12-piece and then a 16-piece band. When ITV launched, he landed the role of musical director for ATV. During his decades at the broadcaster, he worked with legends such as Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr, Lena Horne and Nat King Cole. He also made series with Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck, acted as a panellist on TV talent show New Faces and was musical director for programmes such as The Benny Hill Show and a production of Peter Pan starring Mia Farrow, Sir John Gielgud and Danny Kaye. He also composed signature tunes for programmes such as Family Fortunes. In the late 1970s he began his association with The Muppet Show, for which he conducted the orchestra and frequently appeared on screen. He retired from ATV in 1982, when it became Central Television, moving to Southwold but continuing to perform with the all-star veterans group Best Of British Jazz with trumpeter Kenny Baker and trombonist Don Lusher. He also played with his small group for weekly shows at the Green Man in Rackheath. Jack Parnell died

On this day 28th August 1960-1965.

On 28/08/1960 the number one single was Apache - The Shadows 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 Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 28/08/1961 the number one single was You Don't Know - Helen Shapiro and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Blackpool Tower Circus (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.


On 28/08/1962 the number one single was I Remember You - Frank Ifield and the number one album was Pot Luck - 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.


On 28/08/1963 the number one single was Bad to Me - Billy J Kramer and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Martin Luther King gives I Have A Dream speech

On 28/08/1964 the number one single was Have I the Right? - Honeycombs and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 28/08/1965 the number one single was I Got You Babe - Sonny and Cher and the number one album was Help - 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 Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page No 864

First Picture:

Norman Folland at Court Lane in the 1950’s

Second Picture:

The other end of the motorcycle world the AA bike



This week’s page comes from Steve Timms and in the News and Views section a suggestion from Griff about our corporate 65th birthdays. See what you think and let me know.

Rockers’ Revenge_

‘Dixon of Dock Green’ wasn’t exactly ‘The Wire’. But, back in the fifties, a big percentage of Britain’s population would tune in each week to see wrongs righted and bad ‘uns brought to justice.

One episode concerned itself with the menace of tearaway teens taking to the newly-built bypasses on powerful motor­cycles and treating them like their own private racetrack. These delinquent youths clad in the rebel uniform of blue jeans, boots and black leather jacket, would gather at transport cafes where the neon lights never went out and a truck driver headed north could fill his fuel tank and his belly and perhaps satisfy less salubrious desires any hour of the day or night. As well as a relaxed attitude towards the age and attire of their clientele and their geographic location, most often out-of-town, at the end of invitingly fast and open arterial roads.

One other fixture made the 24hrs transport caffs the spiritual home of the café racers; the jukebox in the corner blaring non-stop raucous rock n roll. It was the jukebox that formed an essential part of the plot, someone would stick a sixpence in the slot and the second the hiss of needle on vinyl came out the speaker, boots would scuffle on linoleum in a mad scramble for the door. The bikes would be quickly kicked into life and roar off into the night headed for a prearranged turning point a market square statue, a bridge or a boozer then it was the speed thrill of a flat to the tank, hell for leather tilt to get back to the caff before the music died .

The programme illustrated with perhaps more melodrama than was necessary the inevitable consequences of such reckless bravado acted out within the confines of the Queen’s Highway. Broken bones, mangled motor­cycles, a young life snuffed out too soon and a heartfelt homily from the silver haired Sergeant on the foolhardiness of youth.

The thing about record racing was that no one could actually remember it actually happening before that broadcast. Because of course it was an invention of the scriptwriters.

There may have been no account of it before but there was certainly plenty of it afterwards. Life imitated art and the consequences were quite often, death. ‘Suicide Club!’ screamed ‘The Daily Mirror’ on its front page and accompanied it with a fantastic photograph of one of these ‘Coffee Bar Cowboys’. He’s cornering hard on a big, British twin-cylinder motor­cycle, urging it on to 100mph the mythical ‘ton’ and looking very cool indeed in a road racer’s crash helmet, skin-tight black leathers and a white silk scarf fluttering like a pirate flag in his wake.

The fastest and best-looking bikes had always been British bikes. Methanol burning Matchless V-twin racers had thrilled and terrified audiences. Between the wars and for a decade after the second great conflict the peerless Brough Superior and then the invincible Vincent had ruled the roads. But these were thoroughbred motor­cycles intended for adventurous chaps of independent means. An ordinary working man might as well have aspired to an invite for cocktails at the Savoy with Noel Coward. Anyway it wasn’t just that the purchase price was beyond the means of those who had to actually work for a living. There was also the small matter of coming up with the full amount upon delivery. Hire Purchase had been around since before the war but it was Harold Macmillan’s Tory govt. that really encouraged it in the late fifties. ‘You never had it so good’ said Macmillan. The truth for most ordinary working people was that they’d never had it all. Never mind so good.

Britain embraced ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ with gusto. Now Dad could have the Ford Anglia he’d lusted after (yes, people really did lust after Ford Anglias) Mum could trade her Eubank for a Hoover. And, if he was in work and could persuade his parents to sign the papers, then perhaps their teenage son could get himself a Triumph Bonneville or a BSA Gold Star. Both had been designed to separate cash rich North American buyers from their dollars. So lashings of chrome plating, two-tone paintwork and hand painted pinstripes replaced the staid livery that most British built motor­cycles had been previously offered in. But that wasn’t enough for the Café Racers. They modified their machines so that they would take on the long and low look the race bikes they saw parked up still steaming in the paddock after a thrash around Brands Hatch.

Race bikes were built with a single purpose speed. Riders were laid out along the bike to spread their weight and present a low profile to cut through the air. To achieve this racing stance foot pegs were shifted right back along the bike and the handlebars were either lowered or dispensed with altogether in favour of lightweight ‘clip-ons’ that attached directly to the front forks. A tiny fairing might be fitted for the rider to tuck in behind. Anything designed with comfort or weather protection in mind was either got rid of or cut back to a bare minimum. Essential items like frames or foot pegs were drilled full of holes to reduce weight (it also looked good) and big comfy saddles were replaced by Spartan racing perches, which had the added advantage of enforcing intimacy with any female brave enough to ask for a lift home from the caff. Lightweight alloys replaced heavyweight steel where possible. Although a long range endurance racing fuel tank would often actually weigh quite a bit more than the item fitted at the factory but with a its quick release strap fixing and pop off fuel cap it didn’t ‘arf look fast. Before the war German race car engineers had scraped the paint from their cars to reduce weight. Or so the story went. Shame it’s not true. But keen to incorporate any performance enhancing modification in their machines café racers stripped away the paint and polished parts to within an inch of their existence… It may not have made their bikes go faster. But….yes, that’s right, you’ve got it, it made them look faster.

