Web Page 2046

26th April 2014

 Top Picture:  Chinese Chequers

Middle Picture: Ludo

Bottom Picture: Spud Gun

Games Children Play

Have you noticed that children these days have stopped playing the adventure games that most of us (especially the boys) played when we were young? When was the last time you spotted a posse of cowboys with a Sheriff hunting down a tribe of Red Indians? Or a crew of desperate Pirates of to find adventure on the Spanish Main? No one seems to make bows and arrows any more, or catapults! In the 1950’s a belt, holster and pistol cost the princely sum of 1/3d in Woolworth’s and a Junior Carpenters Set cost 6d more at 1/9d.

The standard playthings of our youth Cowboy or Cowgirl sets, Nurses Outfits. Bus Conductor sets, toy Post Office sets and Dan Dare Space Guns are all things of the past and of our childhood. It must be several years since I saw a group of lads playing conkers, racing their Dinky Cars or playing marbles on the pavement. Very occasionally one can spot a hop scotch court marked out in chalk on a pavement or playground but five stones or jacks seem to have disappeared as do yo-yo’s and spud guns.

Indoor games such as Old Maid, Donkey, Happy Families, Chinese Chequers, spinning tops and the Viewmaster all seem to be out of favour.

Hornby train sets and Scalectrix (a good old Havant invention) are still around but are very much in the minority compared with the electronic games all the youngsters, boys and girls seem to have today and in this I include both of my Grandchildren I have never ever seen them play a healthy make believe game with their friends.

One of the most popular hobbies when I was in my early teens was biking and especially dirt track racing, all this was well before the BMX craze took hold. Most of us lads knew our way around a bike and could change sprockets, cotta pins, chain wheels, brake blocks, bearings and extensions to try to make a bike go just that bit faster. (Who remembers riding with the deadly fixed wheel?) Steve Long and I spent many happy hours customising and building bikes in either his dad’s garage or my dad’s shed. But today the kids now demand a ready-made BMX bike, which can be bought ready to ride and taken out of the shop and ridden away. Not for us we had to build ours, even though this meant cutting our fingers and breaking our fingernails in the process! Although I must admit that the introduction of cycle helmets and knee and shoulder pads has been a good thing, we just fell off and bled!

Toy soldiers, in our day they were plastic, the lead ones were a little before our time although there were still a few around in older children’s toy boxes. Cap guns, Matchbox cars, did you ever have the John Bull printing outfit? There were several various versions of these and the larger the number of the set the larger the amount of rubber letters there were in the box.

For the girl’s dolls prams, dolls clothes and dolls houses were popular and still are if my granddaughter is an average little girl, as are toy kitchens and pots and pans, so not much has changed there.

Brooke Bond tea cards were popular and rivalled the infamous cigarette cards at one time. In fact my father collected them up until the end and I still have his albums of them. I believe Brooke Bond released 56 different sets of cards and I think my father must have had at least 75% of them!

The Merit Magic Robot Quiz Game was first produced in 1950 and while marketed as a board game, the Magic Robot Quiz game was probably more accurately described as a “curiosity” game. The “game” consisted of placing a little robot figurine, which held a pointer in the centre of a circular pattern of questions and it then indicated the answers. I think I saw a modern version of that quite recently! Whilst on board games, remember the Magnetic Fishing Game, Snakes and Ladders, Ludo and Draughts? I cannot end without mentioning Meccano and books.

We all read Enid Blyton, we were not to know at the time that she was far from being an ideal mother, the Penguin books for children and the abridged versions of the classics such as ‘Heidi’ and ‘Children of the New Forest’. But for me one character in children’s literature stands head and shoulders (not literally) above all the rest. I will always most certainly cast my vote for the books of AA Milne and Winnie the Pooh.  

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Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

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Griff sent this in:-

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about eleven things they did not and will not learn in school.
He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem.
The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school.
You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity.
Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping:
They called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault,
so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills,
cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were: So before you save the rain forest
from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. *This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. (Do that on your own time.)

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life.
In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds.
Chances are you'll end up working for one.

If you can read this...thank a Teacher.
If you can read this in English...thank a Soldier!
And for life and everything else you have...thank God!
Now....think about this and smile if you agree and please pass this on....

