Humph

Like a lot of the best people around ...or not around in this case...I only really got to know anything about Humphrey Littleton at the dog-eared end of his life.

His music...or at least what I heard of it was a bit ..sort of...well oldy jazzy ...I know that Im treading on eggshells here...make of that what you like

BUT...where he really did come into his own ...and when I LOVED  him...was his radio  thing ..."I'm sorry I haven't a clue"...with Mornington Crescent of course ...wanna play?

I particularly liked the way he ended his shows ...of which I poignantly quote here  "as the BMX roadstar of time collides with the 

erratic minicab of fate and the young unprotected crutch of hope slams hard against the crossbar I bid you goodnight

and a real favourite : as the new born chick of hope tumbles from the egg shell of life and splashes into the frying pan of doom I bid you goodnight

But anyone that listened to him would know all this already ...I wish I was at his funeral

I bid you Goodnight Humph

Tommy Cooper

I'm not going to say anything about this except that I keep a copy of this pic in my wallet at all times and it always cheers me up everytime I look at  it...and that quite soon I'm going to put it on a T-shirt.

Just like that

Lew Mass's trousers

I don't know how long ago Lew Mass sold his trousers in King Street Newtown (which now  really should be called Old town) but I've always been stopped in my tracks by this shop.

Until quite recent weeks it actually had its windows still stocked with, browned by age, packets of buttons and general dusty tailor stuff

It was the Miss Haversham of the trouser shop world

When I took this last week you may notice that The Jets were using the window for a bit of promo ...and yesterday the shop was full of trendy clothes ...so I expect that quite soon the age-old signwriters master work will disappear down the tubes forever.

I particularly like the line "from materials made up" whatever that means?

Foo ok

Don't suppose the Foot Locker in Bondi Junction would be too pleased about this ...it's clearly a fan of The Foo Fighters making his (or her) mark...and they are OK too...

why?... what did you think it was saying?

The Cauliflower

Heres a great old boozer in South Sydney ..I went there the other week and had a smashing lunch ....no they don't do Cauliflower cheese but they do have their own brand of green Cauliflower beer

I think the old guy sitting outside is drinking some of it (you can see these pics much bigger if you double click on them)

...but the best thing is this enormous sculptured cauliflower ...I love it
Cauliflower cheese ...now there's an idea

Griffiths Teas

Thought my old mate Pete might like to see this shot as he mentioned the Griffiths teas sign in his blog a few weeks ago.

Apparently signs like this were placed all around the incoming lines at Sydney's central station

They should still do it...but I don't think Griffith's teas are still about.

Belisha Beacons

Zebra crossings and especially Belisha Beacons have always fascinated me. I love playing "Spot the Belisha Beacon" in old, and not so old, British movies. Hitchcock's "The man who knew too much" is a prime example (I think there's the beginning of an idea for a completely new blog there) I've always liked the idea of some cheeky chappy in the 1930's being given the job of designing something to stand out, and coming up with not just a black and white stripey pole with ...wait for it ...an orange ball on top ...which lights up ...and there's more ...it flashes on and off .

Environmental street furniture indeed.

They must have been having a laugh or on some really good drugs. The people that set this up definately were:

Don't ask... I've got no idea what, why, where or when.

 

Here is some collected Belisha stuff: 

"I once got arrested on Peckham High Street for dismantling a belisha beacon and walking down the middle of the road with it stuck on a scaffolding pole."Damon Albarn from Blur

'It was when the Belisha beacon fell on her head at a zebra crossing that I realised I had a girl with talent,' Benny Hill on Sue Upton

A black-and-white striped post with a flashing amber light on top that marks a pedestrian crossing. Named for Transport Minister Leslie Hore-Belisha, who introduced the beacons in 1934. Hore-Belisha is also credited with reducing road deaths by introducing a new highway code and driving tests for motorists. In 1937, he performed similar reforms on the army as minister of war for prime minister Neville Chamberlain. He increased pay for recruits, improved the catering, introduced battledress and simplified the drill.

The original Belisha beacons were made from glass, but they were replaced with plastic in 1952 as children kept throwing stones and smashing them.

"the headshrinkers they want everything,
my uncle bill, my belisha beacon"

Radiohead "My Iron lung"

When Jocelyn Bell, a Cambridge graduate working at Cambridge's radio astronomy observatory noticed a series of regular but intermittent signals coming from an unknown source she described them as flashing like a Belisha Beacon