So each week I write an Inspiring stories post and thank you so far for your kind feedback I am so glad you are liking them. So this week it is about The Comedy with a lot of War History and still there is Clive Dunn and Ian Lavender who were stars in the sitcom who have lots of stories as most are no longer here but in spirit still, and told the story of Veterans who petrolled the streets of London and Britain whilst other folk went out to fight across the globe in World War 2 which it was set, and that is Dad’s Army.
It is a brilliant comedy with a brilliant catchy tune, “Who do you think you are kidding Mr Hitler”, and the majority of the cast were in fact retired and came out of retirement to be in the show.
It showed the funny side of the war and how they would try to make friends with the enemy and was a constant pop at Germany our arch rivals and a lot of it was, off the cuff and not scripted. They never did that many takes and sometimes left the bloopers in as it made it even funnier.
My favourite one is when they have to sleep in a barn and comaflage themselves in hay, and my favourite Pike played by the wonderful Ian Lavendar is dressed up like a Gangster.
Clive Dunn who I also adored and I know someone who knew him very well as he was a local gentleman, a Londoner, and as Ian Lavendar was a teenager when it was filmed as he was the clerk in Captain Manoring’s Bank, was taken under their wing and was famous for the catchphrase of Mr Manoring “Stupid Boy” whilst Clive Dunn’s charactor catchphrase was, “Don’t Panic Mr Manoring”.
Many of it was filmed in a studio outside London and in the countryside where they could build pretend trenches and use it to look like a battlefield and had leaves over their helmets with pretend weaponry.
It first aired in 1959 and was black and white and then when they did more shows in the 80’s it was in colour and again many retired and then came back again to be in those episodes too.
You can always tell a good comedy when the whole cast show there enjoyment of being in it and you can see many are laughing along with the audience.
Now they are shown on UK Gold and they are still as funny as they were back then and would be a relief after the war as the serious side of it was that many that fought didn’t make it back home, and so it made good TV, because sometimes coming to terms with such an iconic event, it enabled the country to look back and laugh about parts of World War 2 and celebrates it in a way that no other show did.
There were many episodes made that didn’t get aired and so they have tried to remake some of the shows, and I suppose it gives others a chance to experience being in such an iconic comedy like that and was timeless. The gags were rememberable and all the cast were national treasures and will live on to be one of the best UK Sitcomes ever made on British TV, and you can’t bit the classics and the material was good because it wasn’t overly staged and was good from the start of the show to the end.
Dad’s Army you are a fine art and the writers deserve a cheers because it bought happiness to all our homes and will continue to do so. It does help me keep memories as I would watch it with my Nan and Grandad, which others have claimed too, and yes was tremendous TV.
Hello and welcome! So each week I am going to write about inspiring people and the one person I would like to talk about is Barbara Windsor, who was in all the Carry on Films, did many stage plays and pantos, and just as I wrote this blog, it came into my head and i remember I did see her in real life, where she played the Fairy in the Panto favourite, Dick Whittington. This was on at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith.
There has been many things I have forgotten and that was one of them. It was the same one where I saw Sue Pollard and Burnie Winters, and the ladies who organized and put together Girl Night on our estate got the tickets to take us to see it.
Uncle Bark loved her and wanted her to be in porridge and play his daughter or wife, but it never happened that way, and Sid James was a bit of a geezer fell for her instantly but felt she was to good for him and said she should be with a nice young man, not someone like him. They didn’t have a love affair but played alongside the press to make out they did.
Sid James saw Lady Barbara as a little sister and would have never used her, as he was a very private guy and loved his wife to bits and so kept her to himself as she wished. He honoured women and never abused any that came in contact with him.
They were really good friends and he took her under his wing and made sure noone harmed her in anyway. Sid James could be the nicest guy in town but if you pissed him off, he would be a typical Londoner and thump then without a second thought.
