“New Years Eve. Not much dun, went out on bike, frosty day”
Quite the suitably uneventful finale to what some of you may have been mumbling was an uneventful un-blog-worthy year?
Quite the suitably uneventful finale to what some of you may have been mumbling was an uneventful un-blog-worthy year?
Filed under 1972 Diary Entries
Whilst I amused myself composing a “mix tape”, my folks took themselves off to see a live show by 1972’s BBC Personality of the Year!
Dick Emery can best be described as a one-man seventies version of “Little Britain“. His BBC TV show ran for almost 20 years and consisted of sketches featuring Emery dressed up as various characters, mostly all riffing on social aspects of the age.
Many of the characters – again, much like “Little Britain” the “Catherine Tate Show” or “The Fast Show” – became very much part of the public’s consciousness, whilst Emery dished up catchphrases left, right and centre.
They included a toothy vicar, a man-starved spinster, a stuttering pensioner and a massive-boobed middle-aged blonde. If those weren’t ‘bad’ enough, and in deference to the utter lack of political correctness that (happily) existed in the 70’s, Emery also featured an outrageously OTT camp male, Clarence, whose catchphrase was “Oooooh, Hello Honky Tonk, how are you?“…
I think the following falls into the “don’t ask, don’t tell” category?…
Whilst this was cutting edge comedy in 1972….
Filed under 1972 Diary Entries
Sacrilege!
How dare I make the comment “Bludy Tom Jones”?!
I must have been unaware of “It’s Not Unusual” at 14, a tune later to become my VERY favourite pop song.
Tom is now, of course, SIR Thomas Jones, knighted by the Queen in 2006.
As for the records I borrowed from Trev, what ticket I bought off of Gra or the events at neighbour Fred’s in the evening, I’m afraid I can’t remember a damned thing!
As regular readers of this blog will concur, also not unusual.
Filed under 1972 Diary Entries
In Great Britain – as well as in Canada, Australia and other members of the former Commonwealth – December 26th, is known as “Boxing Day”, an extra public holiday.
In olden days the wealthy and/or landed gentry would have large gatherings or parties on Christmas Day, where their staff (cooks, maids, butlers, groundsmen etc) would be forced to work to make sure everyone had a good time.
In return, the rich households would allow their staff the following day off to spend with families. By way of an additional thank you they would also hand each worker a small box which would contain a gift or some money. Hence, “Boxing Day”
The USA has no such public holiday. Christmas is crammed into the one solitary day. No time at all for me and my wife to have a “Good Larf” like I obviously did in 1972.
Filed under 1972 Diary Entries
Aaaah, Christmas tips from my regular filthy car owners!
Simmonds was a friend/colleague of my Dad’s. A jolly nice bloke whose wide face sported a red ‘boozers’ nose and one of those ludicrous handlebar moustaches. (Like the bloke’s on the right, but grey and accompanied by thick bushy sideburns).
He was a also local councillor, having been helped into office by the hard work of my Dad who was still the secretary of Eastleigh’s Residents Association, an organisation originally formed to try and stop the council from pulling down several blocks of homes in the guise of ‘redevelopment’ (Much like eminent domain in America).
Dad got involved – indeed helped create the association in the late 60’s – because our previous house was amongst those threatened. Thankfully, the election of resident ‘mouthpieces’ – some with massive majorities – stopped the plans….. at least for a couple of decades or more until the town’s ugly Swan Centre arrived.
Anyway, Simmonds was a generous old chap and his gift of 5 bob (five shillings = 25 pence) was doubtless most welcomed and probably mentally added to the 10 bob from earlier in the day to result in “an album”.
Filed under 1972 Diary Entries
Entrepreneur Richard Tompkins was the person responsible for bringing the concept of “Green Shield Stamps” to the UK in 1958. So, they are as old as me!
He’d seen the idea in action whilst holidaying in Chicago earlier in the 1950’s and decided it was ripe for the UK market.
The idea was a simple piece of promotion. Retailers and chainstores – Tesco was an early adopter – bought the stamps from Tompkins then gave them away as bonuses to their customers based on the amount they spent.
The customers then stuck and saved the stamps in a special book which could then be traded in for “free gifts” from…. a Green Shield Stamp shop.
Part of me can remember Mum & Dad getting Green Shield stamps when they bought petrol from the local garage and I think Dad used to get stamps whenever he purchased paraffin for the tilly lamp he used to heat his little shed in the winter time.
I can vaguely recall the Green Shield Stamp shop in Southampton. It later became an “Argos”, one in a chain of discount catalogue stores, which just happened to be Tompkins follow-up business idea!
I wonder how many stamps I traded for a blank C-90 cassette?
Filed under 1972 Diary Entries