There should be a letter from Alec to his parents for Sunday 9th April 1961, but it seems to have vanished – and, although I have an undated partial letter floating around loose in the box, it is very unlikely to be from this particular date due to its contents.
Therefore, this seems a reasonable moment to explain where I get my ‘2021 equivalent’ money calculations. I use a very helpful calculator on ‘This is Money‘, which is part of ‘MailOnline’ (no political agenda intended). This is not the only such calculator available, but for the sake of consistency I think it’s important to use the same one every time – and this just happens to be the one I used in my previous occupation as an editor and publisher of fiction books.
It’s really nigh-on impossible to pin down equivalent values from one era to another. There are always websites that will tell you how much a pint of milk cost in 1961 and how much it costs today – ditto a pair of shoes, a modest family car, a TV licence, a flight to Alicante etc. etc. The simple fact is that of course inflation does not move at a level pace across the board, and manufacturing/harvesting processes change all the time. Also markets open up and close again with astonishing frequency, which is why betting on stocks and shares has always seemed an especially hazardous occupation. (Short-term no doubt there are profits to be made, but you’d better be prepared to keep your money on the move!)
In particular, the cost of housing has increased out of all recognition in the past sixty years – despite the fact that the supply has also gone up. Houses in Leonard and Eva’s road in Clevedon were selling at around the £3,000 mark (depending on condition) in 1961. Their house – which has admittedly had plastic windows and solar panels since their time, but now has only half as much garden – would be something like £425,000 if it came on the market today; that’s a mark-up of about 1,400%. If all inflation operated at the same level, a toaster – £6 in 1961 – would be £8,400 today, whereas the cheapest one in Argos at the moment is £9.99!
So, on the whole, these calculations have only limited usefulness – unless one cares to speculate how much profit could have been derived by hanging on to a house which, in Leonard and Eva’s case, they had moved into the moment it was completed and moved out of forty-eight years later without ever having had to change the light-bulb in the hall. For anyone who reads these posts and is not in the same ever-so-slightly-over-21 age bracket as the present author it may, however, serve as a salutary reminder that “The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.”
Thank you for your last letter, on time as usual. Another enclosure from the girls this time but I do not know what is in the envelope. We too look forward to the post, and the girls are pleased to be allowed to leave the table to go and get the “Gardeners Gazette” as it is sometimes called.
The route you have received from the A.A. seems to be very much the same as the one that I followed on the way down only instead of passing through Maidenhead we went through Henley, Hope your visit to Heavitree goes off satisfactorily. Note you are having the car given a short servicing before you come up here, Had mine tested last Wednesday, and guess what – it failed. They refused a certificate on the grounds that the reflectors were the wrong colour (Orange ) and therefore illegal, and there was said to be insufficient reserve of travel in the handbrake. The reflectors have been attended to, but the brake will-be done this weak when I hope to have car tested again.
I had heard you tell the story about the walk at Martock many years ago, probably when I first joined the rail. Not very good old days as you say.
Acton Yard L.D.C. not much worse than any other I suppose, but the same principle applies – it’s the noise that is heard. Have got four of them taking an appreciation course of three days starting next Tuesday when they can let off steam in private.
Geoff mentioned something to me about all going over on Easter Sunday but we have not yet decided what we are doing on that day so have not made any promises yet. Glad you are able to look out a couple of bottles of wine for us. I found the bottle of plum you brought up last time ( 2nd grade ) and found it still a bit sharp. Added some sugar to the bottle and put it back for a bit. We drank the (1st grade ) bottle some time ago.
No I do not think that I can do with any more chrysants, shall have nowhere to put them. Thank you for offering though.
We had not flown the kite until this week as you know we do not get a lot of gales here and even a strong wind is unusual. This week-end it has been glorious without a trace of wind to spoil it. As a result of the heat, the soil is beginning to dry out at long last. Still too tacky to get on but if this keeps up it will not be long before it is workable. Sounds as if our garden is a small edition of Cornishes, I suppose he does do something to it occasionally.
Bad luck about Mr Heal’s mother. When things move suddenly like that though people even a short distance away often fail to make it in time. It must have been a most unhappy day for them.
I am not surethat Mrs Salway knew Carol, but she certainly saw Susan a time or two. Sorry to hear that Aston seems to have some internal trouble, probably due to too many sandwich lunches in the past. Nice to know that mother helps in the garden, I thought she occupied the deckchair and gave advice.
I am glad that the Clevedon cricket ground is not to be used for building, I do not think It was much of a prospect as a building site.
Wasinterested to learn of the opinion expressed about Susan’s drawings. She really does seem forward for her age in most things, and her little drawings do have more than a little talent.*
I agree this is lovely weather. Three days in a row and the week-end to boot. Hope we have not had it all by the time you arrive – not long now. I can- see I shall have to arrange for a coin operated parking meter to be fixed outside our place when you are here, may be able to make a bit.
Glad to hear your new shops are having such a good effect on the other traders. Good job they are not too near Elford, it might make him wake up.
Made a gallon of “Braverys Extra Special Jungle Juice” yesterday with slight variation. In addition to the four pounds of potatoes I added about one pound of very old and stale parsnips, ( my own that had lain in the soil since last year ) and used Sultanas instead of raisins which were not obtainable. Threw in a whole oz. packet of powdered yeast and the whole lot is in a state of vigorous ferment now.
We had a visit from Peter and Brenda this afternoon and they brought with them Brenda’s two little cousins aged four and two. The girl is very shy and hardly speaks at all but the boy who can toddle steadily round with the minimum of help joined in the fun. Heard a squeal from the front room at one stage and walked in to find he had pushed Carol over and she was lying all arms and legs and voice between the armchair and the wall, They did not leave until well after eight ( nearer nine ) and both children had been well off to sleep long before then. It was a pity to wake them, but I believe they are quite used to it. Gave Peter plenty of wine while he was here and a couple of bottles to go home with.**
Managed to tip over a cup of coffee with the carriage of this machine a few minutes ago, and that brought the pangs on for a bit. Panic over now but lost the drink. I am afraid I shall have to draw the line here this time, it is now 10-30pm much later than the time I usually do this letter – for reasons already explained.