The ultimate Café Racer was the Triton. It was a hybrid, but not in the modern sense. Those who built and owned Tritons were more interested in ruling the road than saving the planet. So they took the rather under powered engines out of Norton motor­cycles famed for their road holding and handling of rigid chassis nicknamed ‘The Featherbed’ for reasons that have never really made much sense and inserted the twin cylinder and twin carburettor motor from a Triumph Bonneville. Best not to ask where so many Triumphs willing to donate their engines came from.

The idea that Rockers were scruffy and didn’t care about how they looked is ridiculous and has been put about by the Mods. Anyone who ever owned a copy of Johnny Stuarts ‘Rockers!’ Which boasted on the cover that it was the most shop lifted book in London could see for themselves. ‘The Look’ was Ashman Gold Top racing boots with white fisherman’s socks tucked in over the top, leather trousers and a black leather jacket the best quality and also the best looking had the distinctive red satin quilted lining synonymous with Lewis Leathers of London. A white silk scarf has always looked rakish. And, if you could afford it, you’d top it off with a crash helmet and goggles. And when I say crash helmet I don’t mean the ridiculous ‘Corkers’ worn by scooter types. Proper ‘Jet’ style helmets as worn by the six-time world champion Geoff Duke. The truth was that Ton up Boys and Café Racers cared about the way they looked as much as any mod.

No modern bike will ever look as good as the Café Racers of the late fifties and early sixties for the same reason that no modern train will ever look as good as Mallard, no plane will ever look as good as Concorde and no car will ever look as good as a ‘55 Mercedes SL, a‘61 E-Type or a ’67 Mustang. The difference between everything else I’ve mentioned is that almost all of us could aspire to a Café Racer. There are modern motor­cycles from the likes of Ducati, Triumph and Moto Guzzi trying to pass themselves off as café racers. But why not go for the genuine article instead? A Gold Star or Bonneville can be had for five grand and I just say an immaculate Triton sell at auction for eight thousand including commission. Go on, you’ve got the leather jacket– now get the bike to go with it.

Keep in touch

Peter

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

You Write:

Colin Writes:-

I left Manor Court (Then Springfield) in 1972. Recently I met up with Andy Spenceley (Classmate from 72) who now resides in Johannesburg. Amazing after 38 years.

News and Views:

Hello Gang!
Well, it won't have escaped your notice I reckon that you have realised that we are all 65 in the early part of next year which is a real milestone birthday and event which should be celebrated if only in the knowledge that we all get a pay rise with the Senior Citizens Pension ( I hate the expression Old Age Pensioner ! ) and a rise in taxable allowances and judging by our present government's intentions we have just clipped in for it as well.
Now personally I am not " retiring" and provided I can remain in good working health I shall carry on until I am around 70 as a self-employed renovator of houses with my own working hours though and still carry on doing something which I actually enjoy doing, in fact, I have taken on another house renovation project right now in order to keep the brain cell occupied and from not seizing up !

So.... here is the important bit coming up..........

The De-Vere hotel in Swindon hold some very good dinner/dance cabaret nights on or around February and March and on my last Birthday I took the family to a Beatles Dinner Night which I have to say was excellent and the food & service was also excellent. We all had a thoroughly good night. Tickets were around £28 each which I thought was good value considering the evening's entertainment and standard of cuisine.

So what I am suggesting is why don't we have own large round table for a suitable venue around that time to celebrate our Birthdays. You may stay at the hotel as well on a big discount for a standard room. On the Sunday everyone can come back to my place in the afternoon for tea, sandwiches and a sticky-bun before departing for home.

I will organise the bookings for the evening dinner dance and enquire about room rates etc. for everyone.
It will require monies up front about 6 weeks prior to the chosen event because these evenings sell out very quickly indeed and you have no chance of booking anything 2-3 weeks before because they are all sold out. You have a choice of menu which is also required from you at the time of paying.
There are quite a few things to do if you make a weekend of it as the De-Vere is situated on an entertainment complex or you might like to visit the Great Western Designer Outlet Village which is about a mile or so away. The ASDA shopping Mall is also directly opposite the De-Vere

To get the ball rolling I will need to know who is up for it (and who is not) and would like to come along so as I can do some planning. So please give me an indication of your intentions as soon as you can.

http://www.devereshawridge.co.uk/index.htm Click on link................

Regards Griff.

On this day 21st August 1960-1965.

On 21/08/1960 the number one single was Please Don't Tease - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 21/08/1961 the number one single was You Don't Know - Helen Shapiro and the number one album was Black & White Minstrel Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.



On 21/08/1962 the number one single was I Remember You - Frank Ifield and the number one album was West Side Story Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 21/08/1963 the number one single was Sweets For My Sweet - Searchers and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 21/08/1964 the number one single was Do Wah Diddy Diddy - Manfred Mann and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. 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 Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 21/08/1965 the number one single was Help - The Beatles and the number one album was Liverpool. 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 £not very interesting and 11.69 were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Riviera Police (AR)".

Web Page No 862.

Top Picture: Pompey group The Cadilacs




Bottom Picture: Ricky’s Club in Goldsmith Avenue





What a Great Exhibition.


An exhibition in Portsmouth City Museum ( I remember it as the Duchess of Kent Barracks, the Wrennery!) entitled The Birth of Pompey & Southsea Pop & Rock has just ended. Imagine the year is 1960 and a 20-year-old Cliff Richard is leading the way as British rock 'n' rollers burst onto the scene with their revolutionary music and leading showbiz photographer Harry Hammond was there and it was his pictures that formed the basis of this exhibition – along with clothes, instruments and other memorabilia from the 1950s and 60s.

Harry Hammond photographed virtually every leading British musician, as well as many visiting American artists. From Tommy Steele to the Beatles, Shirley Bassey to Dusty Springfield, he captured the emergence of rock 'n' roll and the stars of the time. As well as the Hammond photographs, the exhibition featured a period soundtrack and an interactive quiz with film clips. But any local music fans were certainly fascinated by one special collection of items as part of the exhibition. This included a red drape suit worn by Colin Quaintance, lead singer of the Portsmouth rock 'n' roll band The Cadillacs, the drum kit played by fellow band member Bryan Hatchard was also there. Then there was a brightly patterned shirt which was worn by Chris Harvey of Portsmouth group The Live Five when they appeared in the 1959 Cliff Richard film Expresso Bongo, the display also featured his guitar.

Another item was a washboard signed by skiffle stars, a signed Manfred Mann LP, fascimiles of autographs of stars such as The Beatles and Rod Stewart, these were collected in the 60s by a local fan and there were posters from the Birdcage club in Southsea (they brought back some memories).

