Laughs from the past last longest
I have no desire to turn into the blogging man’s name-dropping David Niven. But some of one’s best experiences involve meeting those who are supposed to be special…yet turn out to be anything but. So this is where I’m recording some of the silliest episodes from my life. In amongst these will be a few that are tragic, but by and large you should think of this page as a celebration of the ridiculous, the risible, and the golden rule: that a great deal of humour is generated by the difference between human hubris and human achievement
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Anecdotage
Myparents got together (not in the contemporary sense, I hasten to add) on New Year’s Eve 1940. The Blitz was in full swing in Manchester and, having met at a dance, they were later forced to take shelter from the … Continue reading →
Filed under War marriages
Tagged as Saying no to the armed forces and the Church, We are all free agents
Anecdotage
As most of you probably didn’t notice, Jerry Lee Lewis (left) got married five weeks ago….for the seventh time. Lee Lewis isn’t quite the world’s oldest rocker – on December 5th this year, the inimitable Little Richard will be 80 … Continue reading →
ANECDOTAGE
The Paddington 431 I was about six months away from retirement on that October morning in 1999, when my local commuter train chugged into Reading station. Five or six tracks away, I could see the high speed Inter-City Great Western … Continue reading →
Filed under Paddington rail crash October 1999
Tagged as £6m in fines but nobody charged or imprisoned as a result of gross negligence
Anecdotage
Dentists and me: A brief history I’m not fond of dentists. I don’t have any kind of phobia about them, and they’re a long way up the evolutionary tree for me from bankers, lawyers, accountants and politicians. But I have … Continue reading →
Filed under Anecdotage
Tagged as A brief history of dental sadism, Dentists, Dentists tell fibs about pain
Anecdotage
My great-grandmother was called Mary Mountain. She gave birth to something of a libertine called Melissa. She in turn produced my mum, Mildred. That side of the family were obviously a bit OCD about the letter M. Even my mother … Continue reading →
Filed under Mums of yesteryear
Tagged as Axel Stordhal, Edwardian Manchester, Frank Sinatra, St Luke’s Church Cheetham Hill, Upstairs Downstairs
Anecdotage
On April 15th – only five weeks from now – it will be a century since the Titanic sank. What I would ask you to remember is that, the first time I asked my Grandad about this incident, he was … Continue reading →
Anecdotage
Books, covers, etc When I joined the JWT ad agency in London during the Autumn of 1971, one of the first accounts I was asked to cut my teeth on was the South African Wine Farmers Association (SAWFA). This presented … Continue reading →
Filed under Unlikely events in South Africa
Tagged as 1950s South Africa, Patricia Chiswell, Peter Chiswell
Anecdotage
I’ve lost count of how many times the Met Police during the late 1970s – they were an advertising client of mine at the time – told me that the West Indian community in Brixton wasn’t a problem. “They have,” … Continue reading →
Filed under Running away from social reality
Tagged as Brixton riots in 1981 and generalised looting in 2011
Anecdotage
Glienicker Bridge, south-west Berlin In July 1965, I went on an exchange visit to West Berlin, as it then was. My job while there was to tend the gardens and paths of Glienicker Park, a place of weekend relaxation for … Continue reading →
Filed under Young and free in 1960s West Berlin
Tagged as Berlin in 1965 – adventures
Anecdotage
There were various rock singers I wanted to be in 1973. High among these was James Taylor, a bloke whose melodies I always found irresistible. 1973 I remember as a time after the Oz Trial and before Skunk when there … Continue reading →
Filed under Anecdotage
Tagged as Lou Reed, James Taylor, 1973, Crystal Palace, rock concerts, happy dope, Fire and Rain
Anecdotage
Early in 1972, I was working as a consumer researcher at the J. Walter Thompson ad agency in Berkeley Square, London. Although my main task was to test new commercials to check they were communicating effectively, from time to time … Continue reading →
Filed under Anecdotage
Tagged as 1972, Race Realtions, South Africa, the bigotry of liberals, Wrestling with The Guardian
Anecdotage
An encounter with Bob the Bouncing Czech Welcome to the first in a new series. I’m creating a new page at The Slog allowing me to enjoy some R&R – while hopefully at the same time entertaining Sloggers with some … Continue reading →
Filed under Anecdotage
Tagged as Robert Maxwell, The European
