Thursday 31 January 1963
A mystery pong had hundreds of people sniffing around Mayfair yesterday. Police diverted traffic while gas men investigated. The pong lasted four hours. A Gas Board spokesman said, “There is no proof that it was a gas leek.”
Two bandits posing as policemen hijacked a mail van yesterday. The gang got away with £20,250, but only £250 of it – in fifty registered packets – is “ready” money. Police believe that the bandits’ helmets were hired from a stage props firm.
Disc sales are going “boom, boom, boom”. In the first eleven months of 1962 sales totalled more than £15,000,000. The complete 1961 figures were just over £16,000,000. December’s 1962 figures, always a high month, are expected to set a new summit. One reason for the increase in sales is that Britain is now producing a better type of pop. LP sales are rising too. So are sales of classical records. But pop is the thing that is really keeping the business ticking.
Record charts: number one – Diamonds by Jet Harris and Tony Meehan. New entries – at number sixteen, A Taste of Honey by Acker Bilk, and at number twenty-one, Please Please Me by the Beatles.
The “Lit-Up Lodger”, that’s what we call the television in our house.
Television highlights: Tales of Mystery, Crackerjack, Winifred Atwell Show.
Radio highlights: Pops at the Piano, Dresden in the 1920s.
Weather: cloudy with snow showers. Frost. Outlook – similar. Maximum temperature 0c, 32f.
Friday 1 February 1963
A big row between Canada and America blew up last night. “Canada will not be pushed around,” the Canadian premier Mr John Diefenbaker told parliament in Ottawa. The argument is over criticism of Canada’s defences.
Scenes from a club in Amsterdam where men dance with men, and women dance with women, will be shown on BBC television, on Panorama. However, the men will not be shown dancing together. A BBC spokesman said, “The subject will be treated as a serious topic for discussion.”
New houses built in Britain last year totalled 305,428. This is 9,366 more than were finished the year before.
Britain is drinking more wine and beer. And although we are smoking less we are spending more on tobacco. There was a drop in Pools betting, and during the year Customs caught 1,813 smugglers and seized watches worth £184,000.
A man who gave a policeman a V for victory sign was cleared of making an indecent gesture at court yesterday. The case was dismissed because under by-laws a V-sign must cause annoyance before it becomes indecent, and the policeman was not annoyed.
Television highlights: Captain Pugwash. Mantovani. French Feature Film – Hiroshima Mon Amour.
Radio highlights: Eat No Meat – investigation into vegetarianism. Topical Tunes.
Taunton Rugby Club, whose players have not played for six weeks because of the Big Freeze, will play on the sands at Weston-Super-Mare.
Weather: cloudy. Outlook – less cold. Maximum temperature 1c, 35f.
Saturday 2 February 1963
Britain’s On Ice Again. Back in the ice-box goes Britain. The brief thaw will be replaced by more freezing weather and snow. Some areas, including south Wales, have seen their heaviest snowfall since the Arctic weather began. One bright spot – with more coal at the power stations, power cuts are unlikely.
The deep-freeze that has refrigerated Britain’s outdoor sport has so far cost about £200,000,000. To date, 49 horse-racing meetings have been called off, more than 300 football games postponed, while some rugby teams haven’t played for six weeks.
The vegetable situation is still grim. Greens are very frosted and prices are very high. For a good-sized cauliflower you will have to pay up to 3s 6d. Some cabbages are reasonably priced at 9d, sprouts at 1s 2d per lb.
Chocolates and chocolate biscuits made by Cadbury’s will cost more from Monday. A 1/2lb box of Milk Tray will cost 3s 8d – 2d extra – while Turkish Delight will go up 2d to 2s 8d.
Three rounds of the FA Cup will have to be played in twelve days instead of the usual six weeks. Because of the Big Freeze, nineteen Third Round ties are still undecided. Managers are not happy about the fixture congestion. And the latest plan does not take into account the possibility of replays.
Television highlights: Bugs Bunny. Juke Box Jury with Sean Connery and Diana Dors. That Was The Week That Was.
Radio highlights: Saturday Club. Recent Releases.
Weather: cold with snow. Outlook – cold with snow. Maximum temperature -2c, 28f.
Sunday 3 February 1963
A prelude to the Profumo Affair. What’s going on here? 🤔 See below ⬇️
Speed limits for several classes of vehicles will be raised from next Saturday. Goods vehicles will be able to go up to 40mph instead of 30mph, but they will still have to keep to 30 mph in built-up areas.
Scientists are working on sunglasses that darken in bright sunlight and automatically lighten again when the sun goes in. They coat the glasses with a light-sensitive dye, which might also be used to coat shop windows from the sun’s glare.
The smallest transistor radio in the world, 1 1/2 inches square and 1/2 inch deep, has been developed by Standard Ruby. It costs £21, runs on seven transistors, and has a plug-in earphone.
Plumbers will soon be able to clear blocked sinks in seconds with a pressure gun that blows blockages clear. The gun can be recharged with a bicycle pump.
Television highlights: Indoor Soccer, Living With Animals, Maverick.
Radio highlights: Billy Cotton, Jukebox.
Only four English football league games were played this weekend. All matches in Division One and Division Two were postponed. Results: Division Three – Brighton 0 Halifax 1, Swindon 1 Crystal Palace 0. Division Four – Oldham 5 Rochdale 1, Torquay 2 Hartlepool 0.
Weather: more snow. Very cold. Heavy frost.
Monday 4 February 1963
No female on television, with the possible exception of That Was The Week That Was’ Millicent Martin, has shattered the conventional image of her sex as devastatingly as tawny-haired Honor Blackman. As Cathy Gale in The Avengers, Miss Blackman is creating a new role model for women.
A vicar writes: “I would much rather the young people of my church visit a pub, spend time over a drink and a sandwich, than visit a cafe. Trouble begins in cafes when Teddy boys and girls sit for hours over a cup of coffee, having nothing more interesting to do. I’m quite willing to go to a pub, but you won’t get me in one of those sleazy cafes.”
Married life is not a piece of cake. Some basic advice for a happy marriage – be independent of both sets of in-laws; a young father must realise that his wife’s yearning for a job does not mean that she is fed up with her marriage or her home; some escape, even if it’s only a visit to the local library, is vital for a wife’s happiness.
Television highlights: Blue Peter. What’s My Line? World in Action.
The BBC received forty-seven complaints about their satirical programme That Was The Week That Was. However, 113 people rang up to say that they liked it.
Radio highlights: Housewives’ Choice. Woman’s Hour.
Happiest soccer club in the country – Ivanhoe of the Derby Welfare League. They beat West Hallam 4 – 1 in a cup tie after three months and seven attempts to resolve the contest.
Weather: very cold with snow. Frost at night. Outlook – little change. Maximum temperature 1c, 34f.
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