I was thinking back to some of the Christmas presents my parents gave me as a child.
They didn’t have much money but worked hard for what they had. No such thing as credit cards, apart from the occasional luxury in Kays’ catalogue, paid for on what they called ‘The never, never’.
Mum was a school dinner lady and Dad was a Postman working long hours overtime to make ends meet.
We lived in a council house in Widnes and loved being together, especially at Christmas when we could look forward to some unusual and imaginative toys.
This really was like magic.. Place the robot on the mirror on the left and point to a question. Then pop it on the right hand mirror for it to swing round and point to the correct answer. All done with magnets and mirrors of course.With this I could build a crystal radio and listen to pirate Radio Caroline North broadcasting from a ship anchored off the Isle Of Man. Or build a Morse Code kit that sent coded messages with a flashing light. Dad showed me how to use Morse Code having used it while serving in World War II.This was actually powered by real steam heated with a firebox underneath burning methylated spirits. Only to be used under parental supervision!Lots of metal plates connected with nuts and bolts. My Dad managed to build a toy double decker bus out of it.Me wearing one of mum’s knitted jumpers, with cousin Jan showing off my Triang circus van in our Prefab home in the late 50s.
I recently heard that jazz critic and broadcaster Steve Voce passed away last month. His Wednesday night BBC Radio Merseyside programme was essential listening for me as a teenager in the 1970s. So many records I still own and play were inspired by the music he championed.
I once met Steve and his wife, Producer Jenny Collins, when they invited listeners to meet jazz trumpeter and Count Basie alumni Buck Clayton at the Post House pub in Liverpool. In fact Steve bought one of my first ever beers…. When asked what I was drinking I naively replied: “A pint”!
Steve Voce was an excellent broadcaster and writer, a regular contributor to Peter Clayton’s Jazz Notes on Radio 2.
As I write this I am playing a Buck Clayton Jam Session LP which I own because of the infectious enthusiasm for the music Steve Voce always had.
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