7 Up - here we are on 31st December 1968 – this is what I know of that version of me


So it all began back in 1961 - a long, long time ago in a place far, far away. Without being able to see myself, I will capture that world to the best of my recollections.


Family Life

I was the second child to Pat and Stanley in their attempt to improve on their first try, Louise. We lived at a nice house on Asquith Boulevard in Knighton, Leicester that was situated close to many relatives and my parent ’s friends.

Relevant people of that time:
• Aunt and Uncle: dad ’s side: Jose (sister) & Harry: son Stephen
• Aunt and Uncle: dad ’s side: Anne (sister) & Charles: sons David & Jonathan
• Aunt and Uncle: dad ’s side: Doreen (sister) & Shirley: sons Lawrence & Stuart
• Aunt and Uncle: mum ’s side: David (brother) & Judy: daughter Juliet
• Grandmother: dad ’s side: Esther
• Grandparents: mum ’s side: Kitty and Eli
• Great Grandmother: mum ’s side: scary old witch

My parent ’s extended families lived outside of Leicester - dad ’s side mainly in London and mum ’s side mainly in Sheffield.

My dad had a stall in Leicester market (as did his mother) selling materials and soft furnishings. My mum looked after the family matters and attended different evening classes to have time away from us kids.

Family was important and I remember lots of occasions when there were big family gatherings – and some Sundays we’d gather in Bradgate Park for larking around together. We were always at each other ’s houses and there were a lot of meals shared.


School

We lived close to my first (infant) school, Overdale. I can remember where it was, what it looked like, where my classrooms were, who a couple of my teachers were, and the headmistress had a white Scotty dog that wandered around. The walk to school passed my grandparents house as well as the houses of 2 sets of Uncles and Aunts - so very much a familiar area.


Music

My grandmother (Kitty) had a piano that she used to play, but I can ’t remember any other live music happening.

My earliest musical memory comes from sitting in the bedroom of one of my cousins whilst the 5 of them were listening to records. I loved the cover of A Hard Day ’s Night by the Beatles - and the song I remember best was I Should Have Known Better - I loved the sound of the harmonica.

The first show I remember going to I once described as:
“I was a 6 or 7 year old lad being taken to a show in Leicester by my parents with my sister. There were comics, there was dancing, there was music and then there was a strange man who looked like he would be on more than one sex register - he played songs on a big old electric organ - no singing, just music - and a smile that made people uncomfortable. Then what I was there for - Basil Brush - how talented he was - he managed to amuse me despite having to endure a man's hand up his bottom. And then the big musical act to end with - a man who wouldn't sing properly. If I sang like that, my mother would have told me to stop being silly, but nobody was telling him - he was Frank Ifield and he yodelled. To this day, nobody has explained to me why anyone would do that, but he did it for whatever sick reason he had - and he made us suffer for his art.”

Other musical memories are a record we had that had songs from Jungle Book and Winnie the Pooh and other such stories - that got plenty of plays - a companion to my youth - probably one of the few things that kept me quiet.

assume my musical memories are mainly from TV – maybe Top of the Pops. The songs I remember are the sort of catchy tunes that worm their way into a young mind. With the help of Google, I have browsed songs from that time and the tunes I remember best are:
• 1910 Fruitgum Company - Simon Says
• Amen Corner - Bend Me, Shape Me
• Andy Williams - Can ’t Take My Eyes Off You
• Bongo Dog Doo-Dah Band - I ’m The Urban Spaceman
• Cliff Richard - Congratulations (from the Eurovision Song Contest)
• Dionne Warwick - Do You Know the Way to San Jose
• Donovan - Jennifer Juniper
• Esther & Abi Ofarim - Cinderella Rockefella
• Georgie Fame - Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde
• Herb Alpert - This Guy's In Love With You (my dad liked Herb)
• Honeybus - I Can't Let Maggie Go
• Jacky - White Horses (from the TV program I watched)
• John Fred & the Playboy Band - Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)
• Leapy Lee - Little Arrows
• Love Affair - Everlasting Love
• Manfred Mann - The Mighty Quinn
• Mary Hopkins - Those Were the Days (winner of Hughes Green ’s Opportunity Knocks)
• The Equals - Baby Come Back
• The Foundations - Build Me Up Buttercup
• The Hollies - Jennifer Eccles
• The Lemon Pipers - Green Tambourine
• The Monkees - Daydream Believer
• The Move - Fire Brigade
• The Ohio Express - Yummy Yummy Yummy
• The Scaffold - Lily the Pink (they also had a TV program)
• Tom Jones - Delilah

