Television

In the 1960s and early 1970s, if you were lucky enough to have a television it would have been black and white and there were only three channels to watch - BBC 1, BBC2 and Westward. In Plymouth, most tellies were rented from either Rumbelows, DER or Granada. There were no remote controls and tvs had a dial to tune them in. That meant if you were a kid, your parents were always asking you to get up and turn the channel over or turn the sound up or down. Remote controls were something you only heard of in American tv programmes. Because we had a black and white telly, mum used to take us to the cinema more and we'd see the latest Walt Disney or James Bond films. We'd always go to the local cinema in St Budeaux, 'The State' (it is now!), or travel into town to the ABC, the Drake or the Odeon in Union Street. One year, I remember, my gran visited us from her home in Seaham Harbour and took me to see 'Carry On Henry' at the ABC. She was embarrassed though because Barbara Windsor appeared in it with no clothes on. It seems tame nowadays. I suppose I was about 7 at the time.
We loved the tv then with shows like Randall and Hopkirk, Department S, The Champions, Land of the Giants, The Monkees etc.
I remember a family in the street getting the first colour tv in the early 1970s and all the kids were invited in to see it.
'What did you think of it?' asked my mum when I returned home.
'Rubbish!' I replied. 'Everyone's orange!'
The family who owned the telly didn't realise that you could adjust the colour and just left it at the highest setting!
Eventually, we rented our own colour tv and stopped going to the cinema. A colour tv seemed amazing back then and it was great to watch programmes like Kojak, Columbo, Hawaii Five-0, Kung Fu etc in full colour.
Nowadays, everyone has a colour tv and it's hard to imagine that people all had small black and white sets with legs that looked like they could walk towards you.
My old 20 inch tube telly has just gone kaputt so I decided to buy a new fangled 33 inch flat screen one. Wow!
Now, if only there was something on to watch...

Robert Falcon Scott's birthplace

I ventured up to Outland Road to find the location of Robert Falcon Scott's birthplace. Scott was born at Outlands House, the family home, in the Parish of Stoke Damerel, in 1868. He was a distant descendant of Sir Walter Scott and he was the father of the naturalist, Peter Scott. Outlands has now long gone and St Bartholomew's Church stands in its place. Within the church is a piece of wood bearing Scott's name. In 1908, Scott had carved his name on a tree at Outlands, from where the wood was taken.

A plaque marks the spot where Outlands once stood, beside Scott Road, which reads: 'Scott of the Antarctic. On this site formerly stood Outlands, birthplace of Robert Falcon Scott. Born 6th June 1868. Scott died on his return from the South Pole which he reached on 17th January 1912.'

The plaque is quite tucked away and would be hard to find if you didn't know where it was. Being on a very busy road, it's passed hundreds of times a day without being noticed.

Scott was a British Naval Officer and explorer who led two expeditions to Antarctica. The first, the Discovery Expedition lasted three years and began in 1901. His second expedition, the Terra Nova Expedition, which commenced in 1910, is more well known and was the expedition where, unfortunately, he lost his life. Scott led a team of five men in a race to reach the South Pole. When he arrived on the 17th January 1912, he discovered that he had been beaten to the position by the Norwegian, Roald Amundsen and his team. Scott and his team, which included Edward Wilson, H R Bowers, Lawrence Oates and Edgar Evans, made their way back but died of a combination of the cold, hunger and exhaustion.
Scott was 43 when he died and his body, and that of his comrades, remain at the camp where he was found. A wooden cross was erected on top of a high cairn of snow which covered the camp.
A memorial stands to Scott at Mount Wise in Devonport.

Shopping in the 1960s

Every Saturday, we would head off into the town to get our weekly shopping. It seemed a very busy place back then with the pavements jammed with people. It was a time before superstores so everyone headed in to get all the food etc that they needed for the week. There was no pedestrianisation and the streets would be packed. Parking was always a job but we always seemed to either end up parked on the bomb site where Sainsbury's now stands or the bomb site where Toys R Us stands near Frankfort Gate. A man would wait at the entrance and issue us with a ticket (there were no machines back then). Dad would park up our Vauxhall Viva and we'd head off into town. We'd visit all the bigger shops but my favourite was Woolworth's. My memory might be playing tricks on me but many of the items seemed to be 6/6 including that painting of Kynance Cove that seemed to be on everyone's walls in the 1960s (now only found in charity shops and in doctor's surgeries!).