A recorded oral history featuring local people talking about the 50s and 60s was interesting and there was an area where people had brought in pictures of themselves and items such as concert tickets and posters from that era. Imagine my surprise when I saw not only tickets for the Manor Court Youth Club (a little after my time, these were 1968) and a membership card. I remember having one of those and Steve and I also remember being there in the Youth Wing on the very first night, actually if you look at the side bar there are three pictures of the opening night courtesy of Steve. One other very clear memory I have of the Manor Court Club is of Friday 22nd September 1963 just after 7.00pm. It was then that the news of President Kennedy’s assassination came through. The whole club went quiet and every one slowly drifted away. There was no music or dancing that night as the club was deserted by 7.30pm

In a 10-year period popular music was transformed in terms of style and instruments; it changed from crooners with dance bands and ballad singers to electric guitar based music.

In 1956, British jazz drummer Tony Crombie formed what was reputed to be the very first professional British rock 'n' roll touring and recording act, Tony Crombie & his Rockets. Their debut was on a variety bill at the New Theatre Royal on September 10th of that year.

One other thing that I found interesting was the list of music venues in Portsmouth. Many I have mentioned before on other pages but here are a few I had forgotten. The Cambridge Hotel in Southsea, the Cobden Arms in Portsmouth for traditional jazz, Ricky’s in Goldsmith Avenue which eventually became one of the first Disco’s in town. The Bottle in the Wall in Hampshire Terrace featured folk music with artists such as Caroline Hester and Jon Isherwood as did the Talbot Hotel in Fratton; and then of course there were the many homes of the Rendezvous Club.

There were local bands in abundance The Cadillacs, Tangerine Slyde, The Four Tunes, Southern Sounds, The Classics who broke up and formed the basis of Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, Manfred Mann, The Saints Skiffle Group, The Rivals and the vocal group The Honeys. The list seems endless, but it was all live music played by real musicians.

One point of interest is that Frank Kelly who now lives in Titchfield was Portsmouth’s first recording pop singer. He recorded with a group called The Hunters and only ever recorded on the Fontana label in 1962 Send Me The Pillow That You Dream On/ 'Cept Me, in 1963 I Saw Linda Yesterday/ Good And True and What Do You Wanna Do/ She Loves Me So and in 1964 Some Other Time/ Why Baby Why. The Hunters were a similar sounding group to the Shadows but had only one chart entry which was as the backing group on Dave Sampson's self penned song 'Sweet Dreams'.

Keep in touch

Peter

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

You Write:

Smoking response:

Steve Writes:-

Re have a fag, you know me as the non P.C. type and (all round rebel) and as you know still smoke rollups. So can comment on some of this, yes the Liquorice papers are still out there and both Christine and I prefer them. I have probably tried most of the brands of manufactured fags from those days, Passing Clouds, Joysticks (Super Kingsize and sold in singles), Players Weights (my first taste) of the devil sticks! Then the ones that almost put me off smoking forever, Solbrany 'Black Russian' Black paper with a gold filter tip I believe? Only had the one and it made me feel sick for hours after! Zippo lighters are still sold, in fact I am still using one now, but our local Tobacconist shop like most has gone.

'Cool as a mountain stream' I think that was the ad for Consulate Menthol fags? That seemed to be a favourite brand for Women, my late Mum smoked those until she packed in her mid 40s, Christine also started to smoke them.

I also started off with the Rizla machine, until a friend taught me how to roll by hand and actually found it easier once I got the hang of it. Plus I had less accoutrements to carry around with me. Tried the other filthy habit of snuff a few times, trying to be like my Granddad who was probably addicted to it. Also tried a pipe but never got on with that, it burned my throat plus I couldn't keep it from rattling about in my clenched teeth.

Melv writes:-

Peter was talking about smoking recently which has brought back a few memories for me of the dreaded weed. I too gave up smoking years ago, about 38 years to be precise but whose counting eh! Probably the most difficult thing I have ever had to do and I still get a whiff of nostalgia when someone lights up a fag so it just goes to show how addictive nicotine can be. I had been a smoker albeit a social smoker really since the age of 14 when I use to pinch one or two of my Mum's Craven 'A' ciggies and puff away behind a bush in the grounds of the deserted Flint House ( remember that place! ). If my Mum was short of ciggies and she would notice them missing then it would 5 Woodbines from Taylor's shop and a cough as it was just about all I could afford in those days.

The "Posh" cigarettes that Peter refers to were called Sobranie Black Russian and were considered to be the luxury end of the smoker's market and the multi coloured ones with the gold filter tip were Sobranie Cocktail for the Ladies as they were considered to be the height of coolness. I didn't know any Girls who smoked those cigarettes....lol

Smoking is now in such a minority with people now which can only be a good thing in my view when you see the harm that prolonged smoking does to your body and in particular the lungs. I have not had a puff now for nearly 40 years but I swear if nuclear WW 3 does break out I will be forced to reach for a fag and a bottle of 12 year old malt whisky and utter those immortal words.......anyone got a light?

News and Views:

Ray Davies of The Kinks has put his Konk Recording Studio in London up for sale. The asking price is £2 million. The sale is not expected to go through until September.

On this day 14th August 1960-1965.

On 14/08/1960 the number one single was Please Don't Tease - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 14/08/1961 the number one single was You Don't Know - Helen Shapiro and the number one album was Black & White Minstrel Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Harpers West One (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 14/08/1962 the number one single was I Remember You - Frank Ifield and the number one album was West Side Story Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Mont Blanc tunnel completed

On 14/08/1963 the number one single was Sweets For My Sweet - Searchers and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Great Train Robbery.
On 14/08/1964 the number one single was Do Wah Diddy Diddy - Manfred Mann and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 14/08/1965 the number one single was Help - The Beatles and the number one album was Help - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Riviera Police (AR) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page No 860.

Top Picture: The very first Hovertravel poster





Bottom Picture: The Hovergirls. L to R: Jilly Jacobs, Jenny Caparnie, Linda Lever, Mary Sexstone (now I bet she had trouble with her name at school!!!).

Ticket to Ryde (Ride)

The Inauguration of Hovertravel in 1965 just brings it into the brief of this blog. The six men that started the company all admired Sir Christopher Cockerell's invention, but to make it viable they needed to offer passengers a service that they couldn't get from a ferry; the beach at Ryde provided the answer. The low tides in the area take the sea out far beyond the town's esplanade, and it has always been impossible for any ship to berth anywhere near roads or bus routes. Until 1965 the only passenger ferries from Portsmouth stopped at the end of Ryde's half mile long pier.

