Going Back To My Youth !

With all the seemingly present turmoil ... a bit of escapism!

It's true that TV plays a role in our lives, and we each have our own favourite programmes... and is there anything worse than when you are watching your favourite the phone goes, shall I answer, shall I ignore

I know the grandchildren now have their favourite programmes and homework, bath and bedtime etc can be planned aound them if need be to encourage (some may say bribe) certain things to be done in order that they may sit and watch a certain programme.

Most weeks when I  phone for a chat, I will try and time it when I know that a few moments can be shared about their day before they excitedly say, 'bye Grandma - love you' and I know they will then settle down and watch something that interests them. ...I smile happily to myself knowing they are so happy, I'm soft like that

Back in my very young youth it was 'Watch With Mother' on every weekday afternoon for about fifteen minutes and of course in black and white, but I remember it fondly.

With each decade different programmes are of course remembered by each one of us.

I was reading earlier that the 'Trumpton' creator Gordon Murray recently died at the brilliant age of 95yrs. He was creator and puppeteer of the popular BBC children's series Trumpton. Do you remember The Trumptonshire Trilogy - Camberwick Green, Trumpton and Chigley - they were shown weekly by the BBC from 1966 for 20 years... wow ... and the characters were eight inches tall, with heads made out of ping-pong balls and clothes out of foam latex. It was the delight of the story and our imaginations that made these stories a great watch.

So RIP Gordon and to the other children's writers and creators that helped make my youth and are continuing the tradition, although the animated cartoons and huge steps forward in technology have resulted in slightly different looking characters.

... ah, well that is my Thursday ramblings - enjoy your day, and feel free to share parts of your youth here

All the best Jan

Can you remember how Windy Miller always dodged the sails as he walked in the mill door?

Wow I'd need a way back time machine for that I can't recall all the kiddies programmes but some of those I used to endure were: Hectors House, Noggin the Nog, The Flower Pot Men and the Magic Roundabout

Derek wrote:Can you remember how Windy Miller always dodged the sails as he walked in the mill door?  

Talking of Windy Miller ...  

Jan1 wrote:

Derek wrote:Can you remember how Windy Miller always dodged the sails as he walked in the mill door?  

Talking of Windy Miller ...  

After posting the above, I actually sat and watched some of the clip  
What struck me was the gentleness, simplicity and almost innocence.
I think the newer cartoons and TV series, those I have watched with the grandchildren, seem to have lost this - or is it just me, and my rose tinted glasses?

All the best Jan

Watch with Mother??? I had "Listen With Mother" on the Home Service.

"Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin . . ."

I'm not sure if it was before or afterwards but my favourite part was the Shipping Forecast with all those exotic names like Dogger and Lundy.

Uncle Mac and Larry the Lamb. He'd probably be arrested nowadays by PC Plod.

chris c wrote:Watch with Mother??? I had "Listen With Mother" on the Home Service.

"Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin . . ."

I'm not sure if it was before or afterwards but my favourite part was the Shipping Forecast with all those exotic names like Dogger and Lundy.

Uncle Mac and Larry the Lamb. He'd probably be arrested nowadays by PC Pl6od.

That dates you. You wouldn't be able to racially stereotype the trouble causing German dog Denis now.

I used to rivet my ears the the Bush Radio whenever 'Just William' was on, and in the early evening, the street would suddenly be deserted when 'Dick Barton, Special Agent' came on air. 'The Devil's Gallop' was always guaranteed to clear the streets of kids!

Wobblycogs wrote:I used to rivet my ears the the Bush Radio whenever 'Just William' was on, and in the early evening, the street would suddenly be deserted when 'Dick Barton, Special Agent' came on air. 'The Devil's Gallop' was always guaranteed to clear the streets of kids!

Yep Dick Barton was one of my favourites too  


When we got our first TV The Lone Ranger was a must watch

graham64 wrote:

Wobblycogs wrote:I used to rivet my ears the the Bush Radio whenever 'Just William' was on, and in the early evening, the street would suddenly be deserted when 'Dick Barton, Special Agent' came on air. 'The Devil's Gallop' was always guaranteed to clear the streets of kids!

Yep Dick Barton was one of my favourites too  

When we got our first TV The Lone Ranger was a must watch

My big sister had a thing about the actor who played Tonto. I bet Wobblyclogs can remember Tommy Handley, I can just!D.

'Can I do yer now Sir?', Whippet-Quick, the cat burglar and Colonel Chinstrap, 'Ai don't maind if Ai do Sah!' (Who said that in the Tommy Handley show? Anybody care to recall?)  Answers on a postcard please...  