  

We would always end up at the Magnet Restaurant (as did everyone) for dinner. It was always quite busy and we'd go in and get a table for four. As far as I can remember, there was soup (usually oxtail), a roast and ice cream for afters. I'm sure there were other things on the menu but that's what I always had! The Magnet was very popular and I would always see kids from school with their parents there. My best friend's mum worked there at the time. BHS later opened a restaurant with a conveyor belt, which all the kids were fascinated by, so the Magnet lost some of its custom for a while. Back then, modern technology like conveyor belts were something only seen on programmes like Star Trek! Later, in the 70s, Plymouth got it's first fast food burger bar, a Wimpey! Dad would take me there to get a cheeseburger, which was 26p. You'd sit down and, if you were lucky, your cheeseburger would arrive about 40 minutes later. I loved them!
Anyway, after we left the Magnet, we'd do a bit more shopping, usually visiting shops like Spooners, Yeos, BHS, the Co-op, the Green Shield Stamp shop and Costers. If you were in any shop after 4.30pm, especially Woolworth's, a bell would go off to tell you that the shop would soon be closing.

Of course, by that time, the town was mainly deserted as everyone had left early to make sure that they were home in time for 4pm to watch the wrestling on tv! Les Kellett and Jackie Pallo seemed to be everyone's favourites!
Back at school on Monday morning, there was always a kid who would say, 'I saw you at the Magnet Restaurant on Saturday with your mum!'
Seems like a different world, although, I suppose, it was a very long time ago!

The Silver Jubilee of 1977

I've never been much of a royalist but watching the wedding of William and Kate recently made me proud to be British. It reminded me of an England that I thought had long been forgotten. It also reminded me of the Silver Jubilee of 1977. The royal family were extremely popular at the time and thousands of people turned out to see the Queen and Prince Phillip when they visited Plymouth. Being a kid, I headed off into town on the bus to take some photos. I remember as I got off the bus, the driver said to me, 'You off to see the Queen then?' which was funny because he hadn't said it to anyone else! The whole route of the Queen's journey was packed with people. I found a spot down by The Walrus in Notte Street and waited with many other people for the Queen's car to drive by. My photos never were going to be very good, I just had an old pocket Kodak 126 camera and some Magicubes (remember them?). Anyway, the Queen was driven by and Prince Philip waved and I took a photo. The crowd then headed up towards the Hoe and I followed them. There was a ceremony on the promenade and I manage to get a few more photos although from a long way away. Later, I got back home, told my parents about it all and then sent off my film to be developed. Three weeks later, I got the photos back. There was a good one of Prince Philip's hand and another of a figure, dressed in blue, well in the distance. I thought it was probably the Queen but it could have just as easily been a lamp post.
In those days, at the end of programming on Westward Television, 'God Save the Queen' was always played before the station shut down for the night. The film of the Queen visiting Plymouth was shown in this slot for many years afterwards.
It's funny that I'd gone out of my way to see the Queen and had got nowhere near her. Years later, in 1988, I was crossing the road down by the Theatre Royal and we were all told to wait a minute. The Queen was driven right by me, she looked at me, and waved. I was inches away from her. Another time, I was driving by HMS Drake and I saw some kids from the local nursery waving flags. As I drove, I looked to my right and there again was the Queen being driven by me, slowly, in the opposite direction. As our cars passed, we both turned and looked at each other and she waved again! If our windows had been open, we could have shook hands. On both occasions, I hadn't even realised that she was visiting the city. Perhaps she was stalking me.
Anyway, my photo of Prince Philip's hand and the lamp post went in the bin many years ago and the photo that illustrates this piece was kindly lent to me by Gillian Long.
It seemed a great year - lots of flag waving, street parties and daily news about the royals. I thought that the England I remembered in the 1970s as a kid had gone forever but, then again, perhaps not!