Obviously ferries still have to use the end of the pier today. But the Hovertravel entrepreneurs seized on the hovercraft s ability to travel across both water and land. No matter what the tide was doing, passengers could embark and disembark in exactly the right place, with no need to trundle up and down the pier by foot, tram or train as an additional requirement of their journey.

So the Hovertravel route was born, adapted over the years, but always operating to use the unique advantage that the hovercraft has over all other forms of transport.

The partners that created Hovertravel shared a love of sailing, pioneer ventures, and a certain daredevilry. They were Desmond Norman and John Britten, who had founded the Britten-Norman aircraft company on the Isle of Wight; Don Robertson, an outstanding pilot who had flown pre-war mail planes in the Arctic and served as a Spitfire test pilot; Edwin Gifford, a civil engineer; Frank Mann, Desmond Norman's partner in an aerial crop-spraying company; and David Webb, a chartered accountant.

The first Ryde terminal was a very basic affair on the seafront and there were two mainland terminals one at Southsea which still exists and one on Stokes Bay in Gosport.

The company's first hovercraft, a 38-seater Westland SR.N6, arrived on 24th July 1965, and Hovertravel went straight into business, making its first passenger crossing from Stokes Bay just before noon on that day.The company's Senior Captain, and initially its sole pilot, was Peter Ayles, who gave the Governor of the Isle of Wight, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, his first hovercraft trip when he inaugurated the service on 4th August 1965.

Unsurprisingly, the public initially regarded Hovertravel and its workings with some hilarity in 1965. The bureaucratic farrago that was involved in dealing with numerous legislative bodies while everyone debated whether the hovercraft was a plane or a ship (or possibly neither) caused particular merriment and the arrival of a pair of caravans to use as terminals added greatly to the fun.

Within a few weeks, the SR.N6 had carried over 30,000 passengers. Hovertravel celebrated with champagne when over 1,000 passengers used the service in a single day. Less than six months after the inauguration, 116,000 passengers had discovered the joys of the hovercraft.

The first timetables were a byword of easy-going enterprise. Initially there were no fixed schedules, with the hovercraft running on demand until more practical methods were devised. The Senior Captain, Peter Ayles, once set a personal record of 77 crossings in a single day, later he had his workload eased when Tony Smith and Peter Atkinson were recruited as pilots. Highly qualified as they were, they still did their stint on the ticket desk when the need arose.

The fares were 7s 6d (37'/ip) for early morning journeys, and a 10s (50p) for crossings made after 10.30am. Much excitement was aroused by the arrival of an exotic team of cabin crew. These sensational females, known as the Hovergirls, will be remembered forever by all who had the good fortune to encounter their daring fashion sense and their willingness to expose their knees.

The Stokes Bay service closed in 1967, but the Ryde-Southsea service became increasingly popular. In 1968, Hovertravel carried its millionth passenger.

The Solent service began operating a regular timetable and by the end of 1970 had achieved a total of 15,000 running hours, with 17,000 crossings made in that year alone. The company's finances, initially somewhat precarious, improved enormously.

Hovercraft technology and commercial requirements have changed greatly in the past forty years, and Hovertravel is in many ways very different from the company that those six partners set up in 1965, but it has always been inspired by their founding principle. For forty years, the hovercraft has been the fastest and most convenient way to cross the Solent, and Hovertravel is proud that it still serves to provide its customers with this unique service.

In 1965 the hovercraft took less than ten minutes to cross the Solent, and that efficiency remains today, although not on the scale achieved in 1970 when the SR.N5 achieved a record crossing time of 4mins 53secs - albeit with no passengers aboard to experience this invigorating trip.

Hovertravel's cross-Solent service was inaugurated in the same year as The Beatles had a hit with Ticket to Ride. Although the title had distinctly less salubrious connotations, it also contained a double - meaning that referred to the visits Paul McCartney had made to Ryde, where his cousin once owned a bar.


Keep in touch

Peter

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

You Write:-

Martin replies to Melv’s question about the School Secretary

Tell Melv her name was Mrs. Richardson..............and I do believe she came to Manor Court for a while............Nice lady....always a smile on her face..........

So does Peter.

Mrs Richardson was the school secretary at Court Lane For as long as I can remember.

News and Views:

You will not be surprised to know that there are a number of Beatles songs in the top 20 for the 60s, but also included is Ken Dodd (Tears), The Seekers (The Carnival Is Over) and Engelbert (Release Me). Rock and Roll!

On this day 7th August 1960-1965.

On 07/08/1960 the number one single was Shakin' All Over - Johnny Kidd & the Pirates and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Castro nationalises all US property.

On 07/08/1961 the number one single was Well I Ask You - Eden Kane and the number one album was Black & White Minstrel Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Top Secret (AR) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 07/08/1962 the number one single was I Remember You - Frank Ifield and the number one album was West Side Story Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 07/08/1963 the number one single was (You're the) Devil In Disguise - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Fears over Washington Freedom March.

On 07/08/1964 the number one single was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 07/08/1965 the number one single was Help - The Beatles and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Riviera Police (AR) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page No 858

Top Picture: A Player Please sign often seen on the pavement outside tobacconists back in the days when most of the population smoked. Very non pc now!








Bottom Picture: du Maurier the cigarette of the moment.












Time for a Fag.

I just got to thinking the other day about the reduction in number of smokers nationally (I myself have not smoked for over 35 years) and the loss in revenue that the tax and duty man must be feeling, I suppose we all now make up the shortfall some in some other way! But moving on from the subject of money there are now a whole range of products and services that we saw around as children that have now become rare or have almost completely disappeared.

To start with take a major manufacturing firm like Ronson who must have sold millions and millions of cigarette and table lighters in its time, their business must have fallen off almost completely. But think about it, it was not just the lighters that they produced but also lighter flints, replacement lighter wheels and wicks, not forgetting lighter fuel and later on lighter gas. (I bet you all remember your mother getting bicycle or other greasy marks off your clothes with one of thos plastic amber lighter fuel pods?) Ronson were not the only lighter producing company though, I seem to remember there was Colbi from France who also produced lighters as did the American company Zippo (Zippo lighters became a cult accessory at one time). An indication of the reduction in smoking is the fact that nowadays cars are no longer fitted with cigar or cigarette lighters but accessory power points for your satnav etc.

Starting with cigarettes especially the hand-rolling sort, how often do you see a Rizla cigarette-rolling machine with its boxes of filter tips around today. I know my grandmother, for a time in the late 1950’s, used to roll her own using one of these machines, I sometimes tried to do it for her but was useless. Hand rolling has not completely died out and Rizlas red and green papers can still be bought but how about the black liquorish ones, are they still about?

