I came across this on a blog to day:

I was rewatching Matilda the other day and got up to the point where she and Miss Honey meet for the first time in the classroom, and she mentions that her favorite author is Charles Dickens.

And, like, I always thought they namedropped him in order to make her sound intellectual, but it occurred to me really suddenly and violently that the reason she loves Dickens is because he writes about children who live in abusive systems and who’ve been orphaned or abandoned and she finds comfort and solidarity in it. Miss Honey’s reacts the way she does because Dickens is special to her, likely for the same exact reason. WOW DUH.

ONLY GETTING THIS LIKE 15 YEARS LATER. ALL ABOARD THE SLOW MOBILE.

Text and image from Every Moment Red-letter

The person who wrote this doesn’t seem to realise that the film is based on the book “Matilda” by Roald Dahl and “they” weren’t namedropping or using Charles Dickens for any other reason than the fact that Dahl had done so in his book. And knowing his author-ship very well, I’ve read everything he wrote, I’m sure that he chose Dickens for exactly that reason.

It says on the top of my blog “I Pledge To Read The Printed Word” and I mean that. I read every day and there are obviously more people who should do so – Ted

From “Victorian Inventions” by Leonard De Vries published by American Heritage Press in 1972

On 2nd July 1869 a demonstration was given in a hall in Shell Mound Lake, California, with a small model airship which its inventor Mr Frederick Mariott names the ‘Avitor.’ Shaped like a cigar, it is 37 feet long and the diameter in the middle is 11 feet. The ‘Avitor’ has two wings under each of which there is a propeller driven by a steam-engine. The airship appeared to operate perfectly in the hall but in the open air, even in a gentle breeze, it was entirely unsatisfactory and we therefore do not expect that Mr Mariott’s invention will be a practical success.

This is one of the few places in the whole book where the publication that first published the article show even the slightest doubt about the project at hand and it was refreshing to see – Ted

The DeCastro Sisters was a female trio singing group: originally they consisted of Peggy DeCastro (1921–2004), Cherie DeCastro (1922–2010) and Babette DeCastro (1925–1992). When Babette retired in 1958, a cousin, Olgita DeCastro Marino (1931–2000) replaced her and when Peggy later left the group to go solo, Babette re-joined Cherie and Olgita. Peggy eventually returned and Babette once more retired.

History
They began as a Latin-flavored trio, strongly inspired byThe Andrews Sisters and were protegees of Carmen Miranda. They eventually became more Americanized in their performances and added a lot of comedy, but continued to have a unique and exotic identity of their own.

The biggest hit single for the group was "Teach Me Tonight", in 1954. The song hit #2 in the United States, and the follow-up, "Boom Boom Boomerang", hit #17. The group is referenced in an episode of The Sopranos, "Do Not Resuscitate", as one of the only music groups that matriarch Livia actually likes, along with Mario Lanza.

The three original DeCastro Sisters—Peggy, Cherie and Babette—were raised in Havana in a family mansion that was seized by Fidel Castro during the Cuban revolution and is now used as the Chinese Embassy. Their mother, Babette Buchanan, was a Chicago-born Ziegfeld Follies showgirl who married the wealthy Cuban aristocrat Juan Fernandez de Castro, owner of a large sugar plantation in the Dominican Republic, where first daughter Peggy was born. De Castro later developed radio and television in Cuba with David Sarnoff, who was often a guest at their home and was also in charge of a planned project under the Batista regime to build a canal through Cuba, which never materialized.

De Castro purchased an apartment at the famed Dakota building in New York City, where Cherie Dawn DeCastro was born on September 1, 1922. Youngest daughter Babette was born back in Havana. The De Castro Sisters, always strongly chaperoned, began their singing careers as young girls and patterned themselves as a Cuban version of the Andrews Sisters. They emigrated to Miami in 1942, where they were seen by an agent from General Artists Corporation (now ICM) and booked into the Copacabana in New York with the Will Mastin Trio featuring Sammy Davis Jr.

