{"id":2392,"date":"2021-11-02T09:38:58","date_gmt":"2021-11-02T09:38:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmjmedia.co.uk\/ccca\/?page_id=2392"},"modified":"2021-11-02T09:38:58","modified_gmt":"2021-11-02T09:38:58","slug":"choir-school-memories","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jmjmedia.co.uk\/CCCAWP\/choir-school-memories\/","title":{"rendered":"Choir School memories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Chester Cathedral Choir School
Reminiscences Sept 1956-July 1960
Andrew Randall<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Terms<\/strong>
The autumn term was \u2018Michaelmas Term\u2019; the spring term was \u2018Lent Term\u2019, the summer term was \u2018Trinity Term\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fees<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a \u2018non singer\u2019: 15 guineas a term in 1956, 20 guineas from Sept 1957<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First day at school<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • walking across Abbey Square to the big iron gate held shut with a mob of \u2018old timers\u2019 clustered round, and receiving an aggressive challenge \u2018do you support Aston Villa?\u2019. The only acceptable answer, from an 8 year old who wanted to survive to day 2, was \u2018yes\u2019.<\/li>
  • being shown my peg in the cloakrooms by an older boy who had been tipped off to look out for me (Martin Wood)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    The Uniform<\/strong> (bought at Brown\u2019s of Chester; Andrew\u2019s uniform cost \u00a310 9s 6d in July 1956)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • Red cap, green badge, \u2018Laudate Pueri Dominum\u2019 (Boys Praise the Lord). The crest was 3 bishop\u2019s mitres<\/li>
    • Grey knee-length socks with green\/red\/gold bands at the top<\/li>
    • Grey shorts worn with \u2018snake clasp\u2019 elastic belt in green\/gold\/red<\/li>
    • Grey long-sleeved shirt<\/li>
    • Tie: red\/green diagonal stripes<\/li>
    • Grey v-neck pullover with green\/red stripes on the \u2018v\u2019<\/li>
    • Navy blazer<\/li>
    • Black lace-up shoes<\/li>
    • Gym shoes<\/li>
    • Navy mac<\/li>
    • Navy football shorts<\/li>
    • Green\/red chequered or white football shirt (you played as either \u2018colours\u2019 or \u2018whites\u2019<\/li>
    • Green football socks<\/li>
    • Chilprufe vests<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      The Playground<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      • smooth asphalt<\/li>
      • iron railings down the side facing the King\u2019s School<\/li>
      • sandstone walls on 2 sides<\/li>
      • gate to the bike sheds, with parapet overlooking The Garth<\/li>
      • doorway down to the refectory (out of bounds during break)<\/li>
      • doorways to the Remove classroom and Cloakroom<\/li>
      • raised ledge on 2 sides wide enough to stand on (ideal as sanctuary\/home\/base)<\/li>
      • one end overlooking steps down to the Cloisters<\/li>
      • mysterious, sinister vent pipe with conical metal cap, reputedly giving off \u2018poisonous gases\u2019. Boys were often held over this as part of routine playground fun!<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        The Playground Games\/Crazes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        • Conkers (mine\u2019s a 100er!)<\/li>
        • Dinky toy car racing in the playground; red Maserati & Alfa Romeo, blue Talbot Largo, green Vanwall (the smooth surface was perfect)<\/li>
        • Marble stalls in the playground. The length of the \u2018pitches\u2019 was carefully delineated; so much for a 1er, bit further for a 2er, further still for a 3er. Sometimes the full length of the playground was used to roll at a stall of 25 or even 50. In the height of the craze, the playground rang to the cries of \u2018Roll up! Roll up!\u2019 If you ran out of marbles, you stuck a halfpenny or penny upright in a crack in the tarmac, and opened up a money stall for boys to roll marbles at.<\/li>
        • Small derringer-style cap guns, sometimes carried in a mini leather holster<\/li>
        • Water pistols, frequently confiscated and stamped on by Mr Lampard (Lamps)<\/li>
        • British Bulldogs, with the line of \u2018stoppers\u2019 stretching right across the playground<\/li>
        • Tennis ball football, with the ball frequently going through the railings down onto the coke heap that marked the boundary between Choir School and Kings School territories. Retrieval was a brave act, because the coke heap was out of bounds, noisy and highly visible<\/li>
        • Yo-yos<\/li>
        • shuttlecock in the Refectory (3 courts)<\/li>
        • most boys collected things: stamps, coins, cigarette cards, tea cards, Dinky toys etc and school provided the opportunity for much trading and swapping<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          The Rooms<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          • Boys stayed put in classrooms, each with an assigned desk, and masters moved from classroom to classroom. The exception was science\/art lessons with Mr Mellalieu in his special room in the Undercroft<\/li>
          • With an average total roll of around 60 boys, class sizes averaged 12-15<\/li>