If you don't agree, go stick your head in the SAND and take a DEEP BREATH!

News and Views:

Fabian underwent heart surgery at a hospital in Pittsburgh April 7th. According to his wife, he received an aorta route, valve replacement and single bypass. The surgery was deemed a success and Fabian is reportedly recovering fine.

Glen Campbell was moved into an Alzheimer's Disease Care Facility, it was reported Wednesday (April 16). The 78 year-old announced he was suffering from the disease in 2011.

On this Day 25^th  April 1960-1965

On 25/04/1960 the number one single was My Old Man's a Dustman - Lonnie Donegan and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Armchair Theatre (ABC) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 25/04/1961 the number one single was Wooden Heart - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 25/04/1962 the number one single was Wonderful Land - The Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 25/04/1963 the number one single was How Do You Do It? - Gerry & the Pacemakers and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 25/04/1965 the number one single was Ticket to Ride - The Beatles and the number one album was Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

 

Web Page 2044

19^th  April 2014

 Top Picture:  Woodbines

Bottom Picture: Kensitas coupons

Thanks to Griff for the lead to this page

60s cigarette culture

Cigarette smoke was part of the background of in the sixties. Most men and women lit up and children as young as ten took up smoking for the first time. Although most people had a vague awareness of the health risk, only a minority gave up smoking.

The first health warning came in 1950 when Professor Sir Richard Doll's research linked cancer with smoking. However, his report was for the medical world and it took him another four years to convince GP’s. Reports that smoking might be less than healthy started to appear in the press in fifties and people started to take the 'cancer scare' seriously.

The Royal College of Physician's Report 'Smoking and Health' in 1962 was a sell out, but after the fuss had died down, it failed to change people's minds and Government health campaigns were even less effective.

From the late fifties many people switched to filter cigarettes although there was little evidence that they were safer than plain cigarettes. The Government increased tobacco duty to reduce the popularity of smoking and as filter cigarettes used less tobacco, the space taken by the filter was not taxed, so filter brands were cheaper.

The other big change was an old idea re-introduced. The industry was dominated by Imperial Tobacco (Wills and Player's); in an attempt to gain market share, a small rival company introduced cigarette coupons with their Kensitas brand in 1956. Coupons that could be exchanged for free gifts. Coupons were not new. The tobacco companies had used them in the 20’s and 30’s, but now a coupon war saw such expensive gifts given away that some thought they were selling gifts rather than cigarettes.

By the early sixties Wills' market leading Woodbine cigarettes, the working man's favourite and one of the first mass market cigarette brands, was losing its market share. It was seen as an old man's product and as a plain cigarette, although in the smallest size, it was relatively expensive.

Kensitas were bigger, looked classier and gave away coupons. Wills tried and failed with two new brands, Bristol and Strand. Strand famously flopped with the lonely man campaign. The theme tune became a hit record, but no one wanted a product for loners.

Wills succeeded with their next attempt, Embassy which was launched in 1962. It came with coupons and was a larger cigarette available as plain or filter and were seen as a more middle class product. The Embassy Filter brand took the market by storm. It quickly became Britain's number one cigarette.

Part of the skill of marketing was to appeal to men and women equally. Cigarette sales to men peaked just after the War, but women were catching up with men in the 50’s and 60’s. Embassy smokers were younger people, often enjoying a night out. The traditional working man smoking his Woodbines and drinking mild was ousted by younger men drinking Watneys Red Barrel and smoking Embassy.

Player's, Wills in-house rival, also saw their best selling brand Player's Medium lose ground. Player's Medium with its 'hero' sailor on the pack was a top seller in the 30’s and 40’s. It also lost out in the changes that were taking place in the 50s. It too was a plain cigarette but targeted the middle class, rather than working class market and appealed to women and well as men.

Player's new brand for the 60’s, Players No 6 was launched in 1965. No 6 meant nothing, it was dreamed up by the marketing men. It was smaller like Woodbine, but was predominately a filter brand. It was targeted equally at women and men. No 6 challenged Embassy for the number one spot in the latter years of the 60’s. They had a strong following with female smokers, particularly those with working class occupations. In the 1971 film, Get Carter, Jack Carter's niece, Doreen, who worked in Woolworths, smoked  No 6.