More next time, love from us all.
[*So why refer to them as having been ‘committed’ or ‘perpetrated’ then? It seems especially ungenerous, but is all of a piece with the remarks about Mr Aston – and his own mother – in this letter.]
[**’Plenty of wine’ does not sound like such a great idea considering that Peter was driving with his fiancee and two young children in the car – and there were no seatbelts in those days.]
Many thanks for letter received on Tuesday and another good effort by Susan – thank you very much Susan your drawings are improving wonderfully.*
Am glad to say we are both feeling very much better but a little exertion seems to take it out of us still – this will wear off in due course.
What a good idea to have the flu vaccine injections – private firms have been doing this for several years. Hope it works out alright and that it can be done annually. Do you remember some years ago we went to Dr Geo Mcleod for some injections and at that time three injections were necessary at monthly periods. Did not bother after the first year but if such injections are proof against flu then we must think about it next Autumn.
Note you have been busy with various meetings including one at Oxford – a place I’ve never been to by train although we had a choir outing there by road a long time ago. Sounds as if you are all going to have plenty of work to get on with. No wonder you want additional staff.
Have not heard from Norman. He will call up on phone if & when he has any news. There must be hundreds of applicants for Work Study posts and presumably all those successful must have a period at the school otherwise it would be most difficult for them to undertake the outside work. Have you had your chat with McDonald yet about things? and found out who is doing what etc.?
You still find a bit of time for winemaking then? I’ve nothing brewing up at the moment but am thinking of making some Parsnip Wine. Recently dug up the remainder of the parsnips and they are drying off in garage at the moment – about 4 or 5 lbs I should think, just enough for a brew.
Is there any more news of Susan’s possible start at school after Easter or have you still to wait for information? Is Susan excited at the prospect? We shall see a big difference in both of them – it will be about nine months since we last saw them and they can alter quite a lot in that time. Last June when you were here Carol was not too sure on her feet but I expect she is all over the place now. Susan will have grown too. They are both still fond of their prams then** – something to show us when we come up.
How nice for Pauline & Eileen to be with you last weekend. I’m sure Susan & Carol were pleased.
Had a line from Geoff last week to say you had all been over to Headstone Lane and that the children had had a good time. Note you visited Harrow last weekend but no lampshades on view. We have not been out in car except for local trips to library and Hill Road. Am gradually filling up with petrol for the journey and shall put car in for ‘short servicing’ in early March. Have you got certificate of roadworthiness for yours yet? I see the very old ones are now liable to prosecution if not in possession of certificate.
The current name of the hairdresser who bought Roselands is Hamblin and not Hamilton – my mistake. Hamblin has had a ladies hairdressing business at Six Ways (near Babyland) ever since that block of shops were erected and is noted for buying old property – renovating it – and then reselling. I don’t know if the other man – Hamilton – is still in Knowles Rd or not.
Someone was looming at Spencers’ house in this avenue last Sunday – understand Spencer starts his new job in Southampton on March 1st. At the moment he is busy painting the outside woodwork – windows, doors etc. – presumably to get a better price for it. Should think it’s a bit late in the day for that.
Those people in Cranley Gardens seem to be in it right up to their necks – the place was well organised. It would be very interesting to know who first put the police on to them.***
Have got down to some serious gardening this week. Dug another rough plot across garden and started weeding from the bottom end next to Heels. In the frames I’ve sown Lettuce – Carrot – Beetroot – Leeks and Cauliflower whilst in greenhouse I’ve taken quite a lot of chrysanthemum cuttings. It was a glorious day yesterday and from BBC accounts it was pretty general all over the country. No sun today but dry although very dull. Mum has gone to Townswomen’s Guild meeting this afternoon and is going with them tomorrow to Bristol to the pantomime. I shall be keeping the home fires burning or perhaps one in the garden – nearly time I started another.
Note you had a trip to Pinner Park on Sunday but that it was not too pleasant – not very nice here either. I went ringing morning and evening but we did not feel well enough to sit in church – still a bit of cough at times.
Have you disposed of all the Country Lifes we brought up last year? Hope so for we have another lot for you. Joan tells us that commencing last January she has changed to the ‘Field’ a somewhat similar publication to the Country Life but we shall still be having them as usual (i.e. the Field).
Quite a lot of train mishaps lately – what is the matter? Some of them appear to be carelessness from the brief particulars given in the Press but it is just as well to wait for the official verdicts. The fact remains however there are too many accidents occurring now-a-days****. Don in his last letter said he had heard that they are taking men from the Labour Exchange at Exeter and training them as goods guards and that when the period of training is over (ten weeks) the men resign and go back to the Labour Exchange having had ten stamps stuck on their card.
Well I think this is the lot once more. Mum must put a few lines before posting to say how much she enjoyed pantomime.
Hope you are all keeping well.
All our love to you both and once again lots of kisses for Susan & Carol.
Mum & Dad
[*Against what standard, I wonder? And is improvement the only reason for making them? I think not. Why wouldn’t one tell a child that age ‘I really liked your drawing’ or ‘Your drawing made me smile’? Continually measuring any child against some imaginary yardstick must surely lead to disappointment on both sides – especially for the child who can never quite be ‘good enough’ for the adults in their life.]
[**Having owned the things for only about seven weeks at this stage this may not be too surprising.]
[***The simple answer to this question is ‘the CIA’, who had tipped off MI5 about the activities of a man known as ‘Gordon Lonsdale’ but who was in fact a Soviet agent by the name of Konon Molody. Permission was obtained to investigate the contents of a safe deposit box in ‘Lonsdale’s name, and spy paraphernalia was discovered. From then on he was under intense scrutiny until he was arrested on 7 January, 1961, and so was everyone he came into contact with.]
[****This was certainly a bad spell; Wikipedia lists three accidents very close together at this time – at Royton in Lancashire on 8 February, where the accident was followed by a fire which destroyed two houses; near Rugby on 11 February, when a driver was killed; and at Baschurch in Shropshire on 13 February, when three railwaymen were killed. Further crashes took place on 20 March at Canon Street, London; 11 April at Waterloo; 18 April at Pitsea in Essex; and on 16 July at Weeton in Lancashire, leaving a total of twelve people dead and at least 142 injured.]
