Tag: Writing

Friday 22 March 1963

More babies are born in March than any other month of the year. Over the past ten years, the pattern of March babies has changed only once, in 1953 when May was the biggest month for babies. Why March? One theory states that couples recapture their honeymoon magic on summer holidays. Another theory states that couples plan their babies for March as a beat-the-tax plan – a baby born in March gives its parents a tax-rebate on the child allowance.

Half the world’s population – 1,500 million people – are desperately hungry this morning. Three out of every twenty are starving. Show-business personalities are backing the Freedom From Hunger campaign. They include Sheila Hancock, disc jockey Brian Matthew, Acker Bilk and pianist Mrs Mills. They have set a target to raise £2,500,000 for the campaign.

As the number of typhoid cases in Britain claimed to 35 yesterday, a restaurant and coffee-bar were closed by order of Dr Parker, Brighton’s medical officer because a man employed at both establishments has developed typhoid. Customers are being traced, including students at the University of Sussex and Brighton Technical College.

This week, 7,260 workers at Kodak will share a bonus of £1,216,000. The annual share-out was started in 1912, and was missed in only one year – 1943.

London Transport are to test an automatic underground train driver system on the District Line next month, but drivers will still go along in case the robots fail. The robots control the trains by electrical signals fed into the rails and read by electronic equipment in the cabs.

Television highlights: Royal Shakespeare Company – As You Like It. The Perfect Horse with David Attenborough. What’s New with Peter West.

Radio highlights: Piano Party. Announcements.

Weather: cold and cloudy with some snow. Maximum temperature 5c, 41f.

Saturday 23 March 1963

The cost of living has gone up nine tenths of a point to 103.6, says the Ministry of Labour. The rise is mainly due to dearer vegetables and eggs.

Gold and jewels worth £4,000,000 lie buried in the wreckage of King Saud’s Comet, which crashed on the snowy Alpine peak of Monte Matto – the Mad Mountain. Among the jewels is the famous £30,000 Wells of Love diamond, which is said to carry a curse. Now Italian authorities are afraid looters will steal this fortune before official search parties find the plane.

Tomorrow is Mothering Sunday. Flowers – for best value go for daffodils, narcissi and tulips. Large quantities of these are being sent over from the Sicily and Channel Islands. Snowdrops are also delightful, so are violets, but they are very expensive. For those buying potted plants, choose cyclamen. If carefully looked after they should flower again next year.

Music teacher Christabel Carlisle, 24, from Kensington, London is now a racing motorist. She will make her debut driving a works MGB in the Sebring races in Florida. She made her name driving Minis faster than most of her male competitors.

Boxing: the Mineworkers National Championship saw wins for K.Tate (flyweight), W. Williams (bantamweight), T. Halpin (featherweight) and A. Rae (lightweight).

Top five television shows: 1 and 2 tied – Coronation Street (March 11 and 13) 3. Take Your Pick 4. I Can’t Bear Violence 5. The Cruel Kind

Television highlights: Juke Box Jury with Jane Asher and Henry Mancini. Eurovision Song Contest – Ronnie Carroll sings for Britain. Maverick.

Radio highlights: Late Night Saturday Records. Football Commentary – the second half of a leading match.

Weather: cold and mainly cloudy. Outlook – mainly dry, sunny intervals. 6c, 43f.

Sunday 24 March 1963

What is Britain’s number one status symbol in 1963? Forget the fridge, hi-fi, washing machine and car. The number one status symbol is the garden mower. Petrol, battery-operated or electric powered, at £24 these mowers are superseding the £8 push mower.

How to succeed in a man’s world. My best nine-guineas-an-ounce French perfume is known to the men I work with as ‘Midnight in Grimsby’. This means they like it. A woman’s perfume should not distract a man at work. Furthermore, if she swears, she’s likely to be accepted. So, men, I’m about to light my first cigar of the day, trot out a few vulgar words, and get on with the job. – Sylvia Lamond. 

Penny-in-the-slot central heating and hot water for some old-age pensioners and council tenants may be operating within a year thanks to tests ongoing at a National Coal Board scientific unit in Newcastle Upon Tyne. If successful, these tests could revolutionise central heating.

An electric cigarette lighter with a built-in battery that can be re-charged from a domestic power point will be on sale soon.

Executives are wearing cuff-links and tie-pins stamped with the initials TGIF – Thank God It’s Friday.

Police set up road-blocks after a man leapt from a car in Canterbury, Kent, snatched a woman’s handbag containing £4 10s, and escaped in the car.

Television highlights: Fireball XL5. Play – Too Late for the Mashed Potato. The Billy Cotton Band Show with Frankie Howerd and Adam Faith.

Radio highlights: Down Your Way. Top Twenty.

Weather: dry with sunny spells, warmer.

