I found another 9-minute video containing a variety of historical photos, 38 in all. I have seen a few of them before but the majority were new to me. | Continue reading
Our beloved dog Ollie is 11 years old today. He will be getting fresh-cooked chicken for dinner later, and some extra treats. He has a present of a soft toy birthday cake too, which he loves! Julie has also bought him a ‘canine-edible birthday card’. (The things you can find onli … | Continue reading
Jackie Wilson was well-known for the classic song ‘Reet Petite’ from 1958, and later had a huge hit in Britain with ‘Higher and Higher’, in 1967. I am choosing a song from the following year that also appealed to me a lot when I was 16. I played this to death! The closer you get … | Continue reading
One of the early examples of what would later become known as ‘Funky Music’, this song had my feet tapping in 1966. Although covered since, this original by The Capitols is the one I bought, and it had the bonus of the Motown House Band playing the backing instruments. I think it … | Continue reading
As well as working in many traditional male jobs during WW2, women also joined the armed forces. Members of The Women’s Guerrilla Corps being instructed in how to carry and use a rifle, 1941. All the women are aged between 40 and 60, so too old to join the regular armed forces at … | Continue reading
This song was first released in 1957, when I was too young to know much about it. But in 1963 The Kingsmen recorded a cover version and by that time I was 11, and already into all kinds of music. Considered to be R&B, it seemed to defy any genre to me at that age, … Continue read … | Continue reading
A few times a week, I put bread out on the back lawn for the birds. At one time, I mainly gave them bowls of bird seed instead, but with the cost of living crisis biting hard, paying up to £25 a month for a sack of (quality) seed has had to be postponed for … Continue reading Pig … | Continue reading
With the sad news that Burt Bacharach died yesterday, today’s choice is another song from him and Hal David. Burt lived a long life, and left behind a legacy of wonderful music. Originally an instrumental recorded by Stan Getz in 1966, lyrics were added, and it was on the soundtr … | Continue reading
Yesterday was a big break in routine for me. Julie had to renew her passport. She had asked about a postal renewal, and was told it would take ten weeks at least. As she is travelling abroad in March, her only option was to go to the main Passport Office for the East of England. … | Continue reading
I found another 10-minute video online. Random historical photographs that include some quite powerful images. I hope you like them. | Continue reading
This is a Motown song that was first recorded by The Miracles in 1966 (unreleased), then by Gladys Knight and The Pips in 1967. The following year it was covered by Marvin Gaye, and became widely accepted as the definitive version, as well as being the one that I bought at the ag … | Continue reading
I found some more photos by two British photographers who specialised in social history. They both took many photos in London, from the 1950s through to the 1970s. All of these are from the 1950s. Bob Collins. This boy is shopping for comics in Romford Market. A lady haggling ove … | Continue reading
In the 1950s, immigration from the West Indies was becoming a political issue. At the same time, many people all over Britain were still living in slum conditions and poverty. Thurston Hopkins travelled to some cities in Britain to record what was happening. 1955. Three West Indi … | Continue reading
Shoppers in London, 1908. Women in Japan wearing western clothing, 1928. Snappy dressers in America, 1940. Girls showing ‘Nautical fashion’. America, 1941. Smart young boys in Chicago, 1941. Bettie Paige, the iconic pin-up model. America, 1952. Fashion model close to the Eiffel T … | Continue reading
Summer 1941. “Detroit, Michigan. Girls playing cards and drinking Coca-Cola.” Photo by Arthur Siegel for the Office of War Information. This was part of a set showing these girls playing ‘Strip Poker’. As it was commissioned by the War Office, I can only presume it was intended t … | Continue reading
The shortest month is here. Even only three days fewer than January still seems to make it fly by much faster. ————————————————————————————– I am taking a break from posting Serial Fiction for a while, so you may notice less posts overall from me this month. ————————————————————— … | Continue reading
