Change of plan

I picked up this drinks mat for 50p this morning, to have been used on two of P&O's Darts Cruises that took place in May and October 1982. The two professionals were John Lowe and the late Leighton Rees, both players, even as a non-darts fan such as I, had actually heard of.

All is not as it seems however, as the ship concerned, the SS Canberra, was unavailable for the first cruise due to being requisitioned by the Ministry of Defence and hastily refitted as a troop ship in early April and sent to the Falkland Islands, not to return to the UK until the July. Whether she made her October date I can't say, nor which ship took over her duties during the interim. Put into service in 1961, the 45,000 ton ship was withdrawn in 1997 and sent to Pakistan for scrapping, a feat that, due to her bulk, took a year, rather than the estimated three months.

Bobby Crush on the buses

If you were going to throw a piano party back in 1982, then I guess that Opportunity Knocks-winning Bobby Crush was as good a booking as ever, Mrs Mills having passed away in 1978 (he popped up looking, er, a little portly, on a tribute show about her, earlier this year). This album, one of two with almost identical covers, was recorded at Abbey Wood Studios and features 101 tunes played at break-neck speed; well, they would have to be.

The illustration on the cover is a caricature of a real bus, former Southport Corporation all-Leyland FFY 403, a vehicle that is still running at 66 years-old, being used in Torquay this summer.

Bobby Crush is still performing, including a regular appearance in panto as Dame, although there is little on YouTube. The clip below is an early one of him surrounded by a bevy (what else?) of girls in swimsuits whilst he plays a song in 23 seconds on a white piano.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKF4HfwSsm0