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Showing posts from August, 2015

Hold-A-Gap-On-Tees...

You need a long memory to remember the early days of ITV Television in the UK. Programme formats were quite different than the sleek productions of today. I can just remember actor Terry Thomas hosting a 15 minute magazine slot around our evening meal in which he endorsed varios products to the viewers. As I recall the programme was called Hold-A-Gap On Tees : a reference I think to the famous gap in his front teeth. Actor Jimmy Handley also had a similar slot in that he was a bartender in a small public bar and would bring out and demonstrate a number of household products to his drinking customers. Jimmy Handley appeared in a couple of early Will Hay films when in his youth and had a busy career as an actor later on. He is tops in the movie The Black Rider - a dvd from Renown Pictures. TV face Jenny Handley is his daughter.

Classic Films...

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There are many great classic films around that we all love and we each have our own favourites, for me, Rear Window released in 1954 does it. An enduring story told in only the way Hitchcock could tell it. With James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter, and an early appearance for Raymond Burr, its a plot with a simple logic and that holds the key to its impact. It’s a look into our lives and how some live on the dark side. The original was restored for Universal Pictures by Robert A. Harris and James C. Katz and released on DVD.

At The Gates of Gainsborough...

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This has to be a classic shot – My Son and Daughter at the gates of Gainsborough Studios in 1995 before the building was modified. Gainsborough were based at Islington, North London until 1940 and produced many fine British films. They moved the studios to White City after fears that a German bomb could bring down the tall chimney of the one time power station.

Mead Open Farm...

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  Well, it was Cows, Goats, Lambs and Alpacas along with Cheesy Chips and Climbing frames when some of the family made a visit to Mead Open Farm nr, Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire this week. There were cheeky goats, cute piglets and adorable sheep to soft rabbits, friendly ponies and donkeys. An indoor playworld and a super cafe. The weather was kind to us rounding off a day of complete pleasure.