Search Results

The second part at our look at one of the most iconic sitcoms ever to grace British television - John Sullivan's fabulous Only Fools and Horses. Classic Comedic Scenes During the show's twenty two year history, there are many episodes that stand out as memorable and scenes that had us screaming with laughter. Each of us will have our own personal favourites and enjoy episodes that we could happily watch over and over again. But there are some that are unanimously considered classics: Del and Rodney saving Councillor Murray while dressed as Batman and Robin (ingenious!) Raquel's musical performance with a singer who couldn't pronounce his 'R's (Cwying!) that chandelier moment that would have appalled even Frank Spencer (incidentally a role David Jason had auditioned for!) as well as that historic moment when the boys luck came in and they finally were millionaires thanks to the rediscovery of an antique watch that had been sitting in their garage for years - that they mistakenly thought was a Victorian egg timer! But there's no need for us to tell you what the most memorable, most-talked about Only Fools scene is. You've guessed it - it's the one where Del falls through an open bar-hatch while talking to an oblivious Trigger in full view of the attractive young women Del had hoped to make an impression on in an episode entitled Yuppy Love. We still can't decide which was bit was funnier: Del trying to act unaffected or Trigger not knowing where Del had disappeared to! Years later in 2014, in an Only Fools' Sports Relief special entitled Beckham in Peckham, footballing legend David Beckham recreated that famous fall in the middle of the market when he tried to lean against a goods cart that someone had already moved, as Del and Rodney tried to sell Beckham-inspired underwear, What a plonker! The Catchphrases Which brings us on to those memorable catchphrases we were all repeating. Those who are long-time fans of the show will know that the catchphrases are just as iconic as the characters, the storylines, and the Reliant Regal three-wheeler van! Every time you hear someone exclaim 'Lovely Jubbly' or 'Fromage Frais', you know they're bound to be a Del wannabe! Del's repertoire of phrases include, "You dipstick/plonker/wally" (usually when talking to Rodney) "Shut up, you tart" (Rodney again!) "This time next year, we'll be millionaires," "He who dares..." and not forgetting his French malapropisms. And when trying to manipulate his not-so-gullible younger brother into going ahead with some scheme or other, 'Do you know what the last thing mum said to me on her death-bed was?' often crops up! It was really Del Boy who was the king of the catchphrases, but not to be outdone, the other Trotters were allowed a couple of their own too! 'Cosmic' seemed to be Rodney's saying, sometimes with an element of sarcasm, while Uncle Albert often prefixed everything with 'During the war,' which raised a few groans from whoever he was talking to. It Wasn't All Fun and Games... Only Fools and Horses will forever be remembered for it's laugh out loud humour and timeless gags, but the show could do serious too. Being the writing mastermind that he was, Sullivan had the unique ability to sway viewers emotions, so that you'll be laughing until your stomach hurts one minute, feel weepy the next, and maybe even laugh and cry at the same time a few minutes later! Anyone who's watched Grandad's funeral or the beautifully-written scene where Del and Rodney rush to the hospital after Cassandra suffers a miscarriage will know that these are just two examples of Sullivan writing with the utmost of sensitivity but still having viewers smiling through the tears. It's a talent not too many people have. And it's this depth that prevented the show from becoming 'flat' or the characters from becoming one-dimensional, and really enabled viewers to take the show, the characters - and the actors who played them so well - to their hearts. As well as Sullivan himself of course. Scenes that were most poignant for their dramatic rather than comedic effect were the revelation of Raquel's pregnancy; the birth of Damien Trotter; Cassandra's miscarriage; Rodney's wedding which marked a new chapter in his life, Rodney and Cassandra finally having their baby, and Grandad's funeral - where the cast had had to film those scenes only a week after having attended Lennard Pearce's funeral. It goes without saying that the emotions and grief felt by the cast, as well as the sensitivity and warmth with which Sullivan wrote that episode were very real. TEAM GRANDAD or TEAM UNCLE ALBERT And we have to talk about the whole Grandad versus Uncle Albert debate. We've found that most viewers seem to be Team Grandad, and feel that the episodes when he was in it with Del and Rodney were the shows 'golden years.' And from what we can remember viewers back in the eighties definitely seemed to feel that the show just wasn't the same after Grandad's death - even when Uncle Albert had been in the show for a good few series. We feel that's a bit unfair as both Lennard Pearce and Buster Merryfield did a phenomenal job in their respective roles, so we can't help but feel that Buster Merryfield is a little underappreciated here. We understand that a lot of people don't like change - it's even been said that some of the cast and crew were unsure about Uncle Albert's arrival - and there may have been some who felt that Uncle Albert was brought in as a replacement for Grandad. Well you can't replace the irreplaceable! And in our opinion Uncle Albert is every bit as irreplaceable as Grandad. There's no need for a compare and contrast - both characters were legendary and made us cry with laughter. One thing we are thankful for though is that the role of Grandad wasn't recast after Lennard Pearce sadly passed away - a move which would undoubtedly not have gone down well with viewers. Famous Faces There were some established actors who appeared in Only Fools who then went on to become very familiar faces to British audiences. Among them included John Barton (Easties' Jim Branning) Steven Woodcock (EastEnders' Clyde Tavernier) and Gerry Cowper (EE's Rosie Miller.) But in case you're thinking that Only Fools was running an apprentice training scheme for actors graduating to EastEnders, well there are plenty of actors who did go on to star in other shows: Vas Blackwood (The Lenny Henry Show, Spatz, Casualty etc.) Nula Conwell (W.P.C Martella, The Bill) Robert Vahey (Bill Sayers, Howard's Way) Sheree Murphy (Emmerdale's Tricia Dingle) Diane Langton (Nana McQueen, Hollyoaks - and yes in EastEnders as Cindy Beale's mum, Bev!) Andree 'Nervous Nerys' Bernard (Hollyoaks' Liz Burton Taylor) Paul Barber has appeared in many TV shows including Casualty and Doctors, and Jim Broadbent (the man who could have been Del Trotter) went on to great film success. And that's just some of them! What We Think What can we say about Only Fools and Horses that hasn't been said a million times before by the show's fans? And we think you can already guess what we think about one of the best sitcoms Britain has ever produced. We reckon it's fair to say that Only Fools and Horses is the jewel in the crown that is British comedy! If there's one thing that Britain does exceedingly well aside from fish n' chips and Mr. Kipling's cakes, it's quality television. And with Only Fools, we think we can say that never before has there been an enduring sitcom that has been so well-loved and taken to the nation's hearts quite the way this one has. When Del and Rodney became millionaires, it actually became front-page news. Not bad for a couple of fictitious characters! It is a British institution that has had a huge impact on popular culture, and is proof that a British TV show doesn't have to have garnered the US market to be a smash hit. There are many British sitcoms that are very dear to us but Only Fools is in a league of it's own. The fact that the show has lasted over a period of twenty two years at a time when most successful sitcoms lasted on average about three to four series - well, we think that says it all! If Only Fools and Horses has a unique selling point, it would be that the late John Sullivan never shied away from the more heart-wrenchingly emotional storylines and proved that you could do laughter as well as tears and still have a hit sitcom on your hands. And he did it with a skill that we don't think we've ever seen anyone replicate since. Nice one, John! We can't put our finger on what it is that made Only Fools and Horses the success story that it was. It has, as Del would say, that je ne sais quoi. And for once he'd be getting it right! Every once in a while, a show comes along - about as often as Halley's Comet - that blows every other televisual delight right out of the stratosphere - and Only Fools is such a show. The superb writing, the stellar cast, one-of-a-kind characters, comic scenarios and gags, the memorable catchphrases, highly imaginative storylines, and that iconic theme tune (or tunes we should say!) It's so strange to think that if just one of those elements had changed - even just a fraction - Only Fools and Horses may not have been the sitcom we've all come to know and love. One of the reasons why Only Fools and Horses resonates with so many people is because at one point or another in our lives, we'll all have known a Del Boy, a Mickey Pearce, or a Sid down the cafe. These were characters that the ordinary British person could relate to, and we shared their own feelings about their numerous setbacks, occasional triumphs, that desire to strive and make make something of themselves against all odds. We see their ups and downs over the years and there is plenty of them! But as much as we're huge Only Fools fans here, admittedly we're not so keen on the episodes that were made after Del and Rodney got their millions. There seemed to be something lacking although they