          • Forms 1, 2, 3 & 4: across the playground, up the steps to the door to St Anselm\u2019s Chapel, cross the back of the Chapel and up the steep winding stone stairway to the door opening onto Form 3. Walk through Form 3 to the door on the right leading to Forms 1 & 2, or straight ahead for Form 4 (also used for Saturday afternoon detentions). Mrs Storrar complained to Canon Hardy at a parents\u2019 meeting about the hassle of having to bring and collect her boys from detention: \u2018Can\u2019t you just beat them instead?\u2019<\/li>
          • There was a bookcase with cupboards underneath between Forms 1 & 2 that contained text\/reading books for distribution during class. Against the wall in Form 3 were similar bookcase units with cupboards below. The cupboards contained stationery eg exercise books. The bookcases contained a rudimentary library with classic adventure authors like Edgar Rice Burroughs, Captain Marryat, GA Henty, Richard Henry Dana (Two years before the Mast) etc<\/li>
          • The Remove classroom, seating 12 in 3 rows of 4 desks, was across the playground next to the Cloakrooms<\/li>
          • Door from the playground with steps leading down to the dining room, where we waited in line before going into a crypt-like room with low vaulted arches, and the peculiar musty condensation smell of damp sandstone.<\/li>
          • On the same level as the dining room was a room used for science and art lessons with Mr Mellalieu.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            The School Houses<\/strong>
            Named after composers\/musicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            • Byrd<\/li>
            • Boyce (my house: Boyce for ever, Byrd never!)<\/li>
            • Wesley<\/li>
            • Tallis<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              The Masters<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              • Headmaster: Canon Basil Augustus \u2018Pop\u2019 Hardy 1901-1973. Resident at 13 Abbey Street, with the red front door. Effortlessly commanded awe and respect. Taught Maths and Bible Studies and General Knowledge. Who can forget his relentless \u2018Quickies\u2019, 50 rapid-fire questions on maths, spelling and other general subjects? Also the way he drummed in spellings of difficult words with chants or incantations, like \u2018Egypt\u2019 (Eejeewoppity) and \u2018beginning\u2019, with the stress on the \u2018double n\u2019. Led morning prayers in the Chapel, and made announcements. One I recall was his homily on the unacceptability of bad behaviour outside school, and the fact that he had recently \u2018had to cane one boy pretty heavily\u2019. This was reputedly John Whittingham, for kicking and breaking a cello carried in the street by a pupil from one of the girls\u2019 schools.<\/li>
              • Frederick Norman Stocken \u2018Lamps\u2019 Lampard 1895-1979: a significant physical presence, short and stout, red of face with penetrating eyes, dark brows, bristling moustache; always seemingly on the verge of a monstrous explosion of wrath. A fine disciplinarian and showman in the classroom, with a sense of drama. Taught French and Latin. I remember starting Latin in Form 3 aged 10, using the Civis Romanus textbook to study chapters like \u2018The Soman Roldier\u2019 as Lamps would say. Also the short French stories from Aesop\u2019s Fables such as The Fox & the Crow. He was not above throwing an errant pupil\u2019s books out of the window when provoked, and indifferent work was often met with the scornful rebuke \u2018that sort of work wouldn\u2019t get you into the skipping squad at Cherry Grove Junior Mixed\u2019. Referred to Germans as \u2018the Boche\u2019 and \u2018the Hun\u2019. At the height of the water-pistol craze, Lamps would confiscate the weapons and stamp on them. At the same time, he was at heart a kindly man who understood well the workings of a small boy\u2019s mind. We listened spellbound to his readings of \u2018Lorna Doone in the afternoon\u2019 and his anecdotes of life before the First World War (in which he had a distinguished career, joining up in 1915 as a private in the Durham Light Infantry, promoted to lance-corporal, commissioned Dec 1915 into the 3rd Northumberland Fusiliers, winning an MC in 1916 and finishing the war as a captain). He saw Colonel Cody take to the air in a biplane shortly after the Wright Brothers flight. Once we were set the task of composing a poem for prep. My classmate John Cottle was struggling with this, until Lamps came to the rescue and produced in a few minutes the following, which has stuck in my memory for some extraordinary reason:<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                I\u2019ve lost my marble
                What shall I do?
                Sit down and cry
                Boo hoo hoo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                I\u2019ve found my marble
                What shall I say?
                Jump up and shout
                Hooray! Hooray!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                • Rev Eric H Yates: glasses, saturnine mien, short fuse, purple socks, taught English. There was a boy Simon Yates at the school, was this Eric\u2019s son?