(Photo credit : Gill Long).

Plymouth Zoo

I loved visiting Plymouth Zoo when I was a kid in the 1960s and 1970s. I think it was a shilling to get in at the time. We'd buy big bags of popcorn, which were very sweet, and feed it to all of the animals. I'm sure that it couldn't have been very good for them! My favourites were the chimpanzees but there were a whole range of exotic wildlife including polar bears, giraffes, camels, seals, other types of bears, a hippo and an elephant. When we first visited in 1968, a pelican followed us all around the zoo until we left. It was like he was showing us around!
A few years ago, I collected together as many photos of the zoo as possible and put them on a website at
http://www.derektait.co.uk/zoo.htm (now gone unfortunately).
Recently, I read a letter in the Herald written by Vina Shaddick (pictured) who worked at the zoo in 1965. She was writing down her memories and wondered if she appeared in the background of anybody's photos. I wrote to Vina and told her about my website and amazingly, she found herself on the site! She's pictured here leading the pony and cart ride.
Vina wrote:
'That's me with the pony and cart on your website! It was a delight to see this and other photos of the animals that I looked after so long ago.
In case you are interested, the name of the baby Indian elephant (who died 1965) was Tammy, the pony in the photo with me was Mandy, I knew the girl holding the donkeys but have forgotten her name, and one of the donkeys was called Jenny. The Bengal tiger, retired from Chipperfields Circus, was Bengy. One of the Russian brown bears, Honey, was also from the circus and was brought in to be mated by the zoo's male bears.
I was filmed with my friend Adele by Pathe, looking over the fence at the tortoise, and thanks to your site was able to see the footage for the first time. My son bought it for me for Mother's Day, so I now have it on a DVD.'
I've very fond memories of our visits to Plymouth Zoo and there's more about it on my blog at
http://plymouthlocalhistory.blogspot.com/2009/03/plymouth-zoo.html

More about the prehistoric caverns at Stonehouse

Further to my earlier posting about prehistoric caverns at Stonehouse, I heard from Ernie Stanton who told me about a publication that he'd discovered called the 'South Devon Monthly Museum'. Within its pages is an article that was published in 1796 and includes a letter to the then Lord Edgcumbe concerning the caverns. It makes very interesting reading and I've reproduced it below. It's a long-winded account of the caverns, and you might not get to the end, but it's interesting to think that all this possibly exists under Stonehouse today. From the measurements given, it would probably be possible to work out the exact position of the caverns today.

For more information about the caverns, please read my previous posting at

http://plymouthlocalhistory.blogspot.com/2010/05/prehistoric-caverns-at-stonehouse.html

Here's the complete article as it appears within the publication:

The following account of an extraordinary cave discovered at Stonehouse
is extracted from the 'Weekly Entertainer', for July I6th, 1796.

AN ACCOUNT OF A SUBTERRANEAN CAVERN AT STONEHOUSE, NEAR PLYMOUTH.

By the late ingenious Dr. Geach,

To the Right Hon. Lord Edgecumbe.

Plymouth-Dock, March 1st., 1776.  

