Saturday 30 November 1963
How to identify a “with it” girl. She wears white fishnet stockings, knickerbockers and heavy round spectacles, does the Shake instead of the Twist, uses glycerine on her nose, and only makes up one half of her face. She also eats pickled onions.
Fascinate the girls! The “Beetle Wig” – only 15/11, post etc 1/7. Genuinely lifelike. It can be combed into the authentic style. Jet black. So realistic, it looks like real hair. No special haircut needed – just put on your Beetle Wig. Two or more post free.
“In June, our tortoise laid four eggs. We are thrilled because these have now hatched out and the babies are thriving well. We have named them after the Beatles.” – Mrs I Patching, London.
105 toys for 17/6. Ideal for parties. Toys include: hilarious jumping spider, running mouse, jumping crabs, parachutes, cap bombs, bow and arrow, handcuffs, conjuring tricks, catapult and genuine flying saucer.
Roast chicken is challenging roast beef for first place on the nation’s Sunday dinner tables. Mutton and lamb, one time favourites, are losing their appeal. Beef and veal are in demand, but the call is for chicken. Rapid expansion in the broiler industry means that chicken is no longer in the “luxury” class of meat.
The Air Ministry begin their long-range weather forecasting service today. The forecast for the month of December will be broadcast at 11.10 pm after That Was The Week That Was on BBC television. Mr Howarth Freeman, assistant director of the Met Office, will present the forecast.
Television highlights: Dr Who – science fiction series, episodes one and two. The Avengers – The Grandeur That Was Rome. The Sentimental Agent – adventure series.
Radio highlights: Motoring and the Motorist. Pop Track.
Weather: sunshine, showers, drizzle. Rather cold. Outlook – rain at times. 6c, 43f.
Sunday 1 December 1963
Britain’s first long-range weather forecast: no White Christmas; instead, freezing fog and severe cold. The very wet weather in November is expected to give way to drier weather in December with rainfall below average. Severe cold spells will alternate with milder interludes.
Colin Jordan’s British Nazi Party is receiving secret funds from abroad. They are also receiving Nazi propaganda publications. It is believed that cash is sent instead of cheques. Colin Jordan believes that his views are popular in England and not subversive.
Beatlemania has infiltrated into trad jazz. Bob Wallis has a new record out – Pavanne – on which he defies tradition by including an electric guitar! This will offend purists, no doubt, and could put a nail into the trad jazz coffin. But it should be a hit for this popular young trumpeter.
Number one with a new entry – I Want to Hold Your Hand by the Beatles. Number two – She Loves You by the Beatles.The Beatles are also at number fourteen with The Beatles Hits EP and number seventeen with their Twist and Shout EP.
“Wednesday night and millions of soccer-loving working men were looking forward to the tele-recording of the Spurs-Manchester United European Cup game. Alas, it was postponed. Never mind, the BBC will show us a consolation. But what did we get? A documentary on work!” – John Griffiths, Bridgend, Glamorgan.
Football Results: First Division – Blackburn 4 Arsenal 1, Blackpool 3 Leicester 3, Liverpool 2 Burnley 0, Sheffield United 1 Manchester United 2, Spurs 1 Sheffield Wednesday 1. Top three – Liverpool, Blackburn, Spurs.
Television highlights: Memorial Service for President Kennedy from St Paul’s Cathedral. Fireball XL5. The Saint – The King of Beggars.
Radio highlights: The Rum ‘Um – Portrait of Hawker of Morwenstow. Family Favourites.
Weather: dull, misty and rather cold.
Monday 2 December 1963
Mrs Rosina Lewis, the blonde wife of the licencee of The Bull at Hornchurch, Essex, has a broomstick hung on the wall in the saloon bar. She claims that the broomstick helps to cure customers’ hangovers through witchcraft. “My great-grandmother was a witch in Essex,” she said. “And she passed many of her secrets on to me.”
Britain is the world’s largest exporter of farm tractors. We export three times as many as Western Germany and five times as many as the United States.
The Royal National Institute for the Deaf are once again holding their Deaf Children’s Party at the Seymour Hall on January 7th. Can you please spare a toy or donation? RNID, Gower Street, London.
