barclaycon

Not that I'm making any moral judgements. What people get upto in their private lives is their concern. Dusty Springfield was well known to be of the lady-love persuasion, but it was kind of an 'open secret' - known within the business so to speak. She was the girlfriend of a singer called Norma Tanega who'd had a hit called 'Walking My Cat Named Dog' in the 60's. There are many people in the music biz and acting profession who bat for the other team, mainly because these are professions that seek praise and whether we like it or not, people do try to 'validate' their inner feelings. It's s

So many well-known people dying. Makes you question your own mortality. Interesting to read the wiki page on Lesley Gore (Goldstein). I didn't know that she'd been on Batman several times. Nor that she was a lesbian and had been in a committed relationship for 33 years.

Leisure complex might be the way to go. It definitely can't be any worse than it is now. When I saw the 'artist impression' of what they propose to do with Broadmarsh, it seemed to be just a re-hash of what it was originally. I think the 70's model for Shopping Centres is dead and gone. You're not going to get big stores and over-priced fashion kiosks anymore. They just don't make any money in todays environment. Certainly not in a location like Broadmarsh. I'd far rather see a 'covered market' scenario where there are lots of small shops - even market stalls. Here in London I see low-key

Ha. Cillit Bang ! Even the guy's name (Barry Scott) is false. He's actually an actor called Neil Burgess. Check out the Cillit Bang HARDCORE remix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVHUAco_k-g Look at this old penny....good as new, good as new, good as, good as, good as, new.

Re. Yeah I remember that. "Course you can Malcolm" became something of a catch-phrase. I think it was for Tunes.

It's tricky as far as credibility is concerned. A lot depends on the 'makers' of the adverts. Some of the classic 'funny' adverts from the past have actually enhanced some people's careers, but the kind of advert that you get now is so blatent and untrustworthy that it just makes them all look like money-grabbers. Parkinson in that insurance advert is a good example. Even Z-list celebrities exploit their limited appeal to the max. Remember when Linda Barker won one of those reality shows. She then went on to endorse every product ever made. ("With a not too-theateningly attactive assistent

Yeah. Like I said, he was voted back into power in 1951. Something that Channel 4 neglected to mention !

Yes. I'm sure if tossers like Alex Thomson had been around in 1939 he'd have gone for appeasement. It's easy to look back at history and pontificate about people and events, as if you know better. Churchill wasn't perfect - we know that. But.....cometh the hour, cometh the man. He was what we needed at a time of crisis. Channel 4's character assassination of him was crass and impertinent. They thought they were being terribly modern by not following the 'standard' line that he was a great man and a courageous leader. As a keen student of history it always puzzled me how the electorate rej

I watched a report on Channel 4 News this evening on the anniversary of Churchill's death. I've never seen anything so disrespectful, biased and defametory. It sought to portray him in the worst possible way. This man, who only last year was voted greatest ever Englishman, was described by Channel 4 News as a racist, imperialist, misogynist and 'the butcher of Gallipoli'. The incredibly smug and self-satisfied Alex Thomson glossed over Churchill's role in saving the Western world from tyranny. Instead he engaged in his usual Brit-bashing and suggested that Churchill's faults were at odds with

Mmm.... Dunno.

Yes. It's sad that some people can't agree to disagree sometimes. Things are rarely black and white. There are massive grey areas. I do feel that when people get aggressive and start accusing folk of 'ism's' (racism, sexism, extremism), that they really aren't doing themselves any favours in terms of influencing opinion. If you feel that something is offensive, then by all means point it out. A reasoned argument is more effective than just getting emotional. When someone just talks about themselves all the time and how they are right and everyone else is wrong, then they should also be pre

Indeed. This is the state of the internet today. It's called contextual advertising. Every time you go to a website a cookie is generated. This is just a small text file that sits in your Internet Files folder. It basically contains the preferences that you've used i.e. language, local area etc. Initially it was a good idea because it meant that you didn't have to keep entering the same details each time you went to a website. But it's been hijacked by advertisers and unscrupulous bastards like Google to profile you and taylor adverts based on your web surfing habits, which they will the

Re. Yes. I'd forgotten all about that. It was a good series. Marius Goring as a pathologist. I've never seen any repeats ever. Maybe it was another programme from BBC 2 that was just wiped afterwards. There's a lot of stuff like that: Spike Milligan's 'World of Beachcomber', Ronnie Barker and David Jason in 'His Lordship Entertains'. Fantastic stuff that they would be repeating all the time on Freeview if they'd kept it.

