One Lovely way to start the year

At the very end of last year (it still feels a little odd describing 2013 as "last year" but I'm sure that will soon fade), amid all the Christmas and New Year messages, I was delighted to receive the always-pleasant surprise of a One Lovely Blog Award from One More Stitch.

I can't say enough times how happy and genuinely thrilled I am that so many people actually read, enjoy and comment on this unassuming little blog.  When I started writing Eclectic Ephemera back in 2009, simply as a way to the fill the void left by my then-redundant job, I could scarcely have believed it would one day be entering its fifth year as a fully-fledged vintage blog - with a sponsored post under its belt and surrounded by so many like-minded online friends.  My very first post was entitled "Giant oaks from little acorns grow", which I'll admit was written with more than a little self-deprecating humour (fans of Laurel & Hardy may also have got the reference!) - as were my comments about it being "the best thing since sliced bread" or "dying a death within the month".  While sliced bread's place in history is still safe, things here are very much alive and the metaphorical oak tree is definitely well-established.  2014 could hardly have got off to a more promising start blog-wise and I hope this year will see Eclectic Ephemera evolve and grow even more.

So to this latest One Lovely Blog award, which I see has changed its appearance yet again.  The "rules" have stayed the same, though, but just in case anyone's still unfamiliar with them I have to thank the blogger who passed it on to me, reveal seven little-known facts about yours truly and pass on the award to seven blogs that I follow.

Many thanks indeed, then, to One More Stitch for passing on this award to me and for her kind words in re: my blog.  If you want to read about knitting pre-1900 and particularly in the 18th century I suggest you toddle on over to her blog.

Now, seven things about me.  Considering I was running low on "interesting" facts by the second one of these awards I'm really struggling now to think of seven more!  Like OMS I may come up short this time and I can guarantee we'll now be several feet below the bottom of the barrel.

source
Or a [Steampunk] submarine

• I am not a particularly strong swimmer and have never been able to swim underwater.  Couldn't tell you why; there wasn't any off-putting moment in my youth or a struggle to learn, I've just never been able to get my head around the concept.  No, it's not for me!  We spent millions of years as a species evolving to get out of the water so if we were meant to still swim about under it we'd have been given the means to do so.  Instead we've had to create our own devices and they're the only way you'd ever get me below the waves.
• I have always held an abiding dislike of wasps and balloons (this will count as two facts!).  I'm better now with both than I was as a child (the former in particular bordered on full-blown spheksophobia - there you are, I've just given you all a new word) but I will still move away from wasps or just flail about a bit, and balloons continue to leave me on edge (especially if they're in the hands - or mouth - of a baby!).  I'm no fun at parties or picnics, I can tell you!
• I'm not particularly fond of loud noises in general, as it happens (hence my anti-balloon stance). 

  

  Not in my house

  Crockery banging together, doors slamming, shouting - that sort of thing really tries my nerves.  Not that I'm a nervous person by nature, but I value my peace and quiet and don't take kindly to noisy interruptions.  I do my best to be as quiet and soft as possible in my day-to-day routine and it annoys me when others maybe aren't quite so considerate.  Sometimes I just like to sit quietly and listen to the silence around me (even more of a treat if I'm out and about and find there's a sudden quiet moment).  Doubtless this is a trait inherited from my parents - mother's side all have pin-sharp hearing while father's lot were peaceful - you never heard him even raise his voice and I'm the same, if I shout it sounds unnatural to me and makes me feel quite rotten.
• Thanks to a recently-renewed investigation into my family history I have been able to confirm an old family legend that held an ancestor of mine from Limerick, Ireland, plied the streets of the London as a blind whistler.  Lo and behold in the 1901 and 1911 census he is listed as clear as day - "street musician and whistler (blind)"!  The story further has it that he was "known to Queen Victoria"!  That's still unconfirmed, but as the first part is true, who knows...?



© IWM (A 9987)
Granddad's primary ship HMS Agamemnon,
pictured at the Kyle of Lochalsh, Scotland

• My late grandfather served in the Royal Navy during WW2 as a leading telegraphist - meaning he sent and received [coded] messages in Morse Code, a language that never left him.  He was for the majority of the war on minelayers in the Nothern Barrage, around the North Atlantic, the North and Norwegian Seas.  His stories, some of which I have written down, would doubtless make for interesting reading and I hope one day to have the opportunity to look up his war record.



Gathering dust...

• I think I may have mentioned this before (!) but my favourite board game is most definitely Monopoly.  Unfortunately outside of computer versions I haven't played it for years now because none of my friends and family like playing it.  "Boring and long-winded" they call it - the blimmin' cheek!  Will I ever find anyone willing to give me a game I wonder?

The seven bloggers I have chosen to pass this award on to all have equally splendid, well-deserving sites, such that I'm surprised I haven't already nominated them before.  They are:

Ruby Armoire
A Vintage Nerd
Vintage Follies
Mid Century Girl
Little Miss Bamboo
stories read aloud
We'll Meet Again

As always I know these things aren't everyone's cup of tea and anyone is perfectly entitled to do anything or nothing with this award - whatever they see fit.

Thanks once again to One More Stitch for nominating me, thanks to everyone for making it to the end of this post and congrats to the latest seven winners of the One Lovely Blog Award!

The Great British Moan Off

As I sit here waiting for the Great British Weather to make up its mind as to whether we're going to have an Indian Summer or not, it strikes me that now is as good a time as any to respond to the latest "blogger tag" that has been bestowed upon by that fine fellow of the North, G.M. Norton.  Less of an award and more of a sharing experience, it involves the somewhat different - albeit typically British - trait of moaning.

Mr Norton has highlighted three things that he would consign to his own personal Room 101.  Good manners, or rather lack thereof, naturally makes it to his list and can also be found amongst the gripes of others who have been tagged and quite right too.  The three I have chosen could be said to encompass common courtesy, but all I think share a similar thread.

