Saturday 9 November 1963
A young married council house painter has been run out of the “town of amorous wives” by an angry husband. Said the husband, “I gave him two hours to clear out – or else!” The town of Camberley is engulfed in a storm of intrigue because of housewives who “compromise” workmen. The workmen now work in pairs for their own safety. The house painter is a Scotsman from Edinburgh.
The publishers of Fanny Hill, the book banned by the authorities, have decided to fight the ban. Around 20,000 copies of the book were seized by police. Fanny Hill was originally published 200 years ago.
A masked bandit walked into a post office in Swansea, fired a gas gun and demanded money. However, when counter girl Susan Sainty pressed the alarm, the man ran away.
“My wife and I are not squares. We enjoy watching the antics of our young children as they join in with the banal music and lyrics of the Beatles. But our children are twelve, eight and four. Need I say more? Hopefully, they will like music with more depth when they get older.” – S.R.S., London W3.
“Stop criticising Dr Kildare! If your TV critic writes unkindly about Dr Kildare again, I will march him to the Tower of London torture chamber. Dr Kildare is my dreamboat.” – Mrs C.S, age 71, Brentwood, Essex.
Everton and Liverpool supporters are gaining a reputation as the roughest, rowdiest rabble to watch British soccer. How justified is this statement? Mr E Holland Hughes, an Everton director, said, “When you get a crowd of 50,000 you are bound to get a little conduct that is not quite parliamentarian. And it doesn’t only happen at Everton. At a London match I’ve seen them throwing toilet rolls.”
In Britain, Lancashire and Northern Ireland have the most chickens per square mile.
Television highlights: The Larkins – domestic comedy. The Avengers – The Gilded Cage. British Legion Festival of Remembrance.
Radio highlights: Football – the second half of a league game. Play – The Tiger in the Smoke.
Weather: sunshine and showers. Outlook – similar. 13c, 55f.
Sunday 10 November 1963
Scientists and engineers at the Government research station at Wallingford were baffled. The water level of their model, built to show the flow of rivers around the nuclear power station of Dungeness, kept dropping. Then they solved the problem – an office cleaner was filling her bucket from the model.
“Sooty and Sweep took sleeping tablets and went straight off, followed by pep pills, which made them lively. This is not a good example to set during Children’s Hour.” – G.D. Edgar, Co. Durham.
“It’s a nice change seeing Cathy Gale stand up for herself in The Avengers. Most women on the screen just stand around and scream while the men fight.” – Mrs J Clancy, Bristol.
Jewellery worth £2,000 was stolen from the Chelsea home of April Ashley, the former merchant seaman who had a sex-change operation in 1960 and married the Hon. Arthur Corbett in September.
Fashion: for girls looking to find their way home after a party, bell-bottom Bri-nylon trews with a built-in compass at the ankle. Price 5 guineas a pair.
In August the wettest places in Britain are north and mid-Wales and the West Coast of Scotland.
Football Results: First Division – Arsenal 3 West Ham 3, Birmingham 3 Blackpool 2, Bolton 1 Liverpool 2, Everton 2 Blackburn 4, Leicester 0 Sheffield United 1, Manchester United 4 Spurs 1. Top three – Sheffield United, Arsenal, Manchester United.
Television highlights: Service of Remembrance. The Royal Variety Performance. Do It Yourself.
Radio highlights: The Reith Lectures. Join in and Swing.
Weather: rain and drizzle
Monday 11 November 1963
How to spot a Mod: back-combed hair, shortish, often combed in centre. No tie. Tab collar. Cordin-style jackets in velvet. Hipster trousers with shortish legs called “ankle swingers”. Girls wear plain jumpers or twin-sets with the skirt below the knee. Minimum make-up. Chisel-toe, low-heeled shoes. For outdoors – beret, blue nylon mac or fur-collared anorak.
How to spot a Rocker: long hair with long sideboards. T-shirts or white shirts with cut-away collar and maverick tie. Leather jackets. Girls wear leather jackets or fancy black dresses with skirt above the knee. Leather belts, buckles and strips of fur for luck. Jewellery, patterned mesh stockings. Jeans turned up to show lining. Crepe soled chukka boots. For outdoors – crash helmets, heavy calf-length boots.