My Lord,
I have the honour of communicating to your lordship an account, which I took on the spot, of a subterranean cavern, lately discovered in your Lordship's demesnes at Stonehouse. The place, at a considerable extent round, as your Lordship well knows, belonged formerly to the monks : part of the wall that inclosed their garden is still to be seen. The cavern was accidentally discovered by some miners in blowing up a contiguous rock of marble. The aperture, disclosed by the explosion, was about four feet in diameter, and looked not unlike a hole bored with an auger. It was covered with a broad flat stone cemented with lime and sand ; and twelve feet above it, the ground seemed to have been made with rubbish brought thither, for what purpose I know not, unless it were for that of concealment. Here indeed, but here only, we saw some appearance of art, and vestige of masonry. The hill itself, at the northern side of which this vault was found, consists, for the most part, of lime-stone, or rather marble. From the mouth of this cave (through which we descended by a ladder) to the first base, or landing place, is twenty-six feet. At this base is an opening, bearing N. W. by W. to which we have given the name of Tent Cave. It resembles a tent at its base, and in its circumference, and stretches upwards, somewhat pyramidically, to an invisible point. It is, as far as we can measure, about ten feet high, seven broad, twenty-two long : though there is an opening, which, on account of its narrowness we could not well examine, and in all probability it has a dangerous flexure. In each side of this Tent Cave is a cleft; the right runs horizontally inwards ten feet, the left measures six by four. The sides of the cave are everywhere deeply and uncouthly indented, and here and there strengthened with ribs, naturally formed, which, placed at a due distance from each other, give some ideas of fluted pillars in old churches.
In a direct line from this cave to the opposite point is a road thirty feet long. The descent is steep and rugged, either from stones thrown into it from above, since the discovery, or from frailments that have fallen off at different times, from different places below. This road is very strongly but rudely arched over, and many holes on both sides are to be seen ; but being very narrow, do not admit of remote inspection or critical scrutiny.
Having scrambled down this deep descent, we arrive at a natural arch of Gothic-like structure, which is four feet from side to side, and six feet high. Here some petrefactions are seen depending. On the right of this arch is an opening like a funnel, into which a slender person might creep ; on the left is another correspondent funnel, the course of which is oblique, and the end unknown.
Beyond this Gothic pile is a large space, to which the arch is an entrance. This space, or inner room (for so we have termed it) is eleven feet long, ten broad twenty-five high. Its sides have many large excavations, and here two columns, which seem to be a mass of petrefactions, project considerably. On the surfaces of those pillars below, are seen some fantastic protuberances, and on the hanging roofs above, some crystal drops that have been petrified in their progress. Between those columns is a chasm capable of containing three or four men.
Returning from this room, we perceive on the left hand side, an avenue thirty feet long naturally floored with clay, and vaulted with stone. It bears S. S. W. and before we have crept through it, we see a passage of difficult access and dangerous investigation. It runs forward twenty-five feet, and opens over the vault thirty feet high near the largest well. Opposite to this passage are two caverns, both on the right hand. The first bears N. W. by W. and running forwards in a strait line about twenty feet, forms a curve that verges somewhat to the N. E. Here we walk and creep in a winding course from cell to cell, till we are stopped by a well of water, the breadth and depth of which are as yet not fully known. This winding cavern is three feet wide, in some parts five feet high, in some eight. Returning to the avenue we find adjoining to this cavern, but separated by a large and massy partition of stone, the second cavern running west ; and by descending over some small piles of lime-stone, or rather broken rocks, the bottom here being shelvy slate, or more properly a combination of slate and lime-stone, we discovered another well of water. This is the largest; the depth of it is, in one place, twenty-three feet, the width uncertain. Opposite to this well, on the left hand, by mounting over a small ridge of rocks, covered with wet and slippery clay, we enter a vault eight feet broad, eighteen long, thirty high. Here, towards the S. E., a road, not easy of ascent, runs upwards seventy-two feet towards the surface of the earth, and so near to it, that the sound of the voice, or of a mallet within, might be distinctly heard without, in consequence of which a very large opening has been made into it. At the bottom of this vault, in a place not readily observed, is another well of water, the depth of which, on account of its situation, cannot be well fathomed, nor the breadth of it ascertained.
While the miners were exploring those gloomy and grotesque regions, they were alarmed at a murmuring sound, that seemed to come from the hollows of the cave, and one of them, who chanced to be near the largest well with a candle in his hand, saw at that instant the water rise about half a foot.
This phenomenon then could not be explained ; but now we think that the several wells are nearly on a level, and that the waters shape their course towards the sea, and mix with it in Mill Bay, at the distance of four hundred and twelve feet. It is not certain whether those wells, though they lie below the extremity of the lime-stone, have a mutual communication or not : but it is highly probable, as the bottom of the largest well is clay, and its sides are shelvy slate, that there are sprinos, and it is certain that this shelvy vein of slate, nearly of the same kind and colour with some seen at Mount Edgecumbe on the opposite shore, is continued even to the sea, where two openings at low water have been found, through which it is probable the water of the great well discharges itself. When the tide rises, it is presumed that the pressure of the sea without retards the course of the water within, and this may account for the rise and fall so manifest at different times of sounding : and the same circumstance is observed also in a well near the old French prison, in the environs of Plymouth.
Each cavern has its arch, each arch is strong, and in general curious. The way to the largest well is, in one part, roofed with solid and smooth stone, not unlike the arch of an oven. No one seemed to be affected by the damps till he came hither, and then the candles grew dim, and one of the investigators, as well as myself, felt unusual and uneasy sensations.
However, since an opening has been made near the arch of the great well, and the air has had a much freer access, no such sympoms have been perceived. It is very likely that the hill itself is hollow ; some of the caverns have reciprocal communications, but the clefts are often too narrow for accurate inspection or minute enquiry. The water here and there is still dripping, and incrustations, usual in such grottos, coat the surface of the walls in some places. There are some whimsical likenesses, which the pen need not describe nor the pencil dehneate. Mr. Cookworthy, of Plymouth, a very ingenious man, and an excellent chemist, has been so obliging as to analyze the water of the three wells, and has found by many experiments, that it is very soft, and fit for every purpose. I therefore beg leave to congratulate your lordship on the discovery of this water, which, though there was no want before, cannot fail to be a valuable acquisition to your town of Stonehouse ; a place very delightful, and superior to most for the beauty of its prospects, and the elegance of its situation, and what is still better, for the goodness of the air, as the longevity of the inhabitants sufficiently evinces.
I have the honour to be, my Lord,
Your Lordship's most obedient,
and obliged humble servant,
FRANCIS GEACH.

