Tracks of my Years - 1967

We're moving on through the years now, and soon we'll hit ones with lots of memories, but for now a year for which I can only drag a couple of things from the recesses of my mind.

So apparently, in 1967 everyone was watching 'The

Forsyte Saga' starring Eric Porter, Kenneth More, Susan Hampshire and Nyree Dawn Porter.

'Puppet on a String'  won the Eurovision Song Contest, back in the days when the UK winning was a possibility (I'm not at all bitter and twisted about how the judging goes these days!)

The first UK scheduled colour television  broadcast was made - live coverage from Wimbledon - and Testcard F came into being!  It turned  eight year old Carole Hersee into the person with the most hours on television and Bubbles her 'kit' clown into the scariest!  

Interestingly, Carole was chosen over her older sister on account of her sister having lost her two front teeth, yet on the testcard only Bubbles grins! Wonder what that did for sibling affection!

'The Prisoner' showed on TV, filmed at the beautiful Portmeirion (where Mr U-t-B and I went for our honeymoon).

Henry Cooper became the first boxer to win three Lonsdale Belts outright.

Concorde was unveiled.

Radio 4's 'Just a Minute' first aired.

And has continued to this day
'...without repetition, hesitation or deviation.'  It's a good good thing I don't have to talk (or write) by those rules!

The first stage of Cumbernauld town centre, acknowledged as first UK shopping mall, was completed.

Carbuncle or architectural gem?

The Ford Escort was first produced.

In the cinemas you could see:

I was taken to see 'The Jungle Book' by Joan from down the road (who in last week's post took me and my sister to the zoo).  I loved the film they showed before the main feature - it was about a flying Yorkshire terrier - but cried once Jungle Book sprang to life and had to be taken out!  

On the radio, you'd have heard

A Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum

Massachusetts -The Bee Gees

Matthew and Son - Cat Stevens

Georgy Girl - The Seekers

Love is All Around - The Troggs

The Day I Met Marie - Cliff Richard

Up Up and Away - The 5th Dimension

Respect - Aretha Franklin

Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks

And on a record player a bit like this one, my sister and I would play the first record we ever had - The Monkees double A sider, 'I'm a Believer/(I'm not your) Steppin' Stone'.  Joan or Linda (the two girls who feature so prominently in our early years) must have given it to us.  

But The Monkees' song I really loved was this one...

I  thought Davy Jones was lovely, even at the age of four!

The photo I have chosen is a little puzzling.  My Dad must have taken it, but I think he must have been hovering in mid-air to get this angle on proceedings at a birthday party! 
Our garden was quite long and had a pointy iron railing at the end, separating us from the canal that ran behind, so I'm sure he wouldn't have perched on that, and I don't recall any trees!  Maybe he'll tell me!


I'm not sure whose party this was - maybe my sister's as that looks like June sunshine to me, which my sister is shielding her eyes from, 4th from the right.

It could have been my August birthday, and maybe I was mentally preparing myself to blow out the grand total of four candles, and that's why I'm not looking at the camera (girl in dress 5th from left).  

It might even have been my brother's, which is in July, and he's been placed in the high chair out of grabbing range for the cake!

My Mum is dealing with the cake and the older girls are, of course, Linda (left-hand side), Joan (with the dark, flicky-ended hair) and Christine, who was Linda's friend I think, and had a huge selection of Sindys.

Happy days!