Other things that have long disappeared, or at least have gone into a deep retreat are leather and plastic tobacco pouches and wooden, china or Bakelite tobacco jars, wooden spills for the fire, pipe cleaners and pipe bowl reamers, metal cigarette cases and ivory cigarette holders, advertising book matches and fancy match box covers, tins of snuff and plain and fancy ashtrays. The last one must really have hit the retailer at the popular tourist resorts really hard, as taking granddad home an ashtray from your holiday was one of the accepted things.

Mouth hygiene must also have been hit. Can you still buy Eucryl Smokers Toothpaste and tooth brushes I wonder? The major suppliers of menthol must also have felt the pinch as no longer can cigarettes be described as being as ‘Cool as a Mountain Stream’. In some posh circles Cocktail Cigarettes were all the rage, these came in a flat box and were made in pretty pastel colours with gold filter tips, not exactly a box you could pass around the public bar of The George on a Friday night! Then there were those terrible things called herbal cigarettes; not being made of tobacco and so contained no nicotine it was claimed that you could smoke these without any fear of infection or disease. I must say that way back in the 1960’s I did actually buy a packet and try them, it was like smoking a bonfire, hot, dry and tasted terrible. BUT I understand that they are still on the market!!!

Naturally we are all too young to remember Cigarette Cards but I do remember collecting unusual match boxes (White Heather and Collis being just two) and I suppose the pipe manufactures must have had a big down turn in trade as well, which probably saved a good few mature Briar bushes!!

When we were kids smoking was the norm at home, at work, in the pub or in the cinema where up on the screen the glamorous Hollywood actress always posed with a cigarette in a holder and the smoke drifting languidly upwards.

Now today, as far as I can remember, I have only two friends that smoke, I do not even have an ashtray in the house and as I look around at the young people these days I am sure that there are more girls who smoke than men. Finally do you remember the old no smoking advert that used to say it must be ‘like kissing an ashtray’.


Keep in touch

Peter

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

You Write:

Melv asks:

When we moved from Court Lane to Manor Court did the Headmasters secretary move with us or did she stay behind in Court Lane. I think the Secretary at Manor Court was Mrs Richardson but I am not sure, can anyone help?

News and Views:

Handwritten lyrics by John Lennon for the Beatles' "A Day In The Life" sold for $1.2 million at a New York City auction on June 18th. The winning bid was placed by phone and the buyer remained anonymous.

On this day 30th July 1960-1965.

On 30/07/1960 the number one single was Please Don't Tease - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was Elvis Is Back - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 30/07/1961 the number one single was Temptation - Everly Brothers and the number one album was Tottenham Hotspur. The top rated TV show was Harpers West One (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £not very interesting and 13.25 were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was No Hiding Place (AR).

On 30/07/1962 the number one single was I Remember You - Frank Ifield and the number one album was Pot Luck - 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 30/07/1963 the number one single was Confessin' - Frank Ifield 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 30/07/1964 the number one single was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 30/07/1965 the number one single was Mr Tambourine Man - Byrds 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 856

Top Picture: Frankie Lyman in his Hey Day





Bottom Picture: The Long Haired Lover from Liverpool, Jimmy Osmond





Child Stars
One who fell by the wayside and one who progressed



Frankie Lymon was born in New York on 30th September 1942 and died in the same city on 28th February 1968 at that time he had been married to Emira Eagle for only eight months.
He most noted for the song "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" which he sang with a group of school friends in a group called the Coupe de Villes, later renamed the Teenagers. "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?," was released in 1955 and the following year he and the group appeared in films Rock, Rock, Rock and Mr. Rock and Roll, During late 1955 and early 1956 they toured Britain but after a musical disagreement Frankie Lymon left the group the following year. From then on he decended into the world of drugs and in 1961 entered a drug rehabilitation program. A reunion and reworking of their music was tried in 1965 but did not succeed.
Frankie Lymon's short life took him from modest beginnings, to international stardom at 13 then down a long descent into drug addiction and an early death. He was the first African American teen heartthrob and inspired a host of other young musicians, such as Michael Jackson. Frankie Lymon's career was born at the very beginning of the rock and roll era and the song with which he remains identified, "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?, is now considered a classic. "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" was released in January of 1956 and shared the charts with Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins, it reached Number One on the R&B charts and Number Six on the pop charts and became a hit in England reaching Number One. Despite competition from cover versions by white singers, "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" topped the charts for several weeks.
However he could not cope with his sudden fame and who spent the final years of his life battling drug addiction. He worked hard to resurrect his career and took drumming lessons. However, his attempts at a musical comeback were overshadowed by his abuse of drugs and in 1964, he was arrested on drug charges. In February 1968 he left for New York to make a publicity appearance. When his wife tried to contact him she was unsuccessful. On February 28th, he was found dead of a heroin overdose in his grandmother's Harlem apartment.
Following his death, a bitter court battle ensued to determine ownership rights to "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" All of the Teenagers filed suit and two of the members, Herman Santiago and Jimmy Merchant, eventually won the case. At the same time, two women who claimed to have been married to Frankie Lymon battled his widow, Emira, for rights to his estate. The court determined that Emira was the sole heir to Lymon's fortune.
Despite Lymon's troubled life and tragic death, the popularity of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" has not diminished. It is considered a rock and roll standard and many artists, including Diana Ross, have recorded versions of the song. The song also appeared on the soundtrack of George Lucas's 1973 hit film American Graffiti. In 1998 his life became the subject of a movie, "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?," which showcased both his years of stardom and the miseries of his later life.

