Now then, now then - what have we here: bats at Hadleigh Castle (1st), Ouija boards by night (4th) a runaway (again) chum (14th) beer making (15th) and Cooke's slap-up pie and mash on a trip to nan's (22nd): update F.Cooke is now Shanghai If you've seen Oil City Confidential (if you haven't seen it you must) you'll notice selected interviews take place against a backdrop of ancient rubble and ruins - that's Hadleigh Castle. A playground for local tots, teens and tear-aways through the ages. Captured by John Constable in 1829, the view from the castle to Canvey can be seen at 11 seconds in below...
The runaway friend (also hospitalised last month - a long story), spent a week's stretch in some rat-run of a squat, where, he was propositioned by the then headmaster from Grange Hill (pre-Bridgette the Midget era).
On a chirpier note, the wristband ordered last month arrived as well as my Goons Flexidisc (19th). If you were a Radio Luxembourg listener in '79, you may remember the Goons adverts for 'Binkleys Bonk'. The entire collection was rendered to flexi - I won't share the complete catalogue with you, just a couple for now. September's charts were topped by Sir Cliff, although my buys were...
UK Subs - Tomorrow's Girls
The Ruts - Something That I Said
The Goons Barclays Bank flexi-extracts 1
Goons Barclays Bank flexi-extracts 2
The Southerner an obscure John Steinbeck style depression era drama caught late one night and never forgotten is viewable here. You'll also notice the sick day is marked with a tick - more on that next month...
18 comments:
on a clear day you can see the QE bridge and Canary Wharf from the castle:
bring the boys for stargazing there on the 16th ^_^
that selection took me right back:
dodgy dancing, black clad and eyeliner at the Shrimpers:
that was about the time my brother got massively into the goones - one of those moments we are teenage boys bonded with our Dad who sat there laughing as madly as us to all of them!
Oil City Confidential - brilliant stuff
Crikey Mond, you had a much more event-packed adolescence than me.
'Skin test'?! Or shouldn't I ask?
Could be tempted with a bit of sky at night - are you going then Choco? Did you ever see the Stray Cats at Shrimpers, mate of mine says it was the best gig ever.Punks, skins and even mods all having a communal bop-about.
Oil City is literally a stones throw from the castle F-ron. Do you remember the IRA Plot to blow it up? There's a fictionalised take on it here. I'd only ever seen Milligan via his Q series and some school books (poetry and bits) so these ad's had me completely gripped. The original flexi was ordered through an ad in Record Mirror, but you can grab a copy on ebay if you fancy - £3.99.
It's funny Davy, flicking back through here, and my eldest being the same age now - makes me shudder at the thought of him getting up to any of these antics. Skin test: to check for allergies with the upcoming TB injections (cue, jabbed school kids reeling out of the medical room, feigning tortured faces and nursing pricked arms, or claiming 'the needle broke off' to the queing victims)
Ah yes, I remember eet well. It was popular to punch people on the shoulder and shout "BCG!!"
When James and his girlfriend came over last week, they brought some autographs that her dad has collected over the years. And in amongst the collection is a mighty fine Spike Milligan. I'll copy it to your blog when I get home later.
I'm sure I'm putting a foot in a trap here, but - BCG?
Please John. I don't know if Spike's in the legendary Piley Archives. Good timing though, watch for a celeb-sigs related post later this week
Ouija boards! Did that myself around the same time as you and terrified myself so much I can't even look at one anymore. Brrrr.
Yes, any luck with the ouija board? Or indeed the beer making?!
BCG.
Ouija board: we made contact with 'Sid Vicious', who claimed he didn't kill Nancy and some other ghostly bloke who told us two friends would marry (they did) and die in a fire by the age of 30 (they didn't). The story went that Crotchet (his real name, but given the nickname of Croaky) was told to burn his board in the park - but the grass never grew back where the board had been! We were also mucking around with the levitation at the time, fingertips were placed under someones armpits, elbows etc..followed with a long call and response ritual 'are they dead' - 'yes they're dead' which finished with the victim suddenly lifting into the air. Someone else (Kevin Sales I think) was hypnotised and did a circuit of cartwheels around the top of Hadleigh Castle. And a school leaver friend told us tales of his doings as a grave-digger. Scary times.
The beer we made at a friends house - most of it went down the sink. I bailed after seeing it being filtered it through his mums old tights though*gulps and goes green*
BCG - well I never. New to me. How about 'Get off and milk it' - not TB related in any way
Did anyone ever get a UK Subs single on black vinyl?
Incredible isn't. Even Charlie Harper's solo single was a snotty green.
Yeah! the BCG always left a scar on your arm where the needle went in!!
When Spike met Edward Lear.
So what was the 'ol wristband then Mond? Something punky out of the back pages of Smash Hits ("great coats these") perhaps?
I can confirm that SPike is captured in the collection (twice in fact, as I wrote to him again a year or two later for a cheeky second!)
I've still got the scar Expo, a dull sort of Tetanus-jab ache if I remember..
Nice work John, Nice work P. It was a studded wristband. I had been hoping for a classic Sid style strap, but got a brass spikes on a brown leather band thing. How about ad's for peg trousers '28 pleats' and Jam Shoes and Pork Pie hats.
I absolutely loved Oil City Confidential. You've reminded me to get my boyfriend to watch it at the weekend as I've just bought it on dvd. Love your blog by the way xx
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