With Imperial brands dominating the cheap and mid-priced sectors, there was room to compete at the top of the market. Changes happened quickest with more affluent smokers and by the late fifties there was a small, but growing market for King Size filter cigarettes. Carreras, the third largest cigarette manufacturer, launched Rothmans King Size in 1957. It quickly became a market leader and they confidently advertised it as 'the best tobacco money can buy'.

Gallaher, Britain's second largest cigarette manufacturer was also squeezed in the mid market and they took on Rothmans with Benson and Hedges Special Filter in 1962. Like Embassy it was a superb piece of marketing and packaging. The new gold pack, which bore the Royal Warrant, suggested that the contents were of value. Benson and Hedges 'Pure Gold' campaign began in the 60’s. These two brands competed head to head, but B&H had the edge and it overtook Rothmans King Size in sales by 1965. However, Rothman's was still seen as the number one middle class brand.

Silk Cut, launched in 1964, showed an anticipation of future trends. It was one of the first mild cigarettes and the original 1960’s version was not particularly mild by later standards, but had significantly lower tar and nicotine ratings than its rivals. It was not a huge seller, but established a reputation as a modern middle class brand. Although there is evidence to suggest mild cigarettes offer no health benefits over stronger ones, mild cigarettes took off in the 70’s and 80’s as people became more concerned about smoking and health.

The majority of cigarette brands that we know today were around in the sixties however some like Dunhill, Airman, No Name and Passing Cloud have been lost for ever in the mists of time.

 

Stay in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

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News and Views:

Harry Belafonte settled a lawsuit against the estate of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Friday (April 11), retaining ownership of the historical King artifacts he aquired during his friendship with the late civil rights leader.

On this Day 17^th  April 1960-1965

On 17/04/1960 the number one single was My Old Man's a Dustman - Lonnie Donegan and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Armchair Theatre (ABC) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 17/04/1961 the number one single was Wooden Heart - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was The Budget (All Channels) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 17/04/1962 the number one single was Wonderful Land - The Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the week Britain to release political prisoners after IRA peace offer.

On 17/04/1963 the number one single was How Do You Do It? - Gerry & the Pacemakers and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 17/04/1964 the number one single was Can't Buy Me Love - The Beatles and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Liberal Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the week was Prince Edward named.

On 17/04/1965 the number one single was The Minute You're Gone - Cliff Richard and the number one album was Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (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 2042

12^th  April 2014

Top Picture:  Please, Please Me issued in 1963

Bottom Picture: Metal phonograph needles

Parlophone Records

For a time, when I was at school, I worked part time in the electrical retailers shop RA Fraser in Drayton. Steve Carter also worked in the shop for a time. The shop had a small record department complete with listening booth served by a behind the counter turntable which, when I was there, I was in charge of. It gave you a chance to talk to lots of girls who came into the shop to hear and buy records! With a record department I had access to the trade papers, which often announced new releases and publicised them with record posters many of which often found themselves on my bedroom walls. They were also handy collateral for swapping things with friends! At that time there were many different labels, most of which, we did not know at the time, were all connected together in some way even the American ones. One of the regular deliveries we received by parcel post most mornings was from the Parlaphone Record Company so I got to know the working of that part of the company well and even got the chance occasionally to obtain free demonstration records. Most of us have heard of the Paralaphone label so I thought I would take a look at the history of the Company. 

Parlophone is a record label that we all must remember mainly because it was the label that released all the early Beatles records after Decca Records had turned them down as a common or garden group which had no future as guitar groups were on the way out. One strange fact I learnt several years ago is that I have a friend who used to work for Decca and in his lounge he has the large black leather sofa on which The Beatles sat for their interview). Also, out of interest, when Decca wanted to lay a new car park at their head office building in the early 1970’s they provided the contractor with thousands of tins of old metal record needles which were no longer saleable, as hard core. 

The original Parlaphone company was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company and at that time was called Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone Records" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. In 1926 the Columbia Gramaphone Company acquired the Parlophone business label name and its titles. Columbia Graphophone later became Columbia Records, and then EMI but the Parlophone label continued to be used.