Jimmy Osmond is a multi-faceted entrepreneur, who has had success on and off stage. Through his vast experience and knowledge in the entertainment industry he has produced and promoted record breaking world-wide tours, ice shows, a variety of commercials and coordinated celebrity commercial endorsements. He is the youngest member of the famous Osmond family and received his first award at when only seven receiving a gold record for a song he recorded in Japanese, “My Little Darling.” The same year he was named Japan's “Male Vocalist of the Year.” As a solo artist he has six gold records, one platinum record, and two gold albums. In addition, Jimmy and his family have sold over 100 million records and share 51 gold and platinum recordings along with numerous other awards.
Before he was 15, Jimmy had developed and supervised most of the Osmonds' merchandising business and launched a successful advertising agency that handled production campaigns for corporations such as Yamaha and Coca-Cola. Also he starred in his first film, “The Great Brain” and went on to feature in two award winning episodes of “Fame”; plus also starring in his own show to sell-out crowds in Madison Square Garden.
In addition to live performances, Jimmy and his companies have produced over 1100 hours of programmes including films, TV movies, TV specials, music videos, commercials and industrial videos for major corporations. Jimmy served as the executive producer of the ABC television movie, “Inside The Osmonds” and as a consultant to Warner Brothers. He was also asked by the Chinese government to be the producer and consultant for live entertainment shows in China.
In 1992 he married Michelle Larson and they have four children. Soon after they were married, Jimmy moved his operations from Los Angeles, to Branson, Missouri and since then Jimmy’s production company, Osmond Family Theater Productions have been hugely successful. Jimmy was honored by the US Junior Chamber of Commerce as one of Ten Outstanding Young Americans in 1999. Other Outstanding Young Americans in the past include John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, Dan Quayle, Al Gore, Howard Hughes, Elvis Presley, and Christopher Reeve.
Throughout his time in the business, Jimmy has continued to tour with the family. In 2004 he made his solo debut in a musical performing in “Boogie Nights” for the summer season in the seaside resort of Blackpool. The show broke box office records and paved the way for Jimmy to take his “Jimmy Osmond’s American Jukebox Show” back to Blackpool the following year, brothers Jay and Wayne joined him in this variety show. Whilst in Britain he appeared in ‘I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here’, ‘Celebrity Family Fortunes’, ‘Everybody Dance Now’ and ‘Celebrity Come Dine With Me’. In December 2008, Jimmy made his debut in Pantomime as Buttons in ‘Cinderella’ and made his debut in the West End in “Grease” in January 2009.
He is also an accomplished artist and cartoonist, holds numerous board positions, and as a member of the National Board of Governors for the Children's Miracle Network, he has assisted in raising over 4 billion dollars to benefit Children's hospitals in the US. His passion for the work of this charitable foundation has resulted in him accepting a position on the UK Board and he is working with them to bring the same benefits to Children’s Hospitals in the UK.
This young entrepreneur has not rested on his laurels but has continued to live under the strict Mormon discipline guidelines of integrity, wholesome entertainment, and hard work. Whether it's family, business, or civic duties, Jimmy Osmond strives to be the best

Keep in touch

Peter

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

You Write:

Roland Writes:- The New Inn was a great centre for the young element of Drayton. It was to the New Inn that one would go to hear about up-coming weekend parties and to meet new and old friends.


News and Views:

Roy Rogers horse fetches $266,500 Trigger, the stuffed horse belonging to actor and singer Roy Rogers, has fetched $266,500 (£174,000) at an auction. Christie's auction house, which ran the sale along with Western auctioneer High Noon Americana, said the collection of items related to Roy Rogers and his wife Dale Evan's roles on television and in the movies brought in $2.9 million. Trigger, the palomino horse which Roy Rogers had stuffed after it died in 1965, was bought by rural US cable television station RFD-TV for $266,500, while his saddle fetched $386,500 (£252,000) from a private buyer. Other top sellers included Roy Rogers' 1963 Pontiac Bonneville. The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum, which was based in Branson, Missouri was closed in 2009. Roy Rogers died in 1998 at age 86 and Dale Evans in 2001. The more than 300 items included in the sale ran from Roy's sunglasses to a sterling silver belt buckle to a Roy Rogers director’s chair.


On this day 23rd July 1960-1965.

On 23/07/1960 the number one single was Good Timin' - Jimmy Jones and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.


On 23/07/1961 the number one single was Temptation - Everly Brothers 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 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 23/07/1963 the number one single was Confessin' - Frank Ifield 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 23/07/1964 the number one single was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles 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 Postal strike ends.

On 23/07/1965 the number one single was Mr Tambourine Man - Byrds 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 854

Two more pictures from the Barlow collection. These two show the demolition of Widley Street which was about 30 yards north of Havant Road opposite the Red Lion. The big house in the foreground, belonged to Coopers Scrapyard.

Kellys.

Not long ago I bought a 1964 copy of Kelly’s Street Directory for Portsmouth. Not only did it remind me of where people lived and who their neighbours were, it also gave me an insight, through the advertisements, as to the business community in the City. Names that I had long forgotten.

Here are a few:-

Some of the best known Estate Agents were Field & Palmer, Chartered Auctioneer and Estate agents of Hampshire Terrace, Bush & Tidy of Grove Road, Southsea, Hall Pain and Foster and Butler and Cooke had branches all over town as did Whitehead & Whitehead, Medlam had a branch in Drayton and Waterfield and Stanford a branch in North End.

Tony F Newell Builder and Decorator of 3 Drayton Lane, I knew his brother Brian, Tony’s sales slogan was ‘You name – we do it, a bit of an inflated claim I would have thought! There was also the Builders Guild where I believe a young Steve Long started work straight from school.

Cawte’s Express Valet Service had shops all around the area as did Brunswick Cleaners, Chapmans, the Royal Laundry and the Snowdrop Laundry and the Convent of the Cross also ran a laundry service.

Norah’s Dress Hire in Arundel Street was the place to hire that special outfit or dress suit, whilst
U-Need-Us with their slogan ‘Goods for Fun’ was still going in Arundel Street for those who were into practical jokes and fancy dress.

Handley’s on Handley’s Corner in Palmerston Road, Southsea was an institution as was Will Brown’s on the London Road in North End and Melanie’s.

If you wanted to move house you had the choice of Charles Ellis, Ashley’s (I knew Peter Ashley for several years), Curtiss & Son, Manchip or White & Co. and of course the internationall known movers, Pickfords.

Furniture was supplied by, among others, Whitmore Jones, Marriot’s, White & Co and Mendel’s as well as the Department stores and the Co-op (PIMCO) , where your mum got her Divi. Who can remember their mum’s Co-op number? I can, not that it does me any good today !

For those with a sweet tooth there was Maynards in Kingston Road and the Chocolate King in North End and Commercial Road and any number of bakers shops; Campions, Greens, the Co-op, Smith and Vosper and Wilkins to name but a few.

Coach outings were undertaken by White Heather, Dons or Byngs and you kept what little pocket money you had in the Portsmouth Trustees Saving Bank or the Post Office. Talking of money there were several banks in town which have now long gone; Martins, National Provincial and the Westminster all now absorbed into much bigger conglomerates.


Then there were one off industries such as the City of Portsmouth Workshops for the Disabled where they made wicker baskets; Ruston’s on the Havant Road in Drayton who were bed manufacturers; Lindsays for Surgical Appliances; Dunns of Commercial Road specialized in making men’s hats. The Hants, Wilts & Dorset Bottle Exchange and the Southsea Bottle Company made bottles and there was only one chimney sweep, Western Electric Sweep & Brush who actually used a vacuum to clean your chimney. There were fifteen Cinemas listed and two theatres (the Kings and the Twyford Theatre). Taubman & Sons were Tripe Dressers and Parsons Portmanteau and trunk makers whilst Underwood concentrated on the typewriter trade. There were 84 Schools and Colleges listed and one Secretarial College, Underwoods and just one dance and theatrical suppliers, the Stage Door in Marmion Road.

