The Ghost Train - 1941

The Ghost Train is a 1941 British film directed by Walter Forde and was based on the 1923 play of the same name written by Arnold Ridley, who in later years played Private Godfrey in Dad's Army.

The film opens with a Great Western express speeding out of Box Tunnel en route to Cornwall. The train's passengers include Herbert and Edna, a young couple travelling to Truro to be married, Miss Bourne, a West London spinster visiting evacuated relatives, Tommy Gander, an overenthusiastic Vaudeville-style comedian and entertainer headed for the Pier Pavilion at Newquay to put on a show, Dr Sterling, a locum for a doctor in Redruth, Richard G Winthrop and his cousin Jackie, also headed for Truro, and Teddy Deakin. Just as they are passing Teignmouth, the communication cord is pulled and the train stops - only for the guard and passengers to find that Gander has lost his hat and is running back to retrieve it. Ignorant of the delay this has caused, he returns to the train and comes across Jackie Winthrop in her compartment. Gander tries to make conversation with her, but Teddy has his eye on Jackie and is quick to try and send him packing - at one point he insinuates that Gander is in a first class carriage with a third class ticket, whereupon Gander jokingly retorts by saying he has a platform ticket. Richard has no time for either of them, so instead they both pace back and forth outside the compartment, Gander making silly faces until at last Richard loses patience and shuts the blinds over their windows.

The Characters

(Tommy Gander)

(Teddy Deakin)

(Miss Bourne)

(R.G. Winthrop)

(Jackie Winthrop)

(Dr Sterling)

(Edna & Herbert)

(Saul Hodgkin)

(Price)

(Ted Holmes)

The train arrives at Fal Vale Junction, Cornwall, where Teddy and Gander are quick to help Jackie with her luggage. Gander offers to share his compartment, but Teddy points out that they are travelling first class, and that Richard dislikes the comedian. Instead they set about helping Miss Bourne, who initially mistakes a carriage window for a door, with her own luggage, including her pet parrot, Polly. Just before the train leaves, Gander realises he has forgotten about the basket containing his props and costumes, but is annoyed when the guard tells him he had thrown it out of the van.

Once the train has left, the passengers are met by Saul Hodgkin, the stationmaster, who tells them that the last Truro-bound train has gone, and there won't be any further trains until morning; he is just about to lock up for the night. Upon Richard's irate prompting, and knowing that he has to rehearse at Newquay the next morning, Gander tries to charter a special, but Saul refuses to make arrangements. As he is preparing his bicycle, rain starts to fall, and the passengers make for the station waiting room, taking out their frustrations on Gander for his lost hat. Saul tries to make it clear that "You can't stay here", but the passengers insist on staying until transport can be arranged. Eventually and rather reluctantly, Saul telephones for a bus, but for some reason is unable to requisition one. He suggests that they walk across to the local village, but the passengers object upon hearing that it is four miles away. In the meantime, Gander has had to rescue his basket from the rain, and borrows the ticket office as a changing room. In spite of the passengers' firm decision to stay put, Saul cannot bring himself to leave them alone, and neither does he wish to stay with them - his reason being that the station is haunted......

In 1897, a branch line was run from Fal Vale Junction to an old port, crossing the river on a swing bridge at the other end of a tunnel close to the station. The swing bridge, worked by a wheel on the platform, was kept open for china clay boats, but was closed whenever trains had to cross it. One day, some locals chartered a special train to take them home after a beanfeast in Truro, and the then stationmaster, Ted Holmes, was kept on late night duty to close the bridge for it. At eleven

o'clock, he went to close the bridge, but the effort caused him to have a heart attack before the bridge had turned very far. He tried to get back to his office and warn Truro that he couldn't move the bridge, but his heart failed as soon as he reached the waiting room door, and he collapsed with his lamp still burning in his hand. With him dead and the bridge still open, there was no way of preventing a crash, and although something warned the train driver, Ben Isaacs, of the danger, he w