                  Eric Yates left the Choir School in 1961 and went to Dover Grammar School to teach a variety of Arts subjects and Scriptural studies. In 1970 he went to St Stephen\u2019s College, Broadstairs as Chaplain and Science teacher<\/li>
                • Jolyon Dodgson: a young master, started in March 1957 and stayed till summer 1958. To the boys, he was closely identified with his shoes, which appeared to have turned-up toes. These \u2018curly shoes\u2019 where the butt of endless sniggering and general merriment, and wildly-exaggerated drawings on the board, done for him to find at the start of a lesson. Did he know what was going on? He, or more probably Brian Runnett, awarded me the punishment of 1000 lines on the last day of the summer term 1958. I was caught redhanded flicking a paper pellet across the room via a rubber-band catapult twisted across the fingers. The calculation of the punishment was arrived at by doubling the preceding one and passing it on to the next offender, starting with 250 lines. As I was copped right at the end of the lesson, there was no chance of passing this on! On the first day of the following term I handed in about 500, and this was judged to be enough.<\/li>
                • Fred Mellalieu 1930-Sept 2012: science, arts & crafts. Bookbinding, glue, paint, lino knives. Making papier mache heads based on a plasticine mould worked around a bogroll holder for the neck.<\/li>
                • Dr John R \u2018Doc\u2019 Middleton the music master. Not being a chorister, I had little to do with him. He took the singing lessons, belting out the Community Song Book favourites Hearts of Oak, Rule Britannia, Uncle Tom Cobley, There is a Tavern in the Town, In Dublin\u2019s Fair City etc<\/li>
                • Brian Runnett 1935-1970: no specific memories. He was assistant organist. He went to Norwich after leaving the Choir School and was killed in a car crash soon thereafter<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                  Speech Day\/Prizegiving<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  • Usually late November, in the Refectory. Only speech I can remember was Michael Gibbs, Dean of Chester, saying \u2018Boys, keep your speech and your hair short!\u2019<\/li>
                  • Prizes awarded by subject and by form. Remark by Mrs Storrar: \u2018I get fed up clapping other people\u2019s children\u2019<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                    Sport<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                    • going in crocodile to the Atlantic or Pacific Baths on Weds pm for swimming. Never having been to a swimming pool before, I remember being stunned by the noise, the splashing and the smell of chlorine. Non-swimmers like me huddled shivering\/teeth chattering in the shallow end, clutching the rail and making feeble attempts to kick our legs. The other memorable thing was the drawing inside the cold, wet slimy changing cubicles: idealised graphics of the female form, with helpful arrows labelled \u2018big tts\u2019 and \u2018hairy c<\/em>*t\u2019. What more did you need? This sex ed was supplemented by a graffito chalked on a wall at the bottom of Bridge Street: \u2018Fook Of\u2019.<\/li>
                    • Football on our superb sports field a few minutes walk from the school. Clattering over the cobbles in Abbey Close in real studded football boots. The disaster of forgetting to bring your games kit to school on a games day. One of my friends finding a piece of clay tobacco pipe on the field and excitedly reporting to the games master \u2018Look sir, I\u2019ve found a Roman soldier\u2019s clay pipe!\u2019<\/li>
                    • Gym in the Refectory; also games of shuttlecock and indoor football<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                      Other Classroom Memories<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      • Inkwells fitted into the top of the desks, invariably at least half-full with blotting paper sludge. Penholders and separate nibs in different formats: fine, medium & thick. These nibs often became bent or twisted after the inevitable desk-top abuse. My first Osmeroid fountain pen. Refilling the china desk inkwells involved a huge bottle \u2013 possibly even made of earthenware and a lot of spilt ink. I cannot remember whether one of the boys acted as an ink monitor, or whether it remained in the hands of the teachers. Propelling pencils with spare leads in a special cavity. Wooden pencil boxes. Leather satchels worn on the back for transporting homework etc to and from school<\/li>
                      • Paper darts & planes in a variety of designs chucked about the classrooms and sometimes launched from the Form 3 windows above the playground, or from the bike-shed parapet overlooking the Garth. These latter launch areas were not allowed!<\/li>
                      • Practising italic handwriting using special nibs, and copying from a sheet printed with the names of towns.<\/li>
                      • Clearing out desks on the last day of term. Disposing of unwanted stuff through the time-honoured tradition of Quis? and Ego! Leading to squabbles: \u2018I egoed it first!\u2019. Chuckable stuff like marbles or conkers could be distributed via a \u2018scramble\u2019. The shout of \u2018Scramble!\u2019 was guaranteed to bring out a swarm of loot-seekers.<\/li>
                      • The annual Recitation Competition in the Cathedral Refectory.<\/li>
                      • There was also a fire in the \u2018crypt\u2019 area which burnt out the dining room or kitchen and meant that we could not use Mr Mellalieu\u2019s room.<\/li>
                      • \u2018half-termly orders\u2019 pinned up in the classrooms to show the ranking of each boy\u2019s academic performance<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                        The Boys: Where are they now?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        • Athol Birch
                          Father ran the Deva Dairy farm on the way to Blacon; had an elder brother Nigel. Emigrated to Portugal to establish a restaurant and many other businesses<\/li>
                        • John & David Starkey (farmer\u2019s sons)<\/li>
                        • Nicky Kneale
                          Spell in the army after Mons Officer Cadets School. In the 80s ran a company providing chauffeur-driven limousines to society events. More recently chief exec of Fired Earth, the posh tiles emporium, reputed to have sold his stake for a fortune. Sisters Heather (older) and April (younger). Lived in Guilden Sutton. Bought me fish & chips at Hignett\u2019s on his birthday<\/li>