One world that none of us knew about was the world of the Private Enquiry Agents. There were actually three in the area Bray’s in Southsea, Holloways in London Road and Silvesters in North End, a dark world I knew nothing about!!!

To buy a new car was almost unknown to us but a quality second hand one could be obtained from Lennox Motors, Gordon Motors or Henley Motors. Actually in my case it was Righton & Bennetts at the end of the Eastern Road where I bought my first car, a blue Standard 10 9295 BP a cat that I kept for just over a year.

I wonder just how many of the above business are still trading and if so re they still trading under their own names.

Keep in touch

Peter

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

You Write:

Bobby Rydell writes that he is just back from an incredible tour in Australia. What amazing fans there, amazing audiences and wonderful people, food and country

News and Views:

Monday (July 12) was declared "Pat Boone Day" by the state of California. Pat was presented with the proclamation at a showing of his film, "State Fair" at a Senior Citizens Center in Hollywood

On this day 16th July 1960-1965.

On 16/07/1960 the number one single was Good Timin' - Jimmy Jones and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 16/07/1961 the number one single was Runaway - Del Shannon and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Harpers West One (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 16/07/1962 the number one single was I Can't Stop Loving You - Ray Charles 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 16/07/1963 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. The big news story of the day was UK Ministry of Defence proposed

On 16/07/1964 the number one single was It's All Over Now - Rolling Stones and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Labour 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 16/07/1965 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 Mont Blanc Tunnel officially opened.

Web Page No 852

I have recently receive some great pictures of Cosham from Peter Barlow, they mainly cover demolition. Here are the first two. Goodbye to the East Cosham Tavern.

The Mouth Organ

One of the strange phenomemums of the 1950’s & 60’s was the popularity of the harmonica. Almost every cowboy in the 1950’s seemed to played one (it was easier to carry than a guitar), and here in England several exponents of the art came to the fore especially the Morton Fraser Harmonica Gang but none was as well known as the American who came to live in London, Larry Adler.
Lawrence ‘Larry’ Cecil Adler was born to a Jewish family in Baltimore USA on 14th February 1914. By the time he had started High School he had taught himself to play the harmonica (which he always preferred to call a mouth-organ) and he began playing professionally at the age of 14. In 1927, the harmonica was so popular an instrument that the local Baltimore paper sponsored a contest and Larry’s rendition of a Beethoven Minuet won him first prize. Spurred on by this and his success in performing a year later, he ran away from home to New York. After meeting and being referred by Rudy Vallee he got his first theatre work, and caught the attention of the orchestra leader who placed him in a vaudeville act as "a ragged urchin, playing for pennies". From there, he was hired by Florenz Ziegfield and then by Lew Leslie (again to appear as an urchin). He seemed to be saddled with the image of a waif and stray on stage but he finally managed to break the typecasting and appeared in a dinner jacket in the 1934 Paramount film Many Happy Returns. It was because of this performance that he was hired by British theatrical producer C.B Cochran to perform in a London revue. It was here in the UK and throughout the British Empire, that he found stardom where due to his influence, harmonica sales increased twenty-fold. (we all had one a children didn’t we?)
Larry Adler was one of the first harmonica players to perform major works written for the mouth organ, often being written expressly for him: he also performed transcriptions of pieces written for other instruments by some of the worlds best composers including Bach and Vivaldi.
During the 1940s, he and the American virtuoso dancer, Paul Draper got together and formed a very popular act, touring nationally and internationally. However Larry was forced to leave the United States by false accusations of communist sympathies during the McCarthy witch hunt era and these accusations made it impossible for him to find work in the US so he moved to the UK in 1949, and settled in London, where he remained for the remainder of his life. The accusations, although totally without foundation, led to a general sentiment of disregard towards him in the USA during the 1950s and early 1960s which took a long time to heal.
The 1953 film British comedy Genevieve (this is where most of us first heard his music) brought him an Oscar nomination for his work though his name was originally kept off the credits in the United States it was thought that his name would harm the popularity of the film.
Larry Adler continued to work regularly all through the 1950’s, 60’s and on into the 80’s In 1994 for his 80th birthday Larry Adler, produced an album of Gershwin music including his most enduring piece, Rhapsody in Blue. In fact Pam remembers her and I sitting in our front room at home listening to this when she and I were courting in 1966.
His last recording was a duet of Young at Heart with Cerys Matthews from the Welsh pop band Catatonia. They recorded a version of Tony Bennett's The Autumn Leaves together . She joked at the time that she preferred older men.
He died peacefully, he had been fighting cancer for some time, in hospital in London at the age of 87, on August 7, 2001. He was still keen to perform and had been discussing a forthcoming tour of China only three weeks before. He was an atheist and his body was cremated with no ceremony at the Golders Green Crematorium where his ashes remain.
He had four children, two grandchildren and two great grandchildren, one of whom was Peter Adler who fronted a band called The Action in Dublin, Ireland in the late 1960s.
At the beginning of this article I mention the Morton Fraser Harmonica Gang; this was an act that was very popular in the 1940’s and 50’s and was the starting ground for at least one performer. Dave King being one, he had had a variety of jobs before becoming a stooge and washboard player in Morton Fraser's Harmonica Gang from where he went on to develop his own act. I remember meeting him when the Showbiz Eleven played a Hospital team in a Charity match in the mid 1970’s and I and my staff had to prepare a buffet for the players.
PS: I never did get the hang of playing the harmonica!!!
Keep in touch

Peter

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

You Write:

Griff Writes:-

Looking at Pete's photograph of a 1950's front room I can see 2 things missing from my lounge and that was the television and the phone. OK most people had a TV by 1960 but a phone? ... sheer luxury I reckon to have a phone.

Peter has put up the photo's of the Program of the "One Act Plays" which were held at Court Lane in 1958 and I think I am right in saying this was in our 1st year at Court Lane? Now I should know the answer to this really as I was actually in the play "Noah" and secondly I played the Elephant. Poor Anida had to play the Cow how she must long to forget this part.....lol

The wonderful Bill Greer was the after-school drama teacher in charge of production of School Plays at Court Lane and he sought to make Thespians of us all at some time or other and I had appeared in another previous production by Bill a few months earlier but I can't remember what the play was called now and no program to refer back to either. The School did have some very good "actors" amongst the senior pupils as I recall and one I can mention was Beverly Hatch who appeared in one or two stage productions at Court Lane.
This particular play "Noah" was put up before the judges at the Portsmouth Schools Drama competition in the following February where we performed it, I think, at Paulsgrove School but I believe we only came third in the competition.
I can only recall ever one drama type play at Manor Court and that was Gilbert & Sullivan's "Trial by Jury" with Alan Cox taking the lead as the judge and from what I remember he was so very good at playing that part especially as it was a singing part. I didn't take part in this production but I was helping out with the stage production team behind the scenes. I wonder if anyone has a program on that play at all?