Westward Television - Where are they now?

In 1974, Westward Television had an open day and, as a kid, I got to meet many of the presenters and got their autographs.

After writing about Keith Fordyce recently, I began to wonder whatever happened to all of the presenters from Westward Television. I know that Roger Shaw is still around because I saw him not too long ago parked in Lambhay Hill car park! But what about the others? Many, unfortunately, have passed away including Kenneth MacLeod (died on 31 January, 2003, aged 76), John Doyle (died 2001), Stuart Hutchison, Ian Stirling (died 30 June 2005) and Jon Miller (died Helston, Cornwall 30 July 2008).

The other presenters that I can recall were Angela Rippon (still presenting shows for the BBC), Judi Spiers (now on Radio Devon), Jeniffer Clulow (appeared in the Cointreau adverts until 1988), Lawrie Quayle (I think emigrated to New Zealand), Graham Danton (on Radio Devon until 2009), Topline Broadhurst (still giving gardening tips on the Heritage Gardening website), Ted Tuckerman (has his own website at www. tedtuckerman.com), Del Cooper (unknown), Clive Gunnell (unknown) and David Young who left TSW due to illness. Of course, Gus Honeybun is still around and living on Dartmoor somewhere!

If anyone remembers any other presenters or knows of their whereabouts nowadays, please let me know.

New columns

Thanks to everyone who regularly follows my local history blog. From April, I have a regular monthly column featured in the Plymouth Shopper newspaper, which is delivered to thousands of homes, which I hope many people will enjoy reading. I hope to include many new and interesting stories concerning the history of Plymouth and its surrounding areas. This month's edition contains an article about the Blitz.

Also, from April, I'll have a regular column in the Plymstock and Wembury Marketplace magazine. Articles will appear quarterly and the first one features rare photos and information showing HMS Cambridge at Wembury Point when it was a holiday camp back in the 1930s. I hope that people will enjoy the articles and will pick up a copy of the magazine or newspaper locally if it's not delivered to their homes.

My blog postings also continue weekly on the Devon Life site and also feature intermittently in the Herald. People ask me why they're not featured in the Herald more regularly. Who knows? Ask the Herald!

Anyway, I hope that a lot of people will find them very informative and I hope to include many interesting stories as well as many seldom-seen photos. I hope you'll all look out for, and enjoy, the articles in these publications.

Keith Fordyce

I was very sorry to hear that Keith Fordyce had died on 15th March, just a couple of weeks ago, aged 82. He was well known as the frontman to the pop show, 'Ready, Steady, Go!' in the early 1960s and also interviewed the Beatles when they appeared at the ABC in Plymouth.