Letter from Eva on the remaining two-thirds of Leonard’s sheet of writing paper:
Dear Alec June Susan & Carol
Many thanks for letter also Susan’s drawing. I expect she will be an artist later on.
Well we went to the Pantomime in King St. We had nearly left Clevedon when two members found they hadn’t got their tickets so back to Herbert Rd, & also Fearnville. We eventually arrived at the Theatre Royal* 2.15 p.m. & it commenced 2.30. This is not a very big theatre I was surprised. Jessie Matthews was the principal actress. She must be sixty if she is a day by now*. I remember her better in the films. We got home about 6.30 p.m. On the 22nd we hope to go to Capern’s Seed place at Yatton.
Dad has been busy putting the gate right today.
The Triangle Post Office was raided this week £500 stolen. Somebody said Mick Rees Barratt went off & left the door open. He works as a labourer somewhere not being fit for other work.
The Hamilton who used to live in Knowles Rd lived with a Mrs Middleton who had a number of children. Don’t know if he lives there now.
There was Ronnie & Reggie Hoy one of them died I think it was Ronnie, the other is a clergyman.
I have bought some paint to do the bathroom don’t know when it will be started all depends when the electricians do their job.
This is about all for the week. Lots of love from
Mum & Dad
[*Now known as the Bristol Old Vic and recently given a massive face-lift. (Mutter mutter, monstrous carbuncle…)]
Thanks for letter, arrived just after breakfast on Saturday as usual. Herewith this week also latest effort from Susan. This one is in technicolour. Yes I agree it is a messy arrangement about the house at West Drayton. Unfortunately it is so involved that it is difficult to see what can be done.
Sorry to say we can not claim to be even reasonably healthy this week. Returned from Cardiff on Friday to find that Carol had been giving trouble* with a head cold and to-day Susan has got it. They both had fairly good nights last night but June has been sleeping in with Carol in the small back room far the last three nights. Of course there was no Sunday School to-day for either although Susan announced that she was quite recovered. The worst is over for Carol to all appearances but it will be a day or two I suppose before they are back to normal. June and I are free so far.
While on the subject of the girls, I washed the dahlia tubers to-day and to dry out I have tied string round the stems and hung them in a bunch from the centre girder of the garage. When Carol saw this she said “thats the oujah tree Daddy”. Another one, – Susan this time – when June had bathed her she said to Susan gracious look at that tide mark round the bath. Susan said “of course it isn’t we do not use ‘Tide’ in our bath”.
Do not know what Carol will do at first when Susan goes to school. It will be a bit of a shock I expect but after mooning around for a day or two she will probably get used to it. I remember going to the Infant School for the first time at Clevedon very well. I also remember many incidents of school days at Westbury including catching the bus home (when I remembered it).
Bristol getting quite posh with the new shops. Hope Mum and Aunt Joan had a good day – not too expensive.
The rain came back with a vengeance this week end and has filled me up with catarrah again. I have noticed that particularly heavy and prolonged rainfall soon produces that effect. Must look forward to some dry cold days to put matter right. Do not think the frost we had has done any damage this end. Not much about to damage now except the dahlias and I have forked them all up now. When they are really dry I shall bring them indoors and put away somewhere without heat or extreme cold.
Have a very full Diary these days but last week I only got out of London for one full day. Stayed in the first part of the week to ensure there were no last minute surprises from Pickford for his meeting on the Thursday. Went to Cardiff on the 3-55pm (stayed the night in Bridgend) and had meeting with Bluff and Bryer the following morning which lasted till five minutes to 4-0 pm (inc lunch). Just managed to scramble on to the 4-0pm to Paddington and arrived home at 8-30pm. Monday I had free but I am told I have an interview that day for job of Work Study Assistant to Mr Philips so that day has gone now. Tuesday we meet the Vice Principal Of the Derby Railway College, Wednesday to Exeter to see Hartnell (that answers your query) and Thursday and Friday in the Exeter and Plymouth Districts to get some general impressions make contacts etc. Monday 21st I have meeting at Swindon with Accountants (in morning) and the rest of the week looks like being in the Cardiff Area as I have a full list of Goods Agents and Stationmasters to see. Have a team at Cardiff Control next week to measure the use made of two Control Circuits. (The two most heavily used in the Control) to find out what we have to do to avoid delay and congestion if the train loading messages were increased by two and a half times. Things are certainly warming up and I could use a couple of good Class One assistants. Trouble is you just can’t be in two places at once. I rang McDonald up on Friday and asked him if he wanted to see me whether it would be convenient that day. He arranged to see me at 11-0am but sent a subsequent message to say he had been called away but would see me next week. Passed a message back to say I was only available on the Monday so the ball is now in his court. Of course fit he may have heard about the interview before me and that may have changed his mind for him. Feel I only hold an evens chance for this one. I only applied for the London job although all four were offered. It seems there are two highly paid Commercial Work Study men to be found homes and as McDonald was from that office the chances are not good. There is no reason for the Bristol Divisional Manager to be represented at the Exeter Meeting, but he will be given the opportunity of attending if he likes. We did agree that an informal approach would be made with Hartnell and Dean after the initial meeting.
Susan’s reactions to the fireworks were healthy enough. We did not have many apart from the sparklers. Susan wanted a Catherine wheel so June bought a large one and I poked a hole through it and worked the needle in it so that it turned freely. Unfortunately the needle must have expanded with the heat as after the first few seconds the wheel stuck and could not be persuaded to revolve. She was not disappointed and later saw some of Janet’s out of the window.
Peter and Brenda were here on Friday when I got home. The ring was in evidence so that is established. I do not know when they will be married but I think not for some time yet.**
We have been lead to believe that with that verdict on Uncle Cyril there can be no question of compensation. This sounds only too logical. We hear that Iris has returned to her own home, and Aunt Beryl is keeping the other one going as a home for herself and Clive who is as yet unmarried.