The famous record producer of the future, George Martin, joined EMI in 1950 as assistant label manager, taking over as manager in 1955. He produced and released an amazing mixture of performance artists including the comedy recordings of The Goons, the pianist Mrs Mills, and the teenage idol Adam Faith. In 1962 George Martin signed the rising new Liverpool band The Beatles with Cilla Black, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, The Fourmost and the Mancunian band The Hollies also signed to the label, Parlophone in the 1960s became one of the world's most famous and prestigious record labels.

For many, many years Parlophone claimed the record for the best selling UK single, the record being "She Loves You", and the best selling UK album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The label also achieved the placement of seven singles at No1 during 1964, when it also claimed top spot in the album charts for 40 of the 52 weeks during that year.

Looking back some of the leading Parlophone artists in the 1950s included Jimmy Shand. At the dawn of the rock era, Parlophone artists such as Humphrey Lyttelton and his band, the Vipers Skiffle Group, the pianist Mrs Mills, Jim Dale,  Peter Sellers, Bernard Cribbins, the Temperance Seven, Little Laurie London and Shane Fenton would reach the British Top 20 chart. Their only really consistently successful act until the Liverpool Sound came along was Adam Faith:

The label was made dormant in 1973 when most of EMI's heritage labels were phased out in favour of the new EMI Records label. However, for some reason the label was revived in 1980 and in February 2013, it was confirmed that the American, Warner Music Group, would acquire the Parlophone Label Group for US$765 million. The label, once resurrected did not stagnate and in recent years the label has been responsible for producing records by Kylie Minogue, Blur and Coldplay.

 

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Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

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Last Thursday Doris Day celebrated her 90th birthday. She claims to have been born in 1924, whereas the census says 1922. See ladies it is never to late to adjust your age!!!

On this Day 12^th  April 1960-1965

On 12/04/1960 the number one single was My Old Man's a Dustman - Lonnie Donegan and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 12/04/1961 the number one single was Wooden Heart - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 12/04/1962 the number one single was Wonderful Land - The Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was The Budget (All Channels) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 12/04/1963 the number one single was How Do You Do It? - Gerry & the Pacemakers and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 12/04/1964 the number one single was Can't Buy Me Love - The Beatles and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was 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. The big news story of the day was Manchester busmen vote to oppose smoking ban on buses.

On 12/04/1965 the number one single was Concrete & Clay - Unit 4 Plus 2 and the number one album was Rolling Stones Number 2 - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

 

Web Page 2040

5^th April 2014

Top Picture:  1950’s flask

Bottom Picture: Ostermilk tin

Strange Memories

It is amazing how a quick glimpse of something can bring memories flooding back. Memories we had thought long forgotten. This happened to me when at a Boot Sale recently I saw six old-fashioned medicine bottles, those with the teaspoon and desert spoon marks moulded into the glass on the back. It was not the medicine that I remembered it was what went into the bottle (although I do remember my mothers reliance of kaolin and Morphine and Milk of Magnesia).  My father used to take hot tea to work in a yellow Thermos Flask with green stripes on it and to add to this he carried his milk in an old medicine bottle sealed with greaseproof paper and then tightly corked. He also took sugar in an old screw top Colemans mustard pot. This was all put into a black zip topped shopping bag with two handles and then off to work he would go on the bus; all before the days of coffee machines in the workplace. Does anyone else remember things like this? Mind you it was not always a medicine bottle it could sometimes be a National Health Orange Juice bottle with the blue screw top lid!

Whilst thinking about home life I gather that I cannot have been a breast fed baby as in one of our sheds were, what seemed like, dozens of Ostermilk tins all with nuts bolts and screws in them. Ostermilk was a trade name for dried milk for infant feeding. Ostermilk No. 1 being half cream and No. 2 full cream. This product was on the chemists shelves for years but just before Christmas 1985 considerable public concern was aroused  when Ostermilk baby foods and some other milk products were withdrawn following an outbreak of salmonella food poisoning. The manufacturer was the Plymouth-based Farley Health Products although the factory where the problem occurred was in Kendal, Cumbria. The detailed account of the outbreak was given in The Lancet and was based on sound personal knowledge. Unfortunately this resulted in the total withdrawal of Ostermilk. Mind you if you were not an Ostermilk baby you were a Cow and Gate one! Which were you?