Monday 25 March 1963

Tory councillor Alan Riley believes that more canings are needed. “More whippings would do a lot of good,” Mr Riley said. He thought that some teachers were too scared to use the cane because of the risk of legal proceedings against them.

Wallpaper that is sound and not seriously discoloured can be given a new look. The old method was to use stale bread or stiff flour dough. But you can now buy a plastic dough that does the job much better. Cost 2s 6d for a moderate-sized room.

Thousands of people in Cumberland and Westmorland got up an hour early yesterday, by mistake. Local newspapers printed that Summer Time would begin on March 24, corresponding with Summer Time in 1962. But this year, Summer Time begins next Sunday.

Classified advertisements: JT (260) phone 26th, 9pm, STA 1147. PAP – D & C in a home.

On the stage: Ménage a Trois – Phyllis Calvert, Elizabeth Shepherd and Marius Goring in an eternal triangle with a new twist – the wife and mistress fall in love.

Denmark won the Eurovision Song Contest with 42 points. Switzerland were second with 40 points and Italy third with 37. Britain, who have never won the ten-year-old contest, came fourth with 28 points.

Television highlights: World in Action – a report on gambling. Panorama – an investigation into fluoride. Come into the Garden.

Radio highlights: The Archeologist. Kenny Lynch.

Weather: dry with occasional rain later. Outlook – showers. 12c, 54f.

Tuesday 26 March 1963

The Conservative government intends to impose a 5s minimum to send a telegram. Labour MP William Warbey slammed the plan. He said telegrams were a vital emergency service for people who could not afford telephones.

Because of the drop in fatstock prices, housewives are now paying between 2s and 6s less for their meat. Farmers are dissatisfied with the current meat pricing system, but the government insisted that it is working well.

Four more typhoid cases were confirmed in Britain yesterday, bringing the total to forty-three. The source of the outbreak, the Swiss resort at Zermatt, has been closed down.

Football. Discussions are ongoing to introduce eight new clubs to the league and create five divisions. Blackpool’s idea for summer soccer has been kicked into touch. However, something must be done because the game is in a sad state.

Actress Patricia Phoenix, who plays Elsie Tanner in ITV’s Coronation Street, is engaged to be married. But Patricia, 39, is keeping her fiancé’s name a secret. She receives more than 200 marriage proposals a year from men who watch the programme.

Television highlights: Sabotage in South Africa – life in South Africa today where criticism of the government is considered an act of sabotage. International Concert Hall with the London Symphony Orchestra. Here and Now – a marbles and tiddley-winks challenge.

Radio highlights: Boxing – Henry Cooper v Dick Richardson. Pete Murray.

Weather: cloudy with rain. Outlook – showers, bright periods. 12c, 53f.

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

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Thursday 7 March 1963

Advice on how to get the best out of your television set is offered today in a 218 page booklet, ITV 1963. A “ghost” double image may be cured by slightly turning the tv aerial. Poor pictures can be caused by using cheap, poor-cable between the aerial and set. Most picture problems are caused by wrong choice, or wrong fitting, of aerials.

An advertisement has appeared in The Times seeking support to remove That Was The Week That Was from television on the grounds that the programme lacks decency and good taste.

Pop news: Eden Kane’s brother, Clive, has tried to find success calling himself a number of names including Clive Kane, Paul Kane, Clive Paradise, Clive Robin and Clive Concord. Now he’s released his first disc, There’s a Lot More Where This Came From, as Wes Sands.

From Liverpool, in the steps of the highly successful Beatles, come Gerry and the Pacemakers, a four-man group who are likely to make a stir with their first disc – How Do You Do It?

Manchester City’s 2-5-3 defensive plan paid dividends in their long-delayed third round FA Cup tie against Walsall. One goal settled it, but it was the Wall that finally ended Walsall’s hopes. For although they had most of the game, their attacks were repeatedly dashed against City’s fantastic eight-man defence.

Television highlights: Amateur Boxing – Scotland v Switzerland. Tales of Mystery. Criss Cross Quiz.

Radio highlights: Saludos Amigos! Vienna in the 1920s.

Weather: mainly dry. Outlook – changeable. 14c, 57f.

Friday 8 March 1963

A woman can now know if she is pregnant two hours after taking a new test. This while-you-wait test costs £2 2s at the Family Centre run by the London Foundation for Marriage Education.

After twelve hours, the Duchess of Argyll completed her evidence in the divorce action brought by the Duke. The Duchess is accused of multiple acts of adultery. The hearing continues today.

Private ownership of cars should be banned. This suggestion is made in the journal The Railway Review. Only in exceptional circumstances should individuals be allowed to own cars. Motorists should hire cars as needed from hire firms. It is estimated that by 1970 the number of private cars will have shot up from 6,500,000 to 13,000,000.

