G.H. Elliot

I have a soft spot for the songs of the music hall era and always delighted to find CD's or records of old 78's and even wax cylinders that have been carefully preserevd for the nation. These treasures should always be available and I do my best to give them an airing every once and awhile.
The recording above is from a radio show - one of the last he made I imagine ,singing " I Used To Sigh For The Silvery Moon" which was his theme song.

"G.H. Elliott was one of Britain’s best-loved blackface entertainers in the days before such things became unthinkable. He was, like Gracie Fields, born in Rochdale, Lancashire, and as a child was taken to the United States, where he learned his craft with the Primrose West Minstrels (Gammond 1991, 176). He was elegant and sophisticated — Peter Honri (1974, 20) relates that, in blacking up, he always used champagne corks. Music Hall historian W. Macqueen-Pope (1950, 163) calls him “the nearest approach to the wonderful Eugene Stratton the Halls ever knew” (although S. Theodore Felstead accords that accolade to another blackface performer, Dubliner Tom E. Finglass). Among the songs particularly associated with him are Idaho, I Used To Sigh For The Silvery Moon, and Sue, Sue, Sue. Elliott’s long career carried him well into the 1940s." He died in 1962.

Sci-Fi Film Posters ( A continuing series from the stars and beyond Burnley)

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Arthur Haynes

Arthur Haynes: a Londoner, born in Fulham on 19th May 1914. Not a name that means much nowadays but back when I was younger,during the late fifities and early sixties, Arthur Haynes was a famed television comedian whose programme, The Arthur Haynes Show, ran from ninteen fifty seven until nineteen sixty six which was also the year of his death.

The thing I remember him for was playing the part of a tramp often supported by another incredible actress, Patricia Hayes who would perform as the female tramp equivalent. Although my memories of the actual content are foggy, the idea of having a tramp who was posh struck me as very funny indeed. A character for Fekenham me thinks.

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The Wildfowl Reels or Folk Songs by any other name - A Begging I will Go

Of all the trades in England, a-beggin' is the best
For when a beggar's tired, You can lay him down to rest.
And a-begging I will go, a-begging I will go.

I got a pocket for me oatmeal, and another for me rye.
I got a bottle by me side to drink when I am dry.
And a-begging I will go, a-begging I will go.

I got patches on me cloak, and black patch on me knee.
When you come to take me home, I'll drink as well as thee.
And a-begging I will go, a-begging I will go.

I got a pocket for me ... and another for me malt
I got a pair of little crutches, you should see how I can halt.
And a-begging I will go, a-begging I will go.

I sleep beneath an open tree, and there I pay no rent.
Providence provides for me, and I am well content.
And a-begging I will go, a-begging I will go.

I fear no plots against me. I live an open cell.
Who would be a king then when beggars live so well.
And a-begging I will go, a-begging I will go.

Of all the trades in England, a-begging is the best.
For when a beggar's tired, you can lay him down to rest.
And a-begging I will go, a-begging I will go.

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English Public Houses

There is nothing quite like 'em, The English Public House. No matter where you roam, be it Italy, France or Japan, no where has watering holes quite like the ones we Brits have. Sad to see so many closing these days. This is The Shepheard and Dog in Ballards Gore, Essex. Not far from where I live.

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Money Boxes

We seem to have aquired a dozen or so cast iron money boxes that are copies of old victorian money boxes. Hazel's sister buys her one every Xmas. They are great fun and employ some clever mechanism whereby the coin is catapulted into the slot with the aid of a trigger and spring. They are displayed on the stairs - one on every step so you have to be careful not to trip over them.

Tops

Simple toys - you can't beat 'em. Mind you, you could whip some tops back in the old days. Yo-yo's, toy soldiers, water pistols, hoop and stick, diabolo, balloon, ball, skipping rope, bow and arrow, chalk on pavement, boats and cars and paper planes. Still as popular today as they ever were despite the influx of computers and video games. Here's a short film I made using just tops.

The Carry On Films

Where would my Village Tales of Fekenham Swarberry be without this wonderful series of films? Bawdy, risqué and sometimes just damn silly but always funny, the irrepressible Carry On series that featured so many irreplaceable and unique character actors and all under one banner. I mean, how could the likes of Frankie Howard, Sid James, Charles Hawtrey, Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques, Barbara Windsor, Patsy Rowlands, Peter Butterworth, Terry Scott, Jim Dale, Peter Gilmore, Bernard Bresslaw, June Whitfield, Jack Douglas and Dilys Laye all appear, at different times of course, together on one set? Just the thought of Sid James besides Kenneth Williams is enough to set the pulse pounding. A truly remarkable set of films that can never be replaced or repeated so I wonder why on earth someone intends to start them up again?

Wot a fab Carry On!

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Roy Kinnear

Roy Mitchell Kinnear (8 January 1934 – 20 September 1988)was one of those supporting character actors whose performances made the leading actors look even better. Born in Scotland of a famous Ruby playing father, he started his acting career in the 1950's in repertory theatre,going to do a bit of radio work before his break into TV in That Was The Week That Was. It was in The Beatles film Help! that he really came to my attention when he acted as the bumbling sidekick technician to Victor Spinetti's mad scientist character. He made several films with his good friend and director Richard Lester that not only included Help! but also A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, How I Won the War, The Bed-Sitting Room, and the Musketeer series of the 1970s and 1980s. He played the father of spoiled rich girl Veruca Salt in the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, an adaptation of Roald Dahl's famous children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

His performances, typecast perhaps, were nearly always comical with his innate ability to fumble his way through every character role he performed. He seemed such a lovable and capable man and even though such appearances may be stage manufactured I would like to think not in his case.

Sadly he died during the filming of the last of the Musketeers films when he fell from a horse and broke his pelvis. He died of a heart attack whilst under surgery. Prior to this he had completed the role of The Common Man in A Man for All Seasons a made-for-television film directed by and starring Charlton Heston as Thomas More, with John Gielgud as Cardinal Wolsey and Vanessa Redgrave as Lady More. Mr. Heston dedicated the film to Roy Kinnear as a memorial to a great actor and personal friend.

A great actor
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The Wildfowl Reels or Folk Songs by any other name - Lord Marlborough

You generals all and you champions bold
Who take delight in the field
Who knock down dungeons and castle walls
And fight until they yield
Now I must go and face my foe
Without my sword and shield
I've often fought with merry men
But now to death I must yield

I am an Englishman by my birth
Lord Marlborough is my name
In Devonshire I drew my breath
That place of noted fame
I'm most beloved by all my men
By kings and princes likewise
Af all the towns that we did take
We hit them all with surprise

King Charles the Second I did serve
To face our foe in France
And at the battle of Ramillies
We boldly did advance
The sun was down, the earth did quake
So loudly I did cry
Fight on, my boys, for fair England
We'll conquer or we'll die

And now we have gained the victory
And bravely kept the field
We took a number of prisoners
And forced them to yield
That very day my horse was shot
'Twas by a musket ball
And ere I mounted up again
My aide-de-camp did fall

Now on a bed of sickness prone
I am resigned to die
You generals and you champions bold
Stand true as well as I
And to your colours stand you true
And fight with courage bold
I led my men through fire and smoke
For there was a pride in all

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