G-AOHH

 This British European Airways Vickers Viscount was snapped at Manchester Airport sometime in 1969, scanned from an acquired negative, bough as much for the splendid Foden fuel tanker as for the plane. It first flew early in 1957, being withdrawn by British Airways at Leeds/Bradford Airport in November 1975, being broken up the following year.

Red Star Weekly

I know little about this title, three copies of which I picked up yesterday. Red Star Weekly featured romantic stories aimed, of course, at a female readership, as well as features, reader's letters, cartoons, adverts and agony aunt 'Dear Madge'. It appears to have been published from at least the 1940s until the 1980s, the three copies below dating from 1969. It was published by DC Thomson & Co., from the same stable as The Beano and The Dandy, being of a similar size and quality.

Mrs Dickens and her droopy Dundees.....

Advert for Echo margarine from Family Circle magazine, issue dated February 1969. The 'Mrs Dickens' would refer to the wife (or perhaps mother) of the artist, one Frank Dickens, creator of 'Bristow', the longest running strip cartoon by a single author, which ran for 41 years from 1961. Somewhere I have a pile of old Bristow books; I must search them out and do a few scans for a future post.......

Is that you, Joanna?

Actress, comedienne and supporter of the Gurkhas, Joanna Lumley, was a model in her earlier days. Her are two anonymous appearances; on the front of a dreadful old record of piano covers, no doubt cashing in on the popularity of Mrs Mills, a much loved and accomplished player of the 1960s/70s and in an advert for Patons Wools, this from the Christmas 1969 issue of Woman & Home magazine.

Julia Foster

And why not?

A very welcome appearance in episode 2 of Doctor in the House, first broadcast on ITV on 19 July 1969 and written by Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie. And yes, that is Martin Shaw (playing a Welshman) in the first picture.

Know your tramway standard!

One item of street furniture now almost extinct is the ornamental tramway standard - that's the pole that kept the wires up. These municipal examples appeared in Tramway Review, Spring 1969, drawn by HG Dibdin.

Ionicus in the Dales

A while ago, I bought from eBay a run of issues of The Dalesman, a magazine devoted to life in the Yorkshire Dales and surrounding area. I had hoped for a nice selection of advertisements and was not disappointed (see the Brown, Muff's posting, for instance). A bonus were the illustrations on the cover, a humorous take on the month in question. These are credited to "Ionicus", who, thanks to wonders of Google, I now know as Joshua Armitage (1913-98). A regular in Punch, he was also well-known for his PG Wodehouse covers for Penguin, one of which I have added to the end of these Dalesman covers from 1969. Note that the price increased by sixpence from the April edition.......

And finally......................

Brown, Muff's

The Bradford department store Brown, Muff's (no sniggering at the back) could trace it's origins back to 1814. It traded until takeover by House of Frazer in 1977, who subsequently renamed the store as Rackhams. The store, also knowns as BM's and 'The Harrods of the North' stood in Market Street and also had branches in Skipton, Bingley and Doncaster.

The firm advertised extensively in The Dalesman magazine and the recent acquisition of a full set of issues for 1969 has prompted this post. Interestingly, the Bradford shop closed on Saturday afternoons, whilst those in Skipton and Bingley were closed all day on Tuesdays. Bri-Nylon, quilt covers, house coats or soda syphons, anyone?

Full of Eastern promise?

A few adverts from 1960s issues of Autocar magazine, featuring manufacturers from behind the Iron Curtain vying to tempt the decadent western motorist away from their Vauxhalls and Austins; those from Skoda and Wartburg are from 1966, Moskvich from 1969.

Frankie & Benny

Twenty years ago, in April 1992, British comedy lost both Frankie Howerd and Benny Hill. Although they died on consecutive days, 19/20th, Benny was not found until two days later, such was the reclusive life that he was leading by then. Although they were very different in their approach to comedy, Howerd's more hesitant delivery contrasting to Hill's more slick and saucy style, both learned their trade in the West End, radio and then film and television. Benny Hill was also a singer, with a number of  comedy records to his name

By the 1980s, The Benny Hill Show was suffering falling ratings and was becoming increasingly more expensive to make and changing attitudes saw much criticism of the perceived sexism in his comedy. The cancellation of his Thames series in 1989 appeared to be the beginning of the end for him.

Frankie Howerd however, was making something of a comeback during his later years, touring with his one-man show and becoming an unlikely hit with university audiences. I personally love the work of both, Up Pompeii in particular for Howerd, with his little asides to the audience and Benny Hill was probably at his best in the 1970s; trawling through DVDs of The Benny Hill Show for this period has been a delight. Despite the bashing he got in this country in his later years, he remained popular abroad; I have a Hungarian DVD featuring mainly his slapstick routines, brought back by my son off holiday a few years ago. May they both rest in peace and their influence live on.

Frankie Howerd (1917-1992)

The Ladykillers (1955)
With Katie Johnson

The Fast Lady (1962)

The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery (1966)
With Reg Varney and others

Carry On Doctor (1967)
With Anita Harris, Hattie Jacques and June Jago

Up Pompeii (1971)

Up The Front (1975)
From Star Turns, by Barry Took

Benny Hill (1924-1992)

An early publicity shot
From Star Turns, by Barry Took

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
With Dick Van Dyke and Sally Ann Howes

The Italian Job (1969)

Benny Hill sings Ernie (1971)

The Benny Hill Show (1976)
With Henry McGee

The Benny Hill Show (1976)
With Jack Wright and Jenny Lee Wright

The Benny Hill Show (1976)
With Moira Foot

Carry On Rambling

With the spring weather upon us, The Ramblers Association have unveiled their new lightweight clothing range. Model Amanda Jansen gets the Vintage Stuff seal of approval as she climbs a fence on the South Downs. Mind your step there, Amanda!

From Beautiful Britons, August 1969