Teddy and Jackie soon bring the tea through to the waiting room, and the passengers share out what little food they have to make a meal of it, Herbert and Edna providing sandwiches and eggs while Teddy supplies them with two sausage rolls. During their midnight meal, Gander acts as if Ted Holmes' ghost is lying in the doorway to the branch line platform, repeatedly stumbling as if the ghost had tripped him up. In the end he moves the "ghost" out of harm's way and offers to provide a dessert from a chocolate machine outside. When he returns, however, he finds to his disappointment that he has bought several boxes of matches. As he is telling a story of an accompanying passenger smoking a cigarette until it burned through his lip ("I found out afterwards he'd been dead since Clapham Junction"), they hear footsteps outside. Richard opens the door to the branch line platform, and a seriously ill Saul Hodgkin collapses into the room. Gander rushes outside with his lamp and raincoat to fill a glass with water from the water crane while Richard, Teddy and Dr Sterling carry Saul into the ticket office.

By the time Gander arrives back, Dr Sterling pronounces Saul dead. When Edna hears about it, she is too scared to stay at the station with a corpse in the next room, and she and a reluctant Herbert try to get back to Edna's mother. Teddy tries to call the police, but the line appears to be down. Miss Bourne, meanwhile, is in a dreadful state having fainted at the sight of Saul collapsing into the room, so Gander borrows a bottle of brandy from Dr Sterling to soothe her nerves - with the result that Miss Bourne drinks the whole lot. Teddy, Jackie and Gander bring her through to the buffet to sleep it off, during which Gander tries and fails comically at a trick he had seen at the Hippodrome where all the crockery stays on the table when he pulls the rug off. Shortly after, Herbert and Edna burst into the waiting room with only half their luggage. A knock is heard, and they open the door to reveal a terrified young woman in black. The stranger pleads for help, saying that someone is coming for her, but there is something she has to see. The passengers are confused, particularly when the young woman acts as if they know what she is talking about - until Teddy sees a car coming down the road. As they watch, the car spins off the road and crashes into a tree, so Teddy, accompanied by Gander and Dr Sterling, go to see what has happened.

as too late to stop, with the result that the train plunged through the bridge into the river. The branch line was supposedly closed afterwards, and the bridge has always remained in the open position. Ever since that day, Saul explains, there have been occasions when a train is heard desperately trying to pull up near the station. It never arrives anywhere, and neither does it start from Truro, and it is said to kill anyone who looks upon it. "If it be a natural thing," he asks, "where do it come from...where do it go?"

With that, Saul reluctantly leaves the passengers, warning them not to look if they hear a train that night. Miss Bourne is still shaken after hearing his story, but Richard sceptically passes it off as nonsense. Gander has been listening in on the story too, and makes a great fuss of it; in order to take his mind off things, Richard starts a game of chess with Dr Sterling. Gander tries to liven things up by singing "The Seaside Band", but this ends prematurely when Richard loses his temper and throws his gramophone out onto the track. In a surprisingly calm act of retaliation, Gander picks up the chess set and throws it into the fireplace.

After another few moments, Miss Bourne hears something in the station buffet. Richard goes to investigate, followed by Gander who pretends that someone is trying to murder him, but it turns out there is nothing to worry about. Gander then notices that Miss Bourne has some tea with her, and they decide to make some up for refreshment. Teddy sends Gander to fetch some water while he and Jackie prepare to make the tea, but the only source turns out to be a water crane on the platform. In order to stay dry, Gander improvises a raincoat from a tablecloth and a sheet of tarpaulin, but while obtaining his supply of water he finds the old bridge wheel. Curious as to what might happen, he tries to turn it, but the wheel is chained and padlocked, and he can barely move it. He gives up and takes the water into the buffet, where he makes mention of the wheel to Teddy and Jackie before "tea-urning the gas on" in a rather flashy fashion. Again he tries to start conversation with Jackie, but Teddy interferes again and sends him back into the waiting room, where he tries in vain to entertain the other passengers with ghost stories.