                        • Robert David
                          Best man at my wedding. Went to The Wrekin and Exeter Universiyt to read history. Married Sue, also at Exeter. Both teaching in Kendal, Cumbria. Left teaching in 1987 to lecture in teacher education at colleges in Ambleside and Lancaster. Acquired an MA and PhD, both in history, and in recent years has been freelancing as a lecturer in adult education, a research fellow at Lancaster University, an educational consultant working in Cumbria and in Africa. Currently downsizing towards retirement! Robert keenly interested in industrial archaeology, fell-walking and art. Was a member of a Lake District mountain rescue team. Fond of hols in bleak spots like Iceland\/Greenland.<\/li>
                        • Andrew & Christopher Storrar ( Vet\u2019s sons; Andrew sadly deceased, Christopher a lawyer in Chester)<\/li>
                        • David Seymour<\/li>
                        • Roger Bithell
                          Father ran Bithell\u2019s Boats in Chester.<\/li>
                        • Nigel Campbell
                          Father managed the Pied Bull in Chester<\/li>
                        • Geoffrey Chance
                          Father managed the Queen Hotel, Chester. Geoffrey had a signed photo of Diana Dors, who had stayed at the hotel in 1959, also an acoustic guitar which he brought to school to be envied.<\/li>
                        • Michael & Peter Radcliffe<\/li>
                        • Sandy Blair<\/li>
                        • Darlington<\/li>
                        • Cartwright<\/li>
                        • CTC Jones<\/li>
                        • Salmon<\/li>
                        • Downer<\/li>
                        • Julian Maddox<\/li>
                        • Chris Evans<\/li>
                        • David Bradbury<\/li>
                        • Timothy Jones<\/li>
                        • Lindop i & ii (John & Peter)<\/li>
                        • James, Maurice, John & Philip Cottle (farming family)<\/li>
                        • Harvey Stears<\/li>
                        • Martin Wood<\/li>
                        • Colin Davidson<\/li>
                        • Nigel Harden<\/li>
                        • James Birchall
                          Fanatical about cars.<\/li>
                        • Jim Davies<\/li>
                        • Colin Pym
                          Another farming family. Reared pheasants as well.<\/li>
                        • DJ (David) Clarke
                          Bright boy, always first or second in class<\/li>
                        • Norman Dutton
                          A skiffle enthusiast<\/li>
                        • Roger Clarke
                          Elvis Presley fan<\/li>
                        • Peter Simpson
                          Very sporty boy. Sadly disabled in an accident and has spent most of his life in a wheelchair<\/li>
                        • Alastair Greatbanks<\/li>
                        • ? Whibberley<\/li>
                        • Richard Aldous
                          Shamelessly persecuted in Form 2 by the rest of us.<\/li>
                        • ? Mercer<\/li>
                        • Stephen Vickers<\/li>
                        • Humphrey Morris<\/li>
                        • Peter Morris<\/li>
                        • Yates<\/li>
                        • Marsden<\/li>
                        • Roger Higson<\/li>
                        • Paul Ward
                          Another farming family<\/li>
                        • Robert Moss<\/li>
                        • Francis Reynolds<\/li>
                        • John Connah<\/li>
                        • Taffy Jackson
                          One of the boys selected to help serve food onto our plates from the kitchens at lunch. A sought-after post<\/li>
                        • ? Parry<\/li>
                        • ? Horsfield<\/li>
                        • John Whittingham<\/li>
                        • Andrew Porter<\/li>
                        • Nigel Nussey<\/li>
                        • Edgar<\/li>
                        • Stuart Walker<\/li>
                        • David Capper<\/li>
                        • John \u2018Curly\u2019 Coppack<\/li>
                        • Sparks<\/li>
                        • Nigel Grace<\/li>
                        • Peter Pownall?<\/li>
                        • Trevor Williams<\/li>
                        • Churton<\/li>
                        • Rimmer<\/li>
                        • The Garner brothers (very naughty boys)<\/li>
                        • John \u2018Woody\u2019 Woodward<\/li>
                        • Lyons<\/li>
                        • John Frankland<\/li>
                        • Andrew Duckworth<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                          The Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Radio\/Wireless
                          The Light Programme; The Third Programme & Home Services
                          On the same dial, you could find Radio Hilversum, Radio Peking, Aircraft, Radio Luxembourg and many others<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          • The Archers: Gwen Berryman as Doris Archer, Chris Gittins as Walter Gabriel<\/li>
                          • Mrs Dale\u2019s Diary: \u2018I\u2019ve been worried about Jim lately\u2026\u2019<\/li>
                          • Listen with Mother (When the music stops, Daphne Oxenford\/Eileen Brown\/Dorothy Edwards will be here to speak to you again): \u2018Are you sitting comfortably?\u2026.Then I\u2019ll begin\u2019<\/li>
                          • Journey into Space (Charles Chilton)<\/li>
                          • Paul Temple & The Vandyke Affair (Francis Durbridge), starring Marjorie Westbury as \u2018Steve\u2019 and Peter Coke as \u2018Paul\u2019. Theme tune Coronation Scot<\/li>
                          • Children\u2019s Hour: Uncle Mac<\/li>
                          • Toytown: Laaaaarry the Laaamb<\/li>
                          • Radio Luxemburg: Horace Bachelor and his amazing infra-draw method. Keynsham spelt K,E,Y\u2026\u2026\u2026.dj Alan Freeman<\/li>
                          • The Goon Show: Spike Milligan & Peter Sellers<\/li>
                          • The Clitheroe Kid: Jimmy Clitheroe<\/li>
                          • Music While You Work<\/li>
                          • Workers Playtime<\/li>