are definitely still worth watching and not at all awful. Perhaps it was because it was such a joyous moment when the Trotters' dream of becoming millionaires finally came true that the Trotter family should have been remembered as the success story that they became and the series should have ended with Del, Rodney and Uncle Albert leaving their past behind them and walking towards their new life (with Del trying to convince them that next year, they could be billionaires!) To see them return without their fortune was quite disheartening. And if there's another reason why we all loved Only Fools and Horses, it was probably because we all huddled around the TV with our family and friends to watch a sitcom that was essentially about... family and friends. We live in a world where moving around a lot; loneliness; family feuds, and prioritizing work above all else has sadly become the norm. The Trotters may have been grafters but they always had time for the people in their lives. There may have been sibling rivalry and wind-ups between the brothers; rivalry between friends (Rodney and Mickey Pearce, Del and Boycie) rows with Grandad or Uncle Albert - not to mention their other halves - but it never developed into a full-scale row or a permanent break-up... Because the Trotters knew what mattered in life. Del may have dreamt of becoming a millionaire but when it come to family and friends, he was an incredibly rich man. We suppose you could say that Only Fools taught us all something about valuing the people in our lives. The Test-of- Time Test It's always difficult to predict whether something that was popular during a particular time will continue to be so in the future. But we can honestly say that for a sitcom that started out forty years ago, there's very, very little about Only Fools and Horses that seems dated and old-hat. It's still going strong today - if not stronger - and is one of the most repeated sitcoms on our screens. That's fantastic because it means that a new generation of fans can also grow up with a show that made their parents, grandparents, and maybe even grandparents laugh until their stomachs hurt. Does Only Fools and Horses pass the test-of-time test? We think it does! In a lot of ways - and we think that most people who were around at the time would agree - Only Fools and Horses depicts how most people, the working class, especially, lived in the early eighties onwards and brings back memories - either good or bad of living in Thatcher's Britain and experiencing the problems of that time especially with regards to unemployment and families struggling to make ends meet (no different to now, we hear some of you say!) Only Fools and Horses illustrates the problems and issues of that time but serves it up with a big dose of good ol' cockney humour! The show was broadcast at a time when everyone was in need of a good laugh - and Only Fools provided that in spades. And one of the things people often think about when talking of eighties' Britain is the 'yuppy era' - perfectly personified by our very own Del Boy! There will be people today who won't have lived in a time when the word 'yuppy' was bandied about back then. But for those who lived in any major cities, people either were yuppies - or they wanted to be one. Del absolutely wanted to be one and did what he could to give the impression that he was living the yuppy lifestyle from being seen in the trendiest wine bars, suited and booted, rubbing shoulders with all the right people, talking himself up whenever he got the chance, throwing about French phrases - albeit badly - in a bid to make himself appear more sophisticated and cultured - and the (no pun intended!) pièces de résistance... the all-important briefcase, filo fax and mobile phone. A stark reminder of a time when we didn't all have mobile phones (and even if we did, we certainly weren't glued to them!) In fact some of us didn't even have landlines. Tough times indeed! and those striving to better themselves - or giving us the impression that they're bettering themselves a la Del Boy - these are aspects of society which still exist and will continue to do so. Therefore this is something that future audiences will still be able to relate to. Despite the fact that Only Fools began in 1981, there's not a great deal about the show - other than clothes and hairstyles - that seems awfully dated. But unfortunately there are still aspects of the show that won't be so popular with audiences today: the portrayal of women; occasional language that could be deemed racist or homophobic, the odd rude word of the korma variety; lack of diversity etc. People, if they wish to, will always find something to complain about. But as we keep saying that was part and parcel - rightly or wrongly - of television during the seventies and eighties. It's impossible to compare the standards of times gone by with that of today. Furthermore, Sullivan was depicting a South London as it was back then (though of course it wasn't just exclusive to South London!) To portray it as anything else would provoke cries of 'unrealistic' and 'that's not how it is in Peckham!' But there are moments of sheer comic genius that never gets old, no matter how many times you've watched these episodes which explains why it's always repeated. Everyone involved on the show has consolidated their place as legends in TV sitcom history for providing us with an amazing piece of entertainment that's the perfect pick-me-up for when we're feeling low. Us kids of the eighties and nineties will remember sitting down with our families to enjoy this great sitcom. And regardless of years of repeats, we don't really believe - in this situation at least - that overfamiliarity breeds contempt, as we still find Only Fools and Horses as hysterically funny and entertaining now as we did the very first time we watched it all those years ago. The true test-of-time test will only really occur in another forty years time when we'll see if future generations love the show as much as we do. But we think saying that Only Fools is timeless is a understatement. Sullivan created an comedy gem that can be enjoyed by all ages (apart from a few risqué moments that is. Blow up dolls, anyone?) and we just can't see it ever getting old. We very much doubt that another sitcom as good as Only Fools will ever come along in our lifetime. We don't think we can be that lucky! But we do feel blessed that we were able to experience a phenomenon like Only Fools just once. We just hope that John Sullivan knew how much Only Fools was loved by us all. So a big thank you to him and all those involved in this masterpiece that has given us so much laughter and surely has to stand the test of time forever! You know it makes sense. Bonjour! What are your favourite memories of Only Fools and Horses? Photos: YouTube Word Cloud: Angel Noire

"You plonker!" "You dipstick!" "All right, Dave?" "During the war..." "Maar-leeene!" You only have to read the above to know that we're talking about... Open All Hours! Just kidding it's that other legendary show also starring David Jason that recently celebrated it's fortieth anniversary. Seriously? This piece of comedy gold has only been on the telly for forty years? Oh mon Dieu! What did people do before Only Fools and Horses??? Fans of the show - which will probably be most of Britain, will know that when it comes to Only Fools and Horses, there's nothing about this show that isn't iconic, from that memorable theme tune to that yellow three-wheeled van to some of the most repeated catchphrases ever. Oh fromage frais! Since the hit sit-com began in 1981, most of us haven't been able to get enough of the antics, trials and tribulations of the Trotter family and their friends. If I was told that there was only one show I could watch for the rest of my life, it may well have to be Only Fools and Horses - the show that has absolutely everything: laughs; drama; tears; the funniest one-liners you'll ever hear in your life - and a group of characters you wish you could be mates with in real-life. Well, all right - them and the Friends gang! Since writing the first part of our post on this legendary sitcom, I wanted to share my own memories of Only Fools and Horses. Since the fortieth anniversary took place, I've reveled in hearing everyone else's Only Fools memories and how much they love the show. Comments I've heard included: 'Timeless'. 'Gets better with age!' 'Never gets old.' 'Always funny, no matter how many times you've seen it.' 'John Sullivan was a genius!' 