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Childhood Memories
The flowerpot men, 'weed', Amos and Andy,
big Ted, little Ted, Loopy Lou, Andy Pandy,
Woodentops, spotty dog, gently 'supurvised'
by 'ma and pa',
Jack and Jill, miss Muffet, 'twinkle,twinkle little star',
'Listen with mother'-"are you
comfortably sat?"
Rag,Tag and Bobtail, Rupert and Felix the cat,
Toytown, Sooty and Sweep, Muffin the Mule,
George Formby films where he played the fool,
Sunday lunchtime wireless requests-for BFPO 40.
Dr Quatermass and his extremely spooky pit,
cauliflowers or pens - Crackerjack,a long running hit,
Ovaltine, morning coffee(biscuits), Pixie,
Dixie and Jinks,
ludo, skittles, snakes and ladders, drafts, tiddlywinks.
'Animal magic' - Johnny Morris, the 'hot
chestnut man',
the Bash St Gang, Charlie Peace, Desperate Dan,
Dinky cars, Hornby and Triang trains,
Meccano sets,
the Beano, the Dandy, childish 'dares', silly 'bets',
'Roy of the Rovers', ginger wine, coal tar
soap,
swings hitched on trees with lengths of old rope,
'Dennis the menace', 'Lord Snooty and pals',
American 'Westerns', Superman, 'guys and gals',
'Robby robot, the Red Planet, early
'fantasy' space trips,
electronic sounds, 'invisible' footprints, laser guns, rocket
ships,
Tonto, the Lone Ranger and Silver, his
faithful horse,
the Cisco Kid, Roy Rogers, Dale and Trigger-of course!
Flicka and Champion,Mr Ed', Rawhide, Wagon
Train,
South Pacific, Oaklahoma, Carousel, Singin' in the rain,
Donald Duck, Mickey and Minnie mouse, 'Pluto
and co',
The Addams family, Skippy, the 'wacky' Bilko show,
Seaquest, Highway patrol, Cannonball and
Dragnet,
(all with musical themes I'll never forget)
Lucille Ball, in 'I love Lucy, with Dezi
Arnez,
Tommy Cooper, 'just like that', with his famous fez,
Tony Hancock and Sid James, the Buccaneers,
Ivanhoe,
Carol Levis's pioneering television, talent show,
Hughie Green, Michael Miles with 'Take your
pick',
'beastly' - Bunter, Greyfriars, Montmerency and Mick,
Jewel and Warris, 'wee' Arthur Askey, the
Goons,
Cardew the Cad (remember Russ conway's catchy tunes?)
Hilda Baker, Reg Varney, David Nixon and
Benny Hill,
Sunday Nights at the Palladium, where they 'topped the bill',
Hosted by Norman Vaughn,and 'Brucie' with
silly innocent, 'fillers',
'beat the clock', and immaculate dance routines from the
'Tillers',
'Coronation Street', from the first episode,
we saw 'Northern life',
dark sets, 'live' scenes, evocative theme tune, trouble and
strife,
Albert Tatlock, 'young' Ken Barlow, Elsie
Tanner, Ena Sharples,
Enid Blyton's 'famous five', Agatha Christie's 'Miss Marples',
Archie Andrews, with Peter Brough, 'little'
Jimmie Clitheroe,
and old mother Riley, with 'daughter' Kitty, always in tow,
The 'Four just men', Raymond Francis's 'No
hiding place',
'the scarf, a six part thriller, 'the man with no face',
Eric Sykes, Hattie Jaques, Derek Guyler,
Michael Bentine,
with 'bumblies', Peter Sellers, 'spike' Milligan, Billy Bean,
Sparky's magic piano, uncle Mac' , 'jungle
Jim',
Pepsodent, Palmolive, Daz, Persil powder and Vim,
Tubby the tuba, the owl and the
pussycat-'pea green boat',
'Nellie the elephant', 'Trolls', Brough the ferocious billy goat,
Cornflakes, Bovril, lemon curd, newly
created 'fish fingers',
crystal sets, valves, Airfix Kits, models planes, King singers,
Popeye, Olive Oyle and Bluto (up to his
usual tricks)
Spinach, 'instant strength', Saturday morning 'flicks'-
'journeys on silver screen, weekly, from
'Heaven to Hell',
Swiss family Robinson', Disney' with it's early 'magic spell',
'Movietone News', regular bulletins from
around the world,
famous events, uprisings/overthrowings, just as they unfurled
interupting saturday mornings cinema of
'terror and jest',
comic book heros and villains, routinely 'put to the test',
acid drops, bicycle 'proficiency test',
bubble gum,
'minor' disagreements with mum and dad- (sore bum!!?)
The annual seaside holiday, ('twas usually
to Rhyl)
knitted 'cossie', candy floss, travel sickness pill',
buckets and spades, kites, beach sandcastles
with moats,
crabs in still pools, seaweed smells, model boats,
sand dunes, cold seawater, gaudy amusement
arcades,
'helter skelters', 'big dipper', and long marine parades,
traditional breakfasts, 'Scots' porrige oats
and toast,
weekday hot evening meals, and on Sunday, a 'roast',
'fried' corn beef and chip 'butties' with
sauce/marmalade,
semolina, 'mushy' peas, mum's special 'fudge', bread,home made,
Tarzan, Cheeta and their 'playmate'- Jane,
Hula hoops, catapults, hailstones and rain,
plaited hair, loolypops, clips combs and
curls,
flaired party dresses for cute little girls,
linoleum, coal fires, 'jumping' beans,
clockwork toys,
space/Tommy guns with sparks and friction noise,
The crazy gang, Norman wisdom, 'Chesney and
Bud',
Davey Crockett, Friar Tuck,. little John, Robin Hood,
'Dan Dare-pilot of the future', the 'green'
men from Mars,
the Meekons, (my weekly 'excursion' to the stars!!)
Laurel and Hardy, Tommy Trinder, and the
Keystone cops,
Buster Crabbe (Lassie and Rin Tin tin were 'doggie' tops!)
Crimes solved by the indefatigable 'Charlie
Chan',
weekly 'disappearances' by the invisible man!
Max Bygraves and his bathroom 'ditty', the
toothbrush, pink,
Wagon wheels, marshmallows, 'dandelion and burdock drink',
'conkers', on strings (pre soaked in vinegar
always proved best)
overnight, to toughen them up for the next playground contest,
sticklebacks, tiddlers; dogs and rabbits for
pets,
sunny days, 'cabbage white' butterflies, captured in nets,
marbles with their bright coloured, curly
designs,
'tag', 'hopscotch', invisible ink-secret signs,
black jacks, fruit salad, Spangles, winter
'mix',
'gob stoppers', aniseed twist, root liquorice sticks.
The infants school, daydreams, childhood
games.
early 'love letters', with long forgotten names,
'cod liver oil'-"now eat up your
'greens'"-YUK,
bean bags, crayons, paper mache, spelling book,
parties, 'Brylcreamed' hair, 'short back and
sides',
'Postman's knock', 'musical chairs', Cubs and Girl Guides.
Monday morning washdays-seemingly endless
skies of blue,
with billowing winds, clouds, gentle breezes, soft morning dew.
The old wooden mangle, gas boiler, 'dolly'
and tub,
the wash board, 'elbow grease', and 'rub a dub,dub.',
Christmas carol singing, in the crisp virgin
snow,
presents, magically appearing,Santa's 'ho-ho',
many, many more, and perhaps too numerous to
list,
(my apologies to you, for yours that I've missed!)
Allen Warrender-October 1995
(revised 15/8/2003)
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