Teddy and Jackie soon bring the tea through to the waiting room, and the passengers share out what little food they have to make a meal of it, Herbert and Edna providing sandwiches and eggs while Teddy supplies them with two sausage rolls. During their midnight meal, Gander acts as if Ted Holmes' ghost is lying in the doorway to the branch line platform, repeatedly stumbling as if the ghost had tripped him up. In the end he moves the "ghost" out of harm's way and offers to provide a dessert from a chocolate machine outside. When he returns, however, he finds to his disappointment that he has bought several boxes of matches. As he is telling a story of an accompanying passenger smoking a cigarette until it burned through his lip ("I found out afterwards he'd been dead since Clapham Junction"), they hear footsteps outside. Richard opens the door to the branch line platform, and a seriously ill Saul Hodgkin collapses into the room. Gander rushes outside with his lamp and raincoat to fill a glass with water from the water crane while Richard, Teddy and Dr Sterling carry Saul into the ticket office.

By the time Gander arrives back, Dr Sterling pronounces Saul dead. When Edna hears about it, she is too scared to stay at the station with a corpse in the next room, and she and a reluctant Herbert try to get back to Edna's mother. Teddy tries to call the police, but the line appears to be down. Miss Bourne, meanwhile, is in a dreadful state having fainted at the sight of Saul collapsing into the room, so Gander borrows a bottle of brandy from Dr Sterling to soothe her nerves - with the result that Miss Bourne drinks the whole lot. Teddy, Jackie and Gander bring her through to the buffet to sleep it off, during which Gander tries and fails comically at a trick he had seen at the Hippodrome where all the crockery stays on the table when he pulls the rug off. Shortly after, Herbert and Edna burst into the waiting room with only half their luggage. A knock is heard, and they open the door to reveal a terrified young woman in black. The stranger pleads for help, saying that someone is coming for her, but there is something she has to see. The passengers are confused, particularly when the young woman acts as if they know what she is talking about - until Teddy sees a car coming down the road. As they watch, the car spins off the road and crashes into a tree, so Teddy, accompanied by Gander and Dr Sterling, go to see what has happened.

The driver of the car is unhurt, but his car is badly damaged. It turns out that he had skidded on Herbert and Edna's luggage, including a fender donated them by the owner of a furniture shop. They return to the waiting room with the battered luggage and the driver of the car, who introduces himself as Price and explains that he has come in search of his sister Julia. He adds that she suffers from delusions, and is normally kept under observation. Julia overhears, and emerges from the buffet protesting that he is lying. Price further explains that she once thought she had seen the ghost train, and this was such a shock to her that has retained a fascination for it ever since, and experiences compulsions to try and see it again. He is curious, however, as to how they heard about the ghost train; the passengers reply that Saul Hodgkin had told them, but is lying dead in the ticket office. Price goes to take a look, but Saul's body has mysteriously vanished, and his desk was just the way he had left it earlier. When they explain to Price what had happened, Julia insinuates that it was actually Ted Holmes.

Dr Sterling suggests that Julia remains at the station until she realises that the ghost train doesn't exist. Price reluctantly concedes, but insists before he leaves that Julia comes back with him as soon as he can find a car. Some time after he leaves, a signal bell is heard to ring in the ticket office, followed by the shrieking whistle of an approaching train. Teddy and Richard try to open the doors and get a look at the train, but the doors won't open. As it thunders through the station, Julia smashes a window to get a look at the train, but faints the moment she sees it. Dr Sterling makes her comfortable on one of the waiting room benches and requests for a glass of water. Teddy and Gander, who suspect trouble, take this opportunity to go outside to do some sleuthing.

On the bus, Teddy explains to Richard that the "ghost train" is really a gunrunners' train being used by Fifth Columnists sympathetic to the Nazi movement, with Price as their leader. In the distance, Julia can see the train on the last curve before the bridge. Price and Sterling order the driver to stop, and Price heads down the embankment with Julia and the driver to try and stop the train, but it pays little heed to them as it hurtles towards the bridge. Just as Sterling is trying to retrieve Teddy's gun from Richard, Gander sounds a buzzer in the driver's cab, startling the doctor and enabling Teddy to knock him unconscious. Taking Sterling's gun with them, the passengers make their escape. At the same time, the driver of the ghost train realises too late that the bridge is open, and applies his brakes. But there is nothing he can do to stop in time, and the train takes a nose-dive from the bridge and crashes into the river.