'David Jason is a legend!' The list just goes on and I agree with every single one. I've heard nothing but good things which means a lot to me because it's a show that's very close to my heart - and I'm not the only one who feels that way. I can't begin to describe how special Only Fools and Horses is to me. Just the mere mention of the show conjures up images of my childhood; school days; the eighties; the nineties; Christmas and most significantly of all, my family. I remember when Only Fools used to be shown on Sunday evenings and I would find excuses to stay up later than I should have just so that I could watch this hysterically funny show. And Christmas just wasn't Christmas without an Only Fools special! It was a huge part of my family's TV viewing - my dad couldn't watch a single episode unless he had his inhaler to hand! Even today it's one of his favourite shows, and when I call home, he's always in a hurry to pass the phone over to Mum as he's so engrossed in an episode of Only Fools that he must have seen often enough to be able to reel off the entire dialogue! Sometimes I think that John Sullivan must have run into my dad at some point because whenever my siblings and I used to watch Del Boy in action, we'd look at each other and go, "that's Dad!" A right wheeler-dealer with the gift of the gab, a born salesman with entrepreneurial spirit and a real 'he who dares wins/this time next year we'll be millionaires' attitude; my dad was a real life Derek Trotter - complete with French phrases - which he actually did use correctly. But thankfully - no animal print! Even the most miserable of misery guts would find it impossible not to laugh their heads off at every episode (and if they don't, then they really do have problems!) But while they're all hilarious, we all have our favourites. One of mine is the episode entitled Chain Gang (although I sometimes erroneously call it Chain Reaction!) where the Trotters and their friends get scammed by a con artist selling thousands of pounds worth of gold chains. I feel this episode is a little underrated but I love it because it showed the Only Fools gang coming together to thwart a common enemy. I loved the smug look exchanged between Rodney and Trigger as they posed as ambulancemen; the stunned look on crook Arnie's face when he realized the game was up - and the scuffle in the restaurant when Del and Boycie were trying to keep an eye on Arnie. Del and Boycie working together - who'd have thought it? And another episode I loved was the little talked-about Miami Twice. It wasn't usual for the cast to film abroad and I loved this episode filmed in Miami, where Del gets mixed up with the Mafia - and has to be rescued in the Everglades by his friend and sparring partner, Boycie! This episode had lots more action than it usually does; fewer appearances from the regular cast members, and no studio audience laughter - but I loved every minute of it. One of the best lines of the episode came from Rodney when Del narrowly dodged a 'stray' bullet that was meant to kill him: " If he knew how to use a knife and fork, he'd be a gonner by now!" And talking of laughter from the studio audience, sometimes that was every bit as funny as the gags or the scenes - you could hear people just roaring with laughter; proper side-splitting, stomach-hurting laughter - complete with tears rolling down cheeks no doubt! And they weren't the only ones. Fans of the show will recall scenes where it looked as though David Jason was desperately trying to fight back laughter. No doubt those scenes took several takes (just as well they never did any live episodes!) but rather than taking away from the scene in any way, it just added to it and just made it seem more natural. One of my earliest memories of the show was of Del dropping a hat into Grandad's grave not realizing that the hat belonged to the vicar! At the time, I didn't realise how poignant this scene was or how much of an icon Lennard Pearce who played Grandad was. Pearce, who had appeared since the first episode, had sadly passed away in 1984, and his death was very sensitively and touchingly written into the series. His loss wasn't just felt by the cast and crew but also by the show's fans and even to this day, long-time viewers of the show have stated how much they missed Grandad's presence in Only Fools and Horses. And this is no doubt testament to Sullivan's brilliant writing abilities. Lots of comedy writers can do laughs. In fact most aim for the funniest scenes and lines they can come up with. But Sullivan wasn't afraid to do drama or emotional scenes. Rodney and Cassandra's wedding is an episode that sticks out in my mind because my little primary school self felt so sad for Del, first selflessly taking a beating by the Driscoll brothers so that Rodney could have his money for the wedding, and also for that very emotional scene where Rodney was saying goodbye to the brother who had raised him while Simply Red's Holding Back the Years played on in the background. For years, I thought I was the only one who felt sad for Del but fans have said that they too found that episode very emotionally-charged and a great example of how Sullivan could make you laugh one minute and shed a tear the next. Only Fools really is a fantastic mix of superb writing, brilliant acting, laughs, drama and tears. John Sullivan and his team absolutely nailed it! I often liken Only Fools to Friends which might seem strange considering they are two completely different sitcoms in two completely different settings. But I see parallels between the two shows. Both started off quite slow but became HUGE; the main cast remained pretty much the same until the shows ended; the writers were amazing; the dialogue was strong; the gags were hilarious; the catchphrases were used the world over, and the actors did a job that was beyond phenomenal when it came to bringing those characters to life. In fact when you look at the two casts, you just couldn't see anyone else in those roles. It's as though they were born to play those parts. I could be here all day talking about Only Fools memories and how much I love the show but I really couldn't add to or top anything that the other viewers have said a million times before. I consider myself very lucky to have grown up with what I consider to be one of the best - if not the best - British sitcoms ever. To many, it might just be a TV show. But to those of us who have grown up with the show and witnessed the shenanigans' of the Trotters and their mates, it really is so much more. The characters and actors who play them almost feel like family. I'm so glad that Only Fools is being enjoyed by a new generation of fans who get their love of the show from their parents and grandparents enthusiasm. So in that sense, it's fantastic that the words 'plonker' and 'dipstick' will never die out! If I'm lucky enough to live another forty years, you can bet your life I'll still be watching this classic sitcom. I don't think there'll ever be a funnier, more heart-wrenching sitcom than Only Fools. What do you mean you thought the Birds of a Feather reboot was funnier? Shut up, you tart! As everyone was celebrating Only Fools turning forty, little did we know that some sad news was around the corner and that Britain was to lose not one but two legends on the same day. Little over a week ago, most of us woke up to the news that British actor, John Challis had sadly lost his battle against cancer at the age of seventy nine. John had done an excellent job of playing the Trotters' friend, snooty, loudmouth car dealer Boycie since the series began and nobody could have played that role quite like he did. The endless sparring between Boycie and Del; the mocking laugh; tiffs with wife Marlene... John Challis was born to play Boycie and we are so lucky that we got to see him play this iconic character throughout the shows entire duration as well as the show's spin-off, The Green, Green Grass. John had a very extensive acting career that saw this talented actor play many roles, but it's his role as Boycie that the public have taken to their hearts. During his time in the public eye, there hasn't been a bad word said about John Challis. The lovely tributes by those who knew him well and members of the public who were lucky enough to have met him all speak about what a lovely man he was and the work he did for charity. And that same morning we also heard how we had lost football hero Jimmy Greaves, who had passed away at the age of 81. I may not have witnessed Jimmy working his magic on the pitch when he played in one of the best ever England teams. But as a child of the eighties, I do remember him as a broadcaster and football pundit. Coming from a sports-mad family where everything stopped for football, I have very fond memories of being over at my grandad's house and watching Saint and Greavsie - the ITV show Jimmy presented with Liverpool legend Ian St John - on Saturday afternoons with my grandad and uncles. He even played for my uncles' beloved West Ham for a while. And it was only recently that I discovered that Greavsie was born in my neck of the woods - Manor Park. I've grown up watching Jimmy Greaves on screen, and he always came across as a lovely man. It didn't matter that I wasn't into football as much as the rest of the family. I still thought Greavsie was a seriously cool dude. And how ironic that he should pass away the same year as his fellow pundit Ian St. John. We hope the two of them are having a kick-about on the great football pitch in the sky. Much respect from one Manor Park kid to another... Rest in eternal peace John Challis and Jimmy Greaves (and you too, Ian St John.) Thanks for all the laughs and wonderful memories. Photos: YouTube Word cloud: Angel Noire

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom GENRE: Sitcom First Aired: 8 September 1981 CHANNEL: BBC1 Produced by: Ray Butt Years: 1981-91, With Christmas specials until 2003 NUMBER OF SERIES: 7 NUMBER OF SPECIALS: 16 EPISODES: 64 CREATED BY: John Sullivan THEME MUSIC: Ronnie Hazlehurst DIRECTED BY: Various STARRING: David Jason Nicholas Lyndhurst Lennard Pearce Buster Merryfield Roger Lloyd-Pack Paul Barber Patrick Murray Sue Holderness Kenneth MacDonald John Challis Tessa Peake-Jones Gwyneth Strong Could there ever be a sitcom more beloved to British audiences than Only Fools and Horses? The term 'Classic comedy' gets bandied about a lot but it's one that fits Only Fools & Horses perfectly. If you were around in the eighties, chances are you never missed an episode of Only Fools. Not only did we laugh out loud at the antics of Del, Rodney and co. but the sitcom did what Friends did much later on for the English language by giving us words and phrases that are still uttered today and have become synonymous with the show. Lovely Jubbly! As the sitcom celebrates forty years since it first aired on British television, we reminisce over the comedy show that made three-wheel vans look cool in the first part of this cos-mic (hands up all of you who read that in Rodney's voice!) post about Only Fools and Horses. Cushty! Plot A Cockney South London market trader who dreams of the high-life while living in a high rise with his grandfather and younger brother, dives head first into one disastrous enterprise after another in his quest