ALL OUR YESTERDAYS

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11. None for Scotland or Wales!
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Thanks to John and Dave.

98 thoughts on “ALL OUR YESTERDAYS”

  1. Pic 2 – A pit head anywhere back in “the good old days”.
    Pic 5 – Glesca, the Gorbals, 1950s (also 60s, 70s).
    Pic 7 – Glesca Corpy tram on Great Western Road (40s/50s?).
    Pic 8 – Millicent Martin – TWTWTW?).
    Pic 16 – Their Supreme Irrelevances – The Queen Muvver, Princes. Lillibet, Auld Queen Mary, Princess Margaret, George the Somethingth.
    Pic 19 – Dean Martin, Dinah Washington?
    Pic 20 – Ena Sharples (Violet Carson) v Elsie Tanner (Pat Phoenix) – from Coronation Street.

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      1. Oh my God .. but how much more impactful if, rather than using a bunch of blacked-up white boys for chorus, they had used authentic casting.

        Although maybe that misses a sub-point of the sketch, which is that for all the focus on Mississippi, there was an underlying dig too about racism here at home.

        At that time not only was the Black and White Minstrel Show in the middle of a decade-long run at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London, other hugely successful versions of the show were touring all over the country. And the BBC even had its own version broadcast on a Saturday night – at the very same time this TWTWTW sketch, also from the BBC, was broadcast.

        So, when I think about it, very brave stuff indeed.

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          1. Once encountered something called “The Whiter than White Minstrel Show”. Can’t recall where – possibly as part of a Glasgow King’s Five Past Eight Show. I remember thinking that it gave an even worse impression- felt even more cringe-inducing.

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      2. Marcia…….I’d never seen that. Always something new to learn on Munguin’s!
        For years, I’d seen old clips of the Kennedy assassination song “In the Summer of his Years” that played on TWTWTW in 1963, without knowing who sang it. I learned here that it was Millicent Martin. Also on Munguin’s, I found out that she played Gertrude Moon (Daphne’s mother) on the television sit-com “Frasier.”

        From Frasier, she plays a scene with Brian Cox (from Dundee), who played her husband, Harry Moon:

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        1. Munguin can further add to your knowledge there, Danny.

          Millicent Martin was once married to English crooner, Ronnie Carroll, who sang for Britain in the Eurovision song contest on a few occasions.

          In later life he got into politics… although “got into” is probably an exaggeration: Carroll contested his home Hampstead and Highgate constituency seat in the 1997 UK General Election, and the Uxbridge by-election in July that year with the Rainbow Alliance.[13][14] He stood in the 2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election as a candidate for Make Politicians History and received 29 votes, despite announcing that he was trying to enter the record books by receiving no votes.[15][16]

          He stood as a candidate (under the name ‘The Eurovisionary Carroll’) for the 2015 general election, in the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency. Nominations had closed on 9 April 2015, just four days before his death, but polling day was not until 7 May. He was standing as an independent so the poll continued; if he had won the election, the ballot would have been re-run at a later date. In the event he polled 113 votes to finish sixth out of seven candidates.[17]

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              2. I’ve got to laugh Tris.
                Trump is still President and Commander in Chief of the United States of America (The actual physical Country comprised of the individual States). He also has the keys to the nuclear codes contained in the “football”. He stands in front of unbridled flags.

                Biden was elected as President of the UNITED STATES CORPORATION a Company that Trump had previously bankrupted. I have seen the documentation 😂. He is often seen standing in front of a Gold fringed Flag and on the dias is the name UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. In days of old when pirates captured a ship they sewed a Gold fringe onto the flag before hoisting it again, indicating – captured.

                There was a video of the Texas governor opining about Roe v Wade on TV yesterday. He was standing in front of a Gold fringed Flag and on the dias was the name STATE OF TEXAS, A Corporation.

                Capitalisation of letters indicates a ship or dead entity and is a seen on ships, tombstones and Corporations. Corporations have Dunn & Bradstreet numbers, look some up on line.

                🙈 🙉 🙊

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                1. THAT the two kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the first day of May 1707, and forever after, be united into one kingdom by the name of GREAT BRITAIN.

                  Does anything there pique your interest? Hidden in plain sight.

                  Its easy to change the name of a Corporation or to have a business name, have subsidiaries etc. So there could easily be UNITED KINGDOM with a Business Name of GREAT BRITAIN and a trade mark of Great Britain, and with various subsidiaries called ENGLAND SCOTLAND etc. Too easy really.
                  There is an entity on Dunn & Bradstreet for THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA, we’ve been Corporatised too.