Coalminers at 150 pits throughout Britain will give up their Saturdays to help prevent a recurrence of last winter’s coal shortage. They will work extra voluntary shifts in response to an appeal from Lord Robens, Chairman of the National Coal Board.
An American “Imp” satellite, designed to measure Space rays that could kill a Moon-bound astronaut, will be sent into orbit tomorrow.
Beaconsfield Buildings, Kings Cross, London, a block which contains 600 flats has been described as “a pagan area, full of sin-smeared homes”. The claim was made in London City Mission magazine. The magazine added that marriage partners were regularly swapped in the building. The tenants are furious and aim to sue. Mr F Wrintmore, who wrote the article, said, “My article is not specifically about Beaconsfield Buildings, it’s about Kings Cross as a whole.”
Personal Advertisements: Brew your own strong beer for 3d a pint. Ready one week. Packet malt, hops, etc. Full know-how. 2/6 p.p. Hamilton’s, Essex. Telescope and tripod, £4/4. Free trial from actual maker, Charles Frank Ltd, Saltmarket, Glasgow.
Television highlights: International Boxing from Manchester. Dancing Club. The Lord Mayor’s Banquet.
Radio highlights: Pop Pickin’. Men of Brass.
Weather: sunshine and showers. Outlook – similar. 15c, 59f.
Tuesday 12 November 1963
An outer space sound will be heard in the RAC Rally, which began last night. The sound is the “beep beep” signal given out by satellites. It will be heard in the Sunbeam Alpine driven by six foot plus Ian “Tiny” Lewis. And it will warn Tiny that he is approaching a police radar speed trap. Competitors know that they cannot break the speed limit. Furthermore, the device is legal for anyone to use.
After the Kinross by-election a question has been raised: do public opinion polls affect the results? The details of a poll published in the Daily Mail surprised many people because it did not reflect the general thoughts on the outcome. Are pollsters manipulating the public? If so, should this be allowed?
Best-dressed professions in Britain, in order: bankers, actors, lawyers, master builders, politicians, accountants, doctors, farmers, architects, hoteliers, TV newscasters, journalists.
Tally-Ho toll. Twenty-one stags were killed during the Devon and Somerset hunting season.
“I am tired of scenes in films and on tv that show women in labour. It is not exactly encouraging to those expecting their first child.” – A Mother, Luton.
Joe Richards, Football League president, is drawing up a plan for vigilantes to help stamp out football hooliganism. Missiles including darts, ink pots and tea cups have been thrown at players this season. The idea is that the vigilantes will mingle with the hooligans and report them to the police.
Television highlights: The Five O’Clock Club with Larry Adler and the Tornados. The Rag Trade. International Detective.
Radio highlights: Have a Go. The Third Man.
Weather: showers. Outlook – showers, colder. 12c, 54f.
Wednesday 13 November 1963
A lorry used in the Great Train Robbery ran over a tin of yellow paint at the hideout farm. This detail was revealed in court yesterday. A pair of brown suede shoes found two weeks later in Buckinghamshire contained traces of the same paint. The shoes, allegedly, belonged to Gordon Goodey, a hairdresser from Putney. The case was adjourned until Friday.
A thrush set fire to a roof when it carried a smouldering cigarette end to its nest in the porch of a doctor’s home in Enfield, Middlesex.
Traffic near Clapham Common was halted yesterday by Christine, a baby elephant who escaped from a circus.
A new sight on British roads – number plates featuring three numbers, three letters and an additional letter. For 1963 the additional letter will be A. For 1964 the additional letter will be B.
Agony Aunt: “Old Fashioned” from Leicester writes, “My son and his girl have planned a scooter honeymoon, so will arrive at the reception wearing leather jackets, jeans and crash helmets. Don’t you think this is the absolute limit? Jane Adams’ reply, “They love each other, even in crash helmets – what else matters?”