to become a millionaire - often with side-splittingly hilarious results! The Writer If you've never heard of John Sullivan, you've probably never laughed a day in your life! John Sullivan is to comedy what Mary Berry is to baking. He was responsible for Just Good Friends, Citizen Smith, and the charming Dear John. Those sitcoms were and still are magnificent but Only Fools - that was Sullivan's great masterpiece. David Jason, the man who breathed life into Only Fools' Del Boy, believed that the success of the show lay in the characters being real people who just happened to be funny. And Sullivan knew all about being real. A man from a working-class background who left school at fifteen, and took on various jobs before getting his big break in comedy writing. Sullivan received more than his fair share of rejection when he was trying to get started in the business, and there's probably something of his real-life experiences that comes through in his work: ordinary people striving towards their goals; showing determination and resilience, and determined to make it, even when the odds are stacked against them. Only Fools is a show that people can laugh along with, containing characters they can relate to - created by a writer who knew his audience and knew how to write for them. So When They Say 'Only Fools and Horses' - What Are They On About? Back in 1979, John Sullivan, working on his hit sitcom, Citizen Smith, wrote an episode entitled 'Only Fools and Horses'. That must have given Sullivan an idea because when he started work on his next project about a tax-evading market trader from Peckham and needed a name for the sitcom - guess what he came up with? The show's title originated from the saying, "Only fools and horses work for a living," Sullivan quite liked the saying and felt the name was bang on the money for his new sitcom with regards to the lead character's wide boy ways. But before that, Sullivan had actually given the show the working title of Readies (British slang for money) and rumour has it that the show might have been called Big Brother (but they couldn't fit the diary room into the Trotters' flat!) The powers that be at the BBC weren't convinced that Only Fools was the right title for the sitcom because they didn't think that viewers would understand the meaning behind it. It's weird to think that one of the nation's favourite comedy shows might very easily have been known by another name. But Sullivan stuck to his guns, and the rest, as they say, is history... So How Did The Only Fools Sitcom Come About Then? When John Sullivan's hit show Citizen Smith was coming to an end in 1980, he tried to come up with a new project that he could sink his teeth into. Certain ideas were rejected by the BBC - including his proposal for a sitcom about a high-rise living Peckham market trader and his family, who dreamt of getting rich. But nevertheless, Sullivan drafted a script and sent it to John Howard Davies, the BBC's head of comedy at the time - and Sullivan was commissioned to write a whole series. Storyline Meet Derrick 'Del Boy' Trotter; a charming market trader who lives in Peckham, South London and deals in 'hooky' (dodgy or illegally obtained) gear which is often stacked to the rafters in his flat in Nelson Mandela House tower block. At least it hides his taste in tacky décor if nothing else! Del is a charmer with the gift of the gab, who will stop at nothing to persuade his friends and unsuspecting members of the general public to pay for useless goods or services they don't need, or get them to part with large sums of money for the latest doomed enterprise du jour. You know it makes sense! But for all of his slightly roguish ways, Del Boy is very likeable, very popular and has a heart of gold - which might explain why his friends and family forgive him when yet another one of his schemes falls flat. And while Del makes no secret of the fact that he wishes to be a millionaire, part of it is so that he can take care of his grandfather and brother Rodney; both of whom Del has looked after since his mother died and his dad walked out on the family. The Core Cast The main Only Fools characters consisted of Del, Rodney and Grandad, although after Grandad passed away in the fourth series, they were joined by his estranged brother, Albert, who lived with Del and Rodney until the show ended. The three characters contrast greatly but they work very well as a trio. There's Del, who fancies himself as a bit of a yuppie, indicated by his mobile phone, brief case, and his desire to be seen in the right places and rub shoulders with the right people - despite driving around in a battered three-wheeled van that's clearly seen better days. And let's hope the initials of his company's name - Trotter's Independent Traders - aren't highlighted on the letterheaded stationary! His younger brother Rodney is quieter, more reserved and socially awkward, often reluctantly dragged into his brother's schemes with slightly humiliating results. But he's the more principled one and regarded as the more intelligent member of the family thanks to his two GCSEs! Just don't mention his conviction for smoking his funny cigarettes! Then there's Grandad; with a penchant for burning rather than cooking, and spends much of his time watching not one but two TVs - at the same time! After Grandad passed away, Del and Rodney were joined by their great-uncle Albert, whose experiences in the Navy made for stories that bored anyone who he had the misfortune to corner. "During the war..." Grandad and Uncle Albert both fulfilled the role of the older, sometimes wiser guardian of the two young men, although the older gentlemen often do get roped into Del's schemes and get bossed around and used as a general dogsbody by him. But despite the bickering and sibling rivalry, the Trotter family's bond is unmistakable and unbreakable. Although Lennard Pearce who played Grandad sadly passed away during the fourth series, the core cast of the Trotter family remained pretty much the same until the sitcom ended with none of key players leaving the show. David Jason DID however plan on leaving the show after the fifth series - which would have been the show's last had he gone through with his plan. But thankfully for fans, Jason decided to stay. And Only Fools continued on it's journey to becoming one of the best loved sitcoms in British TV history. Don't believe us? The final episode where Del and Rodney became millionaires was watched by almost a third of the population! Now how's that for popular??? The Supporting Cast The Trotters had a fantastic group of friends who viewers took to their hearts as much as they did the Trotters. Del's old schoolfriends, nice but dim roadsweeper, Trigger; long-distance lorry driver, Denzil; snooty businessman Boycie and his flirtatious wife, Marlene, as well as Mike, the publican at The Nag's Head, and Sid from the cafe. Then there were Rodney's friends Micky Pearce and Jevon. It is astounding that in an industry where actors are happy to jump ship when the next big break comes along, the same actors returned throughout the years and contributed towards this fantastic sitcom - which was great for us viewers who had not only become well-acquainted with these characters but also emotionally invested in their stories. While the Trotter family may have been the lead characters, it's so hard to think of the other characters as supporting cast because they were so much more than that and we fell in love with them as much as we fell in love with the Trotters. They all added something to the show, and were integral cogs in the Only Fools machine - even if they didn't always make regular appearances. When Buster Merryfield and Kenneth MacDonald passed away, their absence was very much felt by the show's fans during the comeback episodes. We know that there's no chance of any new episodes now, and with the loss of Roger Lloyd-Pack (Trigger) and more recently John Challis (Boycie) it's inconceivable to think that the show could ever go on. With most TV shows, it's often said that the show is bigger than any of the stars of the characters, so if a character is written out, the show will still go on. But with Only Fools, it's the characters and the talents of the actors who played them that helped to make the show what it is, so the absence of a character will most definitely be felt whether it's the lead or supporting cast. Where Are All The Ladies??? Actress Cheryl Hall, who played Shirley in Sullivan's other comic hit Citizen Smith, revealed after leaving the show that Sullivan was incapable of writing strong roles for women. Those who were avid viewers of Only Fools and Horses might have recalled her words and believed she was right after looking at the predominately male cast. Sure there were lots of actresses in guest roles who played barmaids or Del's latest conquest but with the exception of Boycie's wife Marlene, there weren't any regular female characters. Thankfully Sullivan decided that Only Fools needed more of a female presence so he introduced Raquel Turner and Cassandra Parry - love interests for Del and Rodney respectively. The introduction of Raquel and Cassandra divided viewers a little as there were some who felt that the characters of Del and Rodney and the show's dynamic had changed once the boys became 'domesticated' and had settled into committed relationships with long-term partners - especially with Del going on to become a father. But for the most part, the show's fans welcomed the arrival of the two women as they felt the ladies brought a different element to the show; they gave the Trotter boys stability and more of a home life. And far from being boring, the laughs were still there. Sullivan could have, if he wished to, intensified the drama by having Raquel and Cassandra constantly at loggerheads but instead they were as supportive to each other as they were to their partners, and the bond