                  I’m trying to unravel this so I can take the necessary court action, it would be greatly appreciated if anyone using this site could assist by trying to find these hidden entities on the various registries in the UK. Forward the details to Tris and I am sure he will pass them on to me. Thanks for your assistance in advance.
                  PS Martin Keating filed his case in the wrong jurisdiction, which is why he was always destined to lose.

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          2. I thought Ronnie Carroll was Irish, from Belfast. I remember once when he was on the Morecambe and Wise Show hamming it up as a stereotype Irishman.

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            1. Aye he was, Alasdair. This from Wiki:

              Career
              Carroll was born Ronald Cleghorn in 116 Roslyn Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1934, the son of a plumber.[1]

              In January 1954, 19-year-old Ronnie Cleghorn was appearing in a variety show at the Town Hall, Portadown, billed as Belfast’s Nat King Cole[2] and the show went on to play at several locations in Northern Ireland. Coming across to England, Cleghorn joined a show called “Hollywood Stars” at the Queen’s in Blackpool in March 1954[3] in which the cast gave impressions of trans-Atlantic screen personalities. He sang in the style of Nat King Cole in blackface.[4] Cleghorn adopted the stage name of “Carroll” in May 1954 and the show toured the UK for the next eighteen months. He made his first television appearance on BBC’s “Camera One” on January 10, 1956 singing, “Love Is a Many Splendored Thing”.[5] He was given a recording contract by Philips and his first record “Last Love” was released on February 1, 1956.[6] Carroll joined a touring show “New Faces of 1956” which started off in Nottingham on February 27, 1956[7] and then he went into a radio show “Calling All Stars”.[8] Later that year, he was topping the bill on variety stages[9] and his record “Walk Hand in Hand” was in the charts.[10]

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      1. Of course it is, Coinneach. I’ve no idea why I said Dinah Washington – late night, a good modicum of wine? 🤪 I’m surprised I didn’t say the guy was Bing Crosby.

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  4. Ah, No. 7 Kirklee. Always aspired to live in a big hoose there. No.14.Never made it. Used to buy the N.M.E but I take it the chart is from about 1955. Only one I don’t remember is Ronnie Harris. When I saw the caption for No. 15, I took it for No. 16. Silly mistake. Pat Phoenix was my first celebrity hire when I started driving a Glasgow taxi in 1974. She was appearing in a play at the Kings Theatre.

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    1. I’d have loved a ride on that tram, Alex.

      I can see where you would mix up the captions there. Give me a Collie any day.

      Was Pat Phoenix nice?

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      1. It says that Valentine made the UK No.1 spot twice, firstly on the 7th January 1955,for 1 week and then again on the 21st January, for 2 weeks

        So well done, Nigel.

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    4. Ah, Kirklee was aye aspirational.
      My first hoose was just along the road from those in the picture.
      I don’t imagine the Kirklee tram was much frequented by the residents of Kirklee, although I’m guessing that the “help” found it convenient enough to get in on time to lay the fire and make the breakfast.

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          2. A wee bit history about Kirklee Rd Jake. The house at No. 3 was a police house, and was occupied, at least in the 1960s/70s, by the then Chief Constable, Sir James Robertson. I believe when he retired he bought the property from Glasgow Corporation. I often wondered what price was charged.

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  6. No 14 : Good Grief, I can recall all of these. I think I am beginning to feel my age again.
    If I heard a number on the radio three times, I had it. Still do, most of them.

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  7. No.3 looks like a Channel steamer, or perhaps a small liner on war service – probably trooping – the life rafts along her side positioned for quick release give that away – hopefully somebody can identify her.

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    1. I’m sure at some point John will talk about No 3.

      It stemmed from John hearing someone talk about “coming up the Clyde in a banana boat”.

      He researched and came up with this.

      United Fruit Co’s SS Veragua. They were often converted from naval ships and the pic shows the Veragua in in ts previous incarnation as USS Merak.

      As I say, John may have more to say on the subject.

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      1. There’s a link with the shipping poster that dates from 1916. Banana boat cruises were promoted as extra revenue for the carriers – probably very exotic then, going to the West Indies and Cuba. Poster certainly makes it look appealing. As for ‘coming up the Clyde’ in one, neither vessel looks too shabby for docking at the Broomielaw – or or even Greenock.

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  8. Just had an email from DonDon.

    He says: “I’m having network problems at this end and can see AOYs only on my iPhone. The tractor at Pic 18 is a Lanz Bulldog.”

    I can add that they were single cylinder, 2 stroke and in production from 1924-1954.