Afterwards, Teddy discreetly explains to Gander that, "confidentially", he isn't whom he makes himself out to be, indicating that he may officially have been sent to investigate the case for British Intelligence. Richard admits that he has been rather foolish, and apologises to both Teddy and Gander. Miss Bourne then staggers out of the buffet with a terrible headache. Thankful that, as far as she is concerned, "nothing exciting has happened", she makes for the special train they have ordered while Teddy and Gander look on in amusement.

Bing Crosby dies - 14th October 1977

Following his recovery from a life-threatening fungal infection of his right lung in 1974, Bimg Crosby emerged from semi-retirement to produce multiple albums and concert tours. In March 1977, after videotaping a concert for CBS to commemorate his 50th anniversary in show business, Crosby backed off the stage and fell into an orchestra pit, rupturing a disc in his back and requiring a month in the hospital. His first performance after the accident was his last American concert, on August 16, 1977; when the power went out, he continued singing without amplification. In September, Crosby, his family, and singer Rosemary Clooney began a concert tour of England that included two weeks at the London Palladium. While in England, Crosby recorded his final album, Seasons, and his final TV Christmas special with guest David Bowie. His last concert was in The Brighton Centre four days before his death, with British entertainer Dame Gracie Fields in attendance. Crosby's last photograph was taken with Fields.

At the conclusion of his work in England, Crosby flew alone to Spain to hunt and play golf. Shortly after 6 p.m. on October 14, Crosby died suddenly from a massive heart attack after a round of 18 holes of golf near Madrid where he and his Spanish golfing partner had just defeated their opponents. It is widely written that his last words were "That was a great game of golf, fellas." In Bob Hope's Confessions of a Hooker: My Life Long Love Affair with Golf, the comedian recounts hearing that Crosby had been advised by a physician in England to only play nine holes of golf due to his heart condition

70s Retro - Popswop

The Popswop magazine was a must for mainly love struck teenage girls back in the seventies. The Popswop magazine had everything you could possibly want concerning the music scene of the day...Michael Jackson, David Cassidy, The Bay City Rollers, etc. The list as they say is endless!...

The 1974 Popswop Annual

Michael Jackson. October 1973

Michael Jackson. August 1973

Michael Jackson. February 1973

ABBA Reocrd Popswop Mirror - December 1974 (1974 UK 20-page newspaper-style music magazine - a great festive issue of the weekly magazine, issued on December 28th, 1974, and includes a brilliant interview with the Swedish pop-quartet, plus a brilliant feature on Roy Wood and Wizzrd. Bay City Rollers cover).

This particular copy dates back to 1975

Action Man: (Part One) 1966 - 1976

Action Man' was first introduced in the UK by Palitoy in 1966. The concept was the first of it's kind - a fully poseable artist's dummy style action figure. First figures available to the UK were a Soldier, Sailor and Pilot complete with basic uniforms and dog-tags. His launch was inspired by his American 'brother', the successful GI Joe figures of two years earlier, produced in the US by parent American company the Hasbro Toy Co. Both Action Man and GI Joe were virtually indistinguishable during the first period of hard, painted head figures (black, brown, blond, auburn), and only minor differences in detailing occurred. At the end of this first period, softer squeezable heads were produced that looked almost identical for a while.

1970

1970 saw a major change in the four year old Action man figure. A 'flocking' process that reproduced the effect of a crew cut hairstyle as perfected and the blond and black flock-haired Action Man was introduced. GI Joe was to copy this lead and gained his new look shortly after. The head was remodeled and was pliable with enhanced scar and convincing-looking skin, but the body remained essentially unchanged and in 1973 improved figures with 'gripping hands' were launched to heighten the figure's realism and play factor. These original gripping hands were a little delicate, especially when dressing the figure and protective cups were included with the figure to help guide the fingers past the clumsy seams found inside the sleeves of uniforms.