between the Trotter wives was a delightful thing to watch. Opening and Closing Themes The opening and closing theme tunes - no they were not the same pieces of music - were composed by well-known British composer and conductor Ronnie Hazlehurst, who worked on many theme tunes for TV shows in the seventies and eighties including Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em; The Liver Birds; Butterflies and The Generation Game among many, many others. The show opened up to Only Fools and Horses while the closing number was Hooky Street. Now hands up all those who thought it was Nicholas Lyndhurst who played Rodney, who sang the show theme tune? Well you're all wrong! Because it was none other than the show's creator, John Sullivan, proving that he really was a man of many talents! Though funnily enough, Sullivan very nearly didn't get to sing two of the most recognizable theme tunes to a TV sitcom. He actually wanted Cockney duo Chas and Dave to do the honours and perform the theme tunes for the opening and closing credits. It's not totally clear why it didn't happen. Whether it was because Chas and Dave had other commitments or because Sullivan himself was persuaded to sing, one thing's for certain - it definitely wasn't Nicholas Lyndhurst! Chas and Dave did however sing the song Margate to the closing credits of the episode entitled Jolly Boys' Outing. What's all this about another actor playing Del Boy? We know, we know, it's so hard to believe that another actor may well have played the iconic role that David Jason was just born to play! The role of Del Boy could have been played by either Jim Broadbent or Enn Reitel but both had work commitments so the search for Del Trotter went on. Oh and at one point, Billy Murray was also a name in the frame. But if he'd got the role he'd never have got to play Don Beech in The Bill, or Johnny Allen in EastEnders where he delivered the ultimate insult to Phil by calling him Filth Mitchell - to his face! And lived to tell the tale (actually on second thoughts - he didn't!) But anyway, when producer Ray Butt saw an episode of Open All Hours with David Jason playing Granville - a character as far removed from Del Boy as you can get - he considered Jason for the role. Nicholas Lyndhurst had already been cast as Del's younger brother Rodney, and there were doubts that the two could convincingly play brothers due to the lack of similarity in physical appearance. Furthermore there were concerns over Jason's suitability as he had never had a high-profile lead role on a TV show. Moreover with both Jason and Lyndhurst sounding a lot more elocuted in real life, could they convincingly play true Sarf London boys? Well apparently so - and that's testament to their great acting abilities. Oh a la brochette! It seems hard to believe now, but Only Fools was not the big hit it went on to become when it first aired. It received mixed reviews from critics and the first episode pulled in just over nine million viewers. The first series as a whole managed to attract an average of seven million viewers. Oh Mon Dieu! Viewing figures began to soar after the third series and it soon became clear that the Beeb had another hit on their hands. But then two setbacks occurred. Sadly Lennard Pearce who played Del and Rodney's grandad suffered a heart attack and passed away in December 1984, leaving the cast and crew devastated. They had, at the time, been filming the fourth series, and Grandad's passing was written into the show in the episode entitled Strained Relations (also the episode where Grandad's estranged brother, Uncle Albert, makes his first appearance.) Then David Jason announced that he wanted to leave at the end of series five in order to pursue other projects. We know right - Only Fools without Del? Was that even possible??? Well the episode Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? was meant to be the final Only Fools episode as Del swaps Peckham for a new life and business venture in Australia. There were plans for a spin -off called Hot-Rod which would see Rodney come into his own as he deals with life without his big brother ordering him around. But then thankfully, Jason changed his mind and decided to stay in the show (cue much rejoicing from the show's fans) and the ending of what should have been the final ever episode was changed to Del declining rather than accepting his friend's offer to join him in his Aussie business venture. Check out the rest of the Only Fools story in the upcoming second part of the post God Bless Hooky Street: 40 Years Since Only Fools and Horses Began. Photos: YouTube Word Cloud: Angel Noire

Last summer we were still in the grip of the pandemic and while the world is still not a Covid-free zone, things are slowly starting to return to some kind of normal. Which means a lot of the usual summer activities will resume such as visits to the park; days out to the beach, road trips and all sorts of outings that will most likely require people to bring a packed lunch. And that can only mean one thing - sandwiches! It was a craving for salad sandwiches - something I haven't had since I was about six - that got me thinking about all those old-school sandwiches that we don't seem to indulge in as much as we used to (yeah, I probably do have too much time on my hands!) Although a lot of 'classics' are still around - cucumber; prawn mayonnaise; egg salad; cheese and pickle; peanut butter and jelly etc. - take a look at sandwiches on sale today and there's a whole array of swanky fillings: tricolore; crayfish and mango; avocado and pine nut salad; tuna and spicy tomato salsa... And then there's the million types of bread that's used, including tortillas and other flatbreads. Back in the day it was usually just regular sliced bread, and being fancy meant using bread of the brown or whole-meal variety! We take a look at five sandwich fillings that many a child of the seventies, eighties and nineties could be found tucking into at lunch time (or maybe it was just me!) 1. SALAD When I say salad, I don't mean cheese salad, or ham salad, or prawn salad... I really do mean just salad. So it really would be a vegan's dream come true! I remember my little five year old self thinking how badass I was because I thought I was the inventor of the great salad sandwich. I'd certainly never seen one before or even heard of anyone else having them. That was until I heard a fellow five year old classmate tell 'Miss' that his dad had made salad sandwiches for lunch - which kind of burst my bubble a little bit! Back in the eighties a salad sandwich would have simply consisted of lettuce, cucumber and tomato. With perhaps a bit of raw onion. Today a salad sandwich would be much more zhuzhed up than that with an array of ingredients including avocado, rocket, pickled and marinated veggies etc. With some chilli flakes thrown in for good measure! I recently succumbed to the temptation of the good old salad sarnies I used to indulge in when I was a kid. And while I admit it did need some salt and pepper to give it more of a kick, it was very satisfying; definitely hit the spot and I felt so much healthier. Who would have thought something so simple could be so good? 2. BANANA Before the age of eight, I used to balk at the idea of banana sandwiches as I just couldn't see how that was a 'thing'. (I also used to balk at the idea of pineapple on pizza. I still do - but that's a whole other story!) However it was at the garden party thrown by my parish, to celebrate us having made our first communion, where I encountered for the first time the infamous banana sandwich - and life was never the same again! Slightly sweetened, mashed banana, spread between two slices of regular sliced white - it tasted like heaven so it was just as well our parish church put banana sandwiches on the menu! And far from being bizarre, it was actually quite delicious and made perfect sense. Let's just say over the years, I've had more than my fair share of banana sarnies! Or should I say... banarnies!!! I don't think I've had the basic banana sandwich since childhood but I've had a lot of elevated versions of the humble banana sandwich. I've had them toasted; made with different types of bread; fried in butter; with chocolate spread; had the stuffed French toast version... oh and then there were the Elvis sandwiches! While visiting The Man, who was then living in the Pacific North-West, I read that Elvis Presley not only loved fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches (now affectionately known as the Elvis sandwich) but he used to eat sixteen of them in one sitting! As it sounded absolutely delicious, greedy-guts me thought it would be quite easy to demolish a plate of Elvis sandwiches and to prove my point, I made sixteen Elvis sandwiches... and could only manage two! But at least I had breakfast ready for the next few days! 3. FISH FINGERS Until I saw John Torode create a fabulous looking fish finger sandwich on This Morning about a year ago, I really thought that the fish finger sandwich was my mum's own invention, as I really didn't know anyone else who made fish finger sandwiches. It was pretty much a staple in our house, especially for breakfast. But whereas John made the fish finger filling from scratch, we just made do with Bird's Eye fish fingers straight out of the freezer section! Not that we minded though. But there were times I took fish finger sandwiches to school as part of my packed lunch, and was met with some odd looks at lunch time: "What's in your sandwich?" "Fish fingers." "Fish fingers?" "With ketchup." "Never heard of a fish finger sandwich before." Well they have now! I also remember there was a novel, it could have been Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (but don't quote me on that!) where the protagonist talks about a little girl who was so poor that she came to school with fish finger sandwiches made from the fish fingers