A rescue team used a new type of inflatable plastic splint when they brought down an injured climber on Snowdonia yesterday. He was Peter Leyshon of Tonypandy, Glamorgan, who broke an ankle when he fell ten feet.
“Your assertion that Wales is musically illiterate is rubbish. Haven’t you heard of Ivor Novello, Harry Secombe, Ivor Emmanuel and Shirley Bassey?” – Dai the Pencil, Salop.
Commercials will be added to records played on Juke Boxes in 300 of London’s coffee bars. A spokesman explained, “Teenagers are an elusive and difficult market, even though they spend nearly £1,000,000,000 a year. They don’t really watch tv or read the newspapers. This way we can catch them in their own environment.”
Television highlights: Come Dancing with Peter West. The Royal Smithfield Show. Discovering Japanese Art.
Radio highlights: Paul Temple and the Jonathan Mystery. Screwballs and Iron Bars.
Weather: cloudy, rain in places. Outlook – dry and rather cold. 9c, 48f.
Tuesday 3 December 1963
It is estimated that there are 40,000 fruit machines in Britain’s 24,000 social clubs. And between them they are gobbling up sixpences to the merry tune of £200,000,000 annually. This is nearly a quarter of the nation’s gambling bill. When the machines leave the factories, they have been adjusted to return four-fifths of the takings in prizes to the players. However, it is possible for an operator to rig a machine so that the jackpot never comes up.
Mirror Newspapers fundraising for Christmas 1963: Sunshine Homes for Blind Babies, Fireside Fund (a sack of coal) for old folks, Dr Barnardo’s Homes and the Muscular Dystrophy Group of Great Britain.
At the Kinross by-election, won by the Tories, once again the opinion polls were wrong. They over-estimated the Labour vote and under-estimated the Liberal vote. Substantially. They forecast Labour second and the Liberals third, but it was the other way around. This begs the question: is there a deliberate distortion of opinion to influence the voters?
Drivers of Post Office supply vans have been awarded pay rises of between eight and ten percent.
“As a milkman, I was grateful for the suggestion that milkmen should be given Christmas Day off. However, how can we let the cows know that we want a “double issue” for Christmas Eve delivery.” – G.A Hulme, Leicester.
Football: Everton drew 1 – 1 with Glasgow Rangers last night and won the “Unofficial British Championship” 4 – 2 on aggregate. However, the game was marred when a bottle was thrown at a linesman. Both Everton and Glasgow Rangers have been troubled by crowd violence this season
Television highlights: World in Action – Dallas, city of violence. Here and Now – London’s fashion scene. Fascinating Facts with Kenneth Kendall.
Radio highlights: Bristol Fashion. Keep Up Your French.
Weather: cloudy with sunny intervals. Outlook – mostly dry with night frost. 7c, 45f.
Wednesday 4 December 1963
Detectives have arrested John Thomas Daly, who is wanted for questioning in connection with the Great Train Robbery. The police found Daly and his wife Barbara, who is expecting a baby, in a lavishly furnished basement flat in Belgravia. Members of Parliament, peers and privy councillors also live in the area. This is the twentieth arrest in the Great Train Robbery case.
In connection with the Great Train Robbery, police are still seeking to interview Bruce Reynolds, Roy “The Weasel” James, Ronald “Buster” Edwards and his wife June, James Edward White and his wife Sheree.
Mr Hugh Carleton Greene, the BBC Director General, denied that the satirical show That Was The Week That Was was ever censored. However, he admitted that when asked for advice, he sometimes said “no” to an item.
Women motorists have been told, if you want to drive well and safely don’t wear tight bras or girdles. Turn-back cuffs, dangling jewellery and high-heeled shoes are also hazards. To lose their bad reputation on the road, women should dress to drive, and should feel comfortable.
Trading stamps with petrol: to get enough stamps to claim a television set, a motorist would have to drive from the Earth to the Moon. Five times around the world would win him a watch, and twice around the world a road atlas of Europe.
Agony Aunt: “Can you put me in touch with a man who does not drink, smoke or swear, and who is thrifty, kind and sensible, and has no bad habits.” Jane Adams’ reply, “Come off it.”
