Category: 1963

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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

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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

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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

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 #6

Saturday 26 January 1963

The Freeze Latest – Weekend temperatures will not go much over freezing point and there will be severe frost at night. The slight thaw in the north is not spreading south yet. The outlook remains bleak.

All over Britain the near-Arctic conditions continued to play havoc yesterday. At Preston, Lancashire householders were rationed to a gallon of water per head from water carts, which toured the streets. Many areas were affected by power cuts and at Cambridge University, for the first time, girls were given permission to wear slacks under their academic gowns.

Growers have been tackling the frozen earth with crowbars and pneumatic drills to get fresh vegetables to the market. Prices are out of this world and you have to look carefully for unfrosted greens.

Agony Aunt: Question – I want my girlfriend to have a truth-drug test so that I can check on her past life. She is willing to undergo such a test. Where can it be carried out? Jane Adams’ reply – My advice to your girlfriend is to drop you like a hot brick.

Agony Aunt: Question – I have not yet had the courage to tell my future fiancée that I wear a wig. Are most women revolted at the thought of living with a man who wears a wig? Jane Adams’ reply – A woman in love with a man will not give a fig for his wig. Tell your girlfriend the truth at the first opportunity.

Television highlights: Juke Box Jury with Jane Asher, Pete Murray and Anna Neagle. Saturday Sportstime including the Pools Panel results. Chess Masterpieces.

Radio highlights: Desert Island Discs. Hit Parade.

Weather: still very cold. Outlook – little change. Maximum temperature -1c, 30f.

Sunday 27 January 1963

At least 50,000 people want to murder the president of the United States. President John F. Kennedy receives 1,500 obscene or threatening letters every month. America’s security men are full of wonder at the lack of “artillery” around Britain’s Queen, and that a possible assassination attempt is not taken more seriously.

Pat Moss, “the best female driver in the world”, offers some advice to motorists combating the Big Freeze: Frozen door locks – heat the key with a match or cigarette lighter. Iced windows – use a de-icing spray, a plastic scraper or a cloth dipped in anti-freeze. Wheel spin – if you can’t pull away on the ice, try making your own chains from rope, and fix them to the driving wheels. Also, sprinkle some sand or scrape some dirt from the underside of your wings and spread that under the wheels.

A restaurant in London’s West End has employed an artist to write and draw rude messages on the men’s lavatory walls…to save customers the trouble.

Mount a big mirror on the wall of a tiny hall and it will double the apparent size. Place it so that it catches the light from a window and it will also provide free illumination.

Television highlights: Pinky and Perky, The Saint, The Avengers.

Radio highlights: Tune a Minute, Top Twenty.

Soccer: the Pools Panel sat for the first time yesterday and invented 38 results. There will be no jackpot. For 24 points (eight score draws) on your coupon, you are likely to receive £3,750.

Weather: dry with some sunshine. Temperature 4c, 40f, the highest London temperature since 22 December 1962.

Monday 28 January 1963

It’s official – Britain’s women investors now outnumber the men, by 1,104,000 to 982,000. And they have a bigger stake on the Stock Exchange. The reasons – more women go out to work than ever before. Also, women live longer (five years on average) so, many of them inherit their husband’s savings.

Women are wild about the new smooth heroes, including Sean Connery, who is booked to play James Bond for seven years, and Simon (the Saint) Templar, John Steed of The Avengers, and Mike Strait from Man of the World, who share a tv audience of 30,000,000 each week.

A 16lb 5oz baby boy was born yesterday to Mrs Desmond Lyttle of Kempsey, New South Wales.

A daring team of thieves collected more than £40,000 worth of art treasures on the weekend in a raid on one of Britain’s showpiece stately homes – Buxted Park, Sussex. Detectives believe that the raiders were art experts, and that they could find some of the art treasures “too hot to handle”.

Television highlights: Panorama – America’s Playboy clubs. World in Action. Moment for Melody.

Radio highlights: The Archeologist. Calling the Tune.

Weather: cold with fog patches. Outlook – little change. Maximum temperature 3c, 37f.

Tuesday 29 January 1963

Two Killed in Soho Gun Fight. “Tony the Greek” shot in his club. The shooting happened in an upstairs room of the softly-lit club. It is believed there was a quarrel over several women. Detectives are questioning several people at the club.

“How does Britain stay at the top? Should we become the fifty-first state of the USA? The physical distance is formidable and the psychological objections are worse. No, we are Europeans. We live in Europe. Britain’s destiny lies as a leading partner in the largest association of the most intelligent, most skilled, most cultured people the world has ever seen grouped together.” – Woodrow Wyatt, MP.

France will be the first country in the world to operate a rocket mail service. They will shoot mail from the Riviera to Corsica, a distance of fifty miles. The rocket will be controlled by radio and have an undercarriage for landing on a runway.

Football: because of the Big Freeze, the season will be extended by three weeks. The fixtures will be played on Saturday evenings, to avoid clashing with the cricket.

Television Highlights: The World of Jacqueline Kennedy, No Hiding Place, Song Album.

Radio Highlights: People of the Railways, Topical Tunes.

Weather: mainly dry. Some frost and fog. Maximum temperature 3c, 37f.

Wednesday 30 January 1963

General de Gaulle has finally sabotaged Britain’s efforts to join the Common Market. Five of the six countries in the European Community – Belgium, Holland, Italy, Luxembourg and West Germany – supported Britain’s entry, but de Gaulle said, non! De Gaulle can momentarily prevent progress, but he will not prevent the eventual triumph.

Scotland Yard detectives probing the double shooting in Soho are looking for gangsters behind a “guns for sale” racket. One theory is that “Big Tony” Mella, aka “Tony the Greek”, and his manager Alfred Melvin shot each other in an argument over money.

Enough explosives to crack a hundred safes were stolen yesterday from an army depot. The haul – 35lbs of plastic explosives, 65 detonators and 40ft of safety fuse – were in the armoury at the Green Jackets depot, Winchester, Hampshire.

ITV may get a second channel, but only in the main population areas such as London, the Midlands and the North. Currently, there are not enough advertisements to support two ITV channels throughout the country.

Television highlights: I’m Going to Be…a Musician, careers advice. The Flowerpot Men. Tonight in Person, music with the Limeliters and Nana Mouskouri.

Radio highlights: Jazz. Postal Bingo.

Weather: rain or sleet turning to snow. Colder. Outlook – very cold, day temperatures near freezing.

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

https://books2read.com/u/bMqNPG

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