Who has still got a Blue Peter badge? asks Jeff Belton

Jeff Belton… who has still got a Blue Peter badge? He wrote a letter to Biddy Baxter the editor of Blue Peter and said his thoughts on how the show got its name. She replied with a badge in the post.

Peter Thomson… One of my daughters still has hers (she’s in her 30s now). When we lived in Germany she gained free access to zoos etc even over there when she wore it.

Daryl Perkins…My daughter has a green one from 1993.

Merv Kennard… I have a blue one from the early sixties

Lyn Humphrey… Forgot to ask for one when our dog was on the prog. Always regretted that!

Jan Warren… I was bought up with ITV, so I watched Magpie!! – I’m still with ITV and furious that I have to pay the BBC licence fee!! – its well out of date and should be SCRAPPED!!

Nigel Ford… I still have a couple of blue ones from the sixties, I wrote in about …”I don’t know what!” ….I may even have a third I found at a car boot sale in the 80’s? would part with one Lyn if I can find them….they’re in storage, but I think I know where.

Blue Peter badge supplied by Merv Kennard

 

Alexandra Park Hastings – boats

Tracy Howell… Why they ever changed, kids would of loved. I did

Lyn Farkley Appleyard… Tracy, We were ALL happy with things kids (and even adults) never experienced. Life experiences will never be replaced by any computer game……..

Angela Frances Gardner… I loved the rowing boats in the park. So sad when they were taken away.

Sandra Cunningham… My cousin Jo used to work on them in the 60s x

Pauline Sims… Good times!

Lloyd Johnson… In the 1950s I remember building a Jetex model of the Bluebird boat. Alan Mitchell and I took it to the boating lake ,luckily it was on a long piece of fishing line. We lite the fuse of the Jetex motor and it went off like a rocket and then dived under the water at high speed….smoke everywhere!…

Alan Mitchell… I remember it well !

Amanda Russell… I remember watching fireworks there…over the boating lake…it was awsome.

Lyn Farkley Appleyard… Sheer bliss……

Bernard Goffredo… And now it is a filter bed for water instead of being something built for the Public to enjoy

Linda Boiling… remember them well. Shame we don’t have them anymore

Allan Mitchell… Good times!

Tony Qunta… Such a shame! Bad idea taking them away, just like it was a bad idea replacing the cricket ground with a shopping area!

Mick O’Dowd… I spent many hours here as a lad. On the boats and sailing my pond yacht (whatever happened to this hobby?)

Marilyn Spence… “Come in number 2!”

Tracy Birrell… My first boyfriend rowed me across the lake on a date.

Dennis Torrance… I remember well iced over in 63 playing on the boats happy times and fireworks there Wednesday nights and ice cream hut there small block of ice cream in a wafer

Keith Veness… Great time there

 

 

Did anyone go on the Magic Bus coach trips in the 1970’s?

Leigh Mitchell… No – but I’d go on one now at those prices

Rebecca Roach… What a memory – delighted to find this – I went on the Magic Bus to Athens from Kings Cross station in 1972/3 (?) stayed at The Funny Trumpet hostal in Athens – that was an experience!

R Stene… Yes. London to Athens in 1978. I was the oldest person on the ride (36) and best dressed it turned out. No head rests for three days and a memorable toilet stop for two girls on the side of the road in Yugoslavia in the snow. Lots of interesong smoking going on in the back seats.

Mike Curtis… No. Cos it was “too much”

John Wilde… Yes twice to Amsterdam.

Vicki Campbell… Yes, Athens to Amsterdam 1975. Yugoslavia we broke down near Skopje.  Pretty rough travel but the price was right! I remember how happy everyone was to cross into Austria! The fresh produce in Yugoslavia was the best anywhere.

Heather Sidery… Yes.. France and back. We we’re stopped in UK, and searched by police. Nothing found…..

Julie Findlay-jones… My uncle used to drive for them in the 70s.

David Hamblett… Went to Athens 1979, it cost £28,Should have been 3 days but took 4 as Yugoslavia police stopped the bus and took away the driver, Fantastic

Amanda Darling… David, I was on that bus too! My son was conceived on the roadside in Yugoslavia when the bus driver was taken off by the police!

Joan Hicks… I (a Kiwi) traveled Athens to London 1976. Alan was the lone driver. He had his kids Claire and Roger with him. Alan had a kidney stone attack in the Alps, so the whole busload baby sat until he came back. Also got stuck at the Yugoslavian border, the border guards demanding $200 US for a Visa I already had. Also got an unplanned day in Amsterdam. Brilliant trip. Made some good friends and still keep in touch with a couple of them. Traveled on with Alan down to Cornwall and stayed with him and his wife Flora for a few days. Happy days!

Meryl Gay… Yes, I took the 3day trip in 1975 from London via France, Italy over the ferry at Brindisi to Greece down to Athens. What a adventure. We had a puncture in France! Had many happy memories.