Barbara Windsor as Peggy was her, as she was like me, petite, a good pair of breasts and sweet if we knew you to be nice but can turn if she came in contact with an arsehole, and never would have worked with people who were like that. She respected people who loved her work and loved her fans, and liked those who respected people like she did too, and sadly she died in a Care Home, which she never wanted.
I know we have seen her boobs, and she laughs because if that had been herself she would have never done any of that, but actors like Barbara would instantly go into their charactor to help give them the confidence to do that kind of bravodo.
Barbara had acted since she was a child and was in adverts to begin with. Her mum wanted her to act, but her father never. You see I wish to make it on TV too, but I have the same story, because someone has been stopping me and I won’t say who, but they know who they are.
She was determined to create her dream into reality, and so when her parents split her mum who looked after her, but her dad still had his way, but he was arrested for fraud, as he allowed her to be famous as long as he got her wage not her.
It is tough when your guardians who should be on the same page go against each other and don’t want the best for you. I have learned this year, that there are a lot of selfish people out there, and should be left behind.
Her first Carry on she did, was Carry on the Empire, but this was never released as it was seen to be too rauchy. Had her dad intervene? only she would know, she could have been sewed as one character was going to send up her father, along the producers and writers who made those films.
They didn’t want to be put in the newspapers as too dirty for TV, so they scraped it and made a new one.
They had to scrap, Carry on the Empire, when they were on the last days of filming and a telegram was sent to the Director or producer and it was never released. Carry on films never took 2 minutes to make, some would take up an entire summer and they never had the technology we had back then, and the stunts you see in these films were done in one take usually and and it was better to film in good sunny weather or warm, rather than cold, but Carry on Camping was as you see it a muddy field.
It never stopped raining but had to go with it, as it made the film real life like as that is typical English weather.
The first carry on film was in 1964 and was approved by the TV Broadcasting film directors of the BBC. They were on at picture houses, which are now called Cinemas, but any british films had to be approved by these board of TV Directors and didn’t like a lot of nudity or anything seen as graphic.
Yet there had been a change of personnel, who did like this film and so it was able to be completed and watched at every cinema in London and then the rest of the UK.
Barbara was a thorough bred, she was a Londoner through and through, and even the Queen loved and adored her. She was adored by so many because even I saw her again in Bayswater, she had this multicoloured all in one body suit, and I regret saying this but I did, and that “My mum looked better than her”. I am sorry Barbara, I don’t even know where that came from, looking back you do see things very differently, but no Barbara you were a household name and a model sometimes, for a reason, as she liked her privacy too, and was very aware of what some of her picture attracted and didn’t want to be seen turning towards the bad side of fame, in anyway, and was naturally beautiful, and dressed as a Londoner who’s life had changed, and dressed as if she was still in the 60’s.
The eastend girl loved her Pie ‘n’ mash and visiting Petticoat Lane market, and you wouldn’t believe it, but many of her clothes and items she bought were from the market and rarely wore designer. Accasionally it would be High street, and she did like to have the designer treat once or twice a year, but like me she liked Market products because back when markets were around it wasn’t knocked off goods, they were handmade and a one off.
A famous costume of mine that I were when holidaying in Clacton, came from a market stall down North end road and was when I first met my new love Lee. So you see, “Once you are a Londoner, you’ll always be a Londoner and a market isn’t a market if it doesn’t have a fruit and veg stall, odds and sods, and glad rags”.
Barbara did have a house in Chelsea too and would live there too when she would be doing Panto’s and plays in London, and not far from where I spent a lot of my childhood and where my family are from, as my family are mainly from the South West of London, but she liked looking in the shops down the Kings Road, Chelsea.
The East Londoner, did receive a honoury award for her work on Televsision and being Peggy Mitchel, which relaunched her career and had the catchphrase “Get out of my pub” which me and my friends at the rugby would reinact.
