Evergreen Winter 2013

EVERGREEN

BR

Through times of thick and times of thin, Through seasons bleak or fair, Through times of rich abundant yields, Or harvests of despair.

Through broken dreams, and troubled paths, Through times of joy or strife, Through the wilderness of barren climes And the greener fields of life.

Through every hardship life may bring, Through trials great or small — It’s a four-legged friend that always proves, The greatest friend of all.

N

E LY L I

TTLE GREE

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UA RT E

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£4

Vol.29 No.4 WINTER 2013

Friend for all Seasons…

AI IT

OV 'S L

GILLIAN WALSH

QUARTERLY

1 Front Cover-win.indd 1

A Miscellany of This & That & Things Gone By WINTER 2013 23/10/2013 14:59

Contents

Winter 2013

Winter Magic . . . . .

Kathleen Gillum 4 Rural Rides . . . . . . . Glyn Jones 12 Beer and Skittles . . . . .

Bob Caddick 16 Famous Names in Football . . Alan Robinson 19 Gleanings . . . . . . . Janet Hilderley 20 Music Makers . . . .

Edmund Whitehouse 24 Percy’s Postbag . . . . . Percy Bickerdyke 28 Feast of Family Favourites . . . . . . .

— 34 The Literary Pilgrim . . . . Peter Worsley 36 Rib-Ticklers . . . . . . . . . . .

— 40 Cinemagic . . . . . . Roger Harvey 42 Almanac . . . . . . . . .

Kath Garner 46 Spanish Gold: Thoughts from the Sixties . . Peter Carlin 52 On the Air . . . . . . .

Clifford Bentley 54 Bookworm . . . . . . .

Stephen Garnett 58 All Wrapped Up With Robert Opie!

. . . . . .

Angeline Wilcox 60 Where Are You Now? . . . . . . .

— 64 Secret History in Dorset . . .

Chris Low 66 Whatever Happened to...? . . .

Charmion Mills 70 Billy’s Sweets . . . . . .

Thea Hartley 72 TV Memories . . . . . . .

Steve Roberts 78 Salute to a Star Pilot . . . .

Simon Murdoch 83 John Greeves 86 The Last of the Lave Fishermen .

From the Deputy Editor’s Desk . Angeline Wilcox 92 Clippings . . . . .

Letters to the Editor 94 Then & Now . . . . . . Henry Spencer 104 Hit Parade . . . . . . .

Angeline Wilcox 1 06 Juke Box . . . . . .

Bill ‘The Beat’ Baxter 112 Our Christian Heritage . . . Peter Etteridge 118 The Evergreen Prayer . . . . .

Fay Knowles 121 Byways . . . . . . . .

Christian Green 122 Raise a Glass . . . . . . Stuart Millson 126 — 130 Scrapbook . . . . . . . . . . .

Bookshelf . . . . . . Henry Hardcastle 134 A Friend for all Seasons . . .. Gillian Walsh 148 Front Cover: Winter lambs at Enville amid the snowy GRAHAM GOUGH Staffordshire countryside.

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www.vintage-images.co.uk

THE PAST IN COLOUR

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he parish church of St. Michael and All Angels dominates the skyline of this picture taken in 1960 although the same view today would show it partially obscured by trees. Despite the area being some distance from large manufacturing cities, the tower and the parapets bear residual sooty stains caused by smoke pollution from the Industrial Revolution when the town was the biggest producer of silk in the world, boasting no fewer than 71 mills. Post-war cleaning of grimy buildings was only just beginning with the walls of the nave and chancel newly jet-washed to reveal the light brown sandstone underneath.

An open-air market is thriving on the left while a red Leyland Tiger Cub owned by the North Western

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company is making its way to nearby Waters Green bus station.

The local services were subsequently taken over by the green buses of Crosville which is a clue to the county’s identity.

Not a foreign car in sight! But Japanese and European invasions would soon put a serious dent into Ford, Vauxhall, Hillman, Austin, Morris and smaller British companies. The period also brought about a major change in the appearance of cars which from henceforth would no longer be the almost ubiquitous black but all colours of the rainbow. The Bedford minibus in the middle reflected a short-lived fashion for two-tone colours.