We must remember that when we grew up it was a totally different age. No convenience foods for the children, mother had to make and puree it all, no baby alarms, our parents had to keep a wary ear out once the child went to bed in case it started to cry. No baby grows, only romper suits and probably worst of all no disposable nappies just the Terry Towelling ones that had to be soaked in a bucket and then boiled! 

Things were tight in the average household in the 1950’s/60’s and this is where the Jumble or Rummage Sale came in. My mother was heavily involved with running these things for the local Scout Troop and so I was volunteered to help. It never failed to amaze me what people threw away, bought or in some cases stole off the tables. When sale time came and on opening the door it was always utter chaos as at least two dozen women rushed in, all trying to get through the door at the same time, they then descended on the clothes part of the sale totally ignoring the other tables. I understand these women came from miles away to attend these sales and arguments and fights over some item of clothing were not unknown. It could be terrifying!  What was even more amazing was that they all seemed to bring with them enormous bags to put the clothes in, either that or they would tie them all together in Dick Whittington style. After they left the sale it was amusing to look down the road to the bus stop where there would be a queue of women, all with large bundles, waiting to get on the bus. I was glad that I was not the bus conductor!

After the sale came the clearing up, the sale organiser would have arranged for a dealer to come along and clear whatever was left and after a sweep round the hall things at last returned to normal. It was a full days job running one of these sales starting with the setting up in the morning and running to the final clearing up in the late afternoon.  

Stay in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

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On this Day 5^th April 1960-1965

On 05/04/1960 the number one single was My Old Man's a Dustman - Lonnie Donegan and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was The Budget (All Channels) 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 Budget increases price of cigarettes by 2d a pack.

On 05/04/1961 the number one single was Wooden Heart - Elvis Presley 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 05/04/1962 the number one single was Wonderful Land - The Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was James Hanratty hanged for A6 murder.

On 05/04/1963 the number one single was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. The top rated TV show was The Budget (All Channels) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 05/04/1964 the number one single was Can't Buy Me Love - The Beatles and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Video recorder first demonstrated.

On 05/04/1965 the number one single was The Last Time - Rolling Stones and the number one album was Rolling Stones Number 2 - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page 2038

29th March 2014

Top Picture:  Tea Service

Middle Picture: Sugar Tongs

Bottom Picture: Ex Government tin mug

Mugs

When did we all start using mugs as the everyday form of drinking vessel? As far as I can recall mugs were never an item in our crockery range at home. Mind you having said that I do remember an enamel one in cream and green for use when I was camping with the scouts and my Grandmother had a white and blue ex government one with the GR crest on it to keep her dripping in and a separate white and blue one to put her false teeth in at night when she soaked them in Steradent. But to sit around at home with a mug of tea or coffee in your hand was totally unheard of. Although I do actually remember plastic beakers for orange and lemon squash or Ribena!

Tea was always served in a cup and saucer and if I remember correctly there was a daily tea service and a special Afternoon Tea service.

The everyday service complete with saucers was always a relatively cheap set, often bought in the market, Woolworth’s or with Green Shield Stamps. These sets were mainly glazed pottery and were built to last so they were thick and heavy and could take no end of banging or dropping. In fact you can often see similar sets on TV dramas set in the 1950’s.

No so the Afternoon Tea Service, this was a totally different item and was solely reserved for those ‘posh’ occasions and Sunday afternoon tea. They were normally porcelain or bone china and my mother’s was a light pink with a gold design painted around the top of the cup and edges of the other items in the set. This special set was always kept on the bottom shelf of the right hand cupboard of the sideboard I the front room, a cupboard that I was not allowed to even enter. (little boys can break things!)

The set, as I remember it, consisted of a teapot, (no coffee pot) a lidded hot water jug, a milk jug, sugar bowl, slop bowl and tea strainer stand, six cups and saucers, six tea plates, one cake plate and a bread and butter plate and six desert dishes. If this lot came out of the cupboard it was either Christmas, Sunday or a relative or special friend was coming to tea. Don’t forget the tray cloth!