Yes I thought it odd that Charlie Rust did not see the London train off. I made no real attempt to go to see him as I assumed he would be certain to see train out.
I wonder why you decided to extend the bench to the end of garage. It seemed to me that you had a long enough bench and the bit at the bottom was most suitable for stacking long poles and laths vertically.
While on the subject, June and I had the idea that you might care to try your hand at making us a Standard lamp. We realise that a tall lamp might present some transport problems but it might be possible to make the lamp in two or more sections which could be reassembled. We have always wanted a standard lamp and one with rectangular section would be just as good as a round one.
You seem to be having similar trouble to mine in getting car in and out. Must say that particular problem is simple compared with that of walking round garage (inside) with car in position.
To-day I took lid off radio and retuned all the six settings. What was in tune at Clevedon was a little out this end. Have now fixed positions 1, 4, 5, and 6 with “Light” “Home” “Hilversum” and “Paris”. The stations on 2 and 3 are not very powerful and I can hardly hear them, I can not seem to get anything else on those settings.
I expect you were able to find a good use for the flower pots, or will do when potting time comes round again. See you had a walk on the sea wall. How far exactly did you go. June and I had a short walk on the wall one evening when we were last at Clevedon but we did not go further, than the new river. Incidentally we met Aston coming off the wall as we went on. Had a look for the missing Jewels lately? There is always a small cluster of people working at the Pill. During the Winter when the boats are out of the water, there is a lot of caulking and tarring to be done and new coats of paint to be applied. At one time Captain Rowles had a yard down there where he kept all sorts of masts, spars, sails and gear, I think it has gone now though.
So you have some big game in the neighbourhood? I suppose Bill Raine popped out and put some salt on their tails.
Thanks for the B’water paper. Some good pictures in it especially Lyng Halt. The children appreciated the letter from Grandma and had it read specially for them. Will close now and try to think up what questions likely to come up tomorrow (and answers). All the best to you both for now. Love from us all.
*’giving trouble’ pretty much sums up the attitude; naturally if a child was ill they were doing so *at* Alec and June, deliberately. There is never a word of how unhappy the children themselves must be.
**Spoiler alert;the wedding never did take place, and Peter later married someone else. It will be interesting to see whether or not anything emerges in subsequent correspondence as to the reason for this. I remember Brenda as a very friendly blonde lady, although we only met a couple of times.
Like a large number of UK viewers*, and later on a considerable faction of the world’s population, we sat down one day in March 2013 to watch the first episode of ‘Broadchurch‘, which is a murder mystery set in a seaside town and centres on the death of 11 year old Danny Latimer. Like 99.9% of those viewers we had absolutely no idea what to expect, except that it looked like a genuine and effective British attempt at Scandi-noir. Unlike a lot of those people, however, we jumped out of our seats during the first establishing shot – a street at night – and yelped “Bloody hell, that’s Clevedon!” And so it was.
Or, rather, part of Clevedon was part of Broadchurch. IMDB, rather insultingly, says it’s Portishead, and there may indeed have been some scenes shot there – but Portishead and Clevedon are two distinct entities. The spectacular cliffs and the beaches are very definitely at West Bay in Dorset. The church, however, and the street with the hotel and the newspaper office, and the field which backs on to the Latimers’ house, are all in Clevedon – together with other incidental locations. The Latimer and Miller houses, too, are both in Clevedon. This trend continued with Broadchurch 2 and 3, but the first series is the only one we happen to have on DVD; we bought it solely for the location shots – because one day we may not be able to get to Clevedon, and this is as good a way as any to remember it.
The street in the opening sequence, down which Danny Latimer skateboards to his fate, is Hill Road in Clevedon. Detective Ellie Miller refers to it as ‘the high street’ so presumably it’s actually called ‘High Street’ for Broadchurch purposes. It features several notable businesses, the most prominent of which is The Traders Hotel B&B, in the building which was (in 2019 at any rate) occupied by J. Edward Sellars Financial Planning. The little street market which turns up in episode 1 is, as far as I can discover, an invention of the series, presumably to indicate the passing of time. The newspaper offices are also in Hill Road, Clevedon, but the newsagent’s shop run by the character Jack Marshall – although supposedly in the same road – is actually located at West Bay.
The Latimers and the Millers, as well as other characters (Nige, Rev. Coates etc.) all seem to live on streets that give easy access to a large field with a sea wall behind it and a good view of a church on a hill. This field is easily identifiable as Marshalls Field in Clevedon, and some scenes actually take place on the sea wall. Beth Latimer meets her stalker there, for example, in episode 3, although it’s difficult to imagine where she thought she was going as there is nothing whatsoever along the path but a couple of isolated farms and – eventually – Weston-super-Mare.
This view, across Marshalls Field to St Andrew’s Church, was taken from the sea wall in July 2014, and corresponds closely to camera angles seen in ‘Broadchurch’. Leonard and Eva’s house – as well as those inhabited by the fiction Miller and Latimer families – would be either in the picture or just off it to the right hand side.
The church itself, however, is the most important individual location from this blog’s point of view. St Andrew’s, Clevedon, makes its first appearance in episode 2, where it’s seen in the background for the first time at time reference 12:36, on the left hand side of the picture – and then in an establishing shot at 33:14. The angle there is not quite wide enough to show the family grave, where Leonard is buried and Eva and Alec are both commemorated on the stone**; that’s just off the right-hand side of the image, on a gentle rise close to the gate which leads out onto Poets’ Walk, the footpath around the headland. The hill from which this image was taken is called Church Hill and is in itself the subject of an interesting story which we’ll no doubt get to in a later post.
The family grave also has ‘narrow escapes’ at time reference 18:55 in episode 4 and 10.59 in episode 8; the bench which clearly features in both these scenes is the landmark by which the grave can most easily be located.
The interior of the church as shown is indeed the interior of St Andrew’s Church, and the font which can be seen behind Pauline Quirke at 33:36 in episode 2 is the font where Carol was baptised. Her name used to be on the Cradle Roll, which was up on the wall near the font, but doubtless this has been superseded by now. We have not been inside the church since Leonard’s funeral as it is generally kept locked these days.
