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1963

Social History 1963 #11

Wednesday 20 February 1963

Two hundred wives in Westminster and Barnet are testing a new family-planning pill. The pill has already been tested on 599 women and not one became pregnant. A spokesman said, “A doctor’s prescription will be needed when the pill becomes available.”

Soft background music will be played as an experiment for the next fortnight to customers at Sunderland Savings Bank. If the majority of customers are in favour, the music while you bank will be made a permanent feature of the bank’s service.

The home of striptease king Paul Raymond was stripped of gems and furs. Thieves climbed in through a window and stole Mrs Raymond’s wedding ring, plus three mink stoles. 

A Scotland Yard detective placed a nylon stocking over his head at the Old Bailey yesterday to show jurors how gangsters masked themselves. He pulled his ears forward and pushed his nose to one side as he drew the knotted stocking down below his chin.

Television highlights: Two in the Bush, The Sky at Night, Living With the Germans.

Radio highlights: Parade of the Pops with The Beatles, Get With It.

Rugby Union: Hospitals Cup, First Round – St George’s 3pts St Bart’s 11pts.

Today’s horse racing meeting at Fontwell is off. The prospects of a return to horse racing this week remain extremely remote.

Weather: very cold with snow showers. Outlook – similar. Maximum temperature 0c, 32f.

Thursday 21 February 1963

A book on marriage guidance that was written sixteen hundred years ago will go on sale for the first time today. It is a book that will shock, offend and outrage many people. It is The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana. The publishers have deliberately priced the book at 42s to keep it out of the mass market.

The total of unemployed in Britain, due to be announced later today, is expected to exceed 900,000. A 100,000 jump from the January figure of 815,000 is feared. There is some speculation that the figure might reach 1,000,000. The main cause for this alarming rise is the Big Freeze, which has made 300,000 building workers idle.

Nylon prices to drop from 19s 11d to 16s 11d. A spokesman explained: “Until last September we were selling only seamed stockings. Now we are producing seamfree styles, which means that we are selling many more nylons.” The average price of nylons is 4s 11d. Some can be bought for as little as 2s 11d, but they only last for a few days.

Thirteen international starts including Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Edith Piaf have cut new tracks for an LP called All Star Festival. Sales from the LP, cost £1, will aid refugees. Britain’s contribution is Greensleeves by Anne Shelton. 

Television highlights: Perspective – the British breakfast. Your Kind of Sport – Hockey. Public Speaking Contest.

Radio highlights: Smash Hits. Swinging UK.

Sheffield Wednesday’s FA Cup Third Round tie with Bolton Wanderers was postponed for the thirteenth time because of the icy weather. The game is now scheduled for next Wednesday.

Weather: sunny spells and snow showers. Night frost. Outlook – little change. Maximum temperature 3c, 37f.

Friday 22 February 1963

Venus is too hot to support life as we know it, according to signals sent back from Mariner II, which passed within 21,000 miles of the planet on December 14. Temperatures on the planet are between 300 and 400 Fahrenheit, 149 to 215 Centigrade. However, Venus may not have a deadly radiation belt, as the Earth has. This will make it less dangerous for spacemen to journey close to the planet.

The BBC is to broadcast help the motorist reports at the weekends, starting this Easter. Information about road and travel conditions will be given after the Light Programme news headlines. If the public shows interest, the reports might continue every weekend, or even every day.

Ten million savers who keep their cash in Trustee Savings Banks may soon be able to pay their bills by cheque. This will save them queuing up to draw out shopping money on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings.

Council house tenants in Halesworth, Suffolk are complaining because their houses, built in 1938, still do not have bathrooms or flush toilets. They have to dispose of every drop of water at the bottom of their gardens.

S.K. Bates of Devon writes: “Certain noises called Pop songs, and the people who make them, are often described as “fabulous”. The dictionary describes “fabulous” as absurd, incredible. Now, I begin to see the light.

Television highlights: Time Stood Still – Italian feature film. Moment for Melody. The Avengers.

Radio highlights: Unmarried Mothers – discussion. Alan Freeman Show.

Weather: mainly dry, but cold. Outlook – similar. Maximum temperature 2c, 36f.

