COLIN DALZIELThis is my Home Page - and you are welcome!

UK Nostalgia 1960-1990

Pure nostalgia from Britain in the sixties, seventies and eighties!

Come now on a trip back in time, back to remember Britain from days gone by, events, images and memories from the sixties, seventies and eighties!
If you are about my age! indulge in some nostalgia with me below!
This page is to wallow in. It is just for fun, to enjoy!

OFFSHORE RADIO

Shivering Sands
A phenomenon in the mid 1960's before commercial radio was legalised.
For most listeners commercial radio will have meant Radio Luxembourg until March 28th 1964 when Radio Caroline started broadcasting.
On 15th August 1967 the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act came into force, and the brief era of pirate radio for extinguished.
Radio Sutch broadcast on 1542kHz from 27th May 1964 from the Shivering Sands Fort in the Thames Estuary, eventually becoming Radio City on 299 metres.
milk vending machines (opposite->)
Criss Cross Quiz
Harvey's Duo-Can
Sturmey Archer gears
Walpamur
............and
Jubbly
all remembered by Laurie Prior
and acknowledgements to Tetra Pak International
milk vending
the author sampling the delights at
Whitby Promenade circa 1965
The Beeching railway cuts
Butlin's holiday camps
Harold Macmillan as SuperMac
Bubble Cars
Remembered by Lee Reynolds
HaroldMacMillan
"1001, cleans a big big carpet,
for less than half a crown!"

Remembered by Bob Wingrove
Wooden pencil cases with sliding top that held surprisingly few pencils!
Fruit Salad and Black Jack sweets sold at 4 per old penny.
Sunday School outings
Remembered by Chris Burnell
Threepenny bits and Half Crowns
Aztec chocolate bars
Remembered by Bill Hughes
3d
Laker Sky Train
pathfinder for low-cost air travel
(click here for more)
Laker
Remembered by Les Hogg
Fanny and Johnny Cradock
First of the TV foodie celebrities
 
Remembered by Richard Pullen
Fanny Cradock
Radio 1 on 247 metres
Barry Alldis
Remembered by Doug Langley
Jack Warner as Dixon of Dock Green
 
Remembered by Howard Roberts
Dixon
Slide-Rules
 
Remembered by Pete Wall
Slide Rule

 - before the bridges!

In Scotland, the Forth Road Bridge, Tay Road Bridge, and to a lesser extent
the Erskine Bridge form major parts of the UK road network.
However they were not always there!
Erskine Forth Tay
Erskine FerryForth CrossingTay Crossing

GARDEN FESTIVALS

Held at 2 yearly intervals in the 1980's in old industrial areas.
1984 Liverpool
1986 Stoke
1988 Glasgow
1990 Gateshead (shown opposite ->)
1992 South Wales

Liverpool International Garden Festival remembered by David Graham
who says he went 78 times using his season ticket.
Garden Festival

Name the Year!

 in which year? 
  • GLC replaces the LCC in London
  • Great Train Robber Ronald Biggs escapes from Wandsworth Prison
  • Cigarette advertising is banned on British television
  •  in which year? 
  • BBC1 first aired the children's television series Bagpuss
  • Architect John Poulson was jailed for five years for corruption
  • Birmingham pub bombings
  •  in which year? 
  • The Victoria Underground Line in London was opened
  • Ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 maiden voyage
  • James Bond film - On Her Majesty's Secret Service released
  • Answers later!


    TELEVISION

    Remember TWW, Rediffusion, Southern Television, Westward, ABC TV, and Teledu Cymru?
    ITV

    Sound clips with acknowledgement to www.transdiffusion.org
    ATV
    click for ATV
    LWT
    click for LWT
    BBC2 The start of BBC2
    In 1964 a new TV service in the UK and a new "quality" system.
    Used 625 lines and a few years later colour on the PAL system,
    daytime transmissions noted for the Colour Receiver Installation Film,
    the Trade Test Transmissions and Service Information slots.
    Z-CARS, Softly! Softly! and Panorama
    Cult police TV series featuring the Ford "Z"-series cars.
    Popular BBC TV programmes; Police detective series starring Stratford Johns and Panorama a current affairs programme.
    Z CarsSoftly SoftlySoftly Softly
    Dickie Davies Dickie Davies "World of Sport"

    ITV's front man for Sports commentating in the 1970's, something of an institution on Saturday afternoons.
    Frank Bough appeared on BBC TV.