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  9. Pic15 – “Best of Breed”.
    No, not a Milanda or a Bilsland loaf but definitely pertaining to the upper crust.
    A Buick Roadmaster from the mid-1950s.
    A mere 322 cubic inches or 5.3 litres of V8 engine and all of two speeds in the Dynaflow transmission.
    It was normally driven in top gear, even from start off, relying on the torque converter (a type of hydraulic clutch arrangement) slipping the drive enough to get going.
    Smooth it may have been, but it wasn’t quick compared to many of its rivals.
    Yet another design by hugely influential Harvey Earl, who was largely responsible for the classic spaceship looks of 1950s American cars.
    This two-ton featherweight has all the styling touches with chrome, chrome, chrome from the Dagmar bumpers (you’ll have to look it up, this is a family blog…) at the front, wrap round windshield, to the bullet lights at the tail.
    Don’t make ’em like this no more…

    All from the company bearing the name of the founder David D Buick, who hailed from the great city on the Brothock Burn in the county of Angus…

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      1. Aye, these things were from a different age, Tris.
        Big, heavy and thirsty, they would be totally impractical in today’s world of high fuel prices but in the 1950s at 20¢ or so a gallon, few cared.
        They just wafted along without fuss on the long straight seemingly endless highways of the US.
        Who needs more than one gear?
        The converter worked well, handling high levels of torque and, relying on the viscosity of oil for drive instead of friction like in a clutch, were very reliable.
        There was always a degree of slip, however, and in later years a lock-up was fitted to eliminate this, once a steady speed was reached.
        The coming of the oil embargo after the 1973 Middle East conflict however, with its quadrupling of fuel prices in a year, spelled the end of these glorious monsters.
        Modern American cars are of a different stamp, reflecting the competition from the likes of Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Jaguar and Lexus.

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    2. It looks like 57 or 58, in terms of styling. Buick were late adopters of the V-8, having persisted with the straight 8 into the early 50s – the “million dollar grin” cars. The wing portholes were a recurring feature, too.

      In another connection, the long-lived Rover V-8 was based on a Buick design.

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      1. Derek……I posted the pictures and internet link about the Buick “portholes” before I saw that you’d already mentioned it. For many years, if it had portholes on the fender, it was a Buick. 🙂

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      2. I didn’t know they were still fitting straight-8s into the fifties but you can see why. Lovely smooth things, but they were long and heavy compared to a V8, which are lighter and much more compact but lacking the ultimate refinement with the uneven firing sequence, giving the off-beat burble you hear from them.

        The Buick-derived Rover engine was an excellent device and just what was needed at the time, replacing the P5’s ancient straight six which had the strange side exhaust valve arrangement.
        Gave the car a new lease of life.
        Ironically, Buick had dropped the design after just a few years and reverted to an iron block, so Rover were lucky to pick it up when they did.
        They certainly got their money’s worth…

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    3. For decades…..in one form or another……you could spot a Buick from the three or four portholes…..AKA “Ventiports”……on each of the front fenders. This signature Buick styling feature began as functional air vents, and over the years sometimes became simple stylized chrome. In later years, the Buick fender “holes” became a barely recognizable strip of chrome, but if you knew the history of the portholes and saw the fender, you knew it was a Buick.

      https://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/buick-portholes-a-10-minute-history/

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        1. Tris…….Yes, the big portholes on the earlier Buicks were very impressive. I liked the story of how they originated with General Motors designer Ned Nickles, who had them custom designed and installed on his personal Buick Roadmaster, with lights that flashed in sequence. When Buick decided to put them on production models, they copied the Nickles design, but without the flashing lights. 🙂

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      1. Thanks, Danny.
        You may not have got the reference to Milanda and Bilsland – they were brands of bread (pronounced “breed” in Scotland) common in the 1950s and 60s here, hence the “upper crust” quip…
        Good to know that someone reads my posts and that I’m not boring everyone…
        I find your pieces on life on the far side of the big pond fascinating and always watch for them.
        Interesting about the portholes – I knew that the car was a Buick as soon as I saw them, a real feature of the marque.
        Obviously a styling carry-over from the days when many large cars were supercharged and the bodywork had vents to cool the engine compartment.
        Just having them gave the impression of power, regardless of their functionality.

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          2. You could start your own blog on obscure forgotten brands of bread (Welma, anyone? McAuley’s…) but let’s use our loaf and not go there.
            There used to be a charity football team of Scottish sports hacks which went by the name of AC Milanda…

            The van’s an Albion by the way, but that’s for another AOY…

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            1. Ha ha ha… I thought it would be Ok to throw in another old van.

              Ha ha did they think they were like AC Milan?

              Wasn’t there something way back called Yoma? Maybe I’m havering but I remember my granny talking about it, Maybe that’s not how you spell it.