Where is it? Macclesfield in Cheshire.

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t Christmas time, many years Meanwhile, Mr. Cohen, the ago, when people still parked accountant, came up from the cars in the bomb craters basement, glasses perched on the surrounding St. Paul’s Cathedral, a end of his nose, watching the “little bookshop nestled in its shadows. blighters”. Macs had pockets.

Shortly before Christmas, the In those days publishers allowed proprietor, Mr. booksellers, under the Bathurst, dignified, In the shadow of net book agreement, bearded and a only a 30 per cent St. Paul’s friend of Mr. Dean, discount per book. welcomed to the Mr. Cohen was too shop 24 Burberry- clad choristers. aware that the staff (me) looked The choirmaster watched forward to their Christmas bonus. anxiously as they searched along When St. Paul’s clock boomed out the shelves, hopefully quietly.

12 o’clock, the little boys lined up to pay.

The odd peppermints slipped into Mr. Bathurst asked, “How is your mouths and Smith Minor stepped dear Mama?”; “Is dear Lady Smithson on Johnson’s big toe, who yelped in good health?” Meanwhile, Mr. loudly. Mr. Bathurst, stroking his Cohen watched carefully. He had beard, recommended the latest never recovered from the terrible Penguins: “Wonderful stocking occasion when Mr. Bathurst had said fillers. No more than a shilling to a young schoolboy, “My dear boy each.”

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St. Paul’s Cathedral in the 1950s.

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BRIAN GIBBS

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any of us enjoyed The Summer 2002). While Henty wrote Coral Island when from a true historical perspective, we were young however, Ballantyne’s and were gripped by the tales were rather more adventures of three fictionalised, although shipwrecked boys in still based on accurate the Pacific Ocean. But information supplied by how many know the globe-trotting travellers author wrote dozens of the time. of similar stories set Both authors aimed all around the world, their stories at the each written during young, particularly the Victorian era? boys, and it is no Born in Edinburgh, exaggeration to say that R.M. (Robert Michael) Victorian children learned Ballantyne (1825-1894) their geography this way. can arguably be placed Like Thomas Hughes on the same high R. M. Ballantyne in Tom Brown’s plain as the literary School Days, each giant G.A. Henty (see This England, book had a strong moral emphasis Winter 1988 and also Evergreen, and unashamedly promoted the

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2013 EVERGREEN 37 Published in 1857, “The Coral Island” has never been out of print and inspired William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” which gave the plot a new twist. Each has main characters called Jack and Ralph who are marooned on a deserted Pacific island.

Christian gospel through words and deeds. Did they have any effect?

Definitely, because they were strongly supported by most teachers who encouraged reading and saw adventures in books as more effective than classroom learning.

Ballantyne had a strong literary connection. His father, Sandy, was a newspaper editor and his Uncle James published Sir Walter Scott. As he knew the latter personally it seems likely he was strongly influenced by the great man. Sadly, some disastrous financial investments by both Scott and Sandy Ballantyne seriously damaged the family’s finances and at the age of 16 Robert was packed off to northern Canada to work for the Hudson’s Bay Company.

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He returned after six years and found employment with the publisher, Constable, with his first novel appearing soon afterwards called, unsurprisingly, Hudson’s Bay or Life in the Wilds of North America.

The template had already been set by long letters to his mother from Canada which had given him a great love of words and, when he discovered his father had died while he was away, he made up his mind to make literature his career.

The Coral Island appeared in 1857 and its success encouraged him to become a full-time writer. Even so, a small mistake in estimating the size of a coconut shell made him determined to be more accurate in future and henceforth he tried hard to base his works on personal experience. This meant much travelling abroad which he regarded as essential.

Today’s politically correct climate would have been regarded as utterly absurd by our Victorian forebears and Ballantyne, like many others of the time, believed children should be encouraged to take risks, learn to swim, climb trees, and cross rickety planks across surging streams. Only in this way did he feel true learning would come as a vital prelude to responsible adulthood.

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Spanish Gold: Thoughts from the Sixties Broken wafers, Sherbet Dabs, scabby knees and tetanus jabs.

MB bars and Opal Fruits, Spirograph and Chelsea boots.