Ha. Jason King. Legendary ! Started off as a character in Department S. The image was supposed to be that of a mature ladies man with remarkable style and an incredible sense of fashion. Hysterical really. Peter Wyngarde (or Cyril Goldbert to use his real name) was wearing a full length wig (rather like a hat) and his rather contrived Carnaby Street 'lady-killer' dress sense was at odds with the fact that he was a rampant homosexual. In the business he was known as Petunia Winegum and had already had a 10 year affair with Alan Bates when he was dubbed 'the man most girls would like to los

Yes. I remember going down Arkwright Street in the rain, to buy a brand new shovel. With a big brass handle ! And do you know what I did with it? I put it next to the old shovel. (I guess you'd have to be into 'Ripping Yarns')

I actually like Michael Portillo in his guise as railway enthusiast - and I enjoy the programmes, but I think he is 'upper class'. His family (on his mother's side) were very wealthy linen mill owners from Kircaldy. He went to Harrow (but not the famous one) before going to Cambridge. He lives in a very well-to-do house in Westminster (must be worth a few million) and has a house in Valencia. I'm sure he's done OK out of his various 'directorships' and his journalistic activities. He certainly couldn't be described as 'working class' (or even middle-class for that matter).

Wonderful memories. Confirming the strong sense of community that was part of everyday life. It's something that town planners and local government oiks have no concept of. All these areas we've been talking about reduced to rubble and replaced with low cost, high rent buildings and one-way systems. Or just open space. I wonder if they give any thought to the notion that people might actually live there?

I enjoy watching those programmes. He has a genuine enthusiasm for railway journeys. It's also amusing to see what he will be wearing ! Salmon pink jacket, lime green slacks...... One of the fashion magazines voted him worse-dressed man last year.

Re. post #359 Cliff. Apparently it was 162 Canal Street. Selactadisc Black Magic. I think they sent out the mail order stuff from there. Also, in 1983 Selby started a club in the old Lace Market called The Garage. I don't remember it myself, but apparently it championed a lot of the Chicago Garage stuff that became popular in the late 80's. He was a genuine music entrepreneur. Although he insisted on any cheques for Selectadisc stuff be made payable to B. Selby.

It would seem that the current business model for sourcing beer is destroying the industry: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30868557 Maybe micro-breweries are the way to go in future. Quality beer, reasonably priced, with a 'local' flavour. I remember hearing about a tour around the brewery at Burton On Trent some years ago when someone asked about which beer they made. They were told about 6 different brands including Fosters, Carslberg, Molson etc. Much to everyone's suprise. When pressed about how they were different from each other, the guide said 'well it's very subtle' (!) I gu

Re. i.e. water not sourced from the River Leen !

Brain Selby expanded it very quickly. I think there were 3 shops at the same time in Notts. Arkwright Street, Bridlesmith Gate and Goldsmith Street. And they were in various other places at different times (Canal Street and Market Street). The other shop on Arkwright Street was for imports and second-hand if I remember rightly. I think there's still a Selectadisc in London at Berwick Street. Famously featured on the cover of the Oasis album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? Though Brian had sold it a few years before he died in 2012. Didn't he start with just a stall on Mansfield Market

Nah. Hiz a top mester !

Thanks for those links. That's very encouraging that they reckon the bridge will be in place this year ! I really hope that they can tie the two bits together to make a great heritage line. I remember seeing a proposal at the Great Central station in Loughborough in the 90's about the bridge. They had the design etc. just not the money. The cost now is much more than they quoted then. Didn't they get some money from the Lottery for the end of the line at Leicester North? I wasn't sure if they were still running the Gypsum trains. They stopped at one point but then were re-started. Not

Re #2. Yes, you're absolutely right. That bridge over the Midland line should have been re-instated years ago. I remember walking over the original bridge when I was student in Loughborough in the 70's before it got removed. The longer they leave it, the more expensive it's going to be. Replacing this crucial link will join up 2 bits of important heritage railway. This is the kind of thing that the Lottery should be contributing to. It might even be of benefit to Network Rail. (Do they still use the Ruddington line to transport gypsum?) All removal of railway infrastructure was done wit