Insularity and the death of community

source
Like it says on the top right...

If there's one thing guaranteed to make me miserable, it's walking to the shops or around the local park and trying to engage with people I pass on the way.  I should know by now that it will usually end in disappointment.  The local uniform of grey jogging bottoms and sweatshirts, the grim faces, the downward/straight ahead look - they should all tip me off that saying "hello", "good morning/afternoon" is a waste of breath.  Yet, ever the optimist (this post is certainly not my usual fare) I still do it.  Although to be honest these days it's more often a mumbled "hiyathereyouallright", which I always mentally kick myself afterwards for the slovenly cop-out it is.  Still it's better than nothing, I suppose.  And heaven forfend I should ever smile and nod at someone for I seem always to be met with a look of shocked disgust and confusion, as if I'd just slapped them round the face with a wet kipper.  Try keeping eye contact for more than 3 seconds and you can almost hear "How dare you look in my general direction, you strangely well-dressed man?!  Weirdo."  (As a single man, who may appear to others as being slightly differently dressed, the spectre of being thought a sinister deviant is always at the back of my mind, especially when it comes to children, which is a sad indictment of modern society in itself).  Occasionally you'll be gifted with the odd person(s) who will respond positively (and I can bet they generally won't be younger than the Baby Boomer generation, who seem the last to have been brought up to recognise this courtesy - present company excepted, of course!) and when it happens it truly does feel like a special occasion, a day-maker, so rare is it otherwise.  And that's the beauty of passing greetings on the street - it shows you recognise the equal importance of the other party (not to mention simply acknowledging their very existence) and have good will enough to pass the time of day with them.  Better that than the attitude of suspicion that seems to pervade most places these days.  This, then, is my first moan - the demise of day-to-day community spirit and the insularity of modern society. 

Apathy and the death of personal responsibility/common sense

source
Take it to the tip yourself or call the council, before someone
comes along and sets fire to it...

To use a personal example - so, Mr Fellow Resident, having gouged lumps out of the newly-plastered walls in the communal entrance hall with your clumsy removal skills you're now just going to leave your old sofa dumped outside, eh?  Not your problem anymore, I suppose?  The refuse workers will just pop it in the dustcart with the black bags, you think?  Even after it's been out there for three weeks?  The fact that someone else nearby did the same thing and then had their house burned down when arsonists came a-calling doesn't bother you, I imagine?

There, then, is a microcosm of an epidemic that has swept the nation - the abdication of personal responsibility and an apathetic attitude to others (and even, I would venture to suggest, themselves - it would certainly help explain the appearance of some I see around here).  How can these people not have even a twinge of conscience, of selfless thought to do what would often be the simplest action to make things better for everyone?  It is left to the authorities and the likes of you and me to do what they will not, which in the long run can only compound the problem ("someone else'll do it").  It's a thorny issue with no quick fix but something needs to be done to rid these folks of their apathy.  In the meantime I continue to shake my fists at them in frustration.

Swearing in front of children

Even I might utter the odd oath under my breath from time to time, but only when provoked and never in company.  Swearing in public in general is a particular bugbear of mine and I have nothing but admiration for those people with the courage to speak up to the perpetrator.  But one aspect that makes my already steaming blood boil is when people do it in the presence of children (e.g. on the bus, in shops etc.).  And within that aspect is another...

source

Now I don't usually get involved much on the subject of modern parenting; being a single chap myself I know I'm not particularly qualified - any observations I make still tend to be along the lines of "when I was a boy...".  Generally it is up to the parent to bring up the child as they see fit and to their credit most do a good job of it.  Bad parenting on the other hand is a wide-ranging issue and the subject of many a social commentary or government policy, if not worse.  I won't attempt to cover the whole issue here but only one small, particularly irksome aspect which I'm afraid I sometimes encounter.  I really do hope any responses to this will be along the lines of "I don't know what you mean, Bruce" or "Nope, never come across that before".  I refer to those parents who walk around with three or four children in tow, double buggies etc., smoking like chimneys and swearing like sailors.  My overwhelming feeling upon encountering these groups is utter pity, mixed with helplessness/hopelessness (plus a little extra antipathy for the parents), for these poor children who will grow up thinking that is the norm.  "There's another generation lost", I can't help but think, and there are times I've even wondered how far the child cruelty laws extend...  As mentioned earlier the whole subject of proper, healthy parenting can be a hideously complex issue, encompassing both personal responsibility and government provision.  I won't even begin to go down that road here; I think I've gone on quite long enough as it is!

As is often the way with rants, I seem to have ended up writing a mini essay - apologies!  If you've made it this far, well done, and I hope you've nodded in agreement at least somewhere along the way.  I won't pass this on, if you don't mind - I think I've spread enough doom and gloom with this as it is, things that Eclectic Ephemera was expressly set up to banish, but do feel free to add your own thoughts and pet hates here if you want.  Let me end on a happy note by wishing you all a happy and frustration-free week!

Der dritte Liebster!

I must start by apologising for there being a whole week between posts but the truth is I've still been enjoying a restful period following my recent hospitalisation (all's quite well, I'm just taking my time [read: being lazy!] in getting back into the swing of things).   Now though I've taken a moment to think about doing another blog post and, although I've still got a couple of drafts that I'm looking forward to finishing, I received a pleasant surprise this weekend in the form of another Liebster Blog Award so I thought I'd take the opportunity to use that as the basis for a new post - and here it is!

It is Roxie from The Ramblings of Roxie Roulette who I must thank for this particular Liebster and I urge you to check out her excellent vintage/rockabilly blog if you haven't already done so.