leftover from her breakfast. And one day there were no fish fingers, so she just had ketchup sandwiches. Well I can assure everyone that even though we didn't grow up with very much money, that was not the reason why we scoffed fish finger sandwiches. They really were delicious and as I write this, I have a severe craving for them now! I don't think I've had a fish finger sandwich since my teen years, and as I left home a long time ago, I haven't had my mum make me one in ages. But what's there to stop me from making them myself? Absolutely nothing! Frozen fish fingers, or fish sticks seeing as I'm State-side - will be going back on the shopping list! 4. CHIP BUTTY Who couldn't like a good chip butty? Yes, it's carb overload but it's sooo good and definitely something I crave after a good night out. Some of us will remember making chip butties: hot, fat chips - NEVER fries - in between two thick slices of bread or in a roll, with a bit of salt and pepper and a some ketchup. Beautiful! Even though we are well aware that Mr. Oliver wouldn't approve it definitely hits the spot every time. For my non-British followers who aren't sure what a delightful-sounding 'butty' is, well in short it's a colloquial term for a sandwich which stems from the north of England (the southern version is 'sarnie.') The bread was generally slathered in butter - hence the word 'butty' - before a hot filling was added such as chips, bacon, sausage, or a fried egg. But anything could be a 'butty' provided it was placed between two slices of bread, so don't be surprised if people talk about munching on cheese butties; mashed potato butties; savoury pie butties; jam butties; golden syrup butties; condensed milk butties... That's a whole lot of butties! And no - I didn't make up those fillings! The all-important chip butty was what most of us teens used to classify as a filling lunchtime snack. Or an anytime snack for that matter. And if it wasn't a chip butty we made do with it's cousin, the crisp sandwich. As you can see, nutrition wasn't really high on most people's list of priorities! Nowadays, however, I don't see people gorge on chip butties like they used to. Perhaps that's down to people turning towards more healthier eating habits. But those in need of a bit of comfort food, can't go far wrong with chip-shop style chips in between two slices of thick bread, smothered in melted butter. Purists may forgo the salt and vinegar and other condiments but for me, it's a welcome addition! I reckon if you combine chip butties with number three on this list, you may well end up with the perfect sandwich! 5. PASTE I have to be honest here, I'm pretty sure in my life, I've had sandwiches filled with some kind of paste less than a handful of times - and even then it was at school or some kind of event. We never made them at home. But I do know that they were very popular during the years in which I was growing up, and were even more so long before then. What exactly are these pastes I speak of? Well simply put, it's poor man's pate! They are sold in little jars and there are various kinds of sandwich paste: tuna; salmon; beef, the ever so exotic sardine and tomato... Many of these meat and fish pastes still exist. No one I know indulges in fish or meat paste sandwiches - and if they do, they're keeping very quiet about it. But a glance at supermarket shelves, and a look on forum boards, tells us that people are still scoffing them. But opinion seems to be mixed. Some believe they taste every bit as good as when they were kids; others believe they taste pretty grim now, while there are some who don't mind them, but only have a paste sandwich when nostalgia takes over. Though I did come across an interesting tip, and that was to try fish or meat pastes on hot buttered toast, as they tasted so much better warm than cold. Might give that a go! Did you ever scoff any of the above sandwiches back in the day? Do you still eat them now? What's your favourite retro sandwich? Photos: Angel Noire and Wix Word cloud: Angel Noire

In 1946, a French teenager stood in front of the world's press in Paris, wearing a bathing suit that looked more like... underwear! Although she might have known that this was indeed a newsworthy event, she probably didn't know just how a big a deal this tiny garment was going to become... When we're off on our hols, one of the items that's almost guaranteed to be in our suitcase, is a bikini. Unless of course you're going to a ski resort. Or you're a fella! But yes, beach holidays, more often than not, equal bikini. So it's astounding to think that there was a time when our favourite style of beachwear didn't exist. In actual fact the bikini is only seventy five years young and celebrated this milestone birthday this month. Since it's launch, there has never been an item of clothing (OK two items of clothing) that has been quite so controversial. Apart from the shellsuit, that is! It's believed that bikini-style clothing had existed for thousands of years. For instance, women during the Roman era used to wear bikini-style garments during competitive sporting events. However this wasn't necessarily beachwear and certainly not the bikini as we know it today. So while a similar style of clothing has existed throughout the ages, the two-piece bathing suit that we now refer to as the 'bikini' has only been around since 1946. No one bats an eyelid at a woman in a bikini nowadays (unless she's travelling on the Tube!) so it’s hard to believe that there was once a time when people found this bathing suit shocking. Even the fashion models who were approached to wear it for the launch refused to do so, fearing the scandal that might ensue. Thank goodness times have changed! We take a look at the swimwear that was no overnight sensation but has now become a holiday fashion staple. So the bikini recently turned seventy five? Yes it did. The bikini was launched on 5th July 1946. Bikini? It sounds very Italian. Was it created in Italy? Funnily enough, no! The bikini actually has origins in that other great fashion capital of the world - Paris! So the bikini is as as French as a Citroën. Where did the bikini get it's name from then? The bikini was named after the Pacific Ocean coral reef in the Marshall Islands -Bikini Atoll - where nuclear tests were carried out after the Second World War. In fact the first test was conducted just four days before the launch of the bikini. So before the bikini came along what did women wear to the beach? Well before the creation of the modern-day bikini, modesty and decency were always key with regards to swimwear. In the 1900s, for instance, beachwear typically consisted of long bloomers and a tunic-style top - which meant that the wearer was very covered up. Not exactly fun beach attire, is it? And not the easiest thing to swim in either. Fast forward to the 1930s, and swimsuits were starting to resemble what we know and wear today. Swimsuits had lower backs, thinner straps, and were cut to show off more leg. And while two-piece bathing suits were becoming popular and showed off some of the midriff, the bottom part was high-waisted and came well over the belly button. Complete with a brassiere style top, the overall look was fairly structured - but definitely more comfortable than the beachwear of previous decades. There is of course another reason for why swimwear was decreasing in size and that was due to fabric shortages during the war. So designers and manufacturers had to cut back on material wherever they could - but they still wanted to preserve that sense of modesty. But it wasn't until the forties that things took a very dramatic turn which would change the course of swimwear forever - meaning that a return to bloomers and tunics was not likely. And thank goodness for that! Who do we have to thank for creating the bikini? That honour goes to French engineer-turned lingerie business owner-turned costume designer, Louis Reard. What inspired him to design the bikini? Two things really. One of them is Jacques Heim - and we'll come on to him in a moment - and the other being a trip to St. Tropez, where Reard noticed that a lot of the sun worshippers on the beach were having to roll up the hems of their swimsuits in order to avoid those dreaded visible tan lines. So Louis Reard is the first person ever to create the bikini. Who's Jacques Heim then? Jacques Heim was a successful French fashion and costume designer, and owner of a chain of sportswear boutiques who is often regarded as the 'co-creator' of the bikini even though he did not work on the design with Reard and neither did he come up with the name. Instead he set the wheels in motion in creating the design that became the inspiration for the modern day bikini - the atome. In the early 1930s, Heim brought out a range of swimwear aimed at young women, and one of these were two piece sets which consisted of a ruffled bra top and shorts-style bloomers. The overall look of the atome was very pretty and feminine. But perhaps because it closely resembled lingerie, many women were reluctant to publicly wear something so risque and opted for the more conservative styles of beachwear. But then in 1946, Heim decided to revamp the atome. Despite women's concerns about wearing something so skimpy out in public, Heim decided that going small was the only way to go and advertised the new look atome as 'The world's smallest bathing suit.' It was launched in May 1946 - just two months before the launch of Reard's bikini. Atome... Bikini... I see a bit of a nuclear theme going on here... True. It would seem as though both creators were anticipating a very explosive reaction from the launch of such risque beachwear. Heim even declared that he was calling his swimwear set the atome because it was small and devastating - just like a nuclear atom. Not sure that the poor inhabitants of the Marshall Islands where nuclear testing was being carried out, wanted