We've had the Madam's sister Carol staying for a couple of nights, and last night he'd booked us all a table at a German restaurant. It's a Monday night, we thought, it'll be quiet and genteel...
Ha! Albert's Schloss, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the heart of the West End's Theatreland, turned out to be quite the party venue, indeed - a singer (doing "cabaret" versions of modern pop and rock numbers), a DJ, and even people dancing on tables! On a Monday.
London is most definitely "the city that never sleeps"... We had a ball!
Of course, as a consequence, getting up for work this morning was - ahem - fuzzy, to say the least. But I coped.
Meanwhile...
Happy 65th birthday, Coronation Street!
[click any pic to embiggen]
Britain's best-loved soap, and the world's longest-running, it's had more than its fair share of memorable strong female characters since its creation by a gay man Tony Warren. Some connection there, I wonder...?
Here's a roll-call of the best-of-the-best:
Ena Sharples, Minnie Caldwell, Martha Longhurst
Elsie Tanner
Bet Lynch
Annie Walker
Betty Turpin
Hilda Ogden
Rita Tanner (née Littlewood, previously Sullivan, and Fairclough) and Mavis Riley
Deirdre Barlow (with Mike Baldwin and Ken Barlow)
Raquel Wolstenhulme (with Curly Watts)
Vera Duckworth (with Jack)
Liz McDonald
...and here's the first ever episode, from way back in 1960...
The most haunting and instantly-recognisable TV theme tune ever.
That is a rogues gallery, for sure. And I see your picture fits right in there.
ReplyDeleteI can see me dressed up all tarty with a fag on, propping up the bar in the Rovers Return, dishing out barbed comments... Jx
DeleteYou do know how to have a good time. The. Coronation Street stills are wonderful.
ReplyDeleteWe certainly believe in the mantra "If a thing's worth doing, it's worth over-doing".
DeleteCorrie's magnificent, long and successful tenure is mainly due to the raft of great characters/character actors the show has had over the years. I can't speak for nowadays. I haven't watched it since the '90s... Jx
I recently watched a 1973 episode of Corrie on Youtube it was Hilda Ogden's birthday bash, she was wearing a blonde wig and accusing her husband Stan of going astray. I watched another with Hilda and Bet arguing in the street over a sideboard. I don't watch it anymore. The last time I saw Raquel she was on American TV playing a chef.
ReplyDelete"Hilda and Bet arguing over a sideboard" just about sums up the reason why it had such a special place in the nation's hearts - and why the likes of Alan Bennett, Victoria Wood and Morrissey, and even David Bowie, are/were such ardent fans. Jx
DeleteDarling Jon,
ReplyDeleteWell, this certainly is a blast from the past. One of us who hails from the NORTH remembers all this as if it were yesterday. Ena Sharples was a particular favourite and dreary Deidre was a bore. However, the other of us who never went any further north than Watford, has no recollection of any of it. Now that is what could be called a missed opportunity...or a blessed release?
Oh, its "Northernness" was exactly the key to it being commissioned in the first place, and probably why it remains the flagship (alongside Emmerdale Farm) tick-box for regional programming... Jx
DeleteI loved Albert's Schloss (You must Enjoy yourself but you Must behave yourselves or else!)
ReplyDeleteThe writing and the acting in the early days of Coronation Street created ground breaking television in it's day. It was much more than a Soap Opera.
I shall be joining you in celebrating it's 65th birthday on my own blog in my own way.
Cheers to Corry and everyone involved with it; past and present
Corrie is an institution, every bit as revered as the Royal Family and Sir David Attenborough - and for good reason. Jx
DeletePS all that and recipes, too!