Most of you will know by now the rules that come with this award but for those of you who have come in late, briefly - I must thank the blogger who passed it on, answer 11 questions put to me by them, provide eleven random facts about yours truly and then give the award on to 11 of my favourite blogs with another eleven questions of my own.  Without wasting any more time, then, here we go:

11 Questions from Roxie

source

What is your favourite piece of clothing that you have ever owned?
I've mentioned before the pair of navy cords that are so comfortable I've almost worn them out and my 1940s Kuppenheimer overcoat, which must both vie for the top spot, but there is a special place in my heart for a jumper I had for a few years in my early teens.  To call it "novelty" would be to do it a disservice - it was better than that.  I bought it from a lovely little wool mill during a walking holiday in Yorkshire.  It was made from the softest, warmest pure wool and had as a pattern a beautiful local scene not unlike the one shown in the above picture - although mine featured a windmill, cows and corn sheaves in a field.  I wore it throughout the trip and frequently when I got home - until my stepdad stuck it in the wash and shrunk it so that it would only have fitted a small 4-year old(!).  Despite his claims that "it will stretch out again" it never did.  I've long since forgiven him, of course, although I often tease him about it still - and he has promised over the years to buy me a replacement but no-one's been able to remember the name of the place where we got it nor been back to that part of Yorkshire since, so a new one remains tantalisingly out of reach.

If you could be a fly on the wall for any event in history, what would that be?
This question was tougher than I thought it would be!  "Fly on the wall" indicates to me something that occurred inside a building or other enclosed space, so I would say - in the New York Stock Exchange on the 29th October 1929; in other words "Black Tuesday", the Wall Street Crash of 1929.

Guilty pleasure, food wise?
I've said it before and will say it again - strawberry cheesecake.  I could easily eat a whole one at one sitting!

Who has been the biggest influence in your life?
The simplest and most obvious answer would be my parents, or perhaps my grandmother, all of whom of course played no small part in raising me into the man I am today.  Outside of family I would have to pick... James C. Bigglesworth - better known as "Biggles", the [fictional, children's] pilot adventurer.  I read my first Biggles book when I was about 11 - an impressionable age I'm sure you'll agree - and to this day I thank heaven that I did, for I can think of few better role models for a young boy even today.  His attitude, actions and principles have inspired me, thrilled me and helped shape my own behaviour far more than any other character in popular culture.  

Source: i4.mirror.co.uk via Bruce on Pinterest

"while men are decent to me I try to be decent to them, 

regardless of race, colour, politics, creed or anything else"

Why did you start your blog?
I originally started this blog, as I wrote in my very first post back in November 2009 (seems like half a lifetime ago now!), to post stories that were funny, light-hearted and linked to my wider interests as an antidote to all the doom and gloom that seemed (and still seems) to pervade the media (whoever said "bad news sells" was right, sadly!).  Over time I must have begun to realise that I was perhaps casting my net a little too wide so I started to focus just on the purely vintage-related news.  I'm glad that I did too, otherwise I may never have come to know all the lovely people in the vintage blogosphere!

If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would that be?
I'd been holding off posting my number one "Desert Island Disc" for some time (no real reason) but now that the question has been fairly asked I can think of no better time to reveal it.  Oddly enough it isn't even "vintage" - unless you count the 1980s as such; which, having been born and grown up in that decade I don't!  I've mentioned this chap once or twice before as my favourite "current" artist but I wouldn't be surprised if you'd never heard of him for he has been criminally under-appreciated for almost his entire 30-year career, despite him winning many Grammy Awards.  His name is Bruce Hornsby and it is this song, his 1986 debut recorded with his then-band The Range (he still tours and records with his latest group, the Noisemakers), which ironically became his biggest hit (reaching No. 1 in the U.S., Canada and the Netherlands and number 15 in the U.K.).  Even if you've never heard of him or the song title chances are you've heard it in one form or another as credits on daytime TV, bad muzak (is there any other sort?) or maybe even on rare occasions on the radio in its pure, beautiful form.  I could (and often do) happily sit and listen to this song on repeat - if need be for the rest of my life. 



What was your favourite television show as a child?
It would have to be a toss-up between Inspector Gadget or The Transformers.  Or possibly, ahem, Wacaday.

I say red, you say...?
Traffic light.

Recommend me a blog to follow.
Gosh, there are so many (just see how long my blogroll is on the right)!  One I think Roxie in particular might really like (although I'd recommend it to anyone) is Veronica Vintage.

What is your favourite scent in the whole entire world?
I appreciate how Roxie's kept the questions fairly unisex until now, but I'm afraid my answer for this is going to be rather blokey.  It's high octane petrol.  (N.B. I'm not suggesting girls need to rush out to their nearest petrol station and fill their perfume jars with Super Unleaded - for one thing the really powerful stuff burns like hell, in every sense! - but as I don't really know the names or smells of any ladies' perfumes, nor have much of a nose for flowers, high octane fuel really is my favourite scent in the whole entire world).

Would you rather have lollipops for fingers, or bread sticks for arms?
Lollipops for fingers, definitely.

11 Random Facts

This being at least the third set of facts, the bottom of the barrel may be scraped(!)

I have a real problem with flash photography (one of the reasons there are few pictures of me on this blog, although I am getting better and have found a spot where I can turn the flash off and then use a bit of computer trickery to give photos enough light).  This all stems from when I was diagnosed, at about 10 years old, with a mild form of epilepsy known as "Petit Mal" (now more commonly referred to as Child Absence Epilepsy).  Fortunately it is a type that the child usually outgrows - sometimes with the aid of medication - as it was in my case.  But obviously for a time flashing lights were a great risk and I developed an aversion to them which still hasn't completely left me.  As a result more often than not any photos of me taken with a flash often end up showing me with my eyes shut (many a school class photo was ruined thanks to me!).

