Greetings Whirligigers! You registered to be informed of updates to the WHIRLIGIG 1950's BRITISH TV AND RADIO NOSTALGIA site. January 2003 Newsletter. The regular dose of new video clips this month features a bit of a mixture: Firstly there is a clip from "The Army Game", a highly popular ITV series of the late 50's about a gang of peacetime soldiers in constant pursuit of easy money and ways of outwitting their fiery Sergeant-Major. http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/adults/armygame/armygame.htm Then there are two related clips which cover the presentation of election results from 1955 and also the first outing for the "Swingometer" on TV. Robert McKenzie was the Canadian born politics professor who talked about the political impact of the election results as they came in. He also invented the graphic which came to symbolise television coverage of elections, and is still in use today: the swingometer, a pendulum attached to a chart illustrating the House of Commons outcome at each point of swing. You can find the two clips here: http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/adults/other/panorama.htm There is also a new Sooty clip which features a bit of a fight between Sooty and Muffin The Mule. Harry Corbett has to intervene, as usual, to prevent mayhem ensuing! http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/children/sooty/sooty.htm Finally there is a clip from "What's My Line?". Eamonn Andrews is introducing his first guest but it's anyone's guess what his mime represents! http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/adults/quiz/whatsmyline.htm I am now rapidly coming to the end of the stored up video clips for new release. There will be some new ones next month but after that I will be reliant upon good people like yourselves for donations from any old video tapes you may have stored away and forgotten about. There are two new audio clips on the TV site this month. Firstly, the signature tune from "Children's Newsreel" and secondly the theme tune for "Sports Report": http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/children/other/other.htm#The rest http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/adults/sports/sports.htm On the radio site the additions include the Mrs Dale's Diary signature tune plus a lot of new pictures, on the same page, courtesy of Aline Waites who played Gwen in the serial for many years. http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk.radio/mrsdalesdiary.htm I am told that Evergreen Magazine will be featuring Mrs Dale's Diary in a future issue. They have also recently released the first of a series of CDs containing old TV and Radio Theme tunes. Visit them at: http://www.thisengland.co.uk/everhome.htm : I have also added a new audio clip from "Take It From Here" which introduced the Glums. Mr. Glum, a loudmouthed boor (Jimmy Edwards) presided over a household consisting of his ever-absent wife (nothing but a distant voice, very obviously that of Edwards himself in non-visual drag), his son Ron, who was not even one degree removed from utter idiocy, and was played with sublime incoherence by Dick Bentley, and Ron's fiancée Eth (June Whitfield, a magnificent radio comédienne) whose famous catch-phrase was a plaintive Oh Ron! Each week, poor Eth was foiled in her attempts to rise to a richer and happier life by the utter opacity of Ron (Give us a kiss, Eth!), and the cupidity of his father. Time after time, just as she seemed to have coaxed Ron into some more or less gallant display of wooden affection, Mr. Glum would burst in with his 'Ullo, Ullo, Ullo ...?' as though seduction was imminent - when it was all too plain that Ron only recognised one end of poor Eth from the other because it had feet on it. http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/radio/tifh.htm There is also a new "Snippet" on the site about Horace Batchelor from Keynsham, Bristol and his Infra-Draw method for winning the pools. You can reminisce by listening to the Radio Luxembourg advertisement in full and also read letters from readers of The Times about their memories of the method and how they believed it worked (or didn't!): http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/memories/snippets/index.htm Horace's grandson, Simon, has already found this webpage and written to me asking if I have any more information about his Grandfather. Unfortunately I don't - so if anyone can help, let me know. The Message Board has a new chatroom feature where you can join in to talk about anything and everything '50s. See below for the link. =================================================================== As usual, if you think of anything that is missing or incorrect, have any more information about the programmes featured or just want to share your memories, do drop me a line to terry@whirligig-tv.co.uk Alternatively place them on the Message Board which I monitor daily at: http://go.ezboard.com/bwhirligigtv That's about it for now. See you again next month! Terry Guntrip (aka Mr. Turnip) http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk http://www.TurnipNet.com -------------------------------------------------------- See the "What's New" Pages at: http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/whatsnew.htm http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/radio/whatsnew.htm with links to all new major updates or use the A TO Z SITE INDEX at: http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/siteindex.htm http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/radio/siteindex.htm --------------------------------------------------------