Puppet

Opposite our house in Renville Road lived Aunty Nora and Uncle Cyril. Uncle Cyril worked with Dad. When we were children Aunty Nora made GB and I a hand puppet each. This is GB’s, photographed in Childwall Woods in 1953; so far as I know there is no picture of mine which is a shame. It was my constant companion for a long time and in bed at night I would tell it all my secrets. I wonder what those secrets were?

Cotton Reel Tanks

Do you remember making tanks from cotton reels? Great fun.



http://www.cottonreeltank.org/

"Wakey Wa-a-a-key!"

 

 
Some radio programmes from the Fifties...

Children's Favourites,
Worker's Playtime,
Any Questions?,
Ray's a Laugh,
Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh ,
Gardener's Question Time (with Fred Loads, Bill Sowerbutts and Alan Gemmell - "I think the answer lies in the soil..."),
Down Your Way,
Housewives Choice,
Mrs. Dales Diary (Not a programme to which we listened. Most people tended to be either Mrs Dale or Archers fans but not both!)
Journey into Space (with Captain 'Jet' Morgan),
The Archers (set to become the world's longest running radio drama serial ) in the first episode of which Walter Gabriel uttered his famous "Well, me old pal, me old beauties,",
Dick Barton - special agent,
Educating Archie (surely the radio programme the least likely to succeed - Peter Brough and Archie Andrews, a ventriloquist's dummy, on radio! But succeed it did.),
The Goon Show,
Children's Hour (with Uncle Mac),
Beyond Our Ken,
A Life of Bliss (with Percy Edwards as Psyche the dog),
Hancock's Half Hour (with Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Bill Kerr),
Have a Go (with Wilfrid Pickles and Mabel at the table),
Meet the Huggetts (Jack Warner with "Ron and Eff")
Top of the Form,
Paul Temple,
Take it from Here,
Round the Bend,
Life with The Lyons (a popular domestic sitcom featuring the real-life family group of Ben Lyon and Bebe Daniels with their children Barbara and Richard),
The Clitheroe Kid ,
Listen with Mother,
Friday Night is Music Night,
Music While You Work,
The Billy Cotton Bandshow,
Does the Team Think? (with Jimmy Edwards, Ted Ray, Arthur Askey and guests like Cyril Fletcher),
My Word!,
The Navy Lark ("Left hand down a bit, Mr Phillips"),
Twenty Questions,
Family Favourites.......

Have I missed any of your favourites?

I-SPY

 


Do you remember the I-SPY books? I got a greal deal of pleasure out of spotting things in the I-spy books in the 1950s. Apparently there were about 40 volumes published in all but in the mid-1950s there were only about half that number. The books cost 6d with the exception of the thicker volumes which included Birds and Wild Flowers. These bigger ones were 1/- each. Each book covered a subject such as I-SPY Cars, I-SPY on the Pavement, I-SPY Churches, I-SPY on a Train Journey, etc. As children spotted objects such as coalhole covers, oak trees, semaphore signals, fire engines, whelks, and so on, they recorded the event in the relevant book, and gained points. Once you had earned a certain number of points you could send it to Big Chief I-SPY for a feather and order of merit. I had a few feathers by the time my enthusiasm for I-SPY ran out.



I cannot recall Helen or Bryony having any but Richard had I-SPY castles at one time so they must have still been going in the 1990s. The books were initially self-published by Charles Warrell - the original Big Chief I-SPY - but, after a brief period when they were published by the Daily Mail, they were taken over by the now defunct News Chronicle newspaper and based in the paper's building in Bouverie Street. The regular I-SPY column, which appeared in the News Chronicle, reverted to the Daily Mail when the News Chronicle ceased publication, and continued to appear until the late 1980s by which time the books were sent to David Bellamy rather than a Big Chief.



I thought the idea had long since died a death but to my amazement I discovered a game has been released for the Nintendo DS console based on the books.

Washing on the line

 

This is hardly the most inspiring of photos but there is a message in it.. It was photographed in the early 1960s on my 35mm Halina camera (which had formerly been GB’s) and the negative is numbered 36 suggesting it was only taken to finish off the film. The view is part of that which could be seen from my bedroom window in Renville Road, Liverpool.

The message is an environmental one. Unlike our neighbours Mum preferred to dry much of our washing over the bath but it was the normal practice in most households to dry the washing on the line – tumble driers and washing machines still being a thing of the future for those on an average income.

Just imagine how much energy would be saved if we all went back to those days! If you can’t be bothered to go the whole hog and hang out your washing (or if you live in accommodation where it isn’t possible) visit http://www.biggreenswitch.co.uk/around_the_home/dry-clothes for some tips on how best to use your drier. Or get a good old-fashioned hanger like the one shown on http://www.naturalcollection.com/natural-products/Overhead-Dryer.aspx (though I’m sure you could get one cheaper – or even make one yourself).