Saturday 23 February 1963

Diners carried on undisturbed while fireman tackled a blaze on a fifth floor landing at the Cafe Royal, Piccadilly, last night.

There are 1,798,000 spinsters over the age of 35 in Britain – half a million more spinsters than bachelors. Oona P, 38, said, “Men are a lot of lecherous devils out for all they can get.” Jane G, 36: “Love ‘em and leave ‘em is my motto, before they leave you.” Marion P, 37: “Financially, I’m independent, and will have a pension for my old age. Why should I give up my freedom?” Rev R. Mary Webster said, “Women are able to achieve a much greater independence today. They can lead a happy life without marriage.”

Pin-up girls are appearing on long playing record sleeves, and fans are decorating their walls with them. However, one London dealer said, “There is a demand for sleeves, but it’s not terribly big at the moment. The EP type are the most popular, mainly of Cliff and the Shadows.”

Greens are still poor. Cabbages are 1s, sprouts 1s lb, King Edwards 5d, leeks 1s 4d, swedes 6d and cucumbers 4s.

Top television shows this week: 1. Coronation Street (Feb 11) 2. Steptoe and Son 3. Coronation Street (Feb 13) 4. Labour Party Leader Broadcast 5. The Paradise Suite. 

Television highlights: A Song For Europe – selecting the British entry. Thank Your Lucky Stars – featuring Billy Fury, Clyde Valley Stompers and the Beatles.

Radio highlights: Desert Island Discs – Noel Coward. LP Parade.

Despite the Big Freeze, there will be no extension to the English Rugby Union season. The Rugby League season will close on 31 May.

Weather: Bright after early fog. Maximum temperature 4c, 39f.

Sunday 24 February 1963

Measles cases for the first seven weeks of this year total 130,154, compared with 7,587 a year ago, the Health Ministry said last night. Doctors expect 1963 to be the worst on record for the disease.

A report compiled by a senior member of the British Medical Association – “The Anatomy of Pop” – states that: “Pop music is a kind of social cement that binds young people together.” Furthermore, it concludes that songs from previous generations were much more suggestive than today’s songs, and that a pop idol is a “merchant of romance, a dealer in dreams.”

In shops soon – foods in tins with see-through tops. A vacuum cleaner driven by two motors is set to replace models driven by rubber bands. Within ten years more than half of the gadgets in our homes will work off batteries. 

Television’s most prolific and successful composer is Ron Grainer. Hear him with his orchestra on the LP version of That Was The Week That Was.

Most American jazz stars think that modern British composers are not with it. But Ella Fitzgerald disagrees. On her latest nationwide concert tour she is going to sing some of Lionel Bart’s music. For the sixth year running Ella Fitzgerald has topped the Melody Maker poll as the world’s greatest female jazz singer.

Britain’s best female driver, Pat Moss, offers some advice on driving: Relax – driving should be done the easy way. Don’t drive in high heels – if you don’t have flat shoes, drive in nylons. Sound your hooter when overtaking. And flash your headlights when overtaking.

Television highlights: Billy Cotton Band Show with Cliff Richard and the Shadows. The Solitary Billionaire – J Paul Getty. Play – The Prisoner with Patrick McGoohan.

Radio highlights: Pick of the Pops. Tune a Minute.

Weather: dry and sunny, but cold.


Available for pre-order, Songbird, my novel set in the winter of 1962-63

https://books2read.com/u/bMqNPG

For Authors

#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on over thirty occasions.

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Categories
1963

Social History 1963 #10

Friday 15 February 1963

Harold Wilson is the new leader of the Labour Party. He was elected last night with a decisive majority of 41 over George Brown. Mr Wilson said that he would carry on the policies of Hugh Gaitskell, whose death last month caused the leadership election.

Big Tony Mella, 37 year old king of the Soho clip joints, was murdered by his best friend Alvin Melvin who put three bullets into him. Melvin then shot himself. It would appear that Melvin tired of Big Tony’s insults and abuse. His friendship turned to hatred.

Surgeons have taken a kidney from a dead body and transplanted it into a living man. The operation, which lasted six hours, is the first of its kind in the world. It took place in Leeds General Infirmary 67 days ago. The recipient is doing well, but surgeons say it is too early to say if the operation has been a complete success.