My favourite colour is yellow, because it's so bright and happy.  My favourite/lucky number, happily considering this particular award, is the number 11!

source

The country I'd most like to visit is Canada.  I went there for a day back in 1997 during a road trip to Niagara Falls but being partial to cold climates and beautiful scenery I would love to go back there and do the place justice, perhaps on a transcontinental rail journey or such.

During a visit to the Laurel & Hardy Museum in Ulverston, Cumbria (Stan Laurel's birthplace) many years ago I so hit it off with the curator that I was accorded the rare privilege of being allowed to actually wear one of Stan's bowler hats that he wore in their films.

I'm short-sighted and have been since I was about 12.  One day I'd like to get some proper vintage (or vintage-style) frames; I recently took advantage of optician Roope Vintage's Frame Style Guide to get an idea of what might suit me and I rather like the look of their suggestion - what do you think?

source

I used to go in for fossil collecting when I was younger and still have my collection of rocks and fossils, some shop-bought and some picked up during holidays to the Jurassic Coast around Lyme Regis and Charmouth.

The first album I ever bought was in 1993 and it was an 11-track CD of dance club remixes of the Laurel & Hardy theme tune, The Dance of The Cuckoos!  Oh the shame (I've still got it too)!

I once found a 1967 half crown, which now graces my coin collection, in the pocket of a pair of costume trousers I was wearing during a performance of HMS Pinafore.

My favourite sports are cricket and snooker (also to play) plus motor racing (non-participant!).  My least favourites are rugby [shudder] and football.

source

In yet another visit to my personal library a further valued book in my collection is a 1930s copy of Everybody's Pocket Companion, a little reference book of facts and figures given to me by my late grandfather.

I once saw, a few years ago, what could only be described as UFOs.  I don't think they were extra-terrestrial in origin but to this day I couldn't tell you what they were (and I like to think I know a fair bit about aviation); my best theory is some sort of high-altitude military test.  I have always believed in life on other planets but remain ambivalent about the possibility of aliens visiting this planet.

Now to the eleven questions I have to set - which I'll be honest I'm useless at so I've again cribbed a good few from previous award-winners, although I managed to think of one or two of my own too:

Why did you start blogging?
Is your family understanding about your love of vintage and your desire to blog about it?
What country would you most like to visit?
When did you discover vintage?
What's your favourite vintage shop?
Is there a lot of vintage in the city where you live?
Did you discover new hobbies or interests after you discovered vintage?
What famous person from the past or present do you think you look like?
Who is your favourite author?
When you sit down to compose a blog post do you plan/think ahead or just write off the cuff?
If you could be a fly on the wall for any event in history, what would that be?

Then finally to the eleven bloggers to whom I gladly pass on this Liebster Blog Award.  I know these things aren't everyone's cup of tea so you are of course under no obligation to accept, answer any questions or tell us anything about you if you'd rather not!

Lovebirds Vintage
Victory Rolls and Roses
like johnny and june
Betty Bow
Sailing over a Cardboard Sea
The Forties Floozy
Veronica Vintage
Demi Lauren
Cheeky vintage chick
Vintage Lovin' Gal
Vintage Vapours

My thanks to Roxie for passing this award on to me; it's always reassuring to know this little blog is still so appreciated.  I hope you've enjoyed reading this near essay-length post (sorry about that!) and checking out the worthy blogs mentioned above.  I hope to be back later in the week with more classic Eclectic Ephemera fare; until then - pip-pip!

Liebster Blog Award

Last Friday I received a welcome surprise in the form of a Liebster Blog Award from Little Lil of London.  Thank you, Lil, it was very kind of you to pass the award on to me.

I had actually been following this particular award around the blogosphere as it had been bestowed on a couple of blogs I already follow - and, I'm happy to say, helped introduce me to a few more splendid ones too!  It seems to have undergone a slight change since I first received it, courtesy of The Vintage Knitter, back in March 2011.  Now for bloggers with fewer than 300 (or sometimes still 200) followers it also seems to come with 11 questions - devised by the giver - rather than the "7 interesting facts" caveat of before.  Nonetheless I'm still delighted to accept it again and take this opportunity to recognise some of the more recent blogs that I have started following.

Lil didn't provide 11 questions for me to answer, for which I am partly grateful as I had enough trouble before thinking up 7 facts about me that wouldn't send you all into a stupor.  I also could not help but notice a common thread running through the questions on each awarded blog involving enquiries about make-up, high heels, dresses and perfumes - queries I would have found very difficult to answer!  However, to keep in the spirit of the thing, I have decided to crib the eleven best (i.e. answerable) questions from the various bloggers to/from whom the Liebster Blog has been awarded.

1. What are you reading right now?

source

R. J. Mitchell: Schooldays to Spitfire.  A combination of biography and historical narrative it tells the [all too-short] life story Reginald Mitchell, the designer of the Spitfire, and the development of that famous fighter aircraft.  Written by his son, Dr. Gordon Mitchell.
 
2. What countries have you travelled to?
Outside those in the United Kingdom, I have been to: America, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium.

3. Which famous person/historical figure would you have dinner with?
If it were just dinner the historical figure would be W. O. Bentley, because then we would be able to "talk shop" and about the cars that still bear his name.  The famous person would be Stephen Fry, who would be able to talk about anything.  If it were more of a party I might choose Bix Beiderbecke historically and Robert Downey Jr. famously.

4. Does wearing or living vintage also affect the way you speak?
Yes, I would say first of all it encourages precise diction and clear speech because one wants to match one's appearance and the expectations it brings.  I also use a fair smattering of old-fashioned slang and exclamations, much to the amusement and mockery of my family and work colleagues - one of whom once observed that everything is "jolly good" with me on account of my saying it so much!

