That phrase always reminds me for some reason of "Two Way Family Favourites." Who remembers that programme on the radio? It ran for an amazing 39 years from the end of the Second World War in 1945 until 1984. There were massive changes during that time in both the UK and other parts of the world but Two Way was a calming influence with the dulcet tones of Cliff Michelmore and his wife Jean Metcalfe. There were plenty of other presenters as well but it is Cliff and Jean I remember the most, apart from Bill Crozier in Cologne for some reason. That name has stuck with me although I have no idea who Bill Crozier was although the internet tells me he was a pianist, announcer and presenter.
The idea behind the programme was to link families at home in the UK with British Forces Posted Overseas (BFPO). Today they would just Zoom or Facetime each other. But these were much simpler times when a request on a radio show meant so much.
They used to have a segment entitled "The Bumper Bundle." This was a particular record for which there had been many requests. I still use the phrase to this day. Originally it was on air on Tuesdays but then moved to its regular Sunday slot which is the one I remember. I've no idea just why I listened to this show - it just seemed to be on in our house as part of my process of growing up.
Mind you a few years ago I'm sure I read somewhere that some of the request messages were made up (perhaps I dreamt that).
The Radio has played a big part in my formative years. I loved the Pirate Radio Stations and still do. I loved Radio One when it started and now love bits of Radio Two (primarily Ken Bruce's morning show). I remember so many DJs. Who remembers Tony Prince, Keith Skues, Mike Ahern who was my particular favourite, Simon Dee, Baby Bob Stewart, Kid Jensen, Alan Fluff Freeman (hi pop pickers) and many many more?
Who remembers hiding a transistor radio under the bed clothes and listening late at night to Radio Luxemburg where the reception kept coming and going? I remember sending a dedication in to Radio Luxemburg to my girlfriend of the time. Baby Bob Stewart read it out and construed the message as saying that we had broken up which wasn't the case. Instead of playing something slushy and romantic I got "Cum On Feel The Noize" by Slade. That's not something I would have chosen.
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I mentioned a few days ago the dedication of a memorial in the grounds of Norwich Cathedral to the 97 soldiers who died in the Second World War Massacre at Le Paradis in Northern France. Earlier this week the Princess Royal (Princess Anne) laid a wreath during a short service and I had the honour of chatting to her about the massacre.
So included in this blog are a few of the official photographs taken that day which have been cleared for publication by the Buckingham Palace Press Office.
My favourite is the one featuring Brigadier Max Mariner with Philip Curson and the Princess. Max is a fellow trustee and Philip is the son of Serjeant William Curson who died in the massacre. Philip, who lives in Dereham, has become a friend of Le Paradis Commemoration Group and was representing the families of all those who died in the massacre. We are hoping to have another commemoration service for the families and our many supporters and this will probably be next year when COVID restrictions have been lifted significantly.
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My blog of a couple of days ago about celebrity writers not actually writing their books, brought a large response. Most people agreed that ghost writing is rampant in the publishing business. So I wasn't being cynical after all.
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Yesterday we had a meeting of the Hethersett Dementia Support Group round ours (isn't that a quaint phrase?) It looks as if this group will re-start early September and I'm sure other groups in the village will be starting up again shortly. In fact I have a date to talk to the village Mothers' Union at the end of this month.
It will be so good to see our village returning to some sort of normality after such a long time in lock down of one kind or another. Let's just hope that COVID cases don't go through the roof again.
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It saddens me when I hear that racism is still rife in this country. I am particularly saddened by the fact that so many high profile people have been mounting a battle to wipe out racism which may not be working. With all the publicity this has been getting, you would think that racism and discrimination should be a thing of the past.
But yesterday, British hero and multiple Olympic gold medallist Sir Mo Farrah said he believed racism still exists and is getting worse. I guess there is just no educating racists. Once a racist, always a racist. It is just up to all of us in responsible positions in society to continue to fight to stamp out what is an evil in our society.
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Finally today I include a photograph I took back in 2015 of a cyclist taking part in the Tour of Britain Cycle Race which zoomed its way through our village. It took less than a minute to pass through but I was out with my camera as usual to capture the event for posterity.
When I downloaded my pictures later in the day I was taken by one particular image of a rider that looked straight at my camera and gave me a beaming smile. I tried to find out his name with little success. I compared photographs of the top riders and tried to work out from his colours. But again no success.
That is until resident Sarah Nash offered her help and identified the rider as Xandro Meurisse from Belgium who was 23 years old at the time. Meurisse has won a number of top cycle races.
It’s nice at last to be able to put a name to the man with a smile and the man that provided me with one of my favourite photographs.