The Tower of London’s 38 Beefeaters threatened to go on strike unless the War Office makes a move to settle their pay claim. The Beefeaters want 1s 9d more a day for carrying out special duties. The War Office has offered 6d.

The Third Round FA Cup tie between Charlton Athletic and Cardiff City has been postponed for the tenth time. Watford and Rotherham’s third round tie was also postponed last night.

Television highlights: The Woodentops, Captain Pugwash, Tales of the Riverbank.

Radio highlights: Piano Party, My Favourite Husband.

Weather: bright with showers. Outlook – similar. Maximum temperature 2c or 3c, 36f.

Saturday 16 February 1963

Three girl tv announcers (see below) have been taken off news reading because they become emotionally involved when giving details of tragedies. Also, they get thousands of fan letters and requests for photographs. This indicates that they are a distraction and reduce the impact of news items.

A third plot to assassinate President de Gaulle has been foiled in three years. The alleged ringleader of the latest assassination plot is Georges-Marcel Watin, nicknamed Limpy because of an infirmity. He escaped the police dragnet by minutes.

When Leslie Hopkin’s car stalled outside his home he asked his wife Beatrice to sit in the driving seat while he pushed the car to restart it. Leslie shoved and the car shot down the street leaving him standing. Beatrice steered safely past twenty-three parked cars. But her car hit a twenty-fourth. She suffered a broken leg, had four teeth knocked out, and received cuts. Leslie was fined £1 for allowing his wife to drive uninsured.

In a pop poll in Holland, Cliff Richard was voted the World’s top singer, receiving 50.5% of the vote. His idols, Elvis Presley and Ray Charles, received 20% and 3.25% respectively.

Little change in the grim vegetable situation and the Covent Garden men refuse to forecast any improvement for several weeks. Potatoes are 5d lb, tomatoes 2s, cucumbers 2s 6d each, and oranges 1s 9d.

Television highlights: The Rag Trade – an American tycoon, Thick Wilson, has take-over thoughts. That Was The Week That Was. The Braden Beat.

Radio highlights: Stephane Grappelly. Polka Party.

Weather: sleet or snow. Temperatures near freezing. Outlook – little change. 

Sunday 17 February 1963

Coming soon – canned cakes. You will be able to store them for two years. Handbags that grow as you let out the strap handles are all the rage in Paris. For £56 you will soon be able to have garage doors that open when car headlights shine on them.

Thousands of Frenchwomen took from their mailboxes this week plain wrapped packages containing large tubes simply marked “Soothing Cream”, apparently a beauty product. In the tubes was a contraceptive preparation. In France it is illegal to possess, sell, buy, advertise or advise on contraception and contraceptive materials.

A 1951 penny might be worth pounds. A coin collector in America has pointed out that the US catalogue prices for British 1951 pennies is as high as £3 8d, and market prices might be higher. The bulk of the 1951 issue went to Bermuda, where people are now afraid to spend a penny in case they lose a small fortune.

This week, only five people complained about the BBC’s satirical show That Was The Week That Was. Normally, hundreds of people complain every week.

Television highlights: His Soul Goes Marching On – discussion on race relations in America. Mr Magoo. Z Cars.

Radio highlights: Top Twenty. Let’s Put Out the Lights.

Only thirteen matches were played in the English and Scottish football leagues this weekend. The rest were postponed because of the weather.

Weather: very cold with snow.

Monday 18 February 1963

The president bends, breaks or ignores laws that stand in his way. People are arrested on a whim. Magistrates are corrupt. Radio and television are now propaganda instruments. This is the situation in France under dictator de Gaulle.

Railwaymen will join the fight for a 40 hour working week. Currently, they work 42 hours a week. Builders, plumbers and heating engineers will switch to a 40 hour working week in two years.

Real-life spacemen are catching up with the puppet stars of Fireball XL5. As every one of the 3,500,000 regular viewers knows, when the XL5 crew want to investigate some far-off planet, they first put Fireball XL5 into orbit around it. Then they make the final descent to the planet from the Mothership on a kind of space taxi, called Fireball Junior. And that is the way American astronauts will descend to the surface of the Moon sometime around the end of 1967.

Rector William Winfield has suggested that people should give up watching tv for Lent. Mr Winfield is giving up his favourites…boxing, travel films and Westerns.