Source: hoopskirts-and-corsets.tumblr.com via Bruce on Pinterest

5. If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?
I'd like to be an archivist in a museum or similar institution, in a dusty old library or records room, swotting up on my specialist subject while surrounded by books and folders the contents of which I'd know off the top of my head. ;-)

6. What era inspires and intrigues you the most?
It's almost certainly a dead heat between the inter-war period of 1919-39 or the late Victorian/Edwardian era of around 1875-1918.  Both have their own æsthetic delights, mechanical marvels and sartorial splendours that I'd be hard-pushed to put a pin between the two.

7. What season is the best & what is the worst for wearing vintage?
Personally for this chap the worst season is definitely summer as I just can't be doing with all the heat, which is a challenge when it comes to dressing in the vintage style and retaining an air of coolness.  Best is therefore the opposite - late autumn/winter when unsightly perspiration ceases to become a worry and I can break out even more of my wardrobe: coats, hats, gloves, woollens.

8. What is your most favourite item of clothing that you own?
Properly vintage would be the 1940s Kuppenheimer overcoat that my aunt & uncle brought over from America for me on one of their past visits.  Otherwise I have a pair of navy cords that I've practically worn out, so comfortable and adaptable have they been over the last 5-6 years I've had them.

9. What is your favourite vintage name for a female?
I suppose it depends on the definition of "vintage" in this sense, as a lot of old-fashioned girls' names are still popular today.  Sophie, for instance.  If I were to dig around for something more obscure I might say Georgina (or even Georgiana).

10. What is your favourite vintage name for a male?
Same goes for the chaps.  Daniel has long been a favourite (you can't get more vintage than the Old Testament!), while Clive also appeals for its uncommonness.  Incidentally, as a bonus fact/challenge, my [real] first name comes from the Greek for "victory of the people" (I know, misnamed or what?) if you fancy trying to figure it out from that.

11. When did you discover Vintage?
As a subculture, in that finding there were other people in the world who liked the same things as I did (and more importantly, were of the same peer group) I would say it was probably around late 2005 or thereabouts.  That was when I discovered The Chap magazine and its attendant "chap room", The Sheridan Club, which helped throw a light on the whole vintage scene for me.

There you are, then - a few more tit-bits about yours truly, interesting or not as the case may be.  All that remains now is for me pass this award on to five more deserving blogs [with fewer than 300 followers].  If the owners wish to answer the same questions, pose eleven of their own or provide the old 7 facts (or even none of the above if they're not inclined!) then they are welcome to do so.  Congratulations to:

• Norton of Morton
• Fabulous Miss K
• Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Elegance
• Between Me, You and the Gatepost
• Leopard and Lipstick 

...and the winner is...!

OK folks, the Great Eclectic Ephemera One Hundred and Fifty Followers Giveaway competition is now officially closed.  Thank you to everyone who entered by commenting, and indeed thanks to all of my now 158(!) followers (and any others who may be following through other means such as BlogLovin').  It means a great deal to me that so many of you enjoy the things I find interesting and my thoughts on them.

So without further ado (or further adon't!) it is time to announce the lucky winner of all these historical and eclectic goodies that I have gathered together by way of thank you and celebration.

Using every blogger's favourite online random number generator random.org the winner, selected from the 10 comments, is... drum roll please...

(ooh, I can hardly stand the suspense!)

NUMBER 5 - the lovely Brooksie from The World According to Art Deco Girl!  Congratulations!!

Brooksie, please drop me a line with your address to the e-mail on my Profile (or using the button on the right) and I'll get the prizes sent out to you.

Apologies and commiserations to those of you who did not win this time (you're all winners in my book!) but once again my thanks to you all for following and commenting on this blog.  I'm now looking forward to the next milestone, the 200 barrier, but in the meantime I hope you continue to enjoy reading this blog as much as I do writing it.

Have a happy weekend, everyone!

Another One! (Lovely Blog Award)

Yesterday proved cause for a double bloggy celebration - not only did I hit 150 followers but the charming Anna of the blog Miss Beatrix kindly gave me a One Lovely Blog award.  Thank you, Anna, I'm flattered!

Hello too to all my followers old and new - I hope you're all still enjoying my vintage ramblings.  Now, I'm fully aware that fifty followers ago I promised a giveaway.  I've been a naughtily remiss blogger on that account, but the good news is that I definitely do have something planned for very soon.  The prizes are all set, I have a box in which to send them, so watch this space!

Back to the award, and the same caveats remain for accepting it (although the design seems to have changed since Jennie from It's A Charmed Life munificently gave it back in 2010, unless it's a different "One Lovely Blog" award - "Another Lovely Blog", "One More Lovely Blog", or "Two Lovely Blogs" perhaps? - just joshing, I'm honoured to receive it twice!).

First I of course have to thank the giver and link back to their blog (see first paragraph).  I then have to nominate fifteen other worthy blogs (something that isn't hard) and tell you all seven things about myself (which is!).

Thanks to my prolific use of the "Follow" function in the seven months since my last award, I have many more fine and noteworthy blogs on my list (and more importantly, ones that haven't received this award recently but which truly deserve it).  Here they are (in no particular order, beyond alphabetical!):

1. A Harem Of Peacocks
2. Advantage In Vintage 
3. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 
4. HATTATT 
5. Joyness Sparkles 
6. Lady Jardin - Vintage Views of the South Coast 
7. La Pépée de Paris 
8. Lil Vintage Me 
9. Love Letter from London 
10. Old Fashioned Susie
11. Ravishing Retro 
12. The Diary of Roxie Roulette 
13. The Lothians 
14. Vintage Secret 
15. Wartime Housewife

Now the hard part - seven facts* about me that I haven't told you before!  I have to admit to pinching some ideas from other nominees who have come before me for this time.  Here goes...