As their careers took off, their act became more flamboyant and they worked across the country including the Palladium in Hollywood, where they sang with Tito Puente’s band and made their first recordings. In 1946, they provided several of the bird and animal voices for Walt Disney’s animated "Song of the South", including the Oscar-winning "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah". They appeared on screen with Carmen Miranda and Groucho Marx in the 1947 film Copacabana, the same year that they joined Bob Hope and Cecil B. DeMille on the live premiere broadcast special launching KTLA in Los Angeles, the very first telecast west of the Mississippi. The sisters were introduced by Hope and sang "Babalu," which was filmed by a Paramount newsreel cameraman and is the only surviving footage of the original three-hour show.

In 1954, a more Americanized version of the DeCastro Sisters, were signed by a small country label, Abbott Records, and their first release featured "It’s Love" as the A-side, backed by an obscure Sammy Cahn-Gene DePaul song, "Teach Me Tonight", that had been suggested at the last minute by their bass player. The label was pushing "It’s Love," but Cleveland disc jockey Bill Randall turned the record over and "Teach Me Tonight" soon took the nation by storm, peaking at No. 2 on the charts and selling more than five million copies to date. Several more recordings followed including "Too Late Now", "Boom Boom Boomerang", "Snowbound For Christmas", "With My Eyes Wide Open I’m Dreaming," and numerous albums on a variety of labels including RCA Victor, ABC-Paramount, Capitol, and 20th Century-Fox.

Now major headliners, they shared the bill with Noël Coward when he made his Las Vegas debut at the Desert Inn in 1954, which had one of the most star-studded and publicized opening nights of any show in the town’s history. Coward would watch their act every night while waiting to go on himself. They were part of another historic engagement in 1959, when they joined the Las Vegas debuts of George Burns as a solo act and a young singer named Bobby Darin at the Sahara. It was the DeCastros who told Darin that he should record one of the featured songs in his act, "Mack the Knife" Darin thought it was just a nightclub number, but he later took their advice.

The DeCastro Sisters appeared on most major TV shows including The Ed Sullivan Show and The Perry Como Show. They also made numerous film shorts including Universal’s"Swingin’ and Singin’" with Maynard Ferguson and Riot in Rhythm with Harry James. At various times Peggy and Babette took leave from the act and were replaced by a cousin Olgita, so Cherie was the only sister who was part of every appearance and recording that the group ever made.

In 1997, they were part of KTLA’s 50th anniversary broadcast in Los Angeles and headlined at the Hollywood Roosevelt’s Cinegrill. Three years later, they were inducted in the Casino Legends Hall of Fame as "Las Vegas Living Legends." Cherie continued to perform until shortly before her illness and sang "Teach Me Tonight" on the 2006 PBS special, "Moments To Remember: My Music", which is still periodically shown and is out on DVD.

Charted at #76 on Billboard Hot 100 in January 1959. This remake was the last Billboard charting single for this sister group.

Text from Wikipedia

Filed under: Article, Music Tagged: Female trios, Latin-flavored trios, Singing groups, The DeCastro Sisters

SS Canberra was an ocean liner, which later operated on cruises, in the P&O fleet from 1961 to 1997. She was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland at a cost of £17,000,000. The ship was named on 17 March 1958, after the federal capital of Australia, Canberra. She was launched on 16 March 1960, sponsored by Dame Pattie Menzies,GBE, wife of the then Prime Minister of Australia, Robert Menzies. She entered service in May 1961, and made her maiden voyage starting in June. In the 1982 Falklands War she served as a troop ship.

