Telly Savalas looks at UK Cities

 

In 1981 the British Film Producer Harold Baim made 3 documentry films about British Cities (Birmingham, Aberdeen and Portsmouth) all narrated by the actor Telly (Kojak) Savalas. Originally there were supposed to have been 11 of these short films, but only 3 were ever made. When asked why Telly Savalas?? Baim replied "its a marketing ploy" Baim's short films known as Quota Quickies were originally made for distribution with United Artists films/ features which enabled UA to meet the legal requirements for the minimum number of UK-made productions shown at the cinema. Being as I come from Portsmouth I do find this film quite intriguing and entertainingly quirky.  As Telly says "a time capsule of life in Toooder England" "So long Portsmouth..here's looking at you" he also said "here's looking at you" at the end of Aberdeen and Birmingham so I suspect another Telly catch phrase was in the making there. Old Telly had lots of catch phrases thanks to his character in Kojak "Who loves ya, baby?" and "Cootchie-coo!" "here's looking at you".

Telly Savalas Looks at Birmingham
https://youtu.be/EoHVO1eSMFc
Telly Savalas Looks at Aberdeen
https://youtu.be/WhIyj64TQPg

Which Magazine. Anorak or Parka

From September 1976

Winter fuel bill worries

Pension worries

Out of Work Unemployment

Or Anorak and Parka? 

 I had a Snorkel Coat. Blue with furry hood and bright orange lineing. The bright Orange lining went to a dirty orange and then a strange Orange Brown. Unfortunatly a year before that I had a very very cheap Purple Parka (PURPLE PARKA!!!! when everyone else had a Snorkel Coat ) I remember clearly the laughter as I entered the playground with it on for the 1st time, there was a cocophony of screaming and laughter the jeering still haunts me to this day. "Purple Parka" "Purple Parka" "Purple Parka" (plus lots of swearing).......The Horror The Horror.

The Future of things past 1986

The Future of things past was a Two-part documentary about the customs and traditions of Britain. Directed by Elizabeth Wood. Wassailing, BurryMan, Cheese rolling, Tar Barrel Parade, Apple Trees & Shotguns, Haxy Hood, Hare Pie Scramble, Sailors Hobby Horse, Padstow Mayday, Penny Hedge, Beating the Bounds, Garland day, Turning the Devils Stone, Barrel Rollers. Could there really be any more crammed into this? Def worth a watch.

 

Cobblestones Cottages & Castles

Cobblestones, Cottages and Castles was a TV series produced in 1989 by TSW (Television South West) and was little known outside of the TSW region. I picked the 1st book up from an old 2nd hand book shop one day. Had never heard of the series before despite having spent quite a bit of time in the West Country (I do remember Gus Honeybun though) but once I had flicked through the pages realised I had in fact visited a lot of the places mentioned. In the book David Young covers The Rhenish Tower Lynmouth, The Hanging Chapel Langport, King Alfreds Tower Stourhead, The Coffin House Brixham, Burrow Mump, Gold Hill Shaftesbury (Hovis Ad) The Somerset levels and Trackways, Clapper Bridge Postbridge, The Giant Zodiac Glastonbury, Posy Tree Mapperton and many many more curious and interesting places and things.
The only thing I could find on YouTube was a very blurred intro from the series.
Quite a few copies of all three books are available on Ebay
A bit here on the history of TSW, David Young gets a mention.

Made in Belgium

Peel Tapes

I discovered Peel in 1985 and began taping him off the radio the following year.  And because I was an introverted weirdo with no social life, I had the time and the inclination to make covers for them, [and give them cringe-inducingly whacky titles - uh!]  These are the ones that survive.

I remember being incredibly excited by the idea of putting Letraset directly onto a cassette body.

West Country Tales

West Country Tales was an early 1980s anthology supernatural drama series based on real-life experiences sent in by viewers in response to a BBC appeal. Of the hundreds of letters received, 14 stories were selected and turned into TV scripts. Some of the actors who appeared in the series included Nanette Newman, Jenny Hanley, Anita Harris, Milton Reid, John Abineri, Wendy Richard, Tom Adams, Jack Watson, Keith Barron. Unfortunately of the 14 stories only nine seem to be available. The missing episodes are Tell It to the Marines, Sarah, The Little Bounder, The Healer, The Sabbatical. In some ways this series was perhaps a forerunner of programs like Channel 4's recent series True Horror. The episode called The Visitor tells the tale of A mother and her daughter who live in a remote cottage. One day they receive an unwelcome visitor whose intentions may or may not be malevolent.This is an interesting tale which could have almost been written (but was not) by Robert Aickman. In places this story does have the pace and feel of some of Aickman's short stories, some of which always seem to leave you feeling slightly undecided and unsure but always wanting to know more. If you can track a copy of the series down it is def worth a purchase. But I should add that the quality of some of the episodes on the DVD are quite poor. (I should mention I did not buy my copies, they were a gift from a friend, so do not know where they were purchased from) There are a few episodes of West Country Tales on YouTube

Pippin in Playland

1982.  Mary, Mungo, Midge, Benn, Snuggles and Cholet.