But that was not all because the correct accompaniments had to go with the Tea Set. Linen napkin, napkin rings cake forks, Cake stands, teaspoons, teapot stand, sugar tongs, side knives and special knives for cutting the lovingly prepared Victoria Sandwich. Sandwiches were also always served, cut neatly into quarters and were always offered around before the cake choices. All to entertain someone with a cup of tea!!! Of course this could not be the usual Brooke Bond Dividend tea or PG Tips it always had to be the best mother could by Lyons Special Blend of Typhoo.

What happened to all these bits and pieces is a mystery; they must have been lost or dispersed by my parents over the years.  Too late to ask them now! All I know is that a mug for tea or coffee was totally unheard of in our house and this went on right throughout their lives.

A whole spectrum of food related items that were used during our childhood seemed to have disappeared. Apostle spoons for your boiled egg, egg cups, toast racks, tea cosy’s, Coffee percolators which were heated on the stove, nutcrackers, tea strainers, egg coddling dishes, egg poachers, grapefruit knives and fruit knives are just a few. I am sure you could add many, many more to the list!

One final true story. My maternal grandmother lived in the Lodge on Hyde Park Corner in London. She and my grandfather moved in the 1930’s and she stayed in residence after he had died and remained there all through the war, which is when this occurrence happened. She never used an air raid shelter but relied on staying in the Lodge basement during air raids. One evening a heavy raid occurred and the Mecca Café in Marble Arch had a direct hit. Come the morning grandmother opened the back door in the basement which opened onto a sunken yard and there amongst the debris were dozens of knives, forks and spoons all with Mecca Café on the handles. She collected them and took them indoors and when she moved in with us in 1952 the Mecca cutlery came with her. I am sure that up in my loft somewhere I still have the odd Mecca fork or spoon!

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Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

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Anida Writes:-

As I was completing my on line grocery order the other evening it occured to me how much expense is now created by our great need to keep clean.  Back in the day as children our playground was the network of back alleyways behind the houses which as well as providing this safe, traffic free space was also the dumping ground of the ashes from the house fires.  As a consequence during the summer the ashes dried into a grey dust which coated our Clark's sandals and white ankle socks, penetrating to our feet beneath.  I cannot remember having more than one or two baths a week, oh the terrors of the geyser, but every night before bedtime a 'good wash' was required especially for the feet. The flannel also paid good attention to the back of one's neck which somehow managed to get much grubbier than today.  In between good washes there was of course that terrifying moment when your mother decided that a bit of spit on her handkerchief was required to banish all trace of your dinner from your face.

All this was achieved with some Wrights Coal Tar or Lifebouy soap, if you were very posh you had Cussons Imperial Leather, and a flannel.  Today however, the supermarket aisle is stacked with a zillion different products which apparently we must have to keep our bodies clean and fresh and smelling of a multitude of exotic fragrances.  There is a 'Men's' aisle, my Grandfather would never believed that a man needed anything more than a stripped to the waist wash at the butler sink and a rub with a very rough roller towel after a hard day in the Dockyard.  Not only do we require all these products but they must be applied every day in the shower or bath and then dried with towels softened by very expensive fabric conditioners.

Then there are hair products, whatever happened to "I am washing my hair tonight" and an application of Amami setting lotion.  Some of today's offerings seem to belong in a chemistry laboratory rather than the bathroom and does our hair really look and feel much different? 

I must admit the world is a better place for deodorants and antiperspirants, the Number 6 trolley bus from St Mary's was not the most fragrant of places on the homeward journey.

So the next time you look at your shopping bill take a moment to add up the cost of those things we seemingly need to keep us clean and our hair and bodies rejuvenated you will almost certainly find that they cost more than the food!  Must go now, Tesco's man with the van is at the door, have to pack away the shower gel, hairspray, shampoo, fabric conditioner, face wipes, blow dry lotion...............

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Jerry Lewis has just past his 88th birthday here he is with Dena martin, Dean Martins daughter

On this Day 29th March 1960-1965

On 29/03/1960 the number one single was Running Bear - Johnny Preston and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/03/1961 the number one single was Wooden Heart - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was The Dickie Henderson Show (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 29/03/1962 the number one single was Wonderful Land - The Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/03/1963 the number one single was Foot Tapper - The Shadows and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows.

The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.On 29/03/1964 the number one single was Little Children - Billy J Kramer and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/03/1965 the number one single was The Last Time - Rolling Stones and the number one album was Rolling Stones Number 2 - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.