The one thing most people don’t know about Eastenders they are home grown actors and mostly have come from the Eastend or the Southwest, but you’ll rarely see appart from once an actor from up north being a Londoner, if they did speak Northen England Language that was real, and so are the Londoners in it. Every cast member is a true Londoner and that is why it stands out, the same as Coronation Street, who are true Northeners and are competition, but they stand out from the others.
I have stopped watching Eastenders now, but there was a time where I did watch it religiously, but some topics are a bit too close to home, and so staying clear of it. However, it is a long running soap opera and continues to grow along with the cast, but yes if you wondered that, then that is true and you will never see a non Londoner doing a London accent as soap writers like to keep it pure as possible, hence why Barbara Windsor loved it so much.
Barbara Windsor was a true Londoner who never changed but grew as we all grew up, and even if you didn’t know her, you always felt you did.
Here is a video of some images and highlights of her life, in an ITV tribute:
She will be missed, and it is sad that her life has ended as I think she would have still liked to be remembered not for having Demita but for her effortless acting and the smile that lit up the room, and made you feel welcomed and if you had known her for years.
As Uncle Bark used to say “A lady isn’t a lady who wines and dines all of the time, where frilly frocks, but someone who can be femine and masculine at the same time, yet still turn people heads wherever they go”.
Barbara, there is a G and T waiting for you, and tell Uncle Bark to use his own jokes not mine. So Goodnight from him and Goodnight to her, as we raise the curtains in our hearts forever more.
Here is one of Barbara Windsors songs and I sang as a kid, as I always knew I’d end up in Wimbledon as there was a Prince and is one around the corner. Barbara did have a good man in her life, but kept him a secret and he never got to say these last words to her “Thanks you my treasure the love heart you gave to me, if you isee you bursting I’ll take you to have a Pee, and when you fall I will lift you up, and when someone stabs you in the back I’ll raise a sword to their heads and say don’t over step the mark you tramp, she’s my bird not yours, so get up and move on your bore. She is mine and one day when we meet it will be the best drink she’s ever had. God bless you, my Barbara, my treasure forever more”.
I love people like Barbara Windsor, as she was so real and loved the fame that came with her acting career and never shyed away from anyone and made everyone feel comfortable and as if she was your mum,too. Merry Christmas Barbara and I will be having my Snowball this year so cheers.
So I suppose you wondering if I had met her or not?
Some may question, and I want you to tell me if I am lieing or not. I love this show, and so did Barbara, but never got the chance so I am playing would I lie to you, through my blog, for her, let me say this to help you if I knew her, Does a bear shit in the woods?
Hello and welcome to my new post. I am going to write these posts, of Inspiring Stories on a weekly basis, and to kick off I want to talk about an Article, written about the female Jewish American Comedian, Joan Rivers.
Part of it is not true, but the struggle to make it a success at first is, as she was written off, before she even made on air, as being a female comedian was true and wanted to talk about Women Troubles, but this was frowned upon when she tried to make it her career.
Play List I have created of some of her Best Bits:
I remember when she was band in Britain from the Royal Variety Show as she was seen as being offensive. She wasn’t by any means, she just said what all of us women thought, but dare not to say out loud.
I wrote a review about her book called, A Diary Of A Mad Diva, If you wish to check this out. I have written many more book reviews see link below:
Joan, is not afraid to make a joke that some may say is controversial, as it is what we are all thinking, and eventually did make it back on UK screens and in the 90’s came back on the Royal Variety show.
She was in her 30’s when she finally made it, and even did stand up when pregnant with her daughter Melissa, that’s how real she was. She didn’t mind taking the piss out of herself, being that she liked having cosmetic surgery and never shied away from it, and was why she was loved so much.
I loved, The Fashion Police and it was a hit show, as she would send celebrities up including herself at times, and her Jewish hertadge.
She had sadness in her life, but like most of us comedians, she never feared of making a laugh and a joke out of it, and was loved in America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Spain and the UK.
Her story shows that no matter how many people judge, knock you down, you can have the life you want and still make it a success.
Everyone can build a castle 