Category: News

I Wanna Tell You A Story


Yes, I wanna tell you a story, about a great entertainer who has sadly passed away.

Max Bygraves has sadly passed at the age of 89.

One of Britain’s best all round variety entertainer.  He wrote a string of comic songs and released a number of albums with his Singalongamax series probably being the most well-known. Max appeared in a number of films, notably Charley Moon in 1956, as well as several TV shows. He also  performed on stage with contemporaries Spike Milligan, Benny Hill, Harry Secombe and Frankie Howerd and in  later years he often appeared at the London Palladium.

For me, probably the fondest memory will be Max singing “Out of Town”. I hope that, wherever Max is, he is enjoying the sentiment of that song.

Say what you will,
The countryside is still
The only place where I could settle down
Troubles there are so much rarer
Out of town

 

Max Bygraves is most definitely “Out Of Town”

Neil Armstrong – Farewell To A Real Hero


one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind

The man who said those famous words has taken the final step of his life. Yes, Neil Armstrong has passed away at the age of 82 due to complications following heart surgery.

Armstrong was a qualified aeronautical engineer. As a naval pilot he saw action in the Korean War flying over 70 missions. After leaving the navy he became a research pilot and flew many experimental aircraft.

He will, however, be remembered as the first man to walk on the moon. I, like some 500 million people around the world, watched in awe as on July 21st 1969 Apollo 11 touched down on the surface of the moon. We watched as Armstrong and co-astronaut Buzz Aldrin spent several hours on the surface of the moon, collecting samples, conducting experiments and taking photographs and we watched their return to planet earth.

After the Apollo program Armstrong spent some time teaching and also as spokesman for American businesses.

Neil Armstrong was a true hero, an inspiration to a generation.

Correspondents say Armstrong remained modest and never allowed himself to be caught up in the glamour of space exploration.

“I am, and ever will be, a white-socks, pocket-protector, nerdy engineer,” he said in February 2000, in a rare public appearance.

In a statement, his family praised him as a “reluctant American hero” who had “served his nation proudly, as a navy fighter pilot, test pilot, and astronaut”.

The youth of today, who seem to only aspire to fame and celebrity without putting in the work and effort, could do worse than look to him as a role model.

BBC News – Neil Armstrong's death: Reaction.

Employment boost as Waterlooville business park plans are unveiled


I have been a tad busy with work for the last few weeks and have found it virtually impossible to get my head into blog mode let alone focus on local affairs. So I am sorry but this is old news but I wanted to bring it to your attention.

Finally, The News has discovered the planned development right here in Waterlooville. No not the enormous housing development known as WoW (West of Waterlooville). Even The News knows about that. No I’m referring to the development of the BAE site that I brought to your attention in my previous post

This is another of the Havant Borough Council / Portsmouth City Council/ East Hants Council job creation schemes. At least that’s what they say on paper. All of the proposed developments around Waterlooville are supposed to be creating jobs. But not one of them is being sponsored by any company that has signed up to move into the area and actually create those jobs.

The various councils will argue that you have to create the right conditions, prepare the environment to entice these erstwhile employers into the area. However, my fear is that what will be created will be empty commercial / industrial buildings.

We will have the new housing developments filled with a willing work force but no one to employ them. It is easier to build homes and to fill them than it is to get businesses started.

Just listen to the news regarding the economy and the apparent unwillingness of the banks to lend to businesses. To be quite honest I also wonder about the ability of folks to obtain mortgages to buy the new homes being built.

Employment boost as Waterlooville business park plans are unveiled – News – Portsmouth News.

Sir Alastair Burnet dies aged 84


“The Face” of British television news for much of my early years, Alastair Burnett has died at the age of 84.

RIP Sir Alastair.

Sir Alastair Burnet dies aged 84 – Home – ITN.co.uk.

Waterlooville Classic Car Show – 2012


Every year a Classic Car Show is staged in the Waterlooville centre.

Despite the weather letting the exhibitors down there were quite a few folks up there and I include a few snaps for your edification.

Waterlooville Classic Car Show – General View South
Waterlooville Classic Car Show – General View North
Waterlooville Classic Car Show – A
Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Triumph Stag
Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Sunbeam Supreme
Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Model T Replica
Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Vauxhall Victor 101
Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Edsel
Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Ford Mustang Mach 1
Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Hummer
Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Pontiac Firebird
Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Chevrolet
Waterlooville Classic Car Show – Mercury Monterey

The pedestrianised precinct is ideal for this type of event. It is a shame that there wasn’t some music and perhaps a barbecue or hog roast to supplement the static car display. Now that the precinct has been refurbished the town has to make maximum use out of the facility. I arrived around  13:30 and all I could see aside from the cars was some kind of Face Painting and a caravan with someone bending balloons. I couldn’t see much to indicate if there was any kind of “Best in Show” competition.

The owners of the cars were not much in evidence although some had obviously taken refuge within their cars. I did wonder if the old lady, asleep in one of the cars, might have been an optional extra at the time of original purchase.

I can only wish them better luck with the weather next year.

Waterlooville supermarket staff go the extra mile


Well done to the staff of the Waterlooville branch of Waitrose who raised £1000 for the Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust and for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

STAFF at Waitrose swapped the deli counter and stacking shelves for rowing and running machines.

The group from the Waterlooville store set themselves the challenge of walking, jogging, running, rowing and cycling for a total of 2,012 minutes – 33 hours – over a period of three days.

Waterlooville supermarket staff go the extra mile – Local Business – Portsmouth News.

“I tend to live in the wonderful world of my head, where every day the sun shines”


So said Eric Sykes, who died today, at the age of 89.

Eric has been, it seems, ever-present figure in my life. I first became aware of him from The Goon Show on the radio. Then from the many TV shows in which he has been involved including  Sykes and a… , Sykes and a Big Big Show and last but not least Sykes.

The last of those shows was broadcast in the 1970’s but that was not the last of Eric’s screen career.

Although his first movie appearance was in the 1950’s he was still appearing right up until 2010 and what more appropriate than an Agatha Christie  Poirot story,  Hallowe’en Party.

And in the middle of that illustrious list is what, I believe, to be one of the funniest films ever made.

The Plank, written and produced by Sykes in 1967. Just look at the cast he managed to pull together. Eric himself, Tommy Cooper, Jimmy Edwards, Roy Castle, Jimmy Tarbuck, Anna Carteret, John Junkin, Bill Oddie, Stratford Johns, Jim Dale, Hattie Jacques, Libby Morris, Johnny Speight & Kenny Lynch. The cream of British comedy.

Lets not forget the books that he wrote too. I’m sad to say that I have personally only dipped into the large Milligan book pool, starting with the glorious Puckoon. Followed by  Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall, “Rommel?” “Gunner Who?” and Silly Verse for Kids.

Eric is quoted as saying “I tend to live in the wonderful world of my head, where every day the sun shines”.

In response I would say, Thank you Eric. Thank you for letting us join you in that world and letting us bask in that sunshine.

 

Pininfarina Dies


Iconic car designer Sergio Pininfarina has died, so says an article published by Reuters.

Sergio Pininfarina, whose family company designed almost every Ferrari since the 1950s and whose name is still synonymous with some of the world’s most glamorous cars, has died aged 85.

The company said on Tuesday he died overnight in his Turin home.

Low-cost office lets trial for new businesses in Waterlooville


Hooray. Somebody trying to encourage businesses by reducing the overheads.

Now all we need is the owners of the empty shops in Waterlooville to do the same thing and we might see some growth in our little town.

Low-cost office lets trial for new businesses in Waterlooville – Local Business – Portsmouth News.