The skate/BMX park where Joe Miller takes his son, Tom, in episode 3, is on the sea front at Clevedon, next to the northernmost corner of Salthouse Fields – the green area in front of the pub frequented by Alec in his World War 2 diary fragment, which can be found elsewhere on this blog.
If we hadn’t already been sure, after that establishing shot of Hill Road at night, that we were in Clevedon, the identification would have been confirmed for us by the distinctive sight at 28:23 in episode 1 of the two masts and the line of the sea wall. This is part of a scene which begins at 28:10 and takes place on the path which leads from the end of Old Church Road (St Andrew’s being the ‘old church’ of the name) down to a tiny ramp and boat yard***. From here there is a path to the right which runs up around Wains Hill and joins up with Poets’ Walk, and one to the left which – being part of the Somerset Coastal Path – eventually finds its way to Weston. Alec always said that the two masts were Clevedon’s defining characteristic (remember, he was a radio ham), but if he gave any further explanation I was unable to understand it then and certainly wouldn’t be able to do so now. Therefore I have located this comment by a user named Simon on a forum called UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration which may help:
These two masts are the aerial for the 50kw BBC R5L AM transmitter serving most of the West Country and South Wales. The radiating mast is the one nearest the coast the other mast is an earthed reflector to reduce co channel interference with Brookmans Park, near London, along the M4 corridor.
The Clevedon signal on 909Khz is very strong and clear at my address near Bristol which I use for my mid band test when checking the alignment of any medium wave radio. It’s also a good test of selectivity as nearby is a very strong signal from BBC R Wales on 882Khz from the Washford transmitter, just down the coast from Clevedon near Watchet, which some of the older and smaller transistor radios have problems separating.
Any other Clevedon locations which appear – and there are one or two – are usually the product of either turning the camera around and using the same place from a different angle, or simply following a character with a Steadicam. By cross referencing the DVD with Google Earth it’s relatively straightforward to work out where both the Millers and the Latimers live – and even to come up with a fairly good idea as to where the crew parked their vehicles while they were filming. I won’t give the exact addresses of the houses used for filming; it’s easy enough to do what I did and identify the locations, particularly as they don’t seem to have changed too much in the interim. It seems likely that the interiors as well as the exteriors were used, too; since there wasn’t going to be a lot of damage (nothing got blown up, for example), it was just a case of selecting a house with the right vibe to begin with.
Clevedon doesn’t get a lot of publicity on the whole, it’s a quintessentially genteel Edwardian seaside resort where band concerts and flower shows have always been more popular than ice cream and kiss-me-quick hats. The few ‘attractions’ are clustered around the Marine Lake and Salthouse Fields, with several excellent restaurants – and Hill Road – up at the further (northern) end of town near the pier. There are still occasional sailings-from and arrivals-to the pier in summer, and Alec and his parents are commemorated on a brass plaque there – although we couldn’t find it last time we looked. (We think they remove them after a certain period and re-sell the space.) At any rate it’s a quiet spot and has remained relatively unchanged.
We noticed an autographed photo of David Bradley in a shop window in Hill Road back in 2014, but that seems to be pretty much all the impact the place suffered for having three seasons of a popular crime drama filmed in and around it – and if that’s the case we can’t pretend we’re terribly unhappy with the result.
**Eva died in York, and due to a misunderstanding her ashes were scattered and no marker was ordered for her. Leonard died in Clevedon and his ashes are interred under the stone in St Andrew’s churchyard, to which Eva’s name was also added. Alec died in Exmouth; his ashes were interred at Exeter along with June’s and those of her sister, Pauline, and there is presumably a marker of some sort to commemorate them all. However his name has also been added to his parents’ gravestone at Clevedon. At the moment we manage to visit at least once a year to tidy the grave and leave flowers, but this is becoming increasingly difficult and we may need to pay someone to maintain it for us in future.
***This is also where a suspect is apprehended in episode 8 at time reference 04.48.
Just getting a few lines off this week, thanks for letter. The weather this end has been changeable although not like last week. Saturday was terrible here, we had a terrific thunder storm & Hack’s Cottages were inches deep in water & sewage so we gather.
Believed to be Hacks Cottages, Old Church Road. (c) Geoff Hale, sourced from clevedon-civic-society.org.uk
Our new car (to us) is very nice although I liked our old one very much. It is ivory & pale grey quite a good combination of colours when you look at it & the wheel had an ivory centre. The inside is red upholstered stinks of cigar or cigarettes but that will go soon. The only draw back that I can see there are no pockets but a good wide shelf & a small place above for a bag. The light on the roof switches on when the door is opened. The inside of roof is plastic & can be washed & you can double lock the back doors so that children can’t meddle with them. It will carry five comfortably & seems a little wider than the A40. I daresay Joan will be green with envy & want to change “The Countryman” when they see it. They will be up one Sunday soon.
Last Friday afternoon Mr Palmer came up & showed us his gold watch he was presented with also Mrs Palmer’s necklace, brooch & earrings at the do at Bristol on the occasion of his retirement from Hawkins Ltd. His employers also gave him £400. We understand there is no work pension so suppose that is why he hung on until he was 70.
During the time he was here was had another visitor, Mr Stephens called in on a road trip from Hereford. He is much slimmer but looks very fit.
We are still selling tomatoes but the bean stakes have dwindled out.
Was very pleased to hear that Mr & Mrs Baker are at last going to retire from the shop. It will do them good to have a rest but they have another worry until they find another place to live in. Westcliff seems a long way away, as far as we are I should say.*
Hope Alec got on alright at the meeting, no doubt you will get another day in lieu of Tuesday.
Ian Spencer seems A1 again & is shopping for his mother. we hear that the specialist called to see him while he was in bed in the hospital & asked him a lot of questions which he answered then the next day another man called to ask some more questions & he said do I have to say it all over again, what I told the other chap?
This morning we received a nice catalogue from Waltham Cross (Cuthbert’s). We did not send for it & roses cheaper than the ones we bought at Almondsbury, something to note for future requirements.