P&O commissioned Canberra to operate the combined P&O-Orient Line service between the United Kingdom and Australia. The arrival of the jet airliner had already caused a drop in demand for this service; a reduction in emigration to Australia and wars forcing the closure of the Suez Canal saw the route become unprofitable. However a refit in 1974 sawCanberra adapted to cruising. Unusually, this transition from an early life as a purpose built ocean liner to a long and successful career in cruising, occurred without any major external alterations, and with only minimal internal and mechanical changes over the years. One of her public rooms included a ‘Cricketers Tavern’, which contained a collection of bats and ties from cricket clubs all over the world; she also had the William Fawcett reading/writing room, named after theengine designer of early P&O ships.

Like RMS Strathnaver and RMS Strathaird that she replaced on the Tilbury – Brisbane route, Canberra had turbo-electric transmission. Instead of being mechanically coupled to her propeller shafts, Canberra‘s steam turbines drove large electricalternators that provided current for electric motors that, in turn, drove the vessel’s twin screws. They were the most powerful steam turbo-electric units ever installed in a passenger ship; at 42,500 hp (31,700 kW) per shaft, they surpassedSS Normandie‘s 40,000 hp (30,000 kW) on each of her four shafts. This would give her a speed of about 27.25 knots (50.47 km/h). She also had a bow propeller for maneuvering in port and docking maneuvers. She was also the first British passenger liner to use alternating current as power.

There are several operational and economical advantages to such electrical de-coupling of a ship’s propulsion system, and it has become a standard element of cruise ship design in the 1990s, over 30 years after Canberra entered service. However, diesel engine and gas turbine driven alternators are the primary power source for most modern electrically propelled ships. She also had a bulbous bow, two sets of stabilizers, and two funnels side-by-side. The lifeboats, which were made from glass fibre, were placed 3 decks lower than usual for ships of her type, and were recessed into the hull to allow improved view from the passenger decks.

Age and high running costs eventually caught up with SS Canberra though, as she had much higher fuel consumption than most modern cruise ships. She was withdrawn from service in September 1997 and sold to ship breakers for scrapping, leaving for Gadani ship-breaking yard, Pakistan the next month. She did not give up without a fight however; her deep draft meant that she could not be beached as far as most ships, and due to her solid construction the scrapping process took nearly a year instead of the estimated three months.

Help Needed
I need your help visitors, both in suggesting sodas and soft drinks from around the world and in giving your opinion on the ones presented if you know the product. And you can start with giving your opinion on the ones posted already or reading what other visitors have written  – Ted

List of Soft drinks and sodas posted already
Visitors soft drinks and sodas suggestions and comments

Moxie’s Café’s Regular Patrons – Part 5

Veronica Sybille Sinkebotten Hildre Astrologer Self-proclaimed Healer Suzanne Stephanie Würtz von Mehlen Unhappily Married Uninterested Fashion Shop Owner

Paul Abraham Trangedal Mørk Leader of A meagre Manic Religious Sect  Gisela Urzula Von Terpen Psychologist Trine Lisbeth’s Mother

Ragnvald Kvick Grabberud Coffee Addicted Divorce Lawyer Trine Lisbeth Brauterud Personal Trainer Gisela Urzula’s Daughter

Click the figures to get to know the better

Ikette Ann Thomas, Larry Lynch, the only white band member to tour with Ike & Tina Turner and bassist for The Contors, and Tina Turner showing off some stocking welt.

Image and text from Silent Porn Star

Paris, 20 November 1903: the ghostly form of an airship floats past an equally ghostly Eiffel Tower, before a very solid crowd of completely entranced spectators. It is Le Jaune, ‘The Yellow’, the first of the successful Lebaudy series of French semi-rigid airships.

Text and image from Turn of the Century

Michael Harding, a British comedian, writer, radio personality and song artist has a story on one of his records about a lot of families in his street going to Blackpool in a charabanc they had rented. As they drove off, kids from families who couldn’t afford to join ran alongside the bus calling: “I hope all them donkeys are dead.”

This became a standard between a very good friend and me back then and still is (we’re both big fans of Mr Harding). Every time one or the other mentioned something he was going to do or places he was going to, the other would immediately say: “I hope all them donkeys are dead.” And now more than 30 years later we still do.