Last November, I reblogged this post. Day Brightener – “Who Is Shaking The Jar” Checking my stats sometime later in December, I was surprised to discover it had well over 1,000 views before Christmas. Since then, it has been getting around 20-40 views most days, and is usually th … | Continue reading
I went to the supermarket today to pick up just a few bits, like fresh bread and some milk. Unfortunately, the gear selector of my automatic car jammed solid as I parked in the car park. I eventually had to call out the breakdown service we subscribe to, and wait 90 minutes for t … | Continue reading
I found this short 9-minute film on You Tube, featuring a random selection of historical photographs. Despite the title ‘unseen’, I have seen three of them previously, but not the rest. It also has a warning at the beginning, but I assure you that none of the photos are too distu … | Continue reading
I always had a soft spot for the music of The Four Seasons. The American vocal group had a unique style, led by the signature falsetto singing of the front man, Frankie Valli. Frankie also released many solo records during his time with The Four Seasons, and in 1967, he recorded … | Continue reading
This is a fictional short story, in 675 words. She was all in a fluster, as she knew she would be. Why had she agreed when Elsie suggested the day trip? It was an early start, and she wasn’t that bothered about Highclere Castle, even if it was the location where they filmed Downt … | Continue reading
Watney Street Market in East London was once one of London’s largest street markets. Trading since 1881, it was later redeveloped into a pedestrianised shopping precinct, and now very few market stalls remain there. Eileen Armstrong, selling fruit and vegetables. Joe The Grocer, … | Continue reading
This is a 17-minute film of some of the earliest known moving film footage. It begins with the work of Thomas Edison in 1888, and goes on into the next century. Some of the footage is blurry, but that is to be expected with these extremely rare unrestored films. | Continue reading
This is the final part of a fiction serial, in 842 words. Sitting in the small restaurant of his two-star hotel, Roger considered drowning his sorrows by ordering a bottle of Valpolicella to accompany his -probably microwaved- lasagna, then finishing off with a few large glasses … | Continue reading
This is the twenty-third part of a fiction serial, in 817 words. Before Roger could say anything, or even open his briefcase to show the report, Furlong launched into him. “So, just to summarise. Your company goes to a government office with a plan, and a device to make that plan … | Continue reading
David Bowie started his long career in music in 1963, when he was still known by his real name of David Jones. After the name change later, he released a song in 1969 that was so different to anything we had known before, it caught the imagination of the record buying public, lea … | Continue reading
In 1966, Junior Walker and The all Stars had a huge hit in Britain with the .45 single ‘Road Runner’. I bought the album, and enjoyed many of the tracks. Three years later, they released a slow song that appealed to me immediately, and I bought it the same day. Another big hit fr … | Continue reading
This is the twenty-second part of a fiction serial, in 765 words. Roger Calthorpe was really beginning to tire of looking at the back of the driver’s head. It had been a long drive from London, and various traffic problems had almost doubled the expected travelling time. Ministry … | Continue reading
In 1966, I heard a record on the radio that became a hit in Britain. It was called ‘Summer In The City’, by an American band The Lovin’ Spoonful. I decided to investigate more of their music, and bought the album ‘Do You Believe In Magic?’ which had been released a year earlier. … | Continue reading
This is the twenty-first part of a fiction serial, in 789 words. Martin had hardly slurped down a mouthful of his wine when Emma took the glass off him. “Come on now, Mark. Time to try again. I’m sure you can do better this time”. He looked up at the intense expression on her fac … | Continue reading
I wasn’t always listening to Motown and Soul records in my teens. Once I approached the age of eighteen, my tastes were becoming ever more varied, and I often liked to listen to ‘softer’songs at the time. This was one of them, released in 1970 on the album ‘Déjà vu’ from Crosby, … | Continue reading
The weather warmed up after the recent ‘big chill’. We went from -7C one night, to +4C the next day. Still cold, especially in the wind, but nowhere near as bad as the previous weeks. ————————————————————————————— On Thursday the heating engineer returned by arrangement, this tim … | Continue reading