Records my parents had (that I remember):
• Kenneth Williams - Rambling Syd Rumpo
• South Pacific soundtrack
• High Society soundtrack
• Nana Mouskouri (dad)
• Jack Jones (mum)
• Winston Churchill speeches
• There was some classical stuff that I don’t remember - other than the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky


Radio

There was Saturday morning radio for kids where the likes of Dave Lee Travis and  Ed ‘Stewpot ’ Stewart played songs like The Runaway Train (came over the hill and it blew) and 3 Wheels on my Wagon (and I keep rolling along), The Laughing Gnome (David Bowie!) - stuff like that. I’d listen every week and it was always the same songs


Friends

I remember playing with the children of my parent ’s friends: Martin, Stephanie, Debbie, Sarah, Paula, David, Sharon and Julian. And there was Simon and Philip who were the children of my parent ’s friends who had moved to London. And other kids in the street.


School

This year, I moved from Infant to Junior School - though it was just moving to different buildings in the same complex, it was a big move. Most of the same kids transitioned together, but we were put in different classes, so I lost the familiar. And we were the biggest kids at Infant School, but the smallest at Junior School. So I guess, without noticing, I had to establish myself with some new kids and learn some new ways. Though it probably small differences when I look back, it was the first time I had to build friendships. Having said that, it isn't a conscious thing - it just happens - I wasn't particularly shy, from what I can remember, but I wasn't a big personality either. Anyway, there wasn't a drama about it, so that is good.

School friends were: Peter Sidwell, David Hankins, Timothy Barkley, Denzil Knight, Simon Switherfield, Justin York, Neil Adamson, Neville Hebborn, Ralph Coates, Jonathan Tyler, and Glen Bolton.
Shows the time/world I was in as my school friends were all boys even though it was a mixed school.


TV

It seem like I watched a lot of TV and these were some of the programs:
- Andy Pandy
- Animal Magic
- Basil Brush
- Batman
- Bewitched
- Bill and Ben
- Blue Peter
- Camberwick Green
- Captain Pugwash
- Captain Scarlett
- Casey Jones
- Champion the Wonder Horse
- Crackerjack
- Daktari
- Deputy Dawg
- Dixon of Dock Green
- Dr. Who
- Fireball XL5
- Follyfoot
- The Golden Shot
- Hector's House
- The High Chaparral
- How
- Huckleberry Hound
- Jimmy Clitheroe
- Joe 90
- Lost in Space
- The Magic Roundabout
- Marine Boy
- The Monkees
- Mr. Piper
- The Munsters
- Pinky and Perky
- (Michael Bentine's) Potty Time
- Rhubarb
- Robinson Crusoe
- Sooty
- Stingray
- Thunderbirds
- The Time Tunnel
- Top Cat
- Topo Gigio
- Trumpton
- Vision On
- Wacky Races
- White Horses
- The Wombles
- The Woodentops
- Yogi Bear

I also remember watching the wrestling at 4pm on a Saturday afternoon – Jackie Pallo, Mick McManus, Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy doing their stuff. That finished in time for the football results as they trickled in and my grandma would check them off against her predictions. All football games started at 3pm on a Saturday back then.

There were also lots of old movies on TV – Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton etc. and also lots of cowboy and Indian films too. Back then it was black and white TV - even though colour was introduced in 1967, we didn't have one yet.

On TV, there were a few evening programs that I remember a bit of – variety type shows with music from people like Roger Whittaker, Val Doonican, Cliff Richard, The Spinners, Olivia Newton John, Clodagh Rodgers, Sasha Distel, Lulu and Cilla Black. My mum and grandmother loved the soap operas like Coronation Street and Crossroads.