Ford Cortinas, Capstan fags, Cremola Foam and lucky bags.

Coconuts and dodgem cars, Spanish Gold and Aztec bars.

Caramac and German measles, 3/6 the price of diesel.

Dandys, Beanos, Toppers too, kick the can and Buckaroo.

Highland toffee, Flying Saucers, Angus Og and Lobey Dosser.

Plastic sandals, duffel coats, birthday cards with 10 bob notes “Jackanory”, “Jukebox Jury”, Dusty Springfield, Billy Fury.

Dolly Mixtures, Penny Whoppers, Matchbox cars and Raleigh Choppers.

Andy Pandy, “Beat the Clock”, Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock.

The Sunday Post with Grandpa Broon, 20 fags for half-a-croon.

Peever, tag and hide ‘n’ seek, running

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with a gird ‘n’ cleek.

Jelly pieces, candy floss, Sunday breakfasts, HP sauce.

Penny caramels, penny trays, Marathons and Milky Ways.

“Hogan’s Heroes”, “Wagon Train”, Rikki Fulton, Lex McLean.

Parma Violets, Victory Vs, “pluggin” school and climbing trees.

Captain Scarlet, Bazooka Joe, Etch-a-Sketch and Subbuteo, Meccano sets and Hornby trains, Airfix kits of model planes.

Ban the Bomb and War-on-Want, miniskirts from Mary Quant.

Wally dugs and ginger wine, the ball that never crossed the line.

Life seems endless when you’re young, but all too soon the fat girl’s sung.

PETER CARLIN

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All Wrapped Up with Robert Opie!

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here are those people you encounter in life who have a marvellous appreciation of things that the rest of us tend to overlook. I refer to the collectors, aficionados and enthusiasts who have a real passion for a subject. Once they start to share their enthusiasm it becomes infectious and the rest of us soon become captivated.

Such is the case with Robert Opie.

He is a man who recognises that packaging is precious. Whereas most people would discard empty cartons,

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tins, boxes and bottles — regarding them as rubbish or recycling fodder — Robert has long realised that they are treasures of our everyday life. To him they form a valuable aspect of our social history and tell a significant story.

As a schoolboy in the 1960s Robert began collecting what he calls our “throwaway history”.

In addition to the empty tins and bottles he also began to track down the promotional materials that were used in shop window displays. Over the years as his hoard of

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precious packaging increased so did public interest.

After an exhibition at the V&A in 1975 he set up his own museum in Gloucester, which attracted 700,000 visitors during 17 years.

Today, Robert’s collection — the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising — can be found at Notting Hill in London. Here, people are taken on a wonderful trip down memory lane as they see the familiar names that lined the shop and kitchen shelves of their childhood.

From soap to soup, pickle to polish, cigarettes to cereals, beer to biscuits and crisps to chocolate all these goods have the magical power to evoke

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memories — instantly. It’s not just the tastes, the smells and the textures of the individual products that come to mind, but the people, places, emotions and moments in our lives that we associate with them.

We’re all taken back to childhood when we see sweet and chocolate wrappers. Remember saving your pocket money to buy some goodies from the corner shop or school tuck shop? And what treats would you discover in your Christmas stocking?

Would it be Blue Bird Toffees or a Cadbury’s Chocolate Orange?

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secret history in dorset

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orth Matravers, located on the Purbeck coast, has long been a popular destination for tourists. Perhaps a less familiar aspect of the town’s identity is the role it played in developing radar during the Second World War. By the early 1930s scientists had discovered that radio waves reflected by aircraft and ships could be detected as echoes. In 1934 an RAF practice raid identified a need to strengthen British air defences.

Essential to this would be radar technology, and a base was set up at

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FISHER ARCHIVES

Bawdsey on the Suffolk coast.

In 1939, just prior to war being declared, a German airship was sent to spy on the Bawdsey radar centre.

It was decided that the base should be relocated. Worth Matravers was chosen due to its coastal location, distance from German occupied territory and flat cliff-top site. Several other stations were set up nearby, including those at St. Aldhelm’s Head, Durlston, Kingston and Brandy Bay. From May 1940 numerous high-ranking scientists arrived in

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Worth Matravers in Dorset is popular with tourists, but how many visitors are aware of its important wartime role? The photograph opposite shows the radar site in late 1940.