Ah yes, those were the days. I don't suppose too many of us had Diabetes then!!!  

Don't recall listening to Tommy Handley will have a google and check him out I got hooked on the Goon Show though, it was completely bonkers but made me laugh

Your right about diabetes it was rare back then my mum called it sugar diabetes, also there were very few overweight and obese people

Yes indeed. Sugar diabetes. Not to change the thread too much, but can't these experts see the obvious. It's sugar that causes diabetes; type 2 at least. Yet still the medics seem to think it's weight that is the problem. Sugar does make us obese, yes, but it's as if the experts believe there are no 'skinny' diabetics. There are, of course, yet still they insist on blaming dietary fat for the obesity epidemic. I get so angry over these BBC programmes about eating and saving money on food. They ALL say FAT IS BAD! Ignorance is bliss, Greg Wallace!!!! Grrrr!
Rant over!

I do recall Tommy Handley, and his cast of characters, I listed above. The Colonel was 'played' by a fella named Jack Train. By to day's standards it's a bit corny, but then I suppose it depends on what one considers as funny. It always made me laugh anyhow!

Wobblycogs wrote:Yes indeed. Sugar diabetes. Not to change the thread too much, but can't these experts see the obvious. It's sugar that causes diabetes; type 2 at least. Yet still the medics seem to think it's weight that is the problem. Sugar does make us obese, yes, but it's as if the experts believe there are no 'skinny' diabetics. There are, of course, yet still they insist on blaming dietary fat for the obesity epidemic. I get so angry over these BBC programmes about eating and saving money on food. They ALL say FAT IS BAD! Ignorance is bliss, Greg Wallace!!!! Grrrr!
Rant over!

I do recall Tommy Handley, and his cast of characters, I listed above. The Colonel was 'played' by a fella named Jack Train. By to day's standards it's a bit corny, but then I suppose it depends on what one considers as funny. It always made me laugh anyhow!

"I get so angry over these BBC programmes about eating and saving money on food." I get angry about the BBC full stop. They appear to have taken over from the Communist Party. Have any of 'em ever had a proper job in their lives?

Back on topic. Someone mentioned The Lone Ranger recently. That was the first tele program I ever saw, I was younger than 5 years of age. The TV was a 12" Pye black and white of course. We went up-market quickly. My Father acquired a huge thick magnifying attachment that was strapped to the screen. That was considered a luxury ha ha. These days the youngsters consider themselves deprived, if they haven't got a 50" all singing all dancing in their bedrooms. Poor little buggers

Eddie wrote:"I get so angry over these BBC programmes about eating and saving money on food." I get angry about the BBC full stop. They appear to have taken over from the Communist Party. Have any of 'em ever had a proper job in their lives?

Back on topic. Someone mentioned The Lone Ranger recently. That was the first tele program I ever saw, I was younger than 5 years of age. The TV was a 12" Pye black and white of course. We went up-market quickly. My Father acquired a huge thick magnifying attachment that was strapped to the screen. That was considered a luxury ha ha. These days the youngsters consider themselves deprived, if they haven't got a 50" all singing all dancing in their bedrooms. Poor little buggers

So as a child you not only an indoor bathroom you also had a tele with magnifying attachment You had it easy and  don't know what hardship is despite what you told me about having a tough upbringing

Me outdoor loo with a paraffin heater to stop it freezing in winter  and a tin bath in front of the fire  

I remember the Flowerpot Men, Muffin the Mule and the first Doctor Who on gran's black and white TV which had a goldfish bowl tube behind a glass window, and a spider made its home in between.

My folks listened to Tommy Handley (ITMA) first time around, I heard some of them on the repeats.

"After you, Claude!" "No, after YOU, Cecil!" "This is Funf speaking" . . .

Wobblycogs wrote:Yes indeed. Sugar diabetes. Not to change the thread too much, but can't these experts see the obvious. It's sugar that causes diabetes; type 2 at least. Yet still the medics seem to think it's weight that is the problem. Sugar does make us obese, yes, but it's as if the experts believe there are no 'skinny' diabetics. There are, of course, yet still they insist on blaming dietary fat for the obesity epidemic. I get so angry over these BBC programmes about eating and saving money on food. They ALL say FAT IS BAD! Ignorance is bliss, Greg Wallace!!!! Grrrr!
Rant over!

Until the early 70s  carb restriction was the norm for diabetics and for the few overweight people in those days, dietary fat was not considered a problem, sadly today fat is demonised and we diabetics should base our diet on starchy carbs  

You might enjoy this book from 1958 it's free

Eat Fat And Grow Slim
by Richard Mackarness, M.B.,B.S.

http://www.ourcivilisation.com/fat/

We all get older, and I think the older we get the more we seem to recall things what happened in our youth... well I do ... but I can also remember my parents saying 'do you remember when we did ...'