Later versions were to benefit from stronger hands. Bearded versions were soon launched which it seemed better suited the adventurer-themed costumes as did a rare sideburns (footballer) figure which quickly was given the nickname 'George Best' after Manchester United's star player. A wealth of clothing and vehicles had by now enhanced the quickly expanding range, including sports, space, underwater adventure, and mountaineering.

1976 - Final guise, Eagle Eyes:

The final period of Action Man's first outing saw the introduction of realistic 'Eagle Eyes' of 1976 which were housed in a slightly larger head and operated by a small lever on the back of Action Man's neck. This head had more of a 'tan' and shine than the outgoing painted eyes figures and gave Action Man a permanent look of astonishment. This new look was developed in 1978 when a totally new 'muscular physique' was introduced. Easily recognisable by the molded blue trunks and sun-tan, the figure could hold slightly more complex poses and was built in such a way that it could not be disassembled and ultimately have parts replaced like the earlier elastic-strung figure.

The 1960s and 1970s will have to be acknowledged as a toy age that wasn't always compromised by the cheapest manufacturing processes over quality, but was a golden age of sturdily built, over-engineered toys that have lasted all these years and are now becoming a valuable collectable to a generation of 30-somethings that are more discerning having already been spoilt with the best that Action Man had to offer.

That Proverbial Spoon Full of Sugar! (Mary Poppins - the full synopsis)

Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins book series by P.L Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by the Sherman Brothers. It was shot at Walt Disney studios in Burbank, California.

Julie Andrews won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Mary Poppins and the film also won Oscars for Best Film Editing, Original Music Score, Best song for "Chim Chim Cher-ee" and Best Visual Effects, and received a total of 13 nominations.

The film opens with Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) perched in a cloud high above London in Spring 1910. The action descends to Earth where Bert (Dick Van Dyke), a Cockney Jack of all trades is performing as a One man band at a park entrance, where he suddenly senses that his good friend is about to return. After the show, he breaks the "Fourth Wall" and introduces the audience to the well-to-do but troubled Banks family, headed by the cold and aloof Mr. Banks (David Tomlinson) and the loving but highly distracted Suffragette Mrs. Banks (Glynis Johns).

The Banks' latest Nanny, Katie Nanna (Elsie Lanchester), quits out of exasperation after the Banks children, Jane (Karen Dortrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber) run off in pursuit of a wayward kite. Mr. Banks returns home from his job at the Dawes Tomes Mousley Grubbs Fidelity Fiduciary Bank, and Mrs. Banks reveals the children are missing. A policeman (Arthur Teacher), arrives with the children, who ask their father to help repair their damaged kite, but he dismisses them and advertises for an authoritarian nanny-replacement. Jane and Michael draft their own advertisement asking for a fun, kind-hearted and caring person, but Mr. Banks tears up the paper and throws it in the fireplace. Unnoticed, the remains of the note float up the chimney.

The next day, a queue of elderly and disagreeable looking candidates await at the door. However a strong gust of wind blows the queue away and Mary Poppins floats down, held aloft by her magical umbrella, to apply. Mr. Banks is stunned to see that this calmly defiant new nanny has responded to the children's ad despite the fact he destroyed it. As he puzzles, Mary Poppins employs herself and begins work, saying that she will stay for a trial period of one week, before deciding if she will take a permanent position. The children face surprises of their own: Mary possesses a bottomless carpetbag, and makes contents of the children's nursery come to life and tidy themselves (by snapping her fingers).