SIMON TRANTER

Worth to participate in the secret radar programme. Among the new technologies developed were the rotating aerial, radar display and cavity magnetron. Radar was used by stations to give early warning of approaching hostile aircraft and ships. Later, technicians learned to mislead German radar about the British invasion plans by radio jamming. This, together with false intelligence, played a key role in the D-Day preparations.

In February 1942 the British raided a German radar base in the

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French coastal town of Bruneval.

The intelligence collected persuaded the British government that a German raid on Worth might be imminent. Consequently, in May 1942 the Worth radar base quickly relocated inland to Malvern.

However, although the base had gone, the stations that had been set up remained in operation for the duration of the war.

Several personnel who worked on the radar base in Worth went on to become eminent figures in their professions. Sir John Adams

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The Last of the Lave Fishermen

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t one time lave net fishing was prevalent all along the Severn Estuary. On the English side of the Severn lave net fishing was practised for centuries at Oldbury-on-Severn and by many other folk who lived beside the estuary. Over the years many

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Winter

traditional ways of salmon fishing such as putcher ranks, stopping boats, putts and drift-nets and other forms of ancient fishing have disappeared from the estuary due to the pressures and legislation imposed on them by the Environment Agency. Blackrock Lave Fishery is the last of the lave fisheries in Wales and lies close to the village of Sudbrook on the Welsh side of the Severn Estuary.

Martin Morgan, Secretary of the Blackrock Lave Net Fishermen Association, has battled hard with a small band of fishermen to preserve

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the last of the lave fisheries in Wales.

Although he accepts salmon stocks have fallen, he doesn’t believe his small quota of 15 salmon (for all of the whole of the group) in a season is unreasonable when compared with the huge inustrial scale of fishing taking place in the Atlantic every year.

In 2012 the lave fishermen caught a total of seven salmon in the course of the season. Martin and his group had previously agreed to help preserve fish stocks by taking a 60 per cent reduction in their fishing season, so that the new season only ran from June to the end of August. Martin is anxious to inform people about this traditional form of fishing and clear away any misconceptions.

“Lave fishing is not destroying fish stocks; what we take in a season is six, seven or eight fish. I don’t think since I’ve been fishing in the last 20

years that we’ve taken any more than ten between us.”

Martin and his colleagues have developed a heritage site and welcome members of the public to their net house, fishing events and open day that takes place at the end of August.

They have seven licensees and one trainee who form this small group of fishermen. The traditional lave net they use is a ‘Y’-shaped structure which is entirely handmade. The frame has two arms called rimes that are made of willow.

Martin explains how this is gathered in the winter from pollarded trees on the Caldicot levels.

Lower down there is a headboard made of pine, which keeps the arms or rimes in place. The handle is called the “rock-staff” and this is made from a young ash sapling.

This usually has a natural bend or

Opposite page: The present lave net fishermen and (below) Severn fishermen in times past pushing salmon traps (putchers) into the river.

N.F. LARGE

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Hit Parade Singers & Songs from the Sixties & Seventies

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“It’s Christmas!” with Slade

o Christmas is complete without tradition and the pop charts are no exception.

Every year in the run up to “the big day”, artists release records in the hope that they will hit the coveted number one spot in time for the unwrapping of presents and the carving of the turkey.

Forty years ago a group from Wolverhampton did just that and their upbeat festive song has provided the soundtrack to Christmas ever since. Indeed, with their trademark glittery, glam-rock outfits and towering platform shoes, this four-piece band could outshine the decorations on anyone’s Christmas tree. They were, of course, Slade, and the song they gave us was

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“Merry Xmas Everybody”.

Released on 7th December 1973, the single went straight to number one eight days later, a position it held for five weeks, and to date it has sold just over a million copies.

The group were legends of the glam-rock scene in the early 1970s. Members Noddy Holder (lead vocals and guitar), Dave Hill (lead guitar), Jim Lea (bass) and Don Powell (drums) had been in various

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Above: Slade in their glam-rock heyday.