                          • Forces Favourites<\/li>
                          • Family Favourites: dj Sam Costa?<\/li>
                          • Saturday Night On The Light<\/li>
                          • Have a Go with Wilfred Pickles: Mabel on the piano, \u2018give him the money\u2019<\/li>
                          • Round the Horne\/Beyond our Ken: Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick & Betty Marsden: \u2018I\u2019m Sandy & this is my friend Julian\u2019<\/li>
                          • The Navy Lark: Leslie Phillips \u2018left hand down a bit\u2019, Bill Pertwee & Heather Chasen<\/li>
                          • Life with the Glums: Ron & Eth<\/li>
                          • Educating Archie Peter Brough<\/li>
                          • Gunsmoke: Matt Dillon, Frontier Marshall<\/li>
                          • Ray\u2019s A Laugh: Ted Ray & \u2018Kitty\u2019. His boss \u2018Step into my office a minute, Ray\u2019<\/li>
                          • Hancock\u2019s Half Hour: Tony Hancock, Sid James & Bill Kerr<\/li>
                          • The Billy Cotton Band Show: Wakey, Wakey!! Billy Cotton & Alan Breeze<\/li>
                          • Animal, Vegetable & Mineral: Lady Isobel Barnett<\/li>
                          • Dick Barton, Special Agent<\/li>
                          • Sherlock Holmes\u2019 Greatest Mysteries: Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce<\/li>
                          • Much Binding in the Marsh: Richard \u2018Stinker\u2019 Murdoch: \u2018Morning Windy, windy morning\u2019; Can I do you now, sir?<\/li>
                          • Edgar Lustgarten\u2019s World\u2019s Greatest Mysteries<\/li>
                          • Life with the Lyons: Ben Lyon & Bebe Daniels<\/li>
                          • Down Your Way: Franklin Engelmann<\/li>
                          • Top of the Form<\/li>
                          • In Town Tonight<\/li>
                          • Ludwig Koch\u2019s bird imitations & Percy Edwards\u2019 dog imitations<\/li>
                          • Johnny Morris: raconteur and animal impressions<\/li>
                          • Al Read<\/li>
                          • Semprini Serenade<\/li>
                          • Sandy McPherson<\/li>
                          • Jimmy Shand & The White Heather Club<\/li>
                          • Brain of Britain: Hobday?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                            The Bands<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                            • Victor Sylvester\u2019s Dance Orchestra<\/li>
                            • Ted Heath\u2019s Big Band<\/li>
                            • The BBC\u2019s Palm Court Orchestra<\/li>
                            • The BBC\u2019s Symphonic Orchestra<\/li>
                            • Jack Parnell<\/li>
                            • Frank Chacksfield<\/li>
                            • Mantovani: Sounds for Swinging Lovers?<\/li>
                            • Bert Kaempfert<\/li>
                            • Billy Cotton (Wakey wakey!)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                              Cinema<\/strong> (the Odeon, Regal, Majestic\/Classic, Music Hall opposite the Cathedral in St Werbergh Street)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              • The Alamo (remember the craze for coonskin caps with the tail?) John Wayne as Davy Crockett \u2018King of the Wild Frontier\u2019<\/li>
                              • Where no Vultures Fly: Anthony Steel & Dinah Sheridan<\/li>
                              • Old Yeller<\/li>
                              • Battle of the River Plate<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                Music<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                • Lonnie Donegan: Battle of New Orleans, Rock Island Line, Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour, My Old Man\u2019s a Dustman, Last Train to San Fernando, Cumberland Gap<\/li>
                                • Tommy Steele: Oh Boy<\/li>
                                • The Kingston Trio: Tom Dooley<\/li>
                                • Elvis Presley: Jailhouse Rock, All Shook Up<\/li>
                                • Little Richard: Shake,Rattle & Roll, Tutti Frutti<\/li>
                                • Cliff Richard: Livin\u2019 Doll<\/li>
                                • Alma Cogan: Dream Boat<\/li>
                                • Helen Shapiro: Walking Back to Happiness<\/li>
                                • Anne Shelton: Lay down your arms & surrender to mine!<\/li>
                                • Peter Sellers: Any Old Iron<\/li>
                                • The Harry Lime Theme from The Third Man<\/li>
                                • Connie Francis<\/li>
                                • Tex Ritter<\/li>
                                • Frankie Lane<\/li>
                                • Frank Ifield<\/li>
                                • Chet Atkins<\/li>
                                • Bert Weedon<\/li>
                                • Pat Boone<\/li>
                                • Frank Sinatra<\/li>
                                • Johnny Ray<\/li>
                                • Russ Conway<\/li>
                                • Winifred Attwell<\/li>
                                • Matt Monro<\/li>
                                • Doris Day<\/li>
                                • Eddie Calvert & his trumpet<\/li>
                                • Rosemary Clooney<\/li>
                                • Pearl Carr & Teddie Johnson<\/li>
                                • The Inkspots<\/li>
                                • The Platters<\/li>
                                • The Mudlarks<\/li>
                                • The Dansette record player & Garrard pick-up<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                  TV<\/strong>
                                  Can\u2019t do much here as we didn\u2019t have one! But remember watching at friends:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  • Muffin the Mule<\/li>
                                  • Bill & Ben the Flowerpot Men<\/li>
                                  • The Lone Ranger<\/li>
                                  • Ivanhoe<\/li>
                                  • Zorro<\/li>
                                  • On Safari with Amand & Michaela Denis<\/li>
                                  • Six Five Special with Jim Dale<\/li>
                                  • Barry Bucknall: Do it Yourself<\/li>