Football: European Cup Winners’ Cup, Second Round First Leg – Tottenham Hotspur 2 Manchester United 0.
Television highlights: Stalingrad – epic German war play. 14-18 – the story of the First World War. Sportsview – soccer and rugby.
Radio highlights: Parade of the Pops with Dusty Springfield. A Book at Bedtime.
Weather: cloudy, rain at times. Outlook – rain at times. 7c, 45f.
Thursday 5 December 1963
Extra police will be on duty today to control crowds outside the Old Bailey, where Christine Keeler will face trial with two other women and a man. All four are accused of conspiring to obstruct the course of justice. The three women are also charged with perjury.
Tory MP Henry Price told women Tories at Sydenham, “We have got to beat the Beatles.” He added that the Beatles’ music is hypnotising teenagers and that these teenagers are “being sent”. They are becoming “addicts”, but Mr Price hoped that they would grow out of it.
Two people in Bedford have typhoid fever. The cases are linked to an outbreak six weeks ago.
Rebels attacked the home of the British Ambassador in Venezuela. No one was hurt.
Historic Woolwich Arsenal Royal Ordinance Factory is to close in 1966. The Arsenal produced the shot for the Battle of Waterloo, turned out 20,000,000 shells to beat the Kaiser and 5,000,000 bombs to smash the Nazis. Future guns manufacture will be concentrated at the Royal Ordinance Factory in Nottingham.
An incident in Gloucester resulted in a mini car being written off. Mr T Poole of Worcester was driving along a country road when a horse ran out from behind a gate. As if in play, the horse sat on his car, shattering the windscreen and crumpling the roof. The horse did not appear hurt.
Housewives may be paying as much for potatoes this winter as they did last winter, but there will be no shortage. Crop acreage is up 28,000 and unless there is a series of sharp frosts, current supplies should see us through.
Television highlights: Gallery – the public ownership of steel. It’s a Square World with Michael Bentine. Weather and road works report.
Radio highlights: Dylan Thomas Recollections. The Beat Show.
Weather: sunny spells, rather cold. Outlook – little change. 5c, 41f.
Friday 6 December 1963
Britain is set for its biggest ever spending spree. The Bank of England revealed a £40,000,000 jump in banknote circulation to £2,495,000,000. This is £124,000,000 more than Britons had in their purses and pockets a year ago. There is a big demand for £5 notes. They account for about half the value of notes now in circulation.
Debates in the House of Commons will not be televised. Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home dismissed the idea of an experimental period to see if debates were suitable for public transmission.
A bus shelter in Ash, Kent has become a “cesspool of iniquity”. Parish Councillor Frank Jenner said that people are using the shelter as a “lust shelter” and that a police sergeant and two constables are urgently needed to restore order. Mr Sidney Gilby, who manages a nearby cafe, said, “There are all sorts of goings on in the shelter.” The bus shelter is in the centre of the village and is capable of accommodating fifty people.
A turkey weighing 60lbs 13oz won the Heaviest Turkey of 1963 at the International Poultry Show at London’s Olympia. The turkey came from a farm in Cheshire and contains enough meat for 200 Christmas dinners.
Can television cope in an emergency? Since President Kennedy’s death the obsession with Dallas has lingered too long. Many of the original views and comments are merely being repeated. Furthermore, caught by a major tragic event, television showed that the straitjacket of planned programmes is its master, and was thrown right off balance.
“Surely your reader from Salop cannot be really serious when he describes Harry Secombe and Shirley Bassey as singers. They are no more than music hall turns. But Wales has certainly produced more singers of world class than has England.” – J Ahearne, Swansea.
Television highlights: A Hundred Years Underground – London’s Tube. Friday Night Drama – Plastic Mac in Winter. Ready, Steady, Go! with Marty Wilde, Adam Faith and Ted Heath.
Radio highlights: New Names Making News. La Traviata.
Weather: cloudy, mainly dry. Outlook – colder, cloudy. 4c, 39f.
Available for order and pre-order, my Swinging Sixties Mystery Series
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Hannah Howe 