Late last night he called me telling me he was going to a Dixie Chicks concert here in Oslo to day and without even thinking I said: “I hope all them donkeys are dead.” – Ted

Image found at Shorpy

The Isle of Man (/ˈmæn/; Manx: Ellan Vannin, pronounced [ˈɛlʲən ˈvanɪn]), otherwise known simply as Mann (Manx: Mannin,IPA: [ˈmanɪn]), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is represented by a Lieutenant Governor, but its foreign relations and defence are the responsibility of the British Government.

The island has been inhabited since before 6500 BC. As one of the six Celtic nations, Gaelic cultural influence began in the 5th century AD, and the Manx language, a branch of the Gaelic languages, gradually emerged. In 627, Edwin of Northumbria conquered the Isle of Man along with most of Mercia. In the 9th century, the Norse began to settle there. Norse people from Scotland then established the Kingdom of the Isles. The King’s title would then carry the suffix, "and the Isles". Magnus III, the King of Norway, was also known as "King of Mann and the Isles" as part of the Hebrides civilization between 1099 and 1103. A Norse-Gaelic culture arose and the island came under Norse control. In 1266, the island became part of Scotland, as formalised by the Treaty of Perth. After a period of alternating rule by the kings of Scotland and England, the island came under the feudal lordship of the English Crown in 1399. The lordship revested into the British Crown in 1765, but the island never became part of the kingdom of Great Britain or its successor the United Kingdom, retaining its status as an internally self-governing Crown dependency.

History
Rising water levels cut off the island from the surrounding islands around 8000 BC. Evidence suggests that colonisation of the island took place by sea some time before 6500 BC. The first residents lived in small huts, hunting, fishing and gathering their food. They used small tools made of flint or bone, examples of which have been found near the coast. Representatives of these artefacts are kept at the Manx Museum

The Neolithic Period marked the coming of knowledge of farming, better stone tools and pottery. It was during this period that megalithic monuments began to appear around the island. Examples from this period can be found at Cashtal yn Ard near Maughold, King Orry‘s Grave at Laxey, Meayll Circle near Cregneash, and Ballaharra Stones at St John’s. This was not the only Neolithic culture: there were also the local Ronaldsway and Bann cultures.

During the Bronze Age, the large communal tombs of the megalith builders were replaced with smaller burial mounds. Bodies were put in stone-lined graves along with ornamental containers. The Bronze Age burial mounds created long-lasting markers around the countryside.

The Iron Age marked the beginning of Celtic cultural influence. Large hill forts appeared on hill summits, and smaller promontory forts along the coastal cliffs, while large timber-framed roundhouses were built. It is likely that the first Celts to inhabit the island were Britons speaking Common Brittonic. Around the 5th century AD, cultural influence from Ireland and migration precipitated a process of Gaelicisation evidenced by Ogham inscriptions, giving rise to the Manx language, which is aGoidelic language closely related to Irish and Scottish Gaelic.

Viking settlement of the Isle of Man began at the end of the 8th century. The Vikings established Tynwald and introduced many land divisions that still exist.

Myth, legend and folklore
In Manx mythology, the island was ruled by Manannán mac Lir, a Celtic sea god, who would draw his misty cloak around the island to protect it from invaders. One of the principal theories about the origin of the name Mann is that it is named after Manannan.

In the Manx tradition of folklore, there are many stories of mythical creatures and characters. These include the Buggane, a malevolent spirit who according to legend blew the roof off St Trinian’s Church in a fit of rage; the Fenodyree; the Glashtyn; and the Moddey Dhoo, a ghostly black dog who wandered the walls and corridors of Peel Castle.

The Isle of Man is also said to be home to fairies, known locally as the little folk or themselves. There is a famous Fairy Bridge and it is said to be bad luck if one fails to wish the fairies good morning or afternoon when passing over it. It used to be a tradition to leave a coin on the bridge to ensure good luck. Other types of fairies are the Mi’raj and the Arkan Sonney.