                                  • Sooty & Sweep<\/li>
                                  • Wagon Train<\/li>
                                  • Laramie<\/li>
                                  • The Quatermass Experiment<\/li>
                                  • \u2018Professor\u2019 Jimmy Edwards: Whacko!<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                    The Sweets<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                    • Spangles (peppermint & fruit-flavoured)<\/li>
                                    • Blackjacks<\/li>
                                    • Trebor Chews, Banana Splits, Fruit Salads<\/li>
                                    • Liquorice in plain hard sticks or soft fancy shapes (pipe, catherine wheel)<\/li>
                                    • Rowntrees Fruit Gums (don\u2019t forget the fruit gums, Mum)<\/li>
                                    • Rowntrees Fruit Pastilles<\/li>
                                    • Murray Mints (the \u2018too good to hurry\u2019 mints)<\/li>
                                    • Gobstoppers<\/li>
                                    • Fry\u2019s 5 Boys chocolate<\/li>
                                    • Cadbury\u2019s Motoring chocolate<\/li>
                                    • Aero<\/li>
                                    • Bassett\u2019s Liquorice Allsorts<\/li>
                                    • Mars Bars<\/li>
                                    • Milky Ways<\/li>
                                    • Dolly Mixtures<\/li>
                                    • Barleysugar twists<\/li>
                                    • Walnut Whirls<\/li>
                                    • Wrigley\u2019s Spearmint Gum<\/li>
                                    • Beechnut chewing gum<\/li>
                                    • PK gum<\/li>
                                    • Bazooka Bubblegum with the tightly folded cartoon strip inside the packet<\/li>
                                    • Sweet cigarettes (with cards of cricketers or footballers in the packets)<\/li>
                                    • Aniseed balls<\/li>
                                    • Bulls eyes & humbugs<\/li>
                                    • Everton mints<\/li>
                                    • Sharp\u2019s toffee<\/li>
                                    • Palm Toffee bars<\/li>
                                    • Sherbet Fountains, with liquorice dipstick<\/li>
                                    • Lemon sherbets & lime sherbets<\/li>
                                    • Fox\u2019s Glacier mints<\/li>
                                    • Toblerone<\/li>
                                    • Liquorice comfits<\/li>
                                    • Nougat (pronounced \u2018Nugget\u2019 in Chester)<\/li>
                                    • Mint Imperials<\/li>
                                    • Cadbury\u2019s Dairy Milk Chocolate (a glass & a half of full cream dairy milk\u2026)<\/li>
                                    • Fry\u2019s Turkish Delight<\/li>
                                    • Fry\u2019s Peppermint Cream<\/li>
                                    • Nuttall\u2019s Mintoes<\/li>
                                    • Jelly Babies & Jelly Beans<\/li>
                                    • Cadbury\u2019s Caramac<\/li>
                                    • Chocolate Buttons<\/li>
                                    • Boiled sweets (Fruit Drops?)<\/li>
                                    • Meltis Newberry Fruits, sold in a box<\/li>
                                    • Pear Drops<\/li>
                                    • Acid Drops<\/li>
                                    • Maynard\u2019s Wine Gums<\/li>
                                    • Smarties<\/li>
                                    • Sweethearts<\/li>
                                    • Trebor Refreshers<\/li>
                                    • Polos, peppermint and fruit flavour (the mint with the hole)<\/li>
                                    • Chocolate \u00e9clairs<\/li>
                                    • Opal Fruits (made to make your mouth water)<\/li>
                                    • Clarnico\u2019s Peppermint Creams & Toffees<\/li>
                                    • Fruitella: \u2018the chewy, juicy flavour in Fruitella\u2026..lasts the whole day through\u2019<\/li>
                                    • Cadbury\u2019s Hazelnut Whorls<\/li>
                                    • Nestle\u2019s Milky Bar: The Milky Bar Kid<\/li>
                                    • Rowntree\u2019s Rolo<\/li>
                                    • Black Magic<\/li>
                                    • Quality Street<\/li>
                                    • Cadbury\u2019s Milk Tray<\/li>
                                    • Cadbury\u2019s Dairy Box<\/li>
                                    • Cadbury\u2019s Flake<\/li>
                                    • Crunchie<\/li>
                                    • Maltesers<\/li>
                                    • Penguin biscuit bars<\/li>
                                    • Pontefract Licorice Cakes<\/li>
                                    • American Hard Gums<\/li>
                                    • Tiffin<\/li>
                                    • Jujubes<\/li>
                                    • Payne\u2019s Poppets<\/li>
                                    • Payne\u2019s Toffees<\/li>
                                    • Callard & Bowser toffee & butterscotch<\/li>
                                    • Keiller\u2019s butterscotch<\/li>
                                    • Batgers Jersey toffees<\/li>
                                    • Needlers toffees<\/li>
                                    • Fuller\u2019s toffees<\/li>
                                    • Cadbury\u2019s Bourneville plain chocolate<\/li>
                                    • Nestle\u2019s Superfine plain chocolate<\/li>
                                    • Glace Fruits<\/li>
                                    • Milk Drops<\/li>
                                    • Parma Violets<\/li>
                                    • Fisherman\u2019s Friend throat lozenges<\/li>
                                    • Allen & Hanbury\u2019s blackcurrent lozenges<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                      The Toys<\/strong>
                                      (often bought at the Arts & Crafts Studio in St Michael\u2019s Row)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                      • Airfix plastic model kits of planes, ships & tanks (and Frog, Revell)<\/li>