Well today's little bit of news about Ken Barrie made me recall days of yesterday when the children were growing up, we used to sit and watch 'Postmen Pat' - in fact it's still around today because the grand-children watch it!

Ken Barrie was the voice of Postman Pat and at the age of 83yrs has recently passed away.
RIP Ken


Story from here
http://www.aol.co.uk/news/2016/07/29/ken-barrie-the-voice-of-tvs-postman-pat-dies-aged-83/

Do you know even just posting this up, I'm singing the Postman Pat song

All the best Jan

Thinking about some of these children's programmes, they harked back to the childhood of the writers and presenters. 

Friends' grandson is a Thomas The Tank Engine fan. Now on DVD . . . he's never (yet) seen a real steam engine.

Going Back A Few Years ...

We had so much fun on The Bluebell Line, both adults and children had a fabulous time.

"The volunteer-run Bluebell Line was the UK's first preserved standard gauge passenger railway, re-opening part of the Lewes to East Grinstead line of the old London Brighton & South Coast Railway in 1960. Since then it has developed into one of the largest tourist attractions in Sussex, yet it still remains true to its objectives of the preservation for posterity of a country branch line, its steam locomotives, coaches and goods stock, signalling systems, stations and operating practices.

A steam train ride on the Bluebell is one of the top things to do with kids on holiday for a day out in Sussex (the line crosses the border between East Sussex and West Sussex, and is not far from Surrey). This heritage railway is close to Haywards Heath, Gatwick Airport, Uckfield, Brighton and Lewes, in the Ashdown Forest/Mid Sussex area of England. Your children will love to take our vintage steam rail trip during your vacation."


With the next Bank Holiday coming soon this may interest some readers
http://www.bluebell-railway.com/whats_on/bright-bricks/

http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/bluebell.html

I wonder if Chris's friends Grandson has seen a real steam engine yet?
See Chris's post above

All the best Jan

Oh that takes me back! Horsted Keynes to Sheffield Park. where there is also a big garden open to the public. Glad to see they finally did the extension to East Grinstead, that was just a dream when I last lived in the area.

There used to be a steam yard when I lived in Radstock, part of the Somerset and Dorset, and another working steam railway at Cranmore, owned by the guy who painted elephants, David Shepherd, and there's a long preserved railway in North Norfolk among others.

I'm always surprised to see so many still open to the public considering how hard Health And Safety have worked to close down some of the vintage agricultural work-ins.

We watched the Flying Scotsman pulling an express on the last section of the re-opened Settle line a few weeks ago. There was a major landslip near Eden Brows during the heavy rains 15 months before and they built a virtual underground viaduct of piles to stop the track bed sliding into the river.
There's nothing like one the big Pacifics pulling an express under steam, shear power in action!  I was a train spotter in the age of steam, and didn't like the new double chimney and German smoke difflectors I prefer the look of the old A3's, but it still brought back many happy memories of the East coast main line in its heyday.
regards
Derek

We went on the bluebell railway with the kids, after telling the kids not to look out of the window because of the ash, I looked out the window and got ash in my eye lol it bloody hurt, I also went on the Harry Potter train hogwarts express in Florida but not sure that counts as a steam train experience

Derek wrote:We watched the Flying Scotsman pulling an express on the last section of the re-opened Settle line a few weeks ago. There was a major landslip near Eden Brows during the heavy rains 15 months before and they built a virtual underground viaduct of piles to stop the track bed sliding into the river.
There's nothing like one the big Pacifics pulling an express under steam, shear power in action!  I was a train spotter in the age of steam, and didn't like the new double chimney and German smoke difflectors I prefer the look of the old A3's, but it still brought back many happy memories of the East coast main line in its heyday.
regards
Derek

I wouldn't have minded seeing the Flying Scotsman doing that ...

I'll have to make do with a picture


image taken from here
https://www.familiesonline.co.uk/local/cardiff-west/in-the-know/flying-scotsman-is-coming-to-cardiff

All the best Jan

Andy12345 wrote:We went on the bluebell railway with the kids, after telling the kids not to look out of the window because of the ash, I looked out the window and got ash in my eye lol it bloody hurt, I also went on the Harry Potter train hogwarts express in Florida but not sure that counts as a steam train experience

Yes, I can also remember being told not to look out of the window because of the ash ... but somehow you are compelled too!

When you were in Florida was it Platform 9 and 3/4's ?



Image from here
http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/File:Hogwarts_Express_Ticket.jpg

All the best Jan