Perhaps, though, he will be best remembered in the region as the host of Westward Television's game show, 'Treasure Hunt' in the 1960s and 1970s. The show was very popular and contestants had to answer various questions and then press a button and the amount that they won would flash up. If the 'key' symbol showed up, Keith would announce, 'It's the Golden Key!' which seemed to become, locally, his catchphrase and he probably had people shouting it out to him in the street! I can't remember what the top prize was but it was probably a few hundred pounds.

We'd all watched the show as a family. I think that it was on at 7pm. It went on for quite a while but when TSW took over the station, Keith was replaced by David Rogers and Jethro. It never seemed to have the same appeal after that and it seemed to struggle for sensible contestants. The audience seemed to be made up of OAPs who sat watching complete with overcoats, hats and handbags. I'm sure that many contestants were dragged from the audience minutes before the show started. I remember one old bloke was asked which actor played Lawrence of Arabia. After thinking about it, he gave his answer as 'Laurence of Olivier'! He was convinced he was right. Eventually, he won two gilted candlesticks and the female hostess plonked one in front of him. He looked disgruntled and shouted, as she walked away, 'No, two, dear!' I'm sure that the show couldn't have been recorded because it was awful. Eventually, it disappeared from our screens.

We had all enjoyed the show when Westward and Keith hosted it and perhaps TSW should never have resurrected it.

Keith went on to open an aircraft museum at Torbay.

It seems like only yesterday that we were all watching Westward Television and it seems very sad that many of the presenters have now passed away.

There's more about Keith's career at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/8422224/Keith-Fordyce.html

St Budeaux Station

Driving along Wolseley Road today, it's hard to tell that there's a railway stop at St Budeaux. There are still two platforms but the lines are nowadays very run down and the area is very much of a no-go zone at night times.

It wasn't always like this though. St Budeaux once had a very busy and bustling station. It was used regularly by dockyard workers who even had their own shelters to keep them dry when it rained. The access down the station platform was from where the traffic lights, and the crossing leading to the Co-op, are now towards St Budeaux Square.

The station suffered severe damage during the bombing raids of the Second World War but still continued to be used.

The first photo of the station shows Fred Cole with one of Ware and Co's prized Shire horses. The shops of St Budeaux Square (Yeoman Terrace) can be seen in the background and the railway building can be seen behind Fred. His little dog is looking on as his photo is being taken.

The second photo shows a wartime shot where people are queued up for the Queen's Messenger's van which provided hot food and drinks for people affected by the bombing. There are also many defence workers in the picture. On the station hoarding is a poster advertising the latest film, 'Strike Up the Band' which starred Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. There is also a poster advertising 'Light Up and Smile' which was a show that was put on at the New Palace Theatre in April 1941.

The third photo, taken in the 1950s, shows the Baptist's Lifeboys standing in the same position but taken in the direction of the houses over the bridge, towards the section of Wolseley Road leading down towards Saltash Passage. What a happy bunch they all look! There are adverts for Goodbody's bread and Weekend chocolates behind them.

All this has been cleared away now. The buildings have long gone as has the access to the platform. In its place is a brick wall and a very busy road. It's possible to see, even today, where the wall has been bricked up and where the entrance once was.

St Budeaux must have seemed like a very different area back then with narrower roads, a lot less traffic but a far more busier railway station.

Porky the Pig, Churchtown Farm, Saltash

I was talking to someone the other day whose family owned Wearde Farm, which was where the sunflower field is now at Churchtown Farm. In the past, people have told me lots of stories about days gone by but, a week or two later, unfortunately, I've totally forgotten them! So, nowadays, as soon as I get a chance, I try to write them down. I hope to write a book of people's recollections of the area called, 'Memories of Saltash' sometime in the near future. My favourite story that he told me was about Porky the Pig and here's the tale as best as I can remember it: When I was about 9, my family gave me the runt of the litter to look after. I fed him and looked after him. I loved that pig! On many days, I would take 'Porky' on a lead and walk him around by Wearde Quay and along the shore. One day, he ran in the old farm shed and his trotter went into the trigger of a shotgun causing it to fire. No-one was hurt but dad gave him a good telling off for that. Porky got steadily bigger and bigger and eventually was the same size as the other pigs in the litter. Of course, I was naive and one day, dad said he was taking him to market. I wanted to keep him and begged with dad but he said that he had to go because we needed the money to eat. I remember Porky in the pen with the other pigs, looking up at me. The man in the pen was poking him with a stick and saying. 'He's no good, he's all tame!'. Of course, he was eventually sold and the inevitable happened. I cried for months over that pig!