Pictured left to right: Noddy Holder, Don Powell, Dave Hill and Jim Lea. Right: Wolverhampton, the band’s home town.

Midlands’ groups in the 1960s before joining forces in 1966 as The ’N Betweens. By 1969 they had changed their name to Ambrose Slade — shortened to Slade the following year — and were being managed by Chas Chandler a former bass player with The Animals. He persuaded them to adopt a skinhead look — a far cry from the long hair and platform-soled splendour for which they’d later become renowned.

Although the group were popular as a live act their first record releases

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e looks remarkably well for long-running feature appearing in the a 350-year-old. Of course, Dundee Weekly News, and as a clever that’s 350 as reckoned in and witty cartoonist for Punch, Tatler dog years. But then in the world of and Titbits, among others. comic strips hardly anyone ages, Graham had been asked by the and certainly not Mail to create a Fred Basset, British family-oriented Fifty years of comics’ superstar. He cartoon strip, perhaps Fred Basset is as fresh, exuberant featuring a thinking and funny today as or talking dog. He when he made his took the basic idea first appearance half but added a clever a century ago. twist by making the In the 9th July central character 1963 issue of the a dog who thinks Daily Mail, following like a person but a few days of cannot speak to teasers asking humans. Only the “Who Is Fred?” and reader is privy to his “Where is Fred?” thoughts as he goes in the pages of the about his everyday newspaper, there doggy business of debuted a new strip chasing rabbits, written and drawn burying bones and

by Alex Graham. stealing sausages The Dumfries-born from the butcher. artist was already The humour lies in Artist Alex Graham with his known as the creator Basset hound, Freda, and the contrast between Yorkshire terrier. of Wee Hughie, a Fred’s typically

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canine behaviour and his typically human outlook on life, which is often wiser than that of the actual humans around him.

The choice of breed to be depicted in the new strip was left up to Graham. As he said in a 1976 interview for Cartoonist Profiles magazine, “I suppose Bassets were possibly becoming popular then, and they’ve rather expressive faces.” However, after complaints from readers that Fred didn’t look sufficiently Basset-like in his earliest appearances, the Mail bought the cartoonist a Basset hound called Freda so that he might draw from life.

After this initial hiccup the look of the strip began a gradual evolution, the initially loose, charmingly rumpled cartooning becoming smoother and more flowing over the years. The impeccably composed panels, however, always reflected Graham’s Glasgow School of Art training and his painterly eye.

As the strip established its unique identity an enthusiastic following swiftly grew. Celebrity fans included The first Fred Basset cartoon collection.

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As he appears today and looking good at 50.

expatriate writer P.G. Wodehouse, who saw in it a compelling vision of his beloved homeland brought to life, and Peanuts’ creator Charles Schulz, who cited the strip as his favourite and became a friend of Graham.

Over the course of his 50 years Fred has become a wonderfully well-developed character. He can be sarcastic, cowardly, cunning, greedy, selfish and lazy, yet also charming, patient, loving and loyal. In short, very human. This canine philosopher often raises a laconic eyebrow in the direction of the reader as he provides a drolly insightful commentary on the foibles of the characters about him, both human and animal, and the everyday situations he observes.

Fred and the unnamed middleaged couple who own him live in a lovingly realised small-town England full of wry, kindly good humour and comfortable familiarity; a setting which resonates deeply with those of us who hold our country’s values and traditions dear. It’s a place where the vicar drops in for tea and small shops thrive along the high street. There

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Through times of thick and times of thin, Through seasons bleak or fair, Through times of rich abundant yields, Or harvests of despair.

Through broken dreams, and troubled paths, Through times of joy or strife, Through the wilderness of barren climes And the greener fields of life.

Through every hardship life may bring, Through trials great or small — It’s a four-legged friend that always proves, The greatest friend of all.

N

E LY L I

TTLE GREE

NQ

UA RT E

RL Y

£4

Vol.29 No.4 WINTER 2013

Friend for all Seasons…

AI IT

OV 'S L

GILLIAN WALSH

QUARTERLY

1 Front Cover-win.indd 1

A Miscellany of This & That & Things Gone By WINTER 2013 23/10/2013 14:59