    Ted Heath's Organ Concert
     
    Whilst Ted Heath was Tory Party leader, this annual event always featured in the media.
     
    Ted Heath died on 17 July 2005 at Salisbury.
    Ted Heath
    The Jerry Anderson puppet TV series in "Supermarionation"
    Joe 90, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Fireball XL5
    Four Feather Falls

    Remembered by Dave Hall
    Fireball XL5
    Watch with Mother Watch with Mother
    BBC series of TV programmes aimed at the pre-school age group.
    The Flower Pot Men, Trumpton, Andy Pandy etc
    Remember "Weeeeee......d"
    Remembered by Roger Anderson
    Smash advert
    Click here for the famous Cadbury's "Smash" advert!
    (564Kb Real Media file)
    Smash
    Deetime Simon Dee

    Over-hyped TV celebrity who fell from favour almost overnight.
    (click here for more)


    TRANSPORTATION

    Tramcars

    Now coming back into fashion but in their heyday popular in many British cities.
    Glasgow had a particularly extensive tramway system.
    Glasgow's trams lasted from August 1872 until September 2nd 1962 when the last tram ran from Dalmuir to Auchenshuggle.
    Click HERE for Llandudno Great Orme tramcar circa 1959
    Glasgow cor
    Trolley Bus

    Trolley Buses

    Trolley buses were a form of electric bus used in a few cities up until late 1960's
    The Glasgow trolleybus system, was never taken to the hearts of the Glaswegian as much as the Tramcars, lasted from 1949 to 1967.
    Some dubbed them "silent death" as they were almost silent as they glided along the roads as compared with noisy buses or trams.
    A familiar site was a trolleybus stopped in the middle of the road, with the driver attempting to get the trolley bar back on the overhead electric cable using a long insulated pole!
    The last trolleybus in Cardiff according to Robert Heatley was the 10a/10b route through Ely Cardiff in January 1070.
    (Sandtoft Transport Centre)

    Aircraft

    DC10 aircraft in the livery of British Caledonian Airways.
    Remember the jingle....
    let's go - British Caledonian!
    Click here or on plane for 910Kb Real Media file clip of old TV advert!
    B-Cal Jet
    BEA The West London Air Terminal situated on Cromwell Road near Gloucester Road tube station was a check-in facility for BEA at Heathrow and lasted from October 1957 until the end of 1973 when it was finally closed as fewer people used it and improved transport links were created to Heathrow itself.
    The site is now a supermarket.
    St Seriol
    MV St Seriol 1959
    Nairn 1961
    Nairn 1961
    BOAC
    BOAC

    London

    Some pictures from transportation around London
    1959 Tube Stock
    Piccadilly Circus
    Tram
    tube trains
    TrolleyBus
    RTM

    Bubble CarsBubble car Ford Anglia
    Ford Anglia
    diesel railcarDiesel Railcar
    Regent petrol Regent National Benzole MixtureNational Benzole Cleveland petrol Cleveland
     
     

    THE BEATLES

    Dominating teenage pop culture in the sixties, a legend in their own time!
    The BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles


    Swinging Sixties
    Punch and Judy
    (click here)
    Carnaby Street

    Tony Blackburn


    Home, Light, Third


    Pete Murray

     

    Name the Year - ANSWERS

     1965 
  • GLC replaces the LCC in London
  • Great Train Robber Ronald Biggs escapes from Wandsworth Prison
  • Cigarette advertising is banned on British television
  •  1974 
  • BBC1 first aired the children's television series Bagpuss
  • Architect John Poulson was jailed for five years for corruption
  • Birmingham pub bombings
  •  1969 
  • The Victoria Underground Line in London was opened
  • Ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 maiden voyage
  • James Bond film - On Her Majesty's Secret Service released
  • back to quiz