Television highlights: World in Action – focus on supermarkets. The Plane Makers – factory series. Leave it to Beaver.

Radio highlights: Swoon Club. The Jazz Scene with Spike Milligan.

Classified Advertisement: Johnny D. Thanks for phone call. Arrange your pal visits us – Mam.

Weather: sunny spells, snow showers. Very cold. Outlook – similar. Maximum temperature 1c 34f.

Tuesday 19 February 1963

Motorists in London will soon be given “space flight” heart checks to measure the strain of rush-hour driving. Recorders will monitor heart rates as motorists fume in traffic jams, jockey for lane positions, and rage at other drivers.

A doctor died after using himself as a guinea pig for experiments with a drug, a coroner said yesterday. Dr Samuel Leff took LSD, lysergic acid diethylamide, a drug linked to hypnotism and exploration of the memory cells.

The widow of Big Tony Mella, the Soho club boss, sent a wreath to the funeral of the man who murdered him, and the widow of the killer, Alvin Melvin, sent a wreath to the graveside of Big Tony. The hostesses of the nightclub split into two groups and went to each funeral. “Both of the boys were good to us,” said one of the hostesses. “They were good to work for.”

Billy Cotton has been voted Show Business Personality of 1962. The Most Promising Newcomers are Sarah Miles and Tom Courtenay. Film Actor of the Year – Peter O’Toole. Film Actress of the Year – Leslie Caron. Stage Actress of the Year – Sheila Hancock. Stage Actor of the Year – Paul Scofield. BBC Television Personality of the Year – Harry Worth. ITV Personality of the Year – Violet Carson. Radio Personality of the Year – Eamonn Andrews.

Television highlights: The Sledge – Hungarian film. No Hiding Place. Emergency Ward Ten – Dick Moone assists in a crisis.

Radio highlights: Music While You Work. Casting Out Devils.

At the eleventh attempt, Charlton Athletic’s Third Round FA Cup tie with Cardiff City went ahead last night. Len Glover’s goal in the eightieth minute sent Charlton through to meet Chelsea in the next round.

Weather: cold easterly winds, snow. Outlook – unchanged. Maximum temperature 2c, 36f.

Available for pre-order, Songbird, my novel set in the winter of 1962-63

https://books2read.com/u/bMqNPG

For Authors

#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on over thirty occasions.

A special offer from my publisher and the Fussy Librarian. https://authors.thefussylibrarian.com/?ref=goylake

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Categories
1963

Social History 1963 #9

Sunday 10 February 1963

A robot, 5’ 9 1/2” tall, overweight at 11st 13lbs, and wearing size 91/2 shoes has been designed to represent the typical motorist. It is claimed that a car designed to suit the robot will be comfortable for everyone.

The drug habit has taken a terrible toll throughout America, Egypt, Africa, India Brazil, Mexico and the West Indies. Europe has relatively few addicts, but the police are taking no chances. Always before them is the terrible example of the United States where drug taking spread at an incredible speed.

A non-stick frying pan with a temperature gauge in the handle is among the gadgets that you will be able to buy in the shops this year. And from Canada, green corrugated plastic edging to keep the lawn in shape.

Pontins holiday camps are expanding rapidly, and they have just acquired £1,542,000 fresh capital to buy more camps.

On Friday, television comes to Singapore. By April, the initial one hour broadcast a day will increase to four hours.

Television highlights: Fireball XL5, The Big Freeze, The Saint.

Radio highlights: Painting of the Month, Topical Tunes.

Rugby Union: England preserved their unbeaten record in a sea of mud at Landsdowne Road, Dublin, yesterday. How England escaped defeat, no one in the 60,000 crowd will ever know. They were completely outplayed in almost every facet of the game. Final score – Ireland 0pts England 0pts.

Weather: cold with temperatures slightly above freezing.

Monday 11 February 1963

The long slow thaw took a sharp knock yesterday. It was a slip ‘n shivering Sunday all over again. And the forecast for today is more snow, more frost and more icy roads. The weathermen say that conditions are unlikely to improve much before Wednesday.

Rewards totalling £9,500 have been paid out in the past two years by Britain’s top eleven banks to people passing on information about bank raids. Banks are prepared to pay up to £1,000 for tip-offs that lead to a conviction.