Dad had two weddings on the go last Saturday at Parish Church & he & Stanley James have been asked to go to one at Portishead on Saturday as they are short of ringers. Nice little extra for them. The house at the bottom has not been sold yet & there is great activity next dor, in there every day.
I think this is all now as will leave any other news for Dad on Friday.
Love to all from Mum & Dad.
*Westcliff is roughly sixty miles by road from South Ruislip, Clevedon approximately twice that.
Many thanks for June’s letter. I am very glad the doctor says there is nothing seriously wrong with your mother. I expect she is feeling the strain of years of hard work without much holidays or chance to rest. I do hope they will soon see a house or a bungalow they fancy, they are difficult to come by these days as I don’t think there is all that much building going up. Houses this way are fetching a good price & that cuts both ways.
Susan is quite coming on with her writing also drawing. I expect they have been busy in the garden these last few days, it’s been really lovely. This morning although a peculiar sky it has not rained yet. (Leon says it’s just started.)
The men hope to finish today thank goodness. There is an awful smell of paint & pickled onions down here as Dad has done eight jars & I have them in the kitchen cupboard & every tie I open a drawer we get a whiff of onion.
Spencers were going for their holiday & the morning when they should have gone Ian developed chicken pox; Mr S doesn’t mind and hopes Ann will catch it as well.
Dad has been busy cutting all the hedges again, the long one on the lawn behind the flower bed was awful, thought we should never finish picking up the stuff, it hadn’t been cut for two years. We are still selling beans & tomatoes & I suppose we shall soon have to be picking apples, there is no end to it.
Heels have gone to Croyd for a fortnight. Hope Alec can call in for a few hours before he goes to Cardiff this week.
The house at the bottom of our field is not sold yet they wanted £5,250, but this week it’s down to £4,850.*
I went into next door one afternoon with a cup of tea for the girl who is getting married in October, she was busy painting. They have a lovely Claygate fireplace in the fireplace in the front & a nice one at the back beige. She told me they are locking up the front two bedrooms & lounge & going to live in the back for the present so presume they are only finishing the back.
Mrs Marshall & Bessie & a friend opposite her are on a tour of Scotland (coach) for a fortnight.
They have a wedding at the beginning of October at St Peter’s but bells at Old Church but nothing for Sept. other than what they have done already.**
There are notices on the beach at the Pill telling people that there is an unexploded bomb in the mud also there may be several so it has scared people away. If the bomb goes off I don’t think we shall be affected by it. Apparently they have lain in the mud for years; expect they dropped that night they came to bomb Weston.***
Well I think this is all for now so will close with love to you all.
from
Mum & Dad
*£114,000 or thereabouts in 2020 money.
**I confess I don’t know what it means except possibly that with St Peter’s being a new church they may not have had their bells installed yet and the wedding peal would have to be rung elsewhere, and that there were no other bookings for September except what was already known about.
***This was in June 1942, and was actually two nights. I haven’t (so far) been able to pin down the particular bomb that turned up in 1960, but the most recent one appeared in the vicinity of the local ASDA in 2018!
Leonard to the family [on the reverse of Table 164: NEWPORT, HEREFORD and SHREWSBURY – HEREFORD, WORCESTER and WOLVERHAMPTON; Mondays to Fridays, and Saturdays]:
Dear Alec June Susan & Carol
Many thanks for letter duly received on Tuesday morning – am writing this a bit early as we are going to Bristol again this evening calling at the Griffiths home then on to the rose gardens at Almondesbury [sic]. Mum had made out her list of trees required and I hope she has the money for them also. Actually we went through Almondesbury* last Thursday en route to Symonds Yat but obviously we were on the main road and did not pass the gardens.
Glad to gear Susan getting on with her alphabet – shows she is keen to learn and I expect Carol wants to know what’s going on. Yes I expect you will get plenty of help with the garage from both girls – you will have to keep them in a barbed wire enclosure.
Am afraid Mr Newman’s trouble is arthritis and no matter what he takes or does for it there is no improvement and my own opinion is that it is getting gradually worse. Otherwise he is quite well in himself. Their two nieces should have returned home last Sunday and the elder resumed work at Uxbridge on Monday.
Since writing the above our neighbour at bottom of field** has been over to ask for help with a wasps’ nest in the roof of his bungalow. Only had a ‘Flit’ to spray into small cavity but incoming wasps would not face it so I sealed hole up with some Polyfilla – hope it will do trick otherwise he must get some cyanide for them. Whilst there police turned up and asked who had phoned them about an object floating in the river – query unexploded bomb: it was the people in end house and the ‘bomb’ was a buoy used for the anchor line for small ships in the backwater. Some excitement!
Yes Symonds Yat is a very nice place and well worth a visit but it must be a fine day. Could be a most miserable spot in wet weather.
Note you have made a start with garage foundations – have heard nothing from Payne lately but I know he is looking out for us. Looks as if you are going to have difficulty disposing of your present car but we hope you get a fair price.
You may have mentioned previously about Cecil Moore but I am sorry it did not register. He was rather fortunate to follow through like that to the better job without moving. Note you had a trip to Dartford during the week but should think there would be nothing doing with Computor etc. concern at £50 per hour. Does this charge only cover actual working hours or the whole of the time the apparatus is away from the firm’s premises?***
I should remember George Jenkins but unfortunately do not – presumably he took Gedroych’s place. I knew him well also his predecessor Gibbons.
Note that June has accepted Insurance Co’s offer re: necklace – we can only say again how sorry we both are that it was lost and at Clevedon.
So you have no definite information of June’s Uncle Will’s illness – can only hope he will get over it in sufficient measure to get out and about again.
We have an idea that the home next door went for £1800**** but it must be remembered it was in very poor condition inside and out. The outside of Mrs Drewett’s is pretty rough but we have no idea what it’s like inside. Now we hear the one at bottom of field – where Miss Martin used to live – is for sale, advertised in last week’s Mercury for £5,250***** or near offer. What optimists!
Note your application for B.T.C. job has gone forward and shall await events with interest.
You mentioned a church at bottom of Queen’s Walk nearly finished; query at Whitby Road end close to shops?****** We have not been in the new St Peter’s yet but understand it is quite nice.
