Fascinating Facts and Trivia

In the famous story of The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame there is a chapter called 'A Piper At The Gates of Dawn' and concerns the search of the Otter's son who is lost in the Wild Wood. The piece is beautifully written but has absolutely nothing to do with the actual main story. By a staggering coincidence there is an album by Pink Floyd was also called Piper at the Gates of Dawn and Paul Weller wrote a song called Wild Wood, but I am not sure if he was inspired by the book as well.

Korn front man Jonathan Davis commotioned dark surrealist H.R.Giger(most famous for designing the creature for the 1979 film Alien)to create a movslable stand for his microphone to use live on stage.The finished product incorporated Giger's unique blend of disturbing but beautiful biomechanical eroticism.

A Cartoon thread is coming soon here but I remember in the 1980's a special report on Steve Wright In the Afternoon radio programme found that younger kids were insecure about cartoons because they had no control over what happened so if something happened in one that might be scary or nasty or silly, they had to watch and couldn't do anything about it. I think if the same survey were done now it wouldn't affect older kids.

(19-02-2019 15:14 )GreenMachine Wrote:  a special report on Steve Wright In the Afternoon radio programme found that younger kids were insecure about cartoons because they had no control over what happened so if something happened in one that might be scary or nasty or silly, they had to watch and couldn't do anything about it.

I'll bet the snowflakes we got now woulda loved that time? But don't kids realise they are just drawn/created moving images?

Too many thick kids out there that believe everything they see on TV without questioning it..!!??

I think they were surveying quite young children because if you think about it you are relying on someone's humour or ideas to be safe for kids to watch-For example take something like a Bugs Bunny cartoon. If you analyse it is a rabbit character who retaliates against something or someone that threatens him or his environs and with maximum prejudice-he is quite vicious in his revenge - Giovanni Jones the Opera singer who is irritated by the amount of noise that Bugs is making as he rehearses nearby for a concert. He goes over and tells him to be quiet and admitedly smashes a banjo over his head and then next time shoves him into a euphonium, but Bugs is deliberately provoking him. When a third incident occurs Bugs utters his immortal line "of course you realise this mean War!" that character is in for a real pummelling or worse. Bugs goes to the concert hall and first gets Jones to sign an autograph with a stick of dynamite then disguised as a famous conductor of the time, Leopold Stokovsky (sp?) he conducts Jones as he sings making him do high and low notes then has him hold a one note for ages whilst he waits for earmuffs he has sent off for; Jones meanwhile is literally bringing the house down and then just to compound things Bugs spots a giant piece of boulder teetering on the edge of a piece of wood and he gets Jones to belt out the same line and inevitably the boulder comes crashing down on top of him-vicious but funny. It is not a cartoon for kids that's for sure. Would any kid find a giant anvil crashing down and flattening someone funny? Same with me and a custard pie-just not funny to me but an absolute hoot to anyone else.

To return to topic. I found out where the word 'pothole' comes from. It stems from people who lived in the 17th century who made a living making pottery and would dig up the local areas that was rich with this red clay perfect for making pots. The holes they left made a mess of the countryside or farms and if they were caught, they could be fined. Now it is attributed to any hole in a road caused by weather deteriorating the surface or being dug up for roadworks etc.

Any time you see a funeral scene in Eastenders they are filmed at Hendon Cemetery/Crematorium. I've been there several times for funerals of friends of my parents and I recognised one area where we had been for a funeral a few years ago.

Remember the scene of James Bond(Pierce Brosnan) driving his (choke, splutter!) BMW around the German underground car park in 'Tomorrow Never Dies' using his Nokia phone? well it wasn't quite what it seemed in that it wasn't a German underground car park but a British one. Filmed at the underground car park in Brent Cross Shopping Centre, North London to be precise (where we go for clothes and things). I remember one time we were there and noticed these signs about filming and not to worry if any explosions were heard -this would be the setting for that dramatic scene where Bond's car fires missiles at the villains.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/desti...ent-cross/

In 1878(which by a staggering coincidence was on this day) Frank Woolworth open his first Woolworth's shop in New York. His first in Britain opened in 1909.

In 2017 David Bowie received two posthumous Brit nominations a year after his death.

For the 1998 video for 'Millennium' by Robbie Williams, before she became a chef, Lorraine Pascale(gorgeous black babe) appeared wearing a massive afro wig in his pastiche of James Bond. You can see her in the motor boat in one sequence and next to Robbie in a space suit in another.

Ever wondered what that distorted electronic voice is saying in the opening of Queen's 'One Vision' song? Well wonder no more because is "God works in mysterious ways...mysterious ways" and in the video you can also see a series of Star Wars shots from the film as well as some lunatic British stuntman in a old car. I think also you can hear the name Darth Vader being mentioned.

Rock-a-doodle doo pop gherkins, a bit of popmungus trivia.
The singer Billy Bragg used to go around with just his guitar and an amp performing in all sorts of places before being signed to a record label. Anyway he wrote a song called 'Greetings to the New Brunette' and 'A New England'. A young backing singer called Kirsty McColl who by a coincidence not only had been backing Billy on Greetings, but later would record and have a number one single with A New England-his song. Kirsty had backed many singers including Jona Lewie but then became a pop singer in her own right with her first hit 'There's Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis'. That aside in the early 80's Billy Bragg was a staunch supporter of Labour and was part of their weapon to gain the younger vote by being part of something called RED WEDGE, a group of pop stars who were fed up with Thatcher and her cronies. Ken Livingstone, the then Labour Mayor of London memorably was pulled onto the stage of a concert once to raptuous applause. Billy also wrote a song to help the Miners when they went on strike. It was called 'Between the Wars' and also did concerts to raise money for them.