reminding of that. Then Reard decided to have a go? Yes. Hot on the heels of the launch of the atome, Reard decided to come to come up with a design that was even smaller than Heim's. Reard's was a string bikini that consisted of four small triangle. And knowing that this bathing suit was going to make headlines, Reard cleverly went for a newspaper print fabric. Tell us about the bikini's launch The bikini was modelled in front of the press at the Piscine Molitor, a well-known public pool in Paris. Whereas Heim had skywriters advertise the atome as 'the world’s smallest bathing suit,' Reard also hired skywriters to do something similar - except he promoted the bikini as "smaller than the smallest bathing suit in the world." So what was the difference between the atom and the bikini? They're both two-piece bathing suits but the bikini is a lot smaller and the midriff section is a lot more exposed with the wearer's naval on display - something the atome never did. Furthermore the bottoms of Reard's bikini design were thong style which no doubt caused a major stir. Who was the young lady who modelled the bikini on launch day? That would be Micheline Bernardini. Reard had been looking for a fashion model to wear the bikini but all the professional models he approached were reluctant to do so (probably wish they had now!) So thinking outside the box, he approached nineteen year old striptease artist Bernardini from the Casino de Paris to model the two-piece... and the rest is history! Why is she holding a tiny box in the photo? Bernardini held a box - a little bigger than a ring box - as she modelled the bikini because the entire two piece could fit neatly into it! Further proof to Heim and the rest of the world, that Reard had indeed created the world's smallest bathing suit. He is also believed to have declared that a bikini is only a real bikini if "it could be pulled through a wedding ring." So did fame and fortune beckon for the Micheline Bernardini? Bernardini has gone down in history as the first woman to do a photoshoot in a bikini. After the launch, a much photographed Bernardini received more than fifty thousand letters from fans. She later moved to Australia and then America, where she had worked as an actress. Although she has lived most of her life out of the spotlight, Bernardini did don the bikini again forty years after that launch to pose for more photos. She also appeared in an episode of TV documentary series Love Lust, entitled The Bikini in 2011. Having married an American soldier, Bernardini is now in her nineties and is believed to be living in the United States. Was the bikini an instant success? It was an instant talking point! But sales weren't exactly sky-rocketing at that point. You have to remember that this was the 1940s and many women were used to a more modest style of dress. Even countries such as Italy and Spain had banned people from wearing them in public. But the bikini was slowly finding it's way around the world. And when celebrities and glamour icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot and Raquel Welch started wearing them - both on and off-set - the general public decided to give them a go too. Though it's believed that it's Ursula Andress's 1962 role in Dr. No as Honey Ryder where sales of bikinis are said to have soared. What were some of the controversies regarding the bikini? Boy, where do we start! Reard knew that there would be a certain degree of shock factor involved when he designed the controversial two-piece. By the time the bikini was launched, women were no longer covered up on the beach the way they were in the Victorian or Edwardian times. But a bathing suit that showed so much more flesh was bound to cause a stir. That said, Reard probably wasn't expecting the Vatican to condemn the bathing suit, or for various countries around the world to ban them from being worn in public. In 1951, the winner of The Miss World beauty contest was crowned while wearing a bikini. There was outrage and calls for the swimsuit round to be scrapped - something that has continued throughout the years as it is complained that such garments objectify women. But the bikini also brought some good stuff too, right? Oh of course! Aside from the fact that bikini sales have contributed to a global swimwear industry that is worth over $19 billion today, it's also significant in providing choice for women and giving them that sense of liberation. It boosted the careers of many actresses in the fifties and sixties actress careers with the swimsuit’s soaring popularity reinforced by its use in contemporary films such as Girl in the Bikini; Lolita; Bedazzled, and One Million Years B.C. Furthermore, in 1964, The Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue debuted featuring a cover girl clad in a white bikini. And while there were many who took offence at the swimwear section of beauty contests, there were plenty more who disagreed with that view, deeming it old-fashioned and patronizing to women, and instead saw it as a celebration of female beauty and liberation. And that is one debate that will continue to rage on! Reard was right - his bikini design absolutely did create shock-waves around the world and was very much a headline-grabber. But the two-piece bathing suit turned out to be so much more than a flash in the pan phenomenon. Today, if you walk along the beaches of St. Tropez, California, Skegness... and beyond, you'll find ladies wearing the variations of the same skimpy two-piece outfit that caused such a stir... proving that the bikini really is here to stay. Here's to the next seventy five years... Check out our post for what we think are the five most iconic bikinis ever! Photos: As stated Word Cloud: Angel Noire

When the bikini was launched in 1946, it took it's time to catch on due to the controversial nature of the two-piece bathing suit during a time when women weren't so comfortable with showing so much skin. But the bikini got by with a little help from its celebrity friends, and became popular partly due to the film industry putting their leading ladies in bikinis, and the general public saw that far from being sleazy and scandalous, one could look quite classy and glamourous in a naval exposing two-piece bathing suit. Movie legends who helped to propel the glamour-icon status of the bikini included Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte Bardot. In fact Bardot's movie The Girl in the Bikini is believed to be one of the first movies to feature this new kind of bathing suit. To celebrate the bikini reaching the grand old age of seventy five this month, we take a look at five of the most iconic bikinis to grace our screens. 1. URSULA ANDRESS (Dr. No. 1962) When glamourous Swedish actress, Ursula Andress, took on the role of Bond girl Honey Riley in the 1962 James Bond film, Dr. No. she had no way of knowing that it would catapult her into style icon territory. The scene where Honey is seen emerging from the ocean in a belted, white bikini complete with scabbard is the stuff legends are made of, leading that bikini to go down in history as one of the most iconic two-pieces ever. It has it's place in cinematic and fashion history but it's got it's place in the explosion of the 1960s sexual revolution. Despite the first bikini having been launched in 1946, during the fifties, the idea of wearing this skimpy style of swimwear was still frowned upon by many. But Andress's bikini - which she designed along with actress and costume designer Tessa Prendergast - changed the way people saw the bikini, and sales of this type of swimwear began to soar. Andress didn't mind that the real star of Dr. No. was that white two piece, and credits that bikini for her acting career sky-rocketing. The bikini was eventually auctioned off in 2001 and fetched £35,000 - bought by businessman Robert Earl. 2. RAQUEL WELCH, (One Million Years B.C, 1966) If your primary school teacher ever told you that any movie featuring both dinosaurs and people are a load of old cobblers due to them not having ever co-existed, well - it's true! But in One Million Years B.C. directed by Don Chaffey - viewers were more preoccupied with a certain two-piece than this ahistorical concern... Just like Ursula Andress before her in Dr. No, as soon as a fur-and-hide bikini-clad Raquel Welch - in her role as Loana - emerged from the sea, a new sixties sex-siren was born. The bikini that was voted the most iconic by Time magazine readers in 2011 (just pipping Ursula Andress's to the post!) was created by designer Carl Toms. Made of doe-skin with the furry part worn on the inside, the cut was very rough and jagged, thus giving it a prehistoric stone-age look. Three copies of the iconic bikini were made for Welch for her to wear during different scenes. The publicity still of Welch from One Million Years B.C has become a cultural phenomenon and at the time became a best-selling pinup poster. And to think she only had three lines in the film! 3. BARBARA WINDSOR (Carry On Camping, 1969) You don't even have to be a massive fan of those Carry On films to know which scene we're talking about here. The scene where Barbara Windsor's character loses her bikini top in the middle of an exercise class is right up there on the list of 'most iconic British movie scenes ever!' A strapless, lemony, towelling number, the famous scene where the too-tight top of the bikini is seen being flung into the air and into the bemused face of exercise instructor, Kenneth Williams, while Barbara clutched her bare bosom in shock, was created with the aid of a fishing hook attached to the bikini top, which was then yanked off by an off-screen assistant! Last month it was revealed that the bikini worn in the 1969 film, Carry On Camping, by the late Dame Barbara Windsor was sold for a whopping £9,500 (it was originally estimated to fetch a 'measly' £1,200) to an American buyer. Not bad for clothing that had to be rescued from the rubbish years ago after someone had binned it. We know, right - what were they thinking! The proceeds from the sale of one of the most famous bikinis in the world will be going to The Alzheimer's Society. Dame Barbara - who bravely fought against the illness and sadly passed away last year - knew that the scene from the film would 'follow me to the end,' and indeed both the film still and her quote were quite fittingly included in the order of service for her funeral. 