                                      • Cap-firing cowboy guns (Lone Star)<\/li>
                                      • Cork-firing pop-guns (double & single barrelled)<\/li>
                                      • Hula hoops<\/li>
                                      • Roller skates<\/li>
                                      • Triang, Dinky, Corgi, Mettoy & Matchbox Lesney toys<\/li>
                                      • Britain\u2019s lead toy soldiers, farm animals & farm equipment, zoo animals and military eqipment eg 25-pounder that fired alloy shells and matchsticks by pulling back & cocking a spring-loaded plunger<\/li>
                                      • Hornby 0 & 00 train sets & equipment<\/li>
                                      • Meccano kits<\/li>
                                      • Bayco building bits<\/li>
                                      • Water pistols<\/li>
                                      • Spud guns<\/li>
                                      • Pea shooters<\/li>
                                      • Rubber tomahawk & Bowie knife<\/li>
                                      • Cowboy uniforms<\/li>
                                      • Scooters<\/li>
                                      • Marbles<\/li>
                                      • Catapults<\/li>
                                      • Bows & arrows<\/li>
                                      • Airguns: BSA, Webley, Diana<\/li>
                                      • Tricycles (trikes; mine was a blue Raleigh\u2019James\u2019 model from the Davies cycle shop in Garden Lane;<\/li>
                                      • Frido plastic footballs with Stanley Matthews signature printed on<\/li>
                                      • Mamod steam engines<\/li>
                                      • Glove puppets: Sooty & Sweep<\/li>
                                      • Clockwork toys eg clockwork mouse<\/li>
                                      • Chemistry sets<\/li>
                                      • Conjuring sets<\/li>
                                      • Playing cards\/card games (Contraband, Snap, Happy Families)<\/li>
                                      • Dominoes<\/li>
                                      • Plastic toys in cereal packets eg soldiers, and a submarine you filled with baking powder in the conning-tower and it rose up and down if you put it in a basin of water<\/li>
                                      • Balsa-wood model planes<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                        Board Games<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                        • Cluedo<\/li>
                                        • Chess<\/li>
                                        • Monopoly<\/li>
                                        • Totopoly<\/li>
                                        • Snakes & Ladders<\/li>
                                        • Draughts<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                          The Literature<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                          • The Children\u2019s Newspaper<\/li>
                                          • News Chronicle\u2019s I-Spy books, (and for a shilling you could be a member of the I-Spy Club, with a badge etc)<\/li>
                                          • Beano, Dandy, Lion (Paddy Payne \u2013 Warrior of the Skies, Karl the Viking, ), Tiger, Girl, Eagle (Dan Dare & The Mekon, Jeff Arnold, Luke & Jim in Riders of The Range, PC 49 & Uncle Knocker, Sergeant Luck of the Legion), Swift, Bunty, Hotspur, Robin, The Beezer, The Boy\u2019s Own paper, Radio Fun, Film Fun, Picturegoer, The Radio Times (incorporating World Radio)<\/li>
                                          • The \u2018William\u2019 books by Richmal Crompton<\/li>
                                          • Jennings & Derbyshire<\/li>
                                          • Enid Blyton<\/li>
                                          • The Ladybird series<\/li>
                                          • The Observer Book of\u2026\u2026 series<\/li>
                                          • Ian Allen trainspotter guides<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                            The Groceries<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                            • Spam<\/li>
                                            • Unox Pork Luncheon Meat<\/li>
                                            • Fray Bentos Corned Beef<\/li>
                                            • PG Tips tea: 1\/9d per quarter, look out for the picture card between the wrapper and the lining<\/li>
                                            • Lipton\u2019s Teas<\/li>
                                            • Mazzawattee Tea<\/li>
                                            • Lyons Teas<\/li>
                                            • Camp Coffee<\/li>
                                            • Bourneville Cocoa<\/li>
                                            • Tinned Fruit<\/li>
                                            • Instant Whip<\/li>
                                            • Brown & Polson Blancmange & Custard Powder<\/li>
                                            • Bird\u2019s Custard Powder<\/li>
                                            • Royal Chiffon<\/li>
                                            • Cerebos & Saxa Salt (illustration of boy sprinkling salt on chicken\u2019s tail)<\/li>
                                            • Crosse & Blackwell tinned soups<\/li>
                                            • Heinz tinned baked beans & soups<\/li>
                                            • Campbell\u2019s soups<\/li>
                                            • Hovis loaves (shop door signs: Open for the sale of Hovis\u2026.Closed even for the sale of Hovis)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                              The Ads<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                              • Go to Work on an Egg<\/li>
                                              • Drinka Pinta Milka Day<\/li>
                                              • The Guinness toucan<\/li>
                                              • Strand cigarettes (you\u2019re never alone with a Strand)<\/li>
                                              • Consulate Menthol ciggies:\u2018Cool as a mountain stream\u2019 Brylcreem: Denis Compton<\/li>