• My favourite blend of tea is Assam.  It has just the right mix of tannins, flavour and strength and makes the perfect cup of char.  I can go for Ceylon sometimes as well, although I tend to find that a bit weaker.  Currently my Assam comes from a certain orange-coloured supermarket but Twinings, Whittards and others have been known to be in my cupboard!
• I've been drinking tea since I was about 6 months old, when I suddenly went off milk (in all forms) and juices.  Following the doctor's advice to "try him on anything, he has to drink something", a warm and milky cup of tea was proffered and the rest, as they say, is history.

Mmmm, tea! ;-P  Check out that cottage suite - nice, huh?

• My favourite dessert (and cake) is cheesecake.  Strawberry for preference, although most varieties are appreciated (not so keen on chocolate/toffee, though).  It takes some not inconsiderable restraint to stop myself eating a whole strawberry cheesecake in one sitting.  Yum!

source

• I hate self-adhesive stamps.  On a personal level they make me feel like a child playing with stickers instead of a link in the chain of a traditional and time-honoured postal system.  As a philatelist they annoy me because they're the very devil to remove from paper - even prolonged soaking in warm water is not always effective and sometimes leaves a lumpen mess where the glue has remained and dried.  I've managed to overcome the former objection although not without difficulty.  Almost all British stamps are self-adhesive now due to "overwhelming support in public consultations".  It wouldn't have been quite so overwhelming if they'd asked me, I can tell you!  Sometimes I think these "public consultations" exist only in the mind of the companies who quote them, or are at the very least skewed to favour the preferred outcome (I should know, I used to work in market research!).  After much investigation the only stamps I can find that are still gummed are the Country Definitives, which bear the various symbols of each nation of the United Kingdom.  Over time I have stocked up on sheets of these definitives (the 2nd Class English three lions passant, for preference) until I have now got nearly 300 of them, setting me up for the foreseeable future (and avoiding the Royal Mail's recent extortionate price rise, ha ha!).

source

•  My favourite board game is Monopoly, but I'm alone in my liking of it, so I almost never get to play it.   I have to make do with Monopoly Deluxe CD-ROM and play against a computer, while hoping to find someone to play my Nostalgia Edition with.  Another of my favourite traditional games that I picked up from a charity shop many years ago is the card game British Towns.  Great fun, and at least the family enjoy it too so I get more of a chance to play it!

source

• My first word was nothing so pedestrian as "cat", "dog" or "car".  No, the very first word I ever said was "butterfly" (or to be precise "utterfly", as apparently I didn't quite make the "b")!  What a bright kid - where did it all go wrong, eh?

• Another of the most highly prized books in my library is a tome entitled Power and Speed: the story of the internal combustion engine on land, at sea and in the air, a 1938 first edition detailing all the latest advancements in engineering in all the disciplines mentioned and with lots of lovey fold-out cutaway drawings of 1930s cars, aeroplanes and boats (including some record-breakers) as seen in magazines of the day such as The Motor and The Aeroplane.  It even has contributions from the likes of Sir Malcolm Campbell and Prince Chula of Siam.  A beautiful book (despite 74 years of age and wear) that I am proud to own. 
  
  
  
   

Well, there we have it again.  Thanks again to Anna for the award, and I hope you've found at least some of this post interesting(!).  Don't forget to keep your eyes peeled for the forthcoming One Hundred and Fifty Followers Giveaway, in the meantime have a great weekend all!  Enjoy the sunshine now that it's here, and before it goes again!

* interestingness not guaranteed

The award-winning Artist

Silence is golden as The Artist scoops 7 BAFTAs

This is just to acknowledge and congratulate The Artist on its winning seven BAFTA awards in London last night, including Best Film and Best Actor for Jean Dujardin.  They are all thoroughly well-deserved, every one, and all those involved should be justly proud.  The Oscars™ await, I feel sure.

Silent movie The Artist dominates 65th Baftas

If you haven't seen The Artist yet - what's the matter with you?!  Hurry up; it won't be in cinemas for much longer!  The BAFTA buzz and the Oscar™ hype might keep it out there for a little longer, but already showings are starting to lessen.  If you're still unsure, or have been living under a rock for the past two months and don't know what it's all about - here's my review of it from last month.  It deserves, nay needs, to be seen on the big screen so please do so if you can.


The success of The Artsist in the face of such strong opposition this year should be celebrated by the vintage community and shows that the silent film is by no means a dead genre.  In this modern age it is wonderful to see such an old-fashioned film taken to heart so well.  Perhaps it is the lean times we find ourselves in, perhaps it is the beginnings of a rebellion against sensory-assaulting CGI and 3D but whatever it is I am happy to see it celebrated by its peers, and more than glad to be able to say I saw it on the big screen.

Well, I'll be bowed...

Just when I thought it had finally been forgotten about, up pops that flippin' red-and-white bow cardigan again - as originally sported by Miss Lemon in an episode of Poirot.  This time it is the turn of the utterly charming and achingly authentic Nabby of This Old Life to take inspiration from this ubiquitous garment.

Not only that, but she has been kind enough to pass on a blog award to me.  The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award, no less!  Thanks awfully, Nabs!

Now the familiar caveat with this gong is that I have to share 7 random facts about myself.  Bearing in mind I struggled to think of seven interesting things the last time I got one of these awards, this could easily turn into something of a snore-fest.

(i) I used to do quite a few mountain walks and fell climbing in my younger days.  Mainly in Britain; such stunning locations as the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, the Peak District and North Wales but also to places in Austria, Switzerland and Germany.  I've climbed "unaided" (haha) up to 3,000 feet (and it was great fun watching the training aircraft from the local RAF station flying past a few hundred feet below were we were) and in Switzerland I went to the top of Mount Titlis (no giggling at the back!), via cable car I hasten to add, which is a staggering 10,000 feet high!  All this when I was still in my early teens.  Health permitting I would like to take it up again one day.  I still have my trusty fell-walking stick!

