Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History Was it really better ?

Educating Archie...listening to a ventriloquist on the radio!!

Apparently there was a husband and wife team who used to do conjuring and mind reading.(On the radio) I never heard them but my dad used to talk about them and how marvelous they were!!!!

Also on the radio, Lesley Welch - The Memory Man. What a memory for random facts and figures he had!

Black and White Minstrel show----used to watch that too!

Radio again...'Journey into Space'. Frightened the life out of me at the time (the power of imagination). I got a CD of all the episodes not long ago - not as frightening this time round. Still excellent listening even after all these years.

Birkenhead Park was definitely better, you could see the ducks' feet as they were swimming, the fish going under the bridges, the pike stalking anything that moved. There were even water voles in the banks, we used to call them water rats, and shame to say, used to throw stuff at them. You could get a lolly at the kiosk if you was lucky enough to have a penny. Sergeant Woodcock was on your case if you did anything wrong,you weren't allowed over the railings for instance. People lived in the Lodges at the Park Entrance and the other lodges. It was just a great place to go as a kid.

When we did eventually get to see him on the TV we couldn't believe how bad he was. You could clearly see his lips moving. He was so poor he used to partially cover his mouth when Archie was "talking".

It was better in the 'good old days'. Late 60's early 70's you didn't need an NVQ level 2 in Retail and Customer Care to work in a shop, nor a degree to work in a bank. If you didn't like the job you had, you could walk out on a Friday and have a new job on the Monday, doing something completely different. My first job payed £9.10.0d a week (£9.50p). We could afford to go out Friday or Sat nights, usually to the Beachcomber or the Drift Inn in Liverpool,wearing mink eyelashes made by 'Eyelure', which were so thick and heavy we couldn't keep our eyes open to see where we were going. Maybe have something new to wear, a new pair of shoes cost 29.11d (£1.50). The morning after the night before we looked pretty horrible, so would put a flower or something in our hair and our Mary Quant style PVC coats which were freezing and pretend we were from the'flower power' brigade. Such drama queens. We didn't ask our parents for money, we didn't need to and wouldn't have got it anyway and we paid our keep (unlike my three).
Everything was much happier but maybe that transferred from our parents as I suppose they were happy to be leading a normal life again and counted their blessings after the war and rationing etc.had all finished, Everything aeemed to be on the up and no worries. A far cry from today.

Aye, the government messed that up eh granma?

I don't know Ste. Things change alot. I got fed up and went travelling at the end of 1971, one way or another until 1975, coming back in between trips but of all the places I went to, I can honestly say good old England was the best. The road networks, health facilities, the humour and all,even down to the rain. Had enough rain now tho'.

an old radio show Workers Playtime,late 40s early 50s, think it was done in works during lunch time. WILFRED PICKLES and his saying was give him the money Maybel, or some think like that. anyone as old as me may well remember it.

You are right with Wilfred Pickles and "Give 'em the money Mabel", but I think that show was "Have a Go". Didn't Mabel give them Half a Crown ? Worker's Playtime was a separate show from canteens at factories etc. in the war and the post war years. Tommy Handley (??) "Can I do you now Sir ??") etc.

There again, is that from something else. My brain hurts!

Pinz, your right about Wilfred Pickles's show been called Have a Go. It may have been seperate from the show called workers playtime. But if so it was also done at workers canteens and such. During the build of the second Ark Royal at Lairds, he came and did a Have a Go show at the yard. I know this due to my dads brother was one of the workmen on the show. If you feel like been Sherlock Homes and MP Bert1 he may tell you the connection in all this with me.

You're right about Tommy Handley, Pinz. The show was I.T.M.A.
It's That Man Again. "Can I do you now, sir?" was the cleaning lady, Mrs. Mopp.

Do you remember 'The Goon Show' Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, Harry Seacombe and Michael Bentine.

http://www.last.fm/music/The+Goons/_/The+Ying+Tong+Song

Completely mad but hilarious if you could understand what they were on about.