A happy period in my youth (From Gazette & Herald)

A happy period in my youth

I SEEM to have had a thing about that delightful song Sand in my Shoes, by Frank Loesser and Victor Schertzinger, which Connie Boswell sang in the film Kiss the Boys Goodbye, probably about 1941. At this time I was serving in a Lancashire Anti-Aircraft Brigade, with HQ at Burnley, and nights when not on duty, were often spent at The Empress Ballroom, dancing the night away.

This was an exceptionally happy period in my youth, and Sand in my Shoes must stir some latent memory, which still brings me pleasure, for ever since, it seems, I have been trying to get a good recording of this melody. Geoff Love, in his guise as Manuel of the Mountains, recorded it, but his record evaded me, and still does, so when I heard it played on North Yorkshire Network, on Gary Copley's Big Band Show, I pricked my ears up. Too late to catch the CD details I had a word with Radio York, who suggested I drop them a line which they would pass to Gary. Which I did, and which they did! Gary rang me up, and along with a pleasant chat, he gave me the CD details so phase two of the search then began. Down to the only sop who had had a department where records etc could be ordered, and an order was placed. No luck. Can't be traced. More details needed. So with these supplied, it was traced, but their wholesaler wouldn't supply it as he didn't have enough orders for it.

So a trip to York was called for and enquiries at a large national store there, which looked as though they had millions of CDs, but not the one I wanted, nor could they find it on "our computer."

I'd about reached stalemate, or maybe checkmate, when I happened to pass by Malton's music shop, hiding away in The Shambles, under the name of Fascinating Rhythms, which I thought just dealt in records etc and made my enquiries there. "No problem," said the owner, as though obtaining obscure recordings was an everyday occurrence, and by the end of the week I was the delighted owner of the Carroll Gibbons CD of the very song I wanted, as well as 23 other songs of that tuneful dance-band era. Hopefully, he has the same sort of expertise with the Ted Heath one also on order.

I had a letter from Willy fra Stape this week, just getting a few things off his mind, so to speak. I'd have liked you all to read it- and wished he'd send it to the readers' letters page so you could.

Of course, as an old soldier, he touches on things military, and of the generation of people who have reached the age of 50 years without total war, except for the small few who continue to serve, to keep it that way. People, he feels, have a leaning towards things military. 'Going on leave' for instance, rather than 'on holiday,' and Tom, Dick and Harry, be they coach drivers or security guards, all dressed up military like, as well as grown men paying large amounts of money, dressing up in camouflage kit, and disappearing to the woods to fire paint blobs at one another. He shows concern that our boys have all the equipment they need in the current set-to, for the peacemakers in 1939 left us with equipment dating back to 1918, and we were woefully ill-equipped at the start, so being prepared doesn't make anyone a war-monger.

An interesting snippet came to light in my motoring magazine this month (Good Motoring) when it asks if you've ever wondered about the stopping distances quoted in the Highway Code. It seems they've been the same for years, as we all know, and were originally set using a Triumph Herald. They remain the same because there are still plenty of vehicles around with the same range of stopping capabilities, and of course the thinking distance time won't have altered.

One thing I've noticed over recent years is the gradual rise of the Skoda in both quality and popularity, and my thoughts have always been 'how they deserve it'. At the back of my mind I recall the daily BBC News during the war, and almost without fail there would be the words "Last night, the RAF bombed the huge Skoda works again." It seemed to be an ongoing thing. I thought they'd been bombed out of existence, but came peace, and like the phoenix they rose again from the ashes. Now, the caravan folk have awarded Skoda the title of 'tow-car of the year', and despite the fact that we're talking of a time of almost 60 years, there must have been some remarkable effort put in.

On a trip back home from Lincolnshire this week, I went through a 50mph speed limit section of road. Unusual - not a lot of them about - yet it has long been my opinion that country roads should be restricted to this limit, or less. The Transport Research Lab confirm that ten people die and 100 are seriously injured each day. These figures could be improved by better driver behaviour and a reduction in overall speed.

Current thoughts: "The first principle of war is: for God's sake decide what you're trying to achieve before you go out and start doing it." Field Marshall Sir Richard Vincent (1931-).

Updated: 16:06 Wednesday, April 09, 2003