An old Irish story tells how Lough Neagh was formed when Ireland’s legendary giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (commonly anglicised to Finn McCool) ripped up a portion of the land and tossed it at a Scottish rival. He missed, and the chunk of earth landed in the Irish Sea, thus creating the island.

Peel Castle has been proposed as a possible location of the Arthurian Avalon or as the location of the Grail Castle, site of Lancelot’s encounter with the sword bridge of King Melegaunt.

Text from Wikipedia

Filed under: British, Ephemera, Holidays, Traveling Tagged: British Railways, Isle of Man

Quite popular around my neck of the woods back in the late sixties, early seventies. You could get holders for it to mount below the dashboard on your car. And it really deserved the name, it ate 45’s like there was no tomorrow – Ted

Ford Model TT customized for street light maintenance, 1926
Image found on A Saucer Full Of Wheels

Lot of fresh air, exercise, communal service, the lot. Nice job, if the hand breaks works properly that is – Ted

Trumpet player, singer and dancer – the woman who became so adept, so quickly at the trumpet that she was dubbed “Little Louis” after Louis Armstrong, who said she was the second best player in the world (after himself!).

Her career soared in the 1920s and she toured the world, playing in North America, Europe and Asia, and reached even greater heights in the 1930s when she was the toast of Paris and London.

She was emotionally scarred by her experiences in WWII and became addicted to morphine – in 1941, while touring in Denmark, she was arrested by the Nazis and kept in a Nazi-run Danish prison until may 1942, when she was released in a prisoner exchange.

Valaida continued to perform, however – she finally succumbed to a brain haemorrage backstage while at the Palace Theatre in New York.Fortunately there is a significant recorded body of her work, much of it available on Youtube.

Here’s a link to a small selection of her recordings and for more on her life and career, here’s her Jazzitalia entry.

Text and image found at Anything Goes

You are probably familiar with the phrase “bring home the bacon.” In the twelfth century, a church in the English town of Dunmow promised a side of bacon to any married man who could swear before the congregation and God that he had not quarrelled with his wife for a year and a day. A husband who could bring home the bacon was held in high esteem by the community for his forbearance.

In context:
One of my absolute favourite groups, Procol Harum, released a marvellous album in 1973 called “Grand Hotel” and cut No 2 on page 2 is called, you’ve guessed it haven’t you, “Bringing Home The Bacon”

I hope you all excuse me this little digression that came about because I was listening to Procol Harum on the mp3 player on my pc and just had to find out where the expression “Bringing home the bacon” came from and felt I had to share my find with you all – Ted

A digital recreation of a DIY project published in “Popular Mechanics” in January 1940
If you’re a good enough cook to dare to try to flog your kitchen products to the general public and not just the people you share house with this is just the thing for you. A snack shack you can wheel out to the curb or better still, somewhere where more people gather. Public parks, sports arrangements, you know, wherever. There’s money to be made here people.

Descriptions and plans
in jpg and pdf HERE

A recipe from an ad for Dexo Vegetable Shortening and A&P
published in 1953

You’ll find the recipe HERE

Back in 1981 I went to London with a good friend and the plan was to stay there for three weeks, but the extremely hot weather made us change plans. We called a B&B we had stayed at several times before up in York and hopped a train for the North. As we got there, we rented a car and travelled round Yorkshire Dales, the moors and the coast. On our way to Scarborough one day we saw a sign saying “Yorkshire Steam Fair”. We knew each other well, so no discussion was necessary, we just turned off the main road and followed the signs. Castle Howard where the fair was held was a nice bonus – Ted

Sylvia Sorrente was born on July 31, 1941 in Paris, France. She is an actress, known for Ne nous fâchons pas (1966), Danza macabra (1964) and L’éternité pour nous (1963).

