Victorian Posters

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aNOtHEr dIp INtO ThE mAGpIE mEMOrY pOOoL.

Peter Blegvad

Much under-rated singer songwriter/cartoonist who Hazel met when she had her exhibition at the Young Vic Studio back in the mid 90's. He brought his little girl along to see the blush cooler's and blossom catchers etc. He said he liked the show and sent Hazel one of his Leviathan books - inscribed "To Hazel from Levi, Cat and Peter Blegvad".

An excerpt from a promo. CD released to coincide with his 1990 release "King Strut & Other Stories".

"Peter Blegvad (born 14 August 1951) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of the avant-rock band Slapp Happy which later merged briefly with Henry Cow and has released many solo and collaborative albums since Slapp Happy split up.
He collaborated with bassist John Greaves (recording Kew. Rh%uFFFDne with Greaves in 1977) and a much later collection of spoken word pieces set to Greaves' music, Unearthed. In the 1980s, he released a number of commercially-unsuccessful albums on the Virgin Records label, including The Naked Shakespeare and Knights Like This, both of which show the influence of external producers with fulsome and contemporary instrumentation. By contrast, Downtime, an independent release in the late 1980s features mainly very simple demos, often recorded cheaply in professional studios' "downtime". King Strut and Other Stories (Virgin, 1990) is a collection of short stories set to simply-arranged, professionally-produced music played in many cases by noted session musicians. The album features XTC's Andy Partridge while Orpheus - The Lowdown (2003) is a whole album in collaboration with Partridge. Many of Blegvad's albums feature former members of Slapp Happy and Henry Cow and Slapp Happy have re-formed on occasion for specific projects."

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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aNOtHEr dIp INtO ThE mAGpIE mEMOrY pOOoL.

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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aNOtHEr dIp INtO ThE mAGpIE mEMOrY pOOoL.

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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aNOtHEr dIp INtO ThE mAGpIE mEMOrY pOOoL.

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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