(ii) I also used to be something of a speed walker.  Never took it up as a sport, but being rather long of leg I would whiz from point A to point B quicker than you could say "Jack Robinson"(!) - without ever breaking into a run ("a gentleman will walk but never run", as Mr Sting sang in that favourite song of mine).  Although I've been forced to slow down a little in recent years I still find myself outpacing most people, and as a consequence I can't stand dawdlers (only if I've got somewhere to go, of course - if I were browsing the high street or strolling in the park I might check my pace a bit) or folk who wander about seemingly in a daze, stopping in the most inconvenient of places.  By Jove, that gets on my nerves!  Oxford Street had the right idea a few years ago, trialling a "fast lane" and "slow lane" on the pavements there.  If I were in charge, that would be rolled out nationwide!

(iii) During one of my aforementioned walking holidays, being a huge fan I visited the Laurel & Hardy Museum in Stan Laurel's home town of Ulverston, Cumbria.  The curator was an absolutely splendid chap and actually let me wear one of Stan's bowler hats that he used in some of their films!

(iv) As well as the three books mentioned previously as being the pride of my library, I also have a copy of Modern Boy magazine from 1933, it being the prize I won in a competition run by the Biggles fan club, of which I am a member.  It was the periodical in which the first Biggles stories were serialised, but it also contains many other wonderful articles and adverts which I shall try and fashion some posts around.

(v) I enjoyed my own Biggles experience about three years ago when I took a flight on a 1930s Douglas DC-3 Dakota (or C-47 Skytrain, in its military guise).  A company called Air Atlantique (as it was then) owned one of the few airworthy DC-3s in Britain and were taking it around the UK on a "farewell tour" as some stupid EU regulation was about to come into force forbidding DC-3s to carry passengers.  So I'm one of the last people to ever fly in a DC-3 in this country!  Taking off from my local airport we buzzed around the local area for about an hour, and it was absolutely great!  Someone on the flight had a camcorder, so there's even film of it:



(vi) The United States of America is the only country I have holidayed in where I have actually been given money in exchange for absolutely nothing at all!  Travelling through Pennsylvania we stopped at a rural arts and crafts store and I got talking to the shopkeeper.  I just mentioned in passing my hobby of collecting old money when she said "Wait there a minute".  Disappearing into a back room, she reappeared moments later brandishing a mint $2 bill.  "These are quite rare, I don't think I've ever seen another" she said.  "You're such a nice guy, I've so enjoyed talking to you, I'd like you to have it".  I didn't even buy anything, as I recall!
So now my collection includes an unusual $2 note, which will always remind me of my American holiday.

(vii) I don't own a car, I don't even own a full driver's licence!  I did take lessons a few years ago and even went for a couple of tests, but failed them both. ;-(  It could have been a case of "third time lucky" - on the other hand, it may not have been and by then I didn't fancy finding out!  Plus had I gone ahead, passed and got a car I would most likely still be typing this from my bedroom in my parents' house rather than in my own home - a car costs an absolute fortune to run these days.  I'll happily stick to public transport for now - bus and train (not to mention Shanks's Pony!) can more than suffice if one knows how to get the best out of them and there's still remnants of camaraderie and community spirit in some local bus services, something that many people more used to being cocooned in a motor car often overlook (not to mention the atrocious driving I see on the roads nearly every day - it actually makes me glad I don't drive!).  Time was when few people could stretch to the luxury of a car and good old public transport was the only other way to get around.  The way things are going, we may end up reliving that time again.  I'm just ahead of the curve(!).
I haven't even got to the ironic bit yet - I work in the motor trade!  (But in front of a computer screen, not underneath a bonnet.).  I do have a real interest in and love of cars, just not enough to really want to know how to drive one(!).  I see the motor car more as an amazing piece of technological tour de force and marvel at its various abilities, incarnations and history.  That and the knowledge I derive from it is enough to let me do my job.  People do find the disparity a bit odd sometimes, but it works for me!

My only regret in not having a driving licence is that I couldn't drive this...

Finally I should pass on this award to some fellow bloggers, in the time-honoured fashion.  However I will have to refrain in this instance from doing so, as it is proving difficult to find any bloggers that I haven't given an award to before, or who haven't received this same award from someone else!  As much as I am delighted to have received this award, I also can't help but notice its rather feminine style.  From female to male blogger (or vice versa) this presents no problem, but for a chap to give another chap the "Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award" is, I would say, not quite the done thing(!).  Still, here are some more recent of my favourite blogs - and should I be mistaken and any of you fellows (and lady) are happy to accept this award, here's where you may collect it.


Electric Edwardians
Mister Midwester
Tales of a Southern Retro
YONKS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So thanks again to Nabby, but before I wind up this post, don't think I've forgotten what I said I'd do the next time I espied a Miss Lemon-themed post!  Murder in the Mews was the next episode of Poirot I intended to focus on, so here is Captain Hastings in that very one:

Set around the time of Guy Fawkes' Night, so some heavy winter wear makes an appearance.  I've always loved the way Hastings turns the collar up on his overcoat (and what an overcoat - it knocks the spots off Japp's!).  The scarf sets it off brilliantly, and is properly thrown round the neck - none of this modern "Q-knot" nonsense.

It's even firework-proof!  (Poor old Hastings.  I always smile at this scene).

Captain Hastings reminds us that when working on one's motor car, a proper set of overalls (and the assistance of a small boy) is invaluable.

Another great scene, as Hastings shows Poirot the finer points of golf.  The orange jumper paired with brown slacks is the ultimate casual, sporting look.