1925 Delage DIS

In 1922, Delage built a prototype sports car based on his successful 2.1-litre Type DE, but fitted with an overhead-valve conversion designed by Henri Toutee which more than doubled the power output to 75bhp. Known as the Type DIS, the new car became one of the best-known vintage sports cars, and over nine hundred examples (including the surbaissee Type DISS) were built between 1924 and 1927. This 1925 DIS carries coachwork by Kelsch.

1925 Frazer-Nash  Super Sport

After leaving GN, Captain Archie Frazer-Nash began to build Frazer Nash cars at Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey, in 1924, Although outwardly a conventional sports car, beneath its aluminium coachwork, the Frazer Nash car concealed the chain-and-dog transmission of its cyclecar forebear. Typical of the breed is this 1925 Anzani-engined Super Sports Three-Seater, which, at a price of £345, offered the performance of a car costing at least twice as much.

1925 Mathis P-Type

The first cars to be sold by the Strasbourg-based Mathis company were designed by Ettore Bugatti in 1904, but the marque became best known for its light cars, like the 1100cc Babylette of the immediate pre- World War I period. This 1925 P- Type has a 1. I-litre, side-valve engine and is fitted with camionette bodywork, equally useful for carrying passengers, livestock or vegetables.

1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom

After nineteen years, the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost finally went out of production in 1925; its successor, the New Phantom, had a 7668cc, sixcylinder engine, cast in two blocks of three, but with a common cylinder head. Most coachwork on the Phantom was formal, but a very few sporting models were turned out early on. A total of 2212 Phantoms was built before the Phantom II appeared in 1929.

Philadelphia based Melissa Martin is one of today’s leading Blues and Swing vocalists. Long-time leading lady of the blues, Melissa’s voice and performance simmer irresistibly. Equally adept at Rockin’ Jump Blues, Drivin’ R&B and Jazzy torch ballads, Melissa Martin and her Mighty Rhythm Kings lay it down and thrill crowds from the first downbeat to the final encore. Etta James biographer Vince White pens, “Melissa Martin has all three S’s, she’s sexy, sassy, and soulful.” “Her pipes truly have a wealth of soaring thrill… like honey spiked with whiskey, sweet and bracing all at the same time.” adds Blueswax Magazine.

In addition to thrilling vocals, a typical Mighty Rhythm Kings performance spotlights a top-notch crew of versatile musicians, Gutbucket Blues? Check, Sophisticated Swing? Check, New Orleans two-step? Check, Boogie Woogie piano? Check, Smoldering R&B? Got It, Deep Rockin’ Roots of all sorts?… it’s in there. Arriving on the Philadelphia scene in 1995, Melissa formed the Mighty Rhythm Kings with a like minded group of blues enthusiasts. They proceeded to rock the house all up and down the East Coast, playing clubs, festivals, dance societies, house parties, and concerts. They were the right band at the right time, landing smack dab in the middle of the Swing revival.

Their debut CD “On The Mark” was recorded and released in 2003, drawing rave reviews world wide. “A sparkling and often downright splendid debut CD…the rhythms are tight, the solos are solid as a rock…every song is slicked up and polished like a treasure.

Text from last.fm

Title: Artist: Recording: Recorded: Released: Genre:

Send me to the ‘lectric chair   Melissa Martin & The Mighty Rhythm Kings   Lucky Girl  2009 2009 Gutbucket Blues, Sophisticated Swing and more

Title: Artist: Recording: Recorded: Released: Genre:

How can I sing the blues Melissa Martin & The Mighty Rhythm Kings  Lucky Girl 2009 2009 Gutbucket Blues, Sophisticated Swing and more

Title: Artist: Recording: Recorded: Released: Genre:

Everything I do is wrong Melissa Martin & The Mighty Rhythm Kings   Lucky Girl 2009 2009 Gutbucket Blues, Sophisticated Swing and more