Apples are England’s favourite fruit says a special report on Britain’s fruit-eating habits. Scots, on the other hand, prefer pears. Northerners like oranges while southerners prefer bananas or strawberries and cream.

There’s a boom in Britain’s back-kitchen breweries. Every week more home-brewers are turning out ale with a kick at less than 6d a pint. They’re brewing it in wash boilers, bathtubs and even dustbins. People are also making their own wine after acquiring a taste during their Continental holidays.

Pop singer Craig Douglas is recovering after a tonsil operation. Craig’s real name is Terry Perkins. He currently earns £500 a week as a pop singer.

Television highlights: Blue Peter, World in Action, Come Dancing.

Radio highlights: Does the Team Think? Top of the Morning.

Weather: very cold. Temperatures around freezing. Snow and sleet at times. Outlook – similar. Maximum temperature 0c, 32f.

Tuesday 12 February 1963

Monica Ragby, 37-23-33, Miss Sweden won the Miss United Nations contest yesterday. The runners-up were Miss Argentina, Miss Iceland, Miss France and Miss Finland. (See below).

Britain’s biggest, highest and most expensive road junction is being planned by the Ministry of Transport. It’s a three-level junction with extensions of the M1. The cost: £19,000,000.

A series of one-hour love stories will be produced by Independent Television in the summer. Mr Lew Grade said the programmes, on Monday evenings, would start in June. Two big shows are also planned – a Golden Hour concert from Covent Garden featuring Margot Fonteyn and Rudolph Nureyev, and Judy Garland at the Palladium.

Television highlights: Professional Boxing, No Hiding Place, Interpol Calling.

Radio highlights: Family Favourites, Polish Poetry.

Pop star Paul Anka will marry Ann Zogheb in Paris on Saturday. Paul is said to be the youngest millionaire in show business. His biggest hit Diana has sold more than 8,000,000 copies.

The Third Round FA Cup tie between Charlton Athletic and Cardiff City has been postponed for the ninth time. The clubs hope to complete the fixture on Thursday. Watford and Rotherham also hope to complete their third round tie on Thursday.

Weather: cold with sleet and snow. Outlook – continuing cold. Temperature 1c, 34f.

Wednesday 13 February 1963

British Nazi leader Colin Jordan has not been receiving his mail while in prison. Jordan is serving a nine-month sentence for running an illegal organisation called Spearhead. His mother is upset because his mail keeps going missing.

A gang ransacked the country home of the Marquess of Bristol yesterday and got away with antique silver worth thousands of pounds. However, they missed art treasures worth £1,000,000 including works by Holbein, Velasquez and Van Dyck. 

The Isle of Man’s legislative council approved a Bill yesterday allowing convicted youths to receive up to twenty strokes of the birch. Birching is forbidden in Britain – except for attacks on prison warders – but is legal on the Isle of Man.

Britain has come through fuel and power difficulties caused by the severe weather “without any great loss” in production MPs were told yesterday.

Bank executive Jeremy Morse, 34, tonight has the chance to become the first person ever to win £1,000 on the Take a Letter contest (ITV 7pm). He already has £975 in winnings. And £1,000 is the limit that the ITA place on tv contests.

Television highlights: Circus from China – for deaf children. Duke Ellington and his Orchestra. British Castles.

Radio highlights: Come into the Parlour. Wagner and Brahms.

Weather: snow or sleet. Cold. Outlook – little change. Maximum temperature 3c, 37f.

Thursday 14 February 1963

There are 1,128,000 bachelors in Britain over the age of 35. The general view is that an unmarried man over 35 is a Confirmed Bachelor. Philip H, 35, an architect explained: “For me, beer, boats and a rugged time with my mates fill the bill. I love women, but I’d rather be married to my boat.”

In this slot-machine age, Britons must carry every coin except the halfpenny. They need a half-crown for standard cigarettes. A florin for cork-tipped cigarettes. A shilling for gas and electric meters. A sixpence for the parking meter, and for milk and soft drinks. A threepenny bit for the new phone boxes. A penny for the public lavatory, and four pennies for the old phone boxes.