So you have both been busy on front garden. Am not surprised you had to use mattock. It looks terrible stuff to me and to break it down would need a lot of time over the winter. Am still very busy this end and Mum carries on with the flower borders. Have this week cleaned through the three rows of raspberry canes and made two more rows. Put in two rows of cabbage seed (for spring cutting) and dug out more potatoes – these are turning out well now. It is a new sort to me – Craig Royal. So far we have picked 98 lbs runner beans and at this moment could easily pick another ten. To date 17 [and a half] pounds tomatoes have been picked apart from the yellow ones which are also ripening and which we use ourselves. They are sweeter and more juicy than the reds. Elford has taken surplus Beans – Lettuce – Beetroot and Marrows – the tomatoes we sell direct to our own customers. The water in pond has not sunk any lower and remains at about 1″ deep in shallow portion. Shall continue to wait this season and see if any further loss occurs. Have had to start hedge cutting again but growth is not so tough this time.
Well I think this is about all once more. Hope you are all keeping in good health and that you are getting some better nights.
All our love to you and lots of kisses for Susan & Carol.
Mum & Dad
*Difficult to imagine why someone as familiar with the district as Leonard should suddenly start mis-spelling Almondsbury, but we all have our off days.
**Identifying these people is not as straightforward as it might be; in later years the field was sold off for housing, and so were Leonard’s orchard and half his garden. However a quick perusal of Google Earth suggests that the ‘end house’ referred to was probably in St Andrew’s Drive and there is certainly at least one bungalow close by. Residents of the last house in St Andrew’s Drive would have had a very clear view of the river and its contents.
***A little shy of £1200 in present-day currency. Interesting that Leonard seems to think the ‘computor’ would be brought to site for use rather than the data being taken to it; I wonder if this was what was intended?
****Roughly £42,250.
*****£124,000. This must have been next to ‘the end house’ as previously mentioned – and the average house price in St Andrew’s Road is currently £520,000.
******No, it was in the other direction – and not ‘at the bottom’ of Queen’s Walk so much as further down it. It was a brand new Methodist Church to which we would later be sent on Sunday mornings.
Thank you for both your letters arrived Saturday. Please do not be scared at change of paper – happened to be in Woolworths on Saturday morning and spotted some. Just the job for business letters and small epistles but probably not so good for long ones as too much shifting carriage on typewriter.
I seem to have got mixed up with the Cafes at Clevedon, I thought someone said then we were down there that there was a new one somewhere near the middle of Marine Parade.
Susan is doing quite well with her alphabet but of course it goes in fits and starts. She is taking a keen interest in being able to tell the time and has now got a toy alarum clock. She has a go but we seem to be getting some odd times. What little I have heard about Uncle Will’s progress is not very definite, it does not seem to change and I think they are a little worried about him.
Glad you were able to go and see Griffiths but pity the Rose Gardens were closed. It seems always the same these days, we had similar trouble at Kew if you remember*.
Note also Mr and Mrs Newman’s visit but you do not say how he is. Last time you said he had lumbago or sciatica etc. which was getting him down. Suppose this now over.
Iwent to Ross on Wye and Symonds Yat with London D.O.S.O. on Office Outing in 1951 and we were fortunate to have fine hot dry weather. It made all the difference and we were able to appreciate the countryside.
Have marked out the boundary of the New Garage with string and driven in a few large pegs as levels. These latter project up to 10 inches from ground and together with the string have become the target for meddlesome hands. I may put some ofthe shuttering up this afternoon but if it gets pulled about during the week I shall have to postpone any further action until a few hours before the concrete arrives.
Re – job. Cecil Moore is the Head of the Research Section. He got a job as Staff Assistant to D.T.M at Cardiff as I think I told you in one of my earlier letters but he did not take it up as they were not ready to go with the new set up there. Subsequently his own job was re-advertised at ahigher salary and including Organisation and Methods. Of course there could be only one suitable applicant as he was in charge of O and M. I think he gets 16 or 17 hundred.
Sorry about your crack about Littlewoods, I don’t feel quite able to Cope**.
Re – application, it has gone forward in the usual way but no comment from anyone yet. On Wednesday in company with Mr Bennett and one other from the B.T.C. Operational Research Section I went to Dartford to put our problem to the International Computor and Tabulator Co***. We are asking them to devise an Electronic Computor to digest and store details about wagons as they become available at yards and stations, and to give any details at the press of a button. We wanted this to be available to kick off in the Cardiff District by January next, but we may hare to make do with temporary machines until our own can be built. The most fantastic cost is involved – a figure of £50 per hour for hiring only has been quoted.
I felt sure you would have known George Jenkins. He was Chief Controller at Cardiff when I was last in Freight Train Section ( Prior to ‘55 ) and he subsequently became the Productivity Assistant.
Have not picked any runner beans yet but have picked about twelve dwarfs for to-day. There should be enough for meal by next week end as there are a lot of small ones coming on. The tomatoes are moving well. I have provided tall stakes for the largest and have as many as six trusses forming. I am not surprised you found the soil behind the Green house to be good. If you recall we had many bonfires there, mostly of Cupresses Hedge clippings, and there was considerable growth of nettles that we kept burning.
Note Mrs Drewett has put house up for sale. It sounds a reasonable price but I do not know what state it is in. I would have thought that Drewett might have fixed up extra cupboards and things that would have helped to sell it. As a guide what did they get next door.
The insurance people have payed up Junes claim but at their offer. This has been accepted. Still no response to advert for car. Have listed it at £39 and do not particularly want to reduce any more. I doubt whether there will be much movement for cars of this age until after the effect of the tests becomes apparent.
We will note that Lydia starts her bookings for the Bungalow at Christmas and if we intend to do anything about it we will let her know at that time.
The men are very busy over in the field where school is to be erected but nothing rising very high yet****. Think they must be still on the foundations. The church at bottom of Queens Walk is nearly finished.
June and I have had a good clear out of the front garden It looks quite neat now although mostly earth. I suppose if we take everything out it will look tidier than ever. Had to use mattock to break it up though. Well that is all for week, hope you are both keeping well.