Fourteen-stone Methodist preacher Rev Michael Brookes will appear on television shortly – as an all-in wrestler. The Rev Brookes wrestles as “The Little Saint”. His mother said, “I think wrestling is a horrible sport. I wish he’d taken up cricket.”
Television highlights: Attenborough and Animals. Beat Time with Cilla Black and Tony Rivers. The Mersey Sound – documentary.
Radio highlights: Mrs Mills. Scrapbook for 1902.
Weather: sunshine and showers, windy. Outlook – similar. 12c, 54f.
Thursday 14 November 1963
A storm was blowing up last night over the BBC’s decision to kill off their most controversial television show, That Was The Week That Was. MPs want to know if Tory pressure was put on the BBC to end the series. The BBC denied any outside pressure. Tory MP Sir Cyril Osbourne said, “I’m damned pleased. It wasn’t English at all. If I helped to get it off television, I’m delighted.”
Mrs Margaret Clark, Tory deputy chairman of Camberley’s housing committee has resigned. She resigned minutes before an enquiry opened into the “amorous wives” affair on a local estate. The “amorous wives” live in Mrs Clark’s Ward. Maintenance men in the area have been warned about the women.
Beer drinkers consumed an extra two or three glasses each in the past twelve months. About 1,005, 912,000 gallons were drunk in the year ending in September. That’s the highest amount for fifteen years. And the beer produced was the strongest since 1940.
Advice for young married couples – live about twenty miles away from your in-laws.
The Bishop of Exeter, Dr Robert Mortimer, held a service of exorcism at a flat in Devon yesterday. A ghost had been disturbing a young, newlywed couple. The couple heard footsteps in the night, saw a “misty” figure, and their wardrobe moved away from the walls after shaking. Two local vicars made enquiries and were satisfied that the building was haunted.
Britain is to get long-range weather forecasts covering a month. The first long-range forecast will be issued on 30 November for December, and updated mid-month. Around two-thirds of long-range weather forecasts are said to be accurate.
The first flakes. Snow fell on the Cotswolds yesterday.
Television highlights: It’s a Square World with Michael Bentine. Amateur Boxing – Wales v West Germany. True Adventure – Jungle Patrol.
Radio highlights: Lesser-Known Birth Places. Science Survey.
Weather: sunny spells, showers. Outlook – similar. 10c, 50f.
Friday 15 November 1963
The suggestion that Britain should unite with America as one nation has received criticism. Some people believe that the American influence on Britain has been bad. For example: gunmen, juvenile delinquents, beatniks, sloppy clothes and hair-dos, the Creep, rock’n’roll, the Twist, and a new race of women who drive their husbands to distraction with HP debts.
A protest march is being planned in connection with the “amorous wives” affair in Camberley. “All hell will be let loose,” said Councillor Mr Peter Sutherland. The tenants want an apology. He added, “Instead of the wriggling that’s going on, we should get down to the human issues involved. Too many people are dithering and dodging.”
A hint that the government is preparing to move into the Robot Age was given by the Minister for Industry, Mr Edward Heath. Many firms already use computers and automatic process control, but numerous companies are reluctant to join this trend. The government plans to provide automation know-how for reluctant companies.
Hairdressers were yesterday asked to turn detective to catch “pirates” who cut hair beside the kitchen sink. A spokesman for the National Hairdressers Federation said, “These people are costing the trade a fortune. They make a lot of money, but they aren’t qualified. They have no overheads. If they charge 5s it’s nearly all profit.”
Terms used in Pentonville Prison: lagging – a three-year sentence, stretch – twelve months, carpet – three months, tramp’s lagging – fourteen days, college – borstal, snowdropper – a man who steals laundry from clothes lines, doing a Yale – opening a lock.
Paul McCartney of the Beatles is resting. He has a bout of the flu.
Television highlights: Man Tomorrow – men over the next few decades. Ready, Steady, Go! with Dusty Springfield. Tonight with Cliff Michelmore.
Radio highlights: Around the World in a Bowler Hat. Tradition.
Weather: rain. Outlook – rather cold with rain. 12c, 54f.
Available for order and pre-order, my Swinging Sixties Mystery Series
https://books2read.com/u/bMqNPG
Hannah Howe 