The Great Smog last December killed 340 people in London. Comparing recent smogs, the smog of 1956 contained a high percentage of smoke, whereas the smogs of 1957 and 1962 contained more sulphur dioxide.

Television highlights: Crackerjack, Amateur Boxing – Wales v Holland, Here and Now – how to dance the Loo-Be-Loo.

Radio highlights: Jazz Club, Lord Boothby Plays Records.

Top three female singers poll. 1. Ella Fitzgerald 2. Sarah Vaughan 3. Peggy Lee.

This week’s top three: 1. Diamonds – Jet Harris and Tony Meehan 2. Please Please Me – The Beatles 3. The Wayward Wind – Frank Ifield.

Weather: rain at times. Outlook – a fairly rapid thaw with rain continuing. It will be warmer today, and it could stay warm for at least two days. Temperatures could reach double figures for the first time since Christmas.

Available for pre-order, Songbird, my novel set in the winter of 1962-63

https://books2read.com/u/bMqNPG

For Authors

#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on over thirty occasions.

A special offer from my publisher and the Fussy Librarian. https://authors.thefussylibrarian.com/?ref=goylake

Don’t forget to use the code goylake20 to claim your discount 🙂

Categories
1963

Social History 1963 #8

Tuesday 5 February 1963

Fierce new blizzards last night threatened to block all roads to the West Country. They followed a day in which widespread snowfalls, six inches deep, brought fresh chaos to the roads in many areas. Road conditions are described as bad to worse to appalling. 

Four out of five families now own a television set. There are six million private cars, and two million motorbikes and scooters on the roads. More than five million of us go dancing every week in 4,000 dance halls.

Nearly 30,000,000 people take a holiday away from home – 4,000,000 go abroad. The Pony Club now has 60,000 members and 700 branches. Show jumping is drawing increasing crowds at 1,000 annual shows with £100,000 in prize money.

Two out of three teenagers go to the cinema at least once a week. Eighty million records a year are sold, 25% of them classical. Five hundred and forty-eight library authorities provide more than 40,000 libraries with 75,000,000 books.

One family in four lives in a post-war house. One in three married women go out to work. Fewer than 1% of households have a resident servant. Nineteen million people are part-time gardeners.

Since 1951, the population has risen by two and a half million. The ratio of women to men is 107 – 100. For the over seventies the ratio is five to three.

Television highlights: Sing a Sing of Sixpence – the story of music hall. Living Today – Holidays on £50. Bookstand – the world of books.

Radio highlights: Dancing Party. Time For Laughter.

Weather: very cold with snow at times, heavy in places. Outlook – continuing very cold with snow. Maximum temperature 1c, 34f.


Wednesday 6 February 1963

New England football manger Alf Ramsey’s first squad – see below.

An imported English secretary is fast becoming the new status-symbol for American businessmen. A girl’s shorthand and typing are not as important as her accent, reported the Wall Street Journal.

An early thaw in the West Country yesterday changed its mind and became a raging blizzard. Last night, conditions in the area were as bad as ever. Villages are cut off, motorists are stranded, and some people have no bread after sledge teams failed to get through.

James Crossen, 37, phoned a Glasgow hospital to say his wife was going to have a baby. Later, the couple were taken to the hospital – in the same ambulance. For on the way home from the call box, Mr Crossen’s car collided with a lorry. He was treated for head injuries. His wife was taken to the maternity ward.

Two workmen dug up a pair of Stone Age teeth yesterday. The teeth belonged to a mammoth, and were eight inches long. The men were digging a hole for a fuel tank at Guildford telephone exchange, Surrey.

To most people, France is not represented by General de Gaulle, but by Brigitte Bardot. Clothes, wine and perfumes apart, she is France’s biggest export.

Television highlights: Z Cars, My Friend Flicka, International Detective.

Radio highlights: Round Britain Quiz, Meet the Eagles (a pop band, but not the 1970s version).

Weather: very cold with snow. Outlook – a thaw probably spreading to most districts. Maximum temperature 1c, 34f.

Thursday 7 February 1963

Great Thaw Starts – So Do The Floods. As the 43-day grip of ice and snow was breaking, the flood waters were pouring over the roads of Devon, Cornwall and Wales. Torrential rain added to the floods. Many roads are now rivers.