My thanks to Gavin for this interesting article about one of New Zealand’s ‘finest’. A Fairlie good story about Sir Bill Hamilton. I’d like to tell you about a farm boy brought up from the same locality I was, albeit 50 years earlier. Much information is in the newspaper article … | Continue reading
In 2023, there are still many deniers of the mass killing of millions of Jews and other prisoners by Germany during WW2. Even faced with overwhelming evidence and personal testimony, some still refuse to believe the events ever happened. So I am posting this short film clip to re … | Continue reading
I use a Hewlett-Packard PC for blogging, bought new with Windows 10 pre-installed. It seems to suit me very well, though I have only the most basic knowledge of how to use computers. I do not explore all the possibilties of computing, using it only for blogging, photo storage, em … | Continue reading
This is the twentieth part of a fiction serial, in 765 words. The man who liked to call himself Mark was in fact named Martin. And he wasn’t forty, he was fifty-one next birthday, in five weeks. Hard work at the local gym, and copious amounts of black hair dye, kept him looking p … | Continue reading
This is the nineteenth part of a fiction serial, in 800 words. On the fourth day of her self-imposed house arrest, Emma received a phone call from the policeman dealing with the accident. “The passenger has woken up, and her account is that the driver was her sister, and that she … | Continue reading
I found another one of these interesting films about everyday life over 100 years ago. This runs for less than 6 minutes, has been enhanced for video, and colourised. | Continue reading
In 1965, The Walker Brothers released a cover version of a Bacharach/David song that had been a minor hit for Jerry Butler three years earlier. With the powerful lead vocal of Scott Walker, the new version became a hit around the world. I already had the original on record, but I … | Continue reading
This is the eighteenth part of a fiction serial, in 777 words. Emma was impressed by the turnout of the emergency services. Three police cars, two ambulances, and a fire engine. A smart traffic policeman spoke to her through the window of her car, to make sure she wasn’t injured. … | Continue reading
1962, and a big hit for Carole King. Originally written by her and Gerry Goffin for Bobby Vee to perform, the record company preferred her version and released it as a single. (The Bobby Vee version was released almost a year later.) As the saying goes, the rest is history. | Continue reading
During 1971, John de Prey stayed for a few months with his friend Marcus in Powis Square in Notting Hill. This is the same area made famous in the 1999 film ‘Notting Hill’, but over fifty years ago, it was still a multi-cultural working class area of London. Hare Krishna devotees … | Continue reading
This is the seventeenth part of a fiction serial, in 841 words. In a quiet village due west of the town of Dorchester in Dorset, Emma Howard was looking out of her bedroom window with a puzzled look on her face. It was hundreds of yards in every direction to another house, and sh … | Continue reading
I found this short video on You Tube. It is called ‘The Oldest Photographs In The World’, but is really examples of photographic firsts. The first known photos of people and buildings, the earliest photos of The Sun and The Moon, and the first underwater photographs. It comes up … | Continue reading
No apologies for featuring another Motown song from Holland/Dozier/Holland. This 1967 hit from the Isley Brothers was Motown magic, and it sounds as fresh to me today as it did back then. This old heart of mine been broke a thousand times Each time you break away, I fear you’ve g … | Continue reading
This is one of my favourite finds online. Film images taken in the late 1800s in places around England. Street Parades, funfairs, seaside Towns, as well as shopping districts and markets, public transport, and busy traffic. It also features the many different social classes of th … | Continue reading
This is the sixteenth part of a fiction serial, in 750 words. When Callum arrived for work early that morning, he was shocked to discover the two bodies in the front yard of the farm. He wasn’t the brightest man in the county, but he knew enough not to walk across a crime scene t … | Continue reading
It was very rare for me to buy a completely instrumental record in my teens, but this 1967 release was an exception. Earl Van Dyke was the house keyboard player for Motown Records, and his organ playing on this song is great! Listening now, it sounds not unlike the theme to a con … | Continue reading