     

    SPORT

    stanley matthewsstanley matthews Sir Stanley Matthews (1915-2000) a soccer legend.
    The first professional footballer to be knighted, died in hospital on 24th February 2000
    He was reknowned for his sense of fair play and was never booked nor sent off once in his long playing career.
    third lanark Virginia Wade
    above: Virginia Wade (Wimbledon ladies champion, 1977)
    left: now defunct Glasgow Football Team, Third Lanark.
    Tony Jacklin
    Tony Jacklin, most successful British golf player of his generation, winning two major championships.

    Mods and Rockers

    Notoriety for terrorising holiday resorts on bank Holiday weekends!
    mod bike
    Thanks to Chris Powell for the photo!
    Cyril Lord Carpets

    Cyril Lord
    A marketing phenomenom that went bust very suddenly.
    "Here is a luxury you can afford by Cyril Lord"
    ITN
    TV News Flashes
    BBC1

    Saving Stamps


    green Shield

    s&h
    Hillman Minx
    Hillman Minx
    Riley Elf
    Riley Elf
    Hillman Imp
    Hillman Imp
    Cambridge A55
    Cambridge A55
    Morris Minor
    Morris Minor
    Peel P50
    Peel P50
    tower
    Post Office Tower
    under construction
    The main structure is 581ft tall, with a further section of aerial rigging bringing the total height to 620 ft
    Randall and Hopkirk (deceased)
    Potty Time
    free school milk
     
    Remembered by Peter Magee
    Grosvenor Square riots
    Magical Mystery Tour
    Paisley cravats
     
    Remembered by Steve Dunbar
    Mr Pastry
    Zoo Time
     
    Remembered by Jane Armstrong
    The "real" Emma Peel, played by Diana Rigg
     
    Remembered by Happy Jeen
    Mrs Peel
    Go to work on an egg!
    Jamboree bags
    Foot X-RAY machines in Dolcis shops
     
    Remembered by Jim Walters
    egg
    Top of the Form
    Ask the Family
     
    Remembered by Steve Leach

    Torchy the Battery Boy
     
    Remembered by Sally Roberts

    5 Boys chocolate
    Twizzle
     
    Remembered by Allan Mill
    5 boys
    twizzle

    POLITICS

    sound clip

    Maggie

    Margaret Thatcher dominated British politics throughout the 1980's
    The Conservatives came to power at the 1979 General Election following a
    "Winter of Discontent" of industrial unrest and strikes under the
    Callaghan Labour Government.
     
    Few people were unaffected by the changes in society
    that the following decade was to bring!
    Margaret Thatcher died on 8th April 2013 in London.
    Thatcher
    most and least popular PM Hamilton by-election 1967 1974 General Elections
    In Jan.1991 John Major scored over 61% approval in a "Sunday Times" MORI poll.
    By summer 1993 John Major had only the confidence of just over 1 in 10 electors, the lowest rating since the 1940's.
    John Major
    Start of a Scottish National Party revival.
    Winnie Ewing
    Winnie Ewing (later MEP and MSP)
    Only year in recent times when there were 2 General Elections in the one year.
    Harold Wilson
    Prime Minister Harold Wilson 1974-1976
    Swingometer Election recounts heaviest and tallest MP's
    "Look at it! There it goes!" Peter Snow gets enthusiastic with the Swingometer
    Swingometer
    remembered by Nick Somers
    Brighton Kemptown in 1964 and Peterborough in 1966 both had 7 recounts.
    (the Americans don't seem to be into the delights of election recounts!)
    Heaviest MP in recent times was Cyril Smith, MP for Rochdale who weighed 29st 12lb in Jan.1976
    Tallest MP was Sir Louis Gluckstein who represented Nottingham East between 1931 and 1945 was over 6ft 7inches tall.