The government is backing more research into the hovercraft – the revolutionary craft that floats on a cushion of air. A five-and-a-half ton model, HD1, will be built soon and tested on Southampton Water.

Four miners were released yesterday after a roof fall had trapped them for several hours 1,800 feet underground at Trelewis, Glamorgan. One man was badly injured. Last night, the body of a fifth man was found by rescue teams.

An entire department store was cleaned out by raiders yesterday. It’s believed that the gang spent four hours sorting through fur coats, underwear, radio sets, clocks and watches at D. B. Evans store in Holloway, London. They packed their loot – estimated value £20,000 – into lorries and drove away unseen. 

The BBC is asking for an increase in the £4-a-year combined tv and radio licence. The BBC say if they have an increase to £5 this year they can get through the 1960s without asking for a £6 licence.

Television highlights: European Figure Skating Championships, Lassie, Discs A-Go-Go.

Radio highlights: Folk Songs. Any Answers?

Weather: Rain, milder than of late. Outlook – rain, bright spells. Maximum temperature 4c, 39f.

Friday 8 February 1963

Troops, helicopters and army “Ducks” stood by on a flood alert in the West Country last night as rivers, swollen by the thaw, rose bank high. Many rivers in Devon are expected to burst their banks today. In Carmarthen, Wales, fields are under water.

Britain’s longest running television series, Emergency Ward Ten, makes its 574th appearance on ITV tonight. The series began in 1957, and prides itself on being realistic. The only item faked is the blood. “We use gravy,” an ATV official said last night. “We find that it flows at just the right speed.”

“Concerned” from Sussex writes, “My husband refuses to have a TV because he reckons that the children would waste their time watching tripe.” Jane Adams’ reply, “To deprive your children of television is to shut them off from a source of education, and a slice of life.”

“Donald” writes, “On our date, I behaved like a gentleman and did not kiss my girlfriend goodnight. She has behaved indifferently towards me ever since.” Jane Adams’ reply, “Clearly, this girl expected you to kiss her goodnight, and behave like a gentleman.”

Television highlights: Let’s Imagine – Flying Saucers. Dr Kildare. Bicycle Thieves – Italian Feature Film.

Radio highlights: German for Beginners. Play: The American Dream.

The average height of men in Britain is 5’ 71/2”.

Cardiff City’s Third Round FA Cup tie against Charlton Athletic has been postponed for the eighth time.

Weather: steady thaw. Rain at times. Outlook – similar. Maximum temperature 4c, 39f.

Saturday 9 February 1963

Soccer’s snowed-up 1962/63 season might run into June. So far, over 300 games have been postponed. Cricket is sure to protest, but it looks as if there will now be a major battle between the sports. Also, some football and cricket clubs share the same ground, so that issue also needs to be addressed.

The Scottish Football League is considering switching its season to run from March to November. The English Football League has already rejected a similar plan.

Due to snow, ice and floods only eleven football matches will be played this weekend. The Pools Panel will sit for the third week running, chaired by Group-Captain Douglas Bader. 

Traffic was held up at London’s Marble Arch yesterday when a lorry overturned and scattered thousands of whiskey bottles over the road. But not a drop was spilled – the bottles were empty.

The vegetable situation is still grim with greens very poor. Old potatoes are 6d a lb, sprouts are 10d, leeks 1s 6d, old carrots 1s, swedes 8d and mushrooms 1s 6d a quarter.

Top three TV this week: The Prime Minister’s Broadcast, Coronation Street, Steptoe and Son.

Television highlights: Grandstand, including the Pools Panel results. The Rag Trade. Ghost Squad.

Radio highlights: Twenty Questions. Top Discs.

Weather: fog patches, rain. Outlook – similar. Maximum temperature 5c, 41f.

Available for pre-order, Songbird, my novel set in the winter of 1962-63

https://books2read.com/u/bMqNPG

For Authors

#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on over thirty occasions.

A special offer from my publisher and the Fussy Librarian. https://authors.thefussylibrarian.com/?ref=goylake

Don’t forget to use the code goylake20 to claim your discount 🙂

Categories
1963

Social History 1963 #7

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.

Available for pre-order, Songbird, my novel set in the winter of 1962-63

https://books2read.com/u/bMqNPG

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