Cinema

I can ’t remember going to the movies much, but there was an incident when my Auntie Jose took me to the cinema but the film scared me and I was crying so she had to take me out again - it was actually Carry On Screaming, but as a small kid (probably 5 at the time), I didn't’t recognise it as a comedy - there were monsters I tell you.


Reading

I used to get comics, but I ’m not sure if that was then or after the age of 7 – I remember The Beano, The Dandy and The Topper though – and sometimes they came with a “free” gift – that was exciting.

I can ’t remember when I started reading much, but I remember the Dr. Seuss books and Winnie the Pooh. My dad would read Arthur Ransome books (like Swallows and Amazons) to us at bedtime, but I ’d be asleep straight away and can ’t remember much of the stories. On Saturday afternoons, my mum would take us to the library where Louise and I would sit in the kids section. Louise would look at Enid Blyton books and I would look at Tintin and Asterisk comic books.


Pets

Not many folk had pets that I remember – there were not many animals around at all.


Sport

I can ’t remember watching my first football game but I remember collected busts of the England football team (from petrol stations) during the World Cup in 1966, but I have no memory of seeing any football or there being any celebrations when England won.


Health

There were issues as a kid where I slept really badly and had nightmares – I remember a bit about them - I was trapped in a huge rectangular room and there was an enormous ball (bigger than me) squashing me into the corner. I was terrified and would wake up screaming. A root cause of the sleeping issues (learnt in hindsight) was that I was asthmatic and it was caused from an allergic reaction to feathers – and I had feather pillars back then. I suspect that my parents were attempting to murder me in a way that not even Columbo would be able to figure out.


Playing

I can ’t really remember much about the toys I had - there was my stuffed panda that I kept close and I had an Action Man (with a foot missing) - passed from a cousin or one of mum ’s cousins. I had some toy cars and also lots of Lego and meccano.

We had a garden both front and back to play in. We had an enormous green space in front of the house that stretched the whole length of their street - originally it was covered in blackberry bushes but was eventually changed to just grass - we played on there for hours and hours. Or we ’d head to Knighton Park and play there - it was an enormous park in my memory, but looking at Google maps, maybe not.


Some Memories

At school assembly, they ’d always ask for pupils to select which hymn or carol to sing. I would to put my hand up in front of the whole school, so was clearly fearless back then and I tended to select page 16 but I can’ remember what the song/carol was – what a useless memory to have. I remember that at Christmas I used to request Ding Dong! Merrily On High - because it could be sung with gusto - and I like the harmony type singing.

I remember being dressed up for a fancy-dress party - as a character from a TV Cadbury’s Roses commercial character played by Norman Vaughan. The catch-phrase was “Roses grow on you” and my Auntie Josie made me a suit with paper roses all over it. I eventually had a hissy fit and ended up not going to the party. I think that it was the first time I realised that I didn't’t like the idea of drawing attention to myself.

I remember my mum baking and she was adding stuff to the bowl and asked me what to add next - I correctly said eggs and was so pleased with myself. I remember telling Louise when she got home from school (I was pre-school age) but didn't’t get the praise I deserved. That is a very early memory.

I remember my Uncle and Aunt having a plum tree in their back garden and we were allowed to pick ripe fruit to eat. One day I got stung by a bee and ran home screaming. Thinking back, I think I just panicked and wasn't’t stung. Another very early moment.
|
I remember picking blackberries with my grandmother and how nice they tasted and how dirty I got - and probably sick too.

I remember my cousin Lawrence teaching me to ride my bike once I had the training wheels removed - a few scrapes, but what a feeling once I had it worked out.

And another memory was my cousin David taking me to the very top of the road where there was a bridge over the train line. He took me to see the Flying Scotsman go by. I was really impressed with us doing that, but I have no idea why - I must have adopted his enthusiasm.


Summary

I was happy - nothing to worry about - nothing bad happened to me. I clearly felt like a little kid as all my cousins that were around were 10 years older than me. Even my sister managed to stay 2 years older than me, however hard I tried to catch up.

So the 7 year old me had plenty of folk around him and friends to play with. He watched a lot of TV and was always playing – what else does a kid do?

Unfortunately I can ’t determine what sort of personality I had, so the start of my 7 Up project is flawed, but I will hopefully learn more as I step through the future years.