A closer look at the jumper.  A useful couple of pockets (properly buttoned, of course!) and the collar is just right to show off and compliment a bit of tie.

More jumper goodness, this time in grey-blue.  Another lovely collar design, quite redolent of men's knitwear of the period.  I actually had a jumper a bit like this as a boy, but sadly I was at a time in my life when I didn't fully appreciate its aesthetic qualities.  Besides which it almost certainly wouldn't fit me if I still had it!

I hope you've enjoyed this super-long, rather rambling post, encompassing blog awards, facts about yours truly and a little Captain Hastings fashion.  It's been a while since my last post as I suddenly found myself awfully busy, not to mention still not always feeling quite the ticket, but I've got a few articles lined up and a bit of free time in the offing, so it shouldn't be more than a week 'til my next post.  Until then, tinkerty-tonk!

Popular with the ladies...

There are good reasons why Girl Shy is one of my favourite films. 
For example I can empathise with the lead character... ;-)

This blogging malarkey, I mean!

This may well turn out to be what I believe in modern parlance is termed a "random" post, but let's see how it goes.

Over the last 4-day weekend here in Britain, which I hope everyone enjoyed, it came to my attention - between all the revelries and enjoyment of the Spring weather - that my unassuming little blog passed the 100 followers mark.  I promised that when this milestone was reached I would have a give-away and so I shall.  I am, after all, a man of my word.  Unfortunately it will have to wait a little while though for, as ever, life has intervened and I shall be away from the blogosphere for a time from this coming weekend.  When I return, though, the give-away will happen!

"I'm afraid it's a serious case of blogitis!"

Now, when thinking about all my splendid followers and what to give away, I began to think about an interesting [vintage] blogging anomaly.  Others have noticed it too, namely Andrea of The Deco Devotee, and I shall be interested to read her take on it in due course.  It is the dearth of male vintage bloggers.  A quick glance at the 90-odd vintage blogs on my blogroll reveals that almost 90% of them are written by women.  Of my 103 followers, roughly 75% are female.  Where are the chaps?!

Donning my scholarly hat for a moment my own theory, for what it's worth (based solely on a 10-year-old A-level English Language qualification) is this:  blogging shares a lot in common with gossiping.  At the risk of alienating the majority of my audience(!) - women like to gossip.  Men, less so.  ;-)  Perhaps it would be more fair to say that women enjoy sharing experiences, are generally more conversational than men, and that quite naturally extends to the vintage world as well.  To continue the academic point, another comparison can be drawn between blogging and the use of questions.  Men, ever the pragmatists, use questions to elicit information, answers.  Women can use questions as conversation starters/extenders.  So it is with blogging in a way, I think.  If I look at the few blogs, vintage or otherwise, which are written by men then by and large they are simply imparting information and advice.  My own blog is a case in point - I am basically saying "look what has happened here", albeit with a vintage bent.  A lot of the feminine blogs, I venture to say, are talking about new discoveries, handy hints and day-to-day personal incidents (but then, is that not what blogs are meant for?) - "look at what I found/did, isn't it lovely?" - again in this particular case with a vintage angle.  Looked at a certain way, the [vintage] blogosphere is a microcosm of the two gender groups (my goodness, that sounds awfully serious and didactic, doesn't it?  Does it even make sense?).

"Did you see the Royal Wedding on Friday?" 
"Yes."

"Did you see the Royal Wedding on Friday?" 
"Oooh, wasn't it lovely?" 
"Yes, didn't Kate look beautiful?" 
"Oh, her dress was simply darling, don't you think?" 
"And Prince Harry - swoon!"  Etc., etc., ad infinitum. :-P

Quickly, because I can tell you're drifting off (I don't blame you, either!), to focus on the vintage aspect I think it is easier for women to find and to post about vintage or vintage-inspired fashion than it is for men (and again, fashion tends to be a more feminine interest) but beyond that I can't imagine why there aren't more vintage fellows blogging about their experiences and activities - I'm sure it would make for interesting reading!

So this brings me back to the give-away and something that a certain female family member (who shall remain nameless because she doesn't like the Internet ;-P ) said about it that has given me pause for thought.  Without trying to give too much away as to the prizes, it has been suggested that none of them are overly "feminine" and that if a lady were to win - as seems statistically more likely - I ought to include something flowery, pretty or pink (or all the above!).  All the prizes are, of course, of a vintage-themed nature and aren't, I would say, particularly "masculine" or "feminine".  In fact, the thought never occurred to me  and to be honest I still think it is rather redundant.  Still, I'll never hear the end of it if I don't check, so should I include a particular gender-defining prize dependent upon the winner, or are you fine ladies and gentlemen more than happy to receive fairly unisex items?  Let me know!

Meet the George Formby fan, aged seven!

Meet the George Formby fan, aged seven!

Love him or loathe him, (and personally I'm in the first camp) there's no denying that George Formby and his ukulele featured prominently in 1930s popular culture and even today he is still synonymous with a particularly British form of novelty humour.

Still, it's not the kind of thing you might expect a 7 year old boy to like, never mind emulate, so that makes little James Bassett even more of a topping lad in my book.  If nothing else he's shamed me into getting a move on with my ukulele playing - if a seven year old boy can learn to play the uke in 6 months, to the point where he's taking off George Formby, I've really got no excuse!   

It's things like this that give one hope for the future; if there are young 'uns out there who enjoy George Formby or music of the Thirties in general then it's not likely to be forgotten any time soon.  In fact it is a testament to the enduring and universal nature of the likes of George Formby that there is now a new generation waiting to discover these songs.

I wish young Master Bassett the best of luck in the forthcoming awards and, regardless of whether he wins or not, I feel sure that his love of Formby's music will never leave him and hope it leads him on to greater things.

Eeh, champion!