We enjoyed a memorable and hilarious evening on Tuesday 2nd February as we listened to Alan Hyde and some of his sound recordings from early broadcasting days. Acquiring these clips has been his life long passion, and his collection of now over one thousand forms the basis of valuable sound archive which otherwise might have been lost. His presentation was both informative and full of humour.
We were introduced to Gracie Fields the singer offering Mirro free if you purchased two cartons of Fairy soap, Lord Belisha (as in Belisha beacons) speaking to children in 1938 urging them to collect a free copy of the Highway Code from their local post office, Max Bygraves, commissioned by the National Coal Board to sing about safety in the mines.
The British Broadcasting Corporation did not escape as we listened to a news bulletin about a huge hole ‘big enough to swallow a double decker bus’ that had opened up on Wimbledon Broadway during Wimbledon tennis week. Traffic chaos ensued and listeners were urged to take the bus!
We heard the story of a couple that had queued for over two hours at the Antiques Road Show who upon arrival at the china stall discovered their carton did not contain their china but the families hibernating tortoise! Who says history is not fun? Why not join us on Tuesday 2nd March for our next meeting. See the events page for details.