The trio then meet Bert, who is a close friend of Mary, in the park at work as a screeever, where Mary uses one of his chalk pavement drawings as a gateway to an outing in an animated countryside. While in the drawing, the children ride a Merry-Go-Round while Mary and Bert enjoy a stroll though the countryside, during which Bert dances at an outdoor bistro with four penguin waiters. Mary and Bert join the children on the Merry-Go-Round, from which the horses break loose and take their riders on a trip through the countryside. As they pass by a fox hunt, Bert manoeuvres to save an Irish-accented fox from the bloodhounds. Finally the quartet finds themselves in a Horse race, which Mary wins. It is here that Mary first employs the nonsense word "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." The outing is interrupted by a rainstorm, which washes away the chalk drawing and returns the travellers to the park pavement.

That evening, the children ask Mary how long she'll stay with them. With a sombre expression, she replies, "I shall stay until the wind changes". The next day, they all visit Bert's jovial Uncle Albert, who floats whenever he laughs, and join him in a tea party in mid-air (though Mary finds it childish and ridiculous).

Mr. Banks grows increasingly irate with his children's stories of their adventures, but Mary effortlessly inverts his attempted dismissal of her services into a plan to take his children with him to the Dawes Tomes Mousley Grubbs Fidelity Fiduciary Bank, where he is employed. On the way there, as they pass St. Paul's Cathedral, the children see "The Bird Woman", and they want to feed the birds, but George will have none of it and orders his children to "come along". Upon arriving at the bank, Mr. Dawes-- Mr. Banks' extremely elderly employer-- aggressively tries to persuade Michael to invest his money in the bank to the point of actually snatching it out of his hand without waiting for his permission. When Michael protests, the other customers misunderstand, and start a run on the bank that forces the bank to suspend business. The children flee and wander into the slums of the East End of London. Fortunately, they run into Bert, now employed as a Chimney Sweep. He takes them safely home, explaining that their father does not hate them, but that he has problems of his own, and that unlike the children, has no-one to turn to but himself.

At home, a departing Mrs. Banks employs Bert to clean the family's chimney and mind the children. Mary Poppins arrives back from her day off and warns of the dangers of this activity, but is too late as the children are both sucked up the chimney to the roof. Bert and Mary follow them and lead a tour of the rooftops of London that concludes with a joyful dance with Bert's chimney-sweep colleagues. A volley of fireworks from the Banks' eccentric neighbour, Admiral Boom, who mistakes them for Hottentots, sends the entire gathering back down the Banks' chimney. Mr. Banks arrives home, forcing Mary to conclude the festivities. Banks then receives a phone call from work ordering him to return immediately for disciplinary action. As Mr. Banks gathers his strength, Bert points out that while Mr. Banks does need to make a living, his offspring's childhood will come and go in a blink of an eye, and he needs to be there for them while he can. The Banks children approach their father to apologise, and Michael gives Mr. Banks his tuppence in the hope that it will make things all right. Banks gently accepts the offering.

A somber and thoughtful Mr. Banks walks alone through the night-time streets. At the bank, he is formally humiliated and sacked for causing the first run on the bank since 1773 (it is stated that the bank supplied the money for the shipment of tea destroyed in the Boston Tea Party). However, after being at a loss when ordered to give a statement, Mr. Banks invokes Mary Poppins' all-purpose word "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!" to tweak Mr. Dawes. He gives Dawes the tuppence, tells the old man one of Bert's and Uncle Albert's jokes and raucously departs. Dawes mulls over the joke, finally "gets it" and floats up into the air, laughing.

The next morning, the wind has changed direction, and so Mary must depart. Meanwhile, the Banks adults cannot find Mr. Banks, and fear that he might have become suicidal. However, Mr. Banks, now loving and joyful, reappears with the now-mended kite and cheerfully summons his children. The greatly relieved Mrs. Banks supplies a tail for the kite, using one of her suffragette ribbons. They all leave the house without a backward glance as Mary Poppins watches from a window. In the park with other kite-flyers, Mr. Banks meets Mr. Dawes Jr., who says that his father literally died laughing. Instead of being upset, the son is delighted his father died happy, and re-employs Mr. Banks to fill the opening as partner. Her work done, Mary Poppins takes to the air with a fond farewell from Bert, telling her not to stay away too long.