Peter Ellingworth… I didn’t myself but my youngest cousin Moira, sadly no longer with us having succumbed to cancer, and over from Australia at the time (1975-8) on their traditional overseas rite of passage, did so with her Canadian flat mate she lodged with in Shepherds Bush…..and ended up in Athens marrying a Greek. Did the bus go from the old coach station half way up Pentonville Rd., (now an upmarket restaurant) or from outside King’s Cross Rail station itself, most likely in York Way ?

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Broken Wheel Discotheque with Spangles Muldoon 27th March 1970.

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photo source http://www.offshoreradio.co.ukSpangles Muldoon in the Radio Northsea International studio in 1970. Photo from the ‘RNI-book’ published by Hit-Publications, Switzerland.

Nick Prince… Spangles Muldoon also had a very short period on Radio Luxembourg. Still didn’t we all. Lol. Chris Carey also worked on Radio North Sea International and Radio Nova. He died in 2008 following two massive strokes.

Mick O’Dowd… Wasn’t he a Caroline DJ? I think Andre might have info on that.

Andre Martin… Hi I promoted this at the Regent Hotel, we renamed this the Broken Wheel for a short while and Spangles who was real name Chris Carey, living in Cambridge at the time. Paul was also involved in this project. the advert is for the first night, I have to say that it did not pull too many punters. Another little piece of the Past. Mick – your quite right, we also did a couple of gigs for us at Bluies-Canterbury around the same time as this. He was ex Radio Caroline South.He ended up working for commercial radio in Ireland.

 

Procol Harum – Hastings Pier 26th March 1976

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poster & ticket supplied by Mick Mepham,  ads supplied by Sarah Harvey

 

Graham Burfield… I remember that gig.

Jo Turner… I so loved those Procol Harum gigs

Peter Fairless… I think I might have remembered if I’d skipped a light fandango!

Fleur Cornes… I was there…:)

Mick Knights… Is the pier gig the one where a fisherman stole their outside broadcast mike they had put over the side of the pier to enhance A Salty Dog?

Dennis Torrance… I was there

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Trams and Trolleybuses in Hastings, St Leonards, Bexhill. Robert J Harley book 1905-1959

Supplied by Peter Ellingworth. All images © Robert J Harley

Roger Simmonds… Loved the old trolley buses!

Peter Ellingworth… I would strongly recommend Robert Harley’s book, it has an absolute wealth of detail and certainly filled me in on a lot – I bought mine while at the East Anglia Transport Museum just outside Lowestoft, on a day incidentally when Hastings T-Bus no.34, the last one to run in Hastings under its own power on June 1st 1959, was working. I would, if you don’t want to buy the book outright, as like a lot of these publications they mainly cater to a niche market for sad anoraks like me and are not cheap, Hastings Library may well have a copy or can obtain one through the inter-library request service for a small fee. Re. The photos : the last two were taken a couple of weeks before the end, and the one with Happy Harold on an enthusiasts’ tour in 1958. I believe in latter years the High St. was made traffic signal controlled one way working for buses, such as when this particular photo was taken. At the top of the High Street is I think, at least it still was the last time I passed that way, the one remaining street traction pole still used for a street light that used to support the overhead wiring going back to tramway days complete with finial. The other two are in the grounds of Silverhill depot, and are visible from the road. And a number of wall mounted rosettes to carry the span wire that supported the running wires are still around the town. Again these date from Tramway days. Many thanks for an excellent coffee meet Alan, good to see such a well supported turn out and looking forward to the next.

 

Who remembers Dimarco’s?

supplied by Terry Huggins

Mark Praid… Wow, this brings back memories of the one in Hove. The best hard ice vanilla you could get.

Dennis Torrance… Ice cream was amazing there so good. I remember going shopping with my mum price rite then egg and chips lime milk shake on Friday night thanks for the memories

Wendy Belton… Remember it well. Their ice cream was amazing.

Rachel Rayburn… It was my very first job! Saturday mornings serving coffee

Keith Blizard… Not only great ice cream, a wonderful family !

Mick Knights… All meeting up late Sunday afternoon for egg beans and chips before deciding which film to see in the evening, we were creatures of habit in those days

Lloyd Johnson… I do! Tony Di Marco went to my school and I had a summer job along the seafront towards the Old Town working for the family in their ice cream shop, just before George street…

Nastassja Kaschevsky… Used to go in there a lot, lovely family.

Dennis Torrance… My mum worked in the dimarcos under st marys in the castle early 60s I used to play the machines and eat the ice cream there to mums name was Ivy Torrance

William Wallace… the one in hastings gave u the biggest cup of tea in the world lol

Keith Cowper… One of my favourite places in the 50s and 60s

Chris Meachen… Some of my earliest memories are of my dad taking me in there,- He seemed to be friends with the owners (Mr Louis is the name I recall?) I used to have an egg & tomato finger roll followed by one of their fabulous ice creams. Went in regularly all through the years until they closed, much better than a poxy macdonald’s.

Andy Caine… So much time spent in there! The interior was beautiful.

Harry Randall…  see a lot of comments about the Ice Cream! Well a lot of people don’t realise the Ice Cream/Cafe opposite the “De La Warr” in Bexhill is the same family!

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