Alec
*Even in those days it was possible to telephone and find out when a place would be open rather than just rocking up and being disappointed. What’s the old saying? ‘To ASSUME makes an ASS of U and ME’? Or, indeed, an ounce of prevention is better than a ton of cure. I have no sympathy whatsoever.
**There’s very little information online about Cope’s Pools except that they were based in London and active in the 1930s. According to Wikipedia they were still operating in 1947, but the likelihood is that they were later absorbed by one of the bigger players in the industry.
***Note that Alec spells ‘computor’ with an ‘o’. This is the first indication of any contact between him and a computer; later in life he was known as ‘Gadget Man’ and was a relatively early adopter of technology, buying himself a ZX Spectrum with a pen-writer instead of a printer and learning to program ‘sprites’ and play games like ‘Jacaranda Jim’.
So, although I’ve mentioned it before, this was how one dressed for a Sunday afternoon walk in Clevedon in 1960. In my collection of old photos this image is dated 1961, but we’ll come to that in a moment.
Loss of the pearls
It was not possible to go out walking on a Sunday afternoon in, say, shorts, tee-shirt and sandals; it was necessary to be ‘properly dressed’, because the object of the exercise was to look as if one had been to church that day, even if one had not. Nor was any music (other than of a sacred nature) allowed to be heard escaping from one’s home. Nor were children to be seen and heard playing out in the garden, and no housework was to be undertaken except cooking. (Think of the scandal if the neighbours heard the Hoover or the washing-machine; think how awful it would be if anyone was hammering or sawing on a Sunday!)
If you think those stultifying scenes of home life in ‘Pirate Radio’/’The Boat That Rocked’ are exaggerated, think again; not every household worked that way, but some certainly did.
Leonard, of course, as the son of a very religious mother, attended church every Sunday. He was captain of the bell-ringing team for many years, also in the choir, and was I believe a church warden as well. Eva was a stalwart of the flower-arranging rota, and the church was always full of chrysanthemums cut from the garden at Devonia. In short, they Had A Position To Maintain – which meant that their guests had to toe the line and dress up for a walk as if they were setting off to meet the Queen; men in suits, women in dresses, children in their best shoes and hair-ribbons. That was just the way they did things in those days.
So, this accounts for the whole family going out for a walk on Sunday dressed to the nines and June wearing her pearls, and as there were two Sundays during the holiday this clearly happened twice – on Sunday 20 and 27 June. The picture with this blogpost must have been taken on Sunday 20 June, because – devastatingly – June’s pearls vanished during a Sunday walk on that trip and were never seen again. She never felt them go – just, one moment they were there and the next they weren’t. That couldn’t have been the same day that the photo was taken, for reasons I’ll list below*, so the pearls must have been lost on Sunday 27 June. As soon as the loss was realised we all turned back – to the top of Church Hill, for those who know Clevedon – and searched; however I’m pretty sure we were all looking for an intact necklace, perhaps with a broken clasp, whereas in retrospect the more likely scenario is that the string broke and the pearls were scattered to the winds. Eventually we gave up and left – whether walking on or turning back I now can’t remember – and the loss would have been reported to the local police, probably by telephone, in the hopes that they might be handed in. They never were, though, and June’s lament ever afterwards was that ‘somebody’s had those’.
In any case, Leonard’s letter makes it clear that they started the ball rolling on an insurance claim when we got home. Whether the eventual payment came up short or not I can’t say – maybe the letters will give some indication – but the money was clearly used for something else; June never had another set of pearls, at any rate, which is a bit sad – but, as they wouldn’t have had any sentimental association if she’d bought them herself – maybe she just didn’t see the need.
And from that day to this, every time I embark on that walk over Church Hill, I’m half looking out for my mother’s pearl necklace; you never know, it might turn up. We recently found a gold ring that had been buried in our garden since the early 1950s, so stranger things have definitely happened! However we also live over 150 miles away now, which cuts down our searching activities a bit.
Photo dating
All the slides in Alec’s collection are dated, by Alec, in his own hand. He used to give slide shows, which we called ‘pictures on the wall’, and this dating would have occurred round about the time he bought the first projector. The date of that is undetermined at the moment, but 1963 or thereabouts might be a reasonable guess.
However, unfortunately, the picture shown – which was clearly taken in June 1960 because the pearls are present – was dated 1961 by Alec. This, in turn, is going to call into question all his other datings – particularly the early ones – which will now have to be re-examined in some detail.
It does, however, mean that the picture taken in Pinner Park, which I used in conjunction with a post about that, was also taken in 1960 rather than 1961. You will note all three of us are wearing virtually identical outfits in the two pictures, which reinforces the status of the park visit – best clothes and best behaviour. How exhausting!
*Reasons for dating this particular picture to the week before:
1. It was taken on a bench on the path between St Andrew’s Church and the clifftop which is known as Poets’ Walk. We would have set off from ‘Devonia’ (then at 8, Tennyson Avenue – later renumbered to 10, Tennyson Avenue) and walked out along Church Road and through the gate at the end, where a path branched up and around the headland. (We flew kites there sometimes, but not of course on Sundays.) We would then come down from Church Hill along Poets’ Walk and returned either through or around the churchyard or – if we had more energy and the weather was good – continued down to The Salthouse Inn and back along the road. (N.B. this probably had something to do with the old superstition about never walking around a church ‘widdershins’, i.e. anti-clockwise!)
In short, Poets’ Walk was after Church Hill where the pearls were lost – and if June is still wearing her pearls at Poets’ Walk then clearly this must have been a different occasion.
2. I have a vivid recollection of what June was wearing when she realised her pearls were missing, and it wasn’t the brown and white dress and cardigan shown in the picture. It was a pale yellow and cream dress which was very flattering on her and set off the pearls to perfection. The obvious inference to draw from this is that the weather was much better on 27 June than it was the Sunday before, but clearly the string the pearls were on was no longer up to the job. June was devastated, but for once she didn’t actually manage to find a way of blaming her children for the loss. There were very few occasions thereafter when that could truly be said to be the case.
On The Track 