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        3. morego…….Thanks for the compliment! I always enjoy reading your entertaining and informative posts. The ones about Buick were typically rich with facts and interesting detail. I had no idea BTW that David Buick was a Scot, and while, in context, I caught the drift of your Milanda and Bilsland comment, I failed to go back and confirm what I assumed to be a bread reference. Very clever! 🙂 The fender “holes” treatment screams Buick to most Americans who know anything at all about classic American car styling.

          I have a guilty pleasure about the outlandish fins-and-dagmars styling of the 1950’s and later. The Mideast oil crisis of 1973 and the passing of 20-30 cent American gasoline did as you say spell an end to the great American land cruisers, but I do have a love for the General Motors Harley Earl styling that left Ford styling in the dust.

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          1. Thanks Danny, for your most generous comments.
            I heartily agree with you about the baroque styling of the 1950s GM cars – wonderful – and you’re also correct to observe that Fords of the time were just a little bland by comparison.
            Harvey Earl stood in a class of his own…

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            1. morego……Thanks much for the feedback.
              For all the jokes about dagmars and tail fins, I think I can imagine myself back in 1959, and feel that this Cadillac Eldorado convertible is maybe the most gorgeous car I ever saw.

              I had a great aunt who did without a car for a long time, but when she finally bought one, she bought a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air, with styling that was a departure from any Chevy that came before, with an optional 265-cubic-inch overhead valve V8…….the first Chevy V8 in 37 years. The 1955 model was a total departure for Chevy, and was sometimes referred to as the poor man’s Cadillac. That car was in the family for many years I’m told.

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              1. Aye Danny, the 1959 Eldorado was the high point of 1950s American styling.
                It had everything, fins, twin ray-gun rear lights and twin headlamps and sidelights.
                Not designed by Harvey Earl though, and this may explain the lack of Dagmars, a fixation of his it would seem…
                Lovely thing, especially in red, and came with power automatic everything.
                Really nice Bel Air. I bet you wish yours was still in the family…

                I should have mentioned that there’s a Buick Roadmaster Convertible – and a lot more besides – at the General Motors Motorama in the Waldorf Astoria, featured in the classic 1956 GM promotion film “Design for Dreaming”.
                Well worth a look, now available at all good YouTube outlets, free, gratis and for nothing…

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                1. morego…….Thanks for the tip about “Design for Dreaming.” I’ll definitely take a look at YouTube.

                  Yes, what grabs attention like a big, bright red convertible; and what’s not to love about those ray-gun rear lights mounted in the huge raised tail fins of the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado? 🙂

                  By all family accounts, my aunt’s 1955 Chevy Bel Air with the 265-cubic-inch V8 was a great car. She drove it for 18 years, and it was in the family for some years after that. I guess that some people prefer the 1957 as the pinnacle of the Chevy Bel Airs of that era, but in any event, the Chevy line certainly changed starting in 1955.

                  1957 Bel Air: (Not a Caddy, but not your granddad’s pre-1955 Chevy either. 🙂 )

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                  1. Wow! Yet another nice example Danny.

                    I think we’d best park this conversation on the joys of 1950s Detroit ironware meantime, lest we’re still on the topic come next weekend’s AOY.
                    Somehow I jalouse that Munguin is looking out yet more pictorial delights for our delectation as we write…
                    See if I’m wrong…
                    Thanks for your input.
                    M.

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  10. No.18) tractor is one of the early hot bulb, 2 stroke engines, not sure of the name, possibly German or an early American. German migrants took the design to America but I’m pretty sure it was an Englishman who first developed it. The imaged one is single cylinder which runs horizontal, fore and aft with low compression.
    I never saw one working, apparently gutsy on fuel and had a tendency to start running in reverse!

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  12. The year Finger of Suspicion charted, kids in my class went around for weeks pointing “the finger of suspicion” at each other. Only one in the chart I don’t remember is Ronnie Harris. Billy Eckstine who also featured in the chart, had a very wide vibrato, as had Sarah Vaughan. The pair had a hit with Passing Strangers, and their combined “wobbles” were scurrilously claimed to register on the Richter scale. I thought both had super voices in many respects, but have to say that I found Eckstine’s vibrato wearing fairly quickly.
    But looking at that chart, is there any record that has more than curiosity value now ?

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    1. I saw Billy Eckstine singing with Petula Clark on one of her tv shows and though the vibrato was seriously overplayed.

      I must see if I can find it.

      I can’ but there’s the photo.

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      1. It was quite funny… They sang “True Love” and it starts “Suntanned”, which she sang to him given that he is black, then, “Windblown”, which given the state of her hair, he sang to her all done in a beautifully good humoured and unoffensive way.

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