                                              • \u2018Today\u2019s cigarette is a Bristol\u2019<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                                Other odds and ends (courtesy of Robert David & J<\/strong>ohn Connah):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                • Going to and returning from school on the single decker Crosville Bus from Abbots Park stop on Liverpool Road. The bus stop in town was by the Odeon. The fare was 1.5d – a penny ha\u2019penny<\/li>
                                                • The annual pantomime at The Royalty Theatre in City Rd.<\/li>
                                                • Quaintways restaurant\/caf\u00e9 burning down \u2013 this may have been when we were at Miss Wakefield\u2019s.<\/li>
                                                • The fair on the Little Roodee<\/li>
                                                • The Shropshire Union Canal<\/li>
                                                • Train spotting at Chester General \u2013 waiting for the arrival of The Irish Mail, and the one train a day from Paddington (a different colour from the rest). Also Chester Northgate station, the Cheshire Lines “Hub” where John Connah\u2019s father said you only got a job if your feet were permanently at “Ten to Two” and you walked at the same speed as the trains, which was very slowly<\/li>
                                                • The noise and machinery of the metal window frame factory on the opposite side of Liverpool Road from the Davids (Williams & Williams?)<\/li>
                                                • The old lady (Miss Hill) who lived next to the tiny shop along Parkgate Rd where we cycled to get ice-creams and sweets. I think she also babysat us. I do not think her house had any bathroom or indoor toilet.<\/li>
                                                • The shops (Mr Chesterman \u2013 the green grocer) at The Bache and also the National Benzole petrol station there.<\/li>
                                                • Rag and bone men with horse and cart coming along Abbots Park. Also a three wheeler van that delivered fish, and the coal merchant had a three wheeler lorry.<\/li>
                                                • Dodds caf\u00e9 by Northgate Arch where we had lunch while at Miss Wakefield\u2019s. Also I think there was an auction room somewhere near there.<\/li>
                                                • children at the Bluecoat School near Northgate Arch wearing their traditional bluecoat uniforms.<\/li>
                                                • The Christmas Fair in the Rectory<\/li>
                                                • The Milk Bar just outside Abbey Gate where \u2018Zoobs\u2019 could be purchased<\/li>
                                                • Clarke\u2019s the ironmongers in Frodsham Street. They used to regularly re-tin the insides of the copper kitchen utensils from the Grosvenor Hotel. Andrew Randall\u2019s father remembers going in there one morning to buy a coke hod. They asked him what size and could he draw a rough sketch; it was 9.30am. \u2018\u2019If you\u2019d like to call back at 1pm, sir, we\u2019ll have one made up for you by then\u2019\u2019. Out of galvanised steel; talk about service!<\/li>
                                                • the butcher\u2019s shop in Watergate Street, near the Cross on the right-hand side walking down. Andrew Randall\u2019s father Stanley remembers being in there and overhearing a conversation between the butcher and a customer that indicated the butcher was short of sugar (1950s rationing). Stanley told the butcher that the Randalls had a lot of spare sugar. The butcher traded meat for the sugar; especially memorable were the oxtails cooked to perfection by Mrs Randall in a pressure cooker so the meat fell off the bone<\/li>
                                                • Cochrane\u2019s the tailors at the Cross<\/li>
                                                • tram rails visible in the tarmac of the roads round the Cross in the early 1950s, even though the trams were long gone<\/li>
                                                • a rough pub \u2018The Monk\u2019s Retreat\u2019 in City Road<\/li>
                                                • Dutton\u2019s Sigarro grocer\u2019s shop, one of the first Chester shops to stay open after lunch on Saturdays<\/li>
                                                • an off-licence near the Northgate, where Canon Coad was a regular for bottles of Scotch which he swept off the counter and under his hassock in a lightening move<\/li>
                                                • Hoole Hall off Hoole Road, requisitioned by the Army until 1950<\/li>
                                                • Canadian Avenue, a very posh road lined with beech trees<\/li>
                                                • the Delamere Restaurant<\/li>
                                                • Quaintways<\/li>
                                                • the Kardomah Caf\u00e9<\/li>
                                                • Hignett\u2019s Fish & Chip shop<\/li>
                                                • Mr Stubbs corner shop in Cheyney Road alongside the canal bridge<\/li>
                                                • Mr Rigby the grocer\u2019s in Garden Lane<\/li>
                                                • the Co-op in Garden Lane where change was dispensed via a vacuum tube that whizzed payments around the shop at ceiling level to a cashiers office<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2400,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"full-width","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"on","neve_meta_content_width":100,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2392","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmjmedia.co.uk\/CCCAWP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmjmedia.co.uk\/CCCAWP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmjmedia.co.uk\/CCCAWP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmjmedia.co.uk\/CCCAWP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmjmedia.co.uk\/CCCAWP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jmjmedia.co.uk\/CCCAWP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmjmedia.co.uk\/CCCAWP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmjmedia.co.uk\/CCCAWP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}