4. PRINCESS LEIA (Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, 1983) It's a bikini that's said to have launched a thousand fantasies, and even if you don't know your Luke Skywalker from your Darth Vader, you will almost certainly know that golden bikini - although it was really copper! Worn by actress Carrie Fisher in her role as the legendary Princess Leia in the movie Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the bikini consisted of a copper patterned bra, with copper bikini bottoms which unsually had maroon loin cloths attached to the front and back. A copper headpiece and arm cuff completed the look. The overall look is powerful, sensual and very warrior-like. The bikini was designed by Aggie Guerard Rodgers and Nilo Rodis-Jamero - the latter having worked on The Empire Strikes Back. The inspiration behind one of the most famous bikinis in the world came from other movies as well as a general description from George Lucas. Multiple copies of the bikini were made for both Fisher and her stunt double, Tracy Eddon to wear in different scenes, including a rubber version to wear during the action sequences as it was far more comfortable to move around in than the metal. Although it featured in the movie for only two scenes, Princess Leia's 'gold bikini' is probably one of the most talked about bikinis to have come from a movie; has it's iconic spot in eighties' pop culture and film history, and helped make Carrie Fisher a film legend. It's spawned spoofs and parodies - not forgetting Rachel Green's attempt at rocking the gold bikini to impress boyfriend Ross in Friends - and let's be honest... has anyone ever been to a Halloween party where there wasn't at least one bikini-clad Princess Leia present? One of the bikinis made and worn in the movie was eventually auctioned off and sold for $96,000 in 2015 - a year before Carrie Fisher sadly passed away. 5. PAMELA ANDERSON (1995 and 2006) The fifth and final iconic bikini on this list isn't from a movie. Instead it's real-life wedding attire! Every bride wants to wear something that makes her feel special and unique on her wedding day - and if you're a celebrity bride, you might even want to start a trend. And unique is definitely what Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson went for in 1995 when she married her first husband, Motley Crue's drummer Tommy Lee... There are many white bikinis that have been labelled 'iconic; from Ursula Andress's two piece to the white bikini Myleene Klass wore on I'm a Celebrity. But Pamela Anderson was the first celebrity bride to wear a bikini when she married Tommy on a beach in Cancun - after a whirlwind four day courtship. Which explains why there wasn't time to go dress shopping! Makes a change from the big, frilly meringue, we suppose! And while white bikinis have always been popular, the trend for such attire as bridalwear never caught on. However Pamela did don another white bikini when she wed Kid Rock eleven years after her first wedding to Tommy. A girl's got to wear what she feels comfy in! But let's be honest - there aren't many of us who can rock a bikini on their wedding day quite like Pamela Anderson can. Do you agree with this list? What do you think is the most iconic bikini ever? Photos: YouTube Word Cloud: Angel Noire

Name: Jay Mackie Age: 46 From: Cardiff Lives: Cardiff Occupation: Freelance composer/instrumental music teacher Favourite Pastime: Collecting and reading magazines Us creative types remember only too well when upon being asked what we wanted to be when we grew up, we excitedly shared our dreams of seeing our name up in lights at the West End; becoming the next Picasso, starting a girl group that would go on to be bigger than the Spice Girls, or launching our new collection at Paris Fashion Week, and we were very encouragingly told by our parents to... get a proper job! Well meet Jay Mackie. Not only did he follow his dreams of pursuing a career in music but he proved that it is very much a real job (not that he was ever told that it wasn't!) Angel's brother-from-another-mother Jay is a composer and music teacher, who not only studied at the prestigious Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (where Angel would have killed to have gone to!) but he also went on to work there. He has a career in music composition that spans more than twenty five years which is hard to believe as he still only looks about twenty five! We'll have whatever he's having! Welsh born and raised, Jay still resides in his beloved Cardiff with his lovely family, and when he's not composing his musical masterpieces, he's an avid vintage magazine collector; a lover of old-school telly; an eighties enthusiast, and is addicted to retro fashion. As with music, vintage was made for Jay the same way eyeliner was made for Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes - a band of whom Jay is a big fan. We caught up with Jay to find out more about his career in music; what's influenced and inspired him over the years... and why he played Give Us A Clue during PE! A big, fat welcome to you, my lovely! Help yourself to a slice of pie and something to wash it down with. What are you having? I’m already with a slice of my favourite pie (Cherry Bakewell) and a large mug of Earl Grey Tea Excellent choice! I'm partial to a cherry Bakewell myself. Let's take this way back when! What do you define as 'your era' and why? Well my favourite era is the 1980s which was during my childhood and teenage years from 5-15 years. My happiest memories was of primary school and my large family. I have a lot of cousins (30 odd!) as my father was one of 11 - large Catholic family! So we were very close as a family and I spent a lot of time playing with my cousins. I also have lovely memories of family holidays during this decade. So I’d say this is ‘my’ era. Gotta love the eighties! You’re a composer. Tell us a little bit about your work. I started composing when I was 15 as it was a component of my GCSE music course. On spec, I sent some early pieces to a music publisher which was accepted for publication when I was 16, just after I’d begun my A-levels in Music, French and Spanish at sixth form college. I knew then that I wanted to go far with composing as it was getting more serious and taking up all my time. I was hooked on it and just wanted to be a professional composer. The idea of creating music then hearing it played was just so thrilling to me and an unusual career. After A-levels I worked for four years to gain some experience in the ‘real’ world and obviously to earn my own money. During this time I also paid for private composition lessons at music college as I’d decided by now to study composition as the main subject of a music degree. I started my degree in 1997 and graduated in 2000. I went back for more as I did a Masters in composition from 2002-2004. Composing is a funny thing as only a tiny percentage of composers actually do it as a full-time job. The rest combine it with a main teaching or lecturing job or work as a professional musician. Some just do a totally different job and compose as a hobby. For me it took years to realise I wasn’t going to be a full-time salaried composer so over the years I’ve done various main jobs. These include retail in my younger days and following that I trained as a primary school teaching assistant. I did this for 15 years off and on and after that I worked as an instrumental music teacher in piano and woodwind and a classroom primary music teacher. After that I moved to Nottingham and resumed teaching assistance. During all my full-time jobs, I’ve always composed and still had things published and performed. So I guess it’s always been a part-time job in a way. You’re also a music teacher. What do you remember about your music lessons when you were at school and how awesome were your music teachers? I started piano lessons when I was 8 years old as my uncle had lessons and I used to love messing around on his piano. My teacher was 83 at the time but he was too strict and I didn’t take to it as I hated practising! So I quit but always knew I’d go back to it later as it felt like I was a bit young to appreciate it. My real musical epiphany didn’t come until I was 13 and at high school. A very inspiring new music teacher called Liz York started and I just wanted to be involved in all the great things she was offering as she turned the musical life of the school around. I could already play recorder and a bit of piano and I started guitar lessons after school, sang in the school choir and began flute when I was 14. A year later I felt more mature and experienced enough to resume piano lessons with the same teacher - who was 90 by now! But with my extra experience and musical knowledge I took to piano better second time round. I had a lovely flute teacher at school called Trish Jones who I idolized. She and Liz encouraged me no end as in my last year of high school I was already grade 6 standard. After GCSEs I won a scholarship for free flute lessons for 2 years at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. I did these flute lessons weekly and had passed my grade 8 flute by the time I was about to sit my A-levels in the summer of 1993. During this time I was also playing in a small jazz ensemble full of other high school and sixth form students. This was really cool and about a year previously, I’d acquired another instrument - the clarinet - which I