Patrick MacNee

In 1987, I was asked along to watch Patrick MacNee film 'Where There's a Will' for TSW at St Modwin which is near the Marsh Mills Industrial Estate. I hadn't realised that filming was so tedious and slow and far from glamorous. It seemed to take all day just to shoot a couple of scenes. I'd watched Patrick in The Avengers since I was a small boy so I looked forward to meeting him.

I can't say that we had much of a conversation but he posed for photos. The smiles disappeared as soon as the photos were taken!

There were other well-known names at the shoot including Christopher Benjamin, Amanda Burton and Chris Jury (from Lovejoy). By far the nicest and politest actor on set was TSW's own Ian Stirling who was a great bloke.

Filming took place all over the region and many scenes were shot at Tavistock.

The show was directed by Baz Taylor who had also directed shows for Lovejoy. I think that it was hoped that 'Where There's a Will' would have the same appeal as Lovejoy.

As with most programmes made by Westward and TSW, it wasn't very good. TSW didn't have the clout (or money) of the larger regional tv stations.

I think that there were plans for it to become a series and for it to be sold all over the world. TSW showed it once and once only and it was awful! It was never shown again and the planned series was soon forgotten about!

Even so, I had a great summer watching it all being filmed. Many of the actors who appeared in it have gone on to do greater things but some seem to have disappeared altogether.

Charlie Chaplin

In February 1931, Charlie Chaplin disembarked from the Mauretania in Plymouth and , at some point, was the guest of Nancy Astor at the Astor's residence at Elliot Terrace on the Hoe. The photo shows some of the other guests who were there at the same time including Amy Johnson and George Bernard Shaw.

The Times Newspaper covered the story and reported on the 20th February 1931:

Mr Charles Chaplin arrived in this country yesterday for the London opening at The Dominion Theatre of City Lights. The Mauretania, with which he had come from New York, dropped anchor in Plymouth Sound, just as day was breaking. A few hours later, Mr Chaplin was welcomed ashore by a swarm of admirers.

It went on to report:
For another hour, the observation-car, which the Great Western Railway Company had placed at the comedian's disposal on the boat-train to Paddington, was surrounded by hero worshippers and during that time nobody with the courage to thrust their head into the carriage was sent away empty handed.

Some people asked him for autographs while others just wanted to pass the time of day. He was said to be full of joy and polite to all that he met but as the carriage moved away and the cheers from his fans died away, his mood changed completely as his optimism turned to talk of economics. He was cheered up by the arrival of a tin of Devonshire Cream.
The train arrived at Paddington later that day and people turned out in their thousands to see him. He climbed onto the roof of the car that met him and waved enthusiastically to the crowd. He was given a police escort to the Carlton Hotel and he announced that he would be on holiday for the next 4 months and may even travel to Europe.
There's no mention in the newspaper report when Chaplin stayed with Nancy Astor but he was in the city again on the night of 16th November, 1931 when he wandered onto the stage of the Palace Theatre in Union Street to much applause.

A Childhood in the 1970s

The photo on the left shows me on my Spacehopper in our back garden in 1971 when I was about 10 years old. I was recently approached by The History Press to write a book entitled 'A Childhood in the 1970s'. So much happened in that decade and I'm finding it very enjoyable putting it all together. The chapters include things like the music, pastimes, toys, school etc.

