LOSE YOURSELF IN 1958

FIRST BROADCASTS OF SOUTHERN TELEVISION

At 1730 on the last Saturday in August, Meryl O’Keefe introduced the station’s first broadcast. The highlight of the evening was the variety show Southern Rhapsody featuring Gracie Fields and the Lionel Blair Dancers. Such glamour appeared slightly incongruous when transmitted from a converted cinema within a stone’s throw of a scrap metal wharf on the River Itchen. One of the most famous early programmes was Home Grown, in which various amateur bands from Southampton to Portsmouth competed for Solent-wide fame.

WHERE’S MY BLUE PETER BADGE?

That first show, presented in October by a young actor named Christopher Trace and the 1957 Miss Great Britain Leila Williams lasted for a mere 15 minutes. The former demonstrated train sets while the latter played with dolls, for 1958 was a long time ago. By 1960 the programme ran for 20 minutes and aired on a Thursday rather than a Monday. The first BP pet Petra debuted in 1962 and the Blue Peter Badge in the following year. No-one on that original edition could say ‘here’s one I made earlier’ – with or without sticky-backed plastic.

BMC’S GAMECHANGING TAXI

The FX4 was the first London taxi with four doors – the earlier FL1 was a ‘Hire Car’ rather than a cab – and with automatic transmission as standard.

The first examples were available only in diesel form in November, while some drivers bemoaned the loss of the FX3’s opening windscreen and were confused by the Borg Warner gearbox. Naturally, the Austin complied with the PCO rule ‘the wheel turning circle kerb to kerb on either lock must not be more than 25 feet in diameter’ – but, despite the myth, it was not designed to carry a bale of hay.