News and Views:

CAN YOU HELP? BBC Bristol are working on the early stages of a new series titled 'Rewind: The 1960's'. Each programme will be looking at one of the key issues from the decade, everything from Liberalisation, Civil Rights, Modernity, Consumerism, Youth and Music, War etc. They are looking for really personal stories from everyday people who lived and loved (or hated!) the Sixties and want to hear from people on a number of topics. One of the stories that they are going to be looking at is 'Swinging London', for example Ally Pally, the music, the fashion, Carnaby St,... they want to know if London really was as 'swinging' as it was claimed to be and was it relevant to the rest of the country? They are also looking for people who went on package holidays in the 1960's. Was this the first time they had been abroad? What was it like? Do they have any film or photos from this holiday? If you can help or want to be part of this programme, please e-mail Claire Parry@bbc.co.uk

On this day 9th July 1960-1965.

On 09/07/1960 the number one single was Good Timin' - Jimmy Jones and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 09/07/1961 the number one single was Runaway - Del Shannon and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was 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 09/07/1962 the number one single was Come Outside - Mike Sarne with Wendy Richard 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 09/07/1963 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 09/07/1964 the number one single was House of the Rising Sun - Animals and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Room at the Top (ITV) 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 09/07/1965 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 850

<
A new friend joins us this week and we welcome Chris from Oxford.







FIRST PICTURE: King of the Wild Frontier, Davy Crockett




SECOND PICTURE: Anyone remember this magazine ‘Fabulous’ I am sure I don’t?






Fess Parker

After the death of Fess Parker, known to all us lads as Davy Crocket, in March Griff thought that I should take a look at his career might be interesting. The television series Davy Crockett was made by Disney and was first screened in 1954. Fess Parker got the part after Walt Disney had seen him earlier that year in the science fiction film Them!, in which he played a pilot who was sectioned after claiming that his aircraft had been attacked by giant flying ants. As Davy Crockett, the 6ft 6in tall Fess Parker was immediately idolised by young boys the world over, who ran around their gardens in fur hats made from old fur coats bought I the local Jumble Sale and carrying replicas of the Davy Crockett’s rifle, "Old Betsy".
Meanwhile, the title song – The Ballad of Davy Crockett – went to No 1 in the charts for Bill Hayes, and a version by Fess Parker himself reached No 5. In 1955 the three television episodes were blended into a film, Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, and a second movie, Davy Crockett and the River Pirates, came out the following year. Here in Britain, the television episodes were screened by ITV.
Although Disney stuck to the historical facts by allowing Davy Crockett (in the third episode) to be killed at the battle of the Alamo (1836), such was the public outcry that the TV show was resurrected, with further Davy Crockett exploits, in 1955-56.

After this success, Fess Parker might well have sunk without trace, were it not for his portrayal in another television series – between 1964 and 1970 – of the other great folk hero of the American frontier, Daniel Boone. He then abandoned his acting career to go into the property business, and later became one of California's best-known wine makers.

He was born Fess Elisha Parker into a farming family on August 16 1924 at Fort Worth, Texas. (Davy Crockett had been born a day later, on August 17, in 1786). In the Second World War he served with the US Marines, then studied History at Texas University. His life nearly ended in 1946, when he was stabbed by a drunk driver after a traffic accident. After deciding on a future in acting, he took a drama course at the University of Southern California, and in 1952 made his debut on the big screen in Springfield Rifle, an American Civil War drama starring Gary Cooper.
Among his other films were The Kid From Left Field (1953); The Great Locomotive Chase (1956); Westward Ho, the Wagons! (1956); Old Yeller (1957); The Light in the Forest (1958); and Hell for Heroes (1962), with Steve McQueen and James Coburn.
In the late 1980s he established a 2,200-acre vineyard at Los Olivos, California, and went on to win many awards for his wine. Needless to say that at the vineyard's gift shop he sold Davy Crockett memorabilia. He was a close friend of Ronald and Nancy Reagan and in 1985 he was sent to Australia to represent the President at a ceremony. He was subsequently asked by the White House if he would like to serve as American ambassador in Canberra, but declined. He is survived by his wife, Marcella, whom he married in 1960, and by their son and daughter.



Take care

Yours

Peter

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

You Write:

Anida Writes :

Wow! Forgotten all about the play, yes I was the cow in Noah and I don't want any comments relating to my future behaviour!!! I had a rather unflattering brown fabric all in one body with a papier mache head and recall getting into a bit a flap when one of my horns broke.

Now if anyone has any photographs of 'Trial By Jury', that would be another theatrical triumph!!

Mary Writes:-

I remember the Ship in Cosham High Street at Christmas time. A huge Christmas tree was nearby and the Sally Army used to play carols. My father often parked the car outside the pub as it was handy for shopping. We would get some food in Gaimens as my mother had taught David Gaimen during the war. She always got a big welcome from him. We bought fruit and veg from a proper veg shop. We also grew veg in our garden, and so did our grandparents. We always had a box of veg every Saturday from Grandad, who was an amazing gardener. We kept chickens in Farlington, and there is nothing like collecting new laid eggs! Later when we moved to the Denmead/Hambledon area we kept chicken, ducks, pigs and even a goat and when I remember looking after these animals it’s with a great deal of happiness

News and Views:

Who remembers Don Partridge? He was the Bournemouth born one-man band busker who had a big hit with ‘Rosie’ in 1968. After a few years as a professional musician he decided that was not the life for him and went back to working on the streets. Recently a friend showed me a head and shoulders picture he had taken of Don whilst he was performing. In the conversation afterward Don told my friend that he did not mind his picture being taken but please don’t publish were he is now because working the way he does now, unknown, makes him happy these days.
On this day 2nd July 1960-1965

On 01/01/1965 the number one single was I Feel Fine - 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.

On 02/07/1961 the number one single was Runaway - Del Shannon and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Harpers West One (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. The big news story of the day was Author Ernest Hemingway commits suicide.

On 02/07/1962 the number one single was Come Outside - Mike Sarne with Wendy Richard 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 02/07/1963 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 02/07/1964 the number one single was It's Over - Roy Orbison and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Club Night (BBC) 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 President Johnson signs Civil Rights Act.

On 02/07/1965 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