Remember when kids all played conkers and marbles or built their own dens and go-karts? We always seemed to be out and about and up to something back then. There's so much to write about, the crazy fashions (I remember a girl at school falling off her platforms and breaking her ankle), glam rock (remember when the Bay City Rollers came to Plymouth?), the endless strikes and power cuts, the television (there were only three channels), decimalisation, Chopper bikes and all the wonderful toys you got back then like Rocket Racers, Action Man, Clackers, Slinkys and all the board games like Haunted House, Buckaroo (later copied with Jaws), Ker-plunk!, Subbuteo, Cluedo, Operation, Battleship, The Fastest Gun, Rebound, Escape From Colditz. Connect 4 and Haunted House.

It all seems such a long time ago but is still fresh in my mind. I've lots of photos to include in the book but I'm still looking for more. If anyone has any, and doesn't mind them being in the book, I'd love to include them. 

Union Street

I wonder what the two old men who are pictured in this photo were talking about? The picture was taken in Union Street in the early 1900s and the old railway arch can be seen in the background. The shop on the left is the 'New Penny Bazaar' and the sign on their window reads, ' Look around and see the goods - you will not be pressed to buy!'. Two ladies, one holding a small child, are looking in the window. It would be lovely to be able to see what all the items for sale were. Cheaper than today's 'pound shop', everything appears to cost just 1d. I suppose a penny went a lot further in those days! Marks and Spencers started up their 'Penny Bazaar' over 125 years ago and to celebrate this, offered many items for sale last year at just 1p. The older shops used to keep everything behind the counter and once a customer had asked to look at an item, they then felt obliged to buy it. The Penny Bazaar's sign tried to make people feel more comfortable about just browsing. The shop beside the bazaar advertises, 'Cricket, Football and Tennis Wear'. At one time, there were shops like these up and down Union Street. The tramway would have ran along the road to the right of the photo together with horses and carts, hand carts and bicycles. Much has changed over the years and a lot of the quaint, interesting shops have now disappeared either due to bombing in the Second World War or modernisation in the years after. Even in the 1970s, I remember many second hand shops along Union Street but these have been cleared away to leave wide open spaces or newer run-of-the mill buildings with little or no character. It's certainly changed a great deal even in my lifetime and, to me, seems to have lost a lot of the charm that it once had.

Spooners

Many people will remember the Spooners store on Royal Parade. The older photo shows Spooners as it was before it was totally destroyed by enemy bombing in 1941. Spooners was established in 1857. Spooners was founded by Joseph James Spooner and their original ornate building stretched from Bedford Street around the corner to Old Town Street. Spooners advertised themselves as house furnishers, drapers, milliners and cabinet makers. Before the war, Spooner's Corner, as it was known then, was a very popular meeting place. Like many other shops in the town, they had their own orchestra playing in their restaurant. The shop featured its own fashion department taking up a whole floor and it even had its own theatre to perform fashion parades. In 1902, Spooners was nearly totally destroyed by a fire when a shop assistant accidently set fire to a display commemorating the coronation of King Edward VII.

  

After the war, both Spooner's and Yeo's moved to adjacent buildings on Royal Parade. The new store was officially opened by Lady Astor on the 10th May, 1956 although it had been trading since October 1954. Both Yeo's and Spooner's were later taken over by Debenham's and the buildings still look much the same today as they did over 50 years ago.

The Pier at Plymouth Hoe

Here's a lovely photo of the old pier at Plymouth Hoe. Waiting in front of the entrance is a horse-drawn tram with adverts on the side for Spooner and Co. A man wearing a boater sits on the top deck and appears to be holding a long whip. Two other people also sit nearby including a woman completely dressed in black. The clock shows the time as 12.30pm and a sign just under the clock says, 'Concerts every afternoon and evening'. There are some interesting adverts on the pier itself including ones for 'Pickford and Co' and another for 'Giant Remedy Box's Pills'. Another sign is for 'Sunlight Soap' and there are many tin signs which, unfortunately, I'm unable to read. Above the main entrance are the names, 'Ferrari and Pizzotti'. The duo opened the Grand Swiss Cafe and Restaurant at 167 Union Street in 1884.

Apart from a few pedestrians, there seems little activity in the photo and all of West Hoe looks deserted.

It's hard to imagine today that this wonderful grand pier once stood where it did. It would be lovely if it was still there today.