Barbers in Stockport, Cheshire have decided to charge more than the standard 3s when cutting long hair. Mr Charles Sephton, branch secretary, said, “We are fed up with the long-haired Johnnies. In future, members will charge extra for cutting long hair.”

Agony Aunt: My father always says that blondes can be dangerous. Jane Adams’ reply – And so can redheads and brunettes.

Television highlights: Richard the Lionheart. Let’s Imagine – Being Beautiful. Take Your Pick – 300th Edition. 

Radio highlights: Music While You Work. Piano Party.

Horse racing resumes in England today after 75 blank days caused by the Big Freeze.

Weather: cloudy with rain. Outlook – bright with showers. 13c, 55f.

Saturday 9 March 1963

Why not turn your wife into a good backseat driver? Don’t wince at the thought. With spring and summer approaching, your wife could be a valuable “navigator”. Buy Ordnance Survey maps for the district you intend to cover and teach your wife to read them.

Television executive Robert St John Roper had to stay off work for several days after he found a dead mouse in his tinned-beef pie. Allied Canners were find £50 for selling food below the required standard.

On 1 March the Conservative government put a tax on fresh food imported from abroad. This tax is designed to protect our own growers’ crops. However, because of the Big Freeze there are no home-grown crops. Once again, the brunt of the burden will be felt by the hard-hit housewife.

Top three television programmes this week: 1 Labour Party Political Broadcast 2 Coronation Street (Feb 25) 3 Coronation Street (Feb 27).

Television highlights: Juke Box Jury with Spike Milligan. Bertram Mills Circus. The Invisible Man.

Radio highlights: Let’s Take a Spin. What Do You Know?

Looking ahead to the 1966 World Cup, England’s football selectors will be focusing on three games today – Arsenal v Liverpool, Leyton Orient v Aston Villa and Middlesbrough v Chelsea. In particular they will be looking at Peter Bonetti, Ken Shellito, Terry Venables and Ian Callaghan. 

A crowd of 60,000 will watch the England v Wales women’s hockey international under the new Wembley roof. England start as strong favourites – they are unbeaten at home.

Weather: sunny, showers, windy. Outlook – similar. 10c, 50f.

Sunday 10 March 1963

After eight days of evidence and twenty witnesses, the Argyll case is reaching its conclusion. The Duke of Argyll is seeking a divorce from the Duchess on the grounds of her “multiple” affairs.

The peak age for illegitimate fatherhood in England and Wales is between twenty-five and twenty-nine. The second largest group are aged between thirty and thirty-four. In 1961, three men aged seventy-five fathered illegitimate children, while fifty-three were fathered by men aged between sixty and sixty-four.

Pat Moss, “Britain’s Best Female Driver”, believes that drivers should take a second driving test a year or eighteen months after their first test to show that they have improved.

Glass fibre tape measures will soon be on sale. They are as strong as steel and do not rust. A back massager while you are driving is the latest relaxation idea. The massager is attached to a long cord, which can be plugged into the lighter outlet.

Six hundred men’s suits and other clothing were stolen in a £12,000 raid on a tailor’s shop in Chelmsford, Essex.

The newest fashion for men is knitted sports shirts – loose, poncho waistlines with pointed centres back and front.

Television highlights: The Saint. Dr Finlay’s Casebook. Sunday Night at the London Palladium.

Radio highlights: Painting of the Month. Sing Something Simple.

Weather: mostly cloudy with showers and gales.

Monday 11 March 1963

Britain is fast becoming a Cafe Society. Prawns, fillet steak, French-fried potatoes and red wine – that’s our favourite meal in Britain today. Today, we prefer to eat out. With more married women working even Sunday lunch is becoming a restaurant meal.

Britain, a nation surrounded by fish, spends more on importing fish and fish products than any other country except America, says a United Nations survey. Britain paid out £63,000,000 on fishery imports in 1961, America spent £130,000,000.

Last month’s unemployment total was 878,356, the highest since the fuel crisis of 1947. With the Big Freeze over, this number is expected to drop. However, the underlying trend is still up – 240,000 on March 1961.

Post Office scientists are using a new “detective machine” in their war against the Telephone Terrors. People who make abusive or threatening calls will be identified through their voices, in much the same way that fingerprinting identifies hands. The voice-printing machine has proved accurate in 99% of 30,000 cases.

A petition is being raised to keep a dance band, the Dave Clark Five, at a Basildon dance hall. Customers fear that they might lose the band to other London dance halls. So far, 2,300 people have signed the petition. 

Television highlights: Panorama on divorce reform. Their Kind of Music. BBC Play – The Honest Man.

Radio highlights: Does The Team Think? Melody Showcase.

Weather: rain followed by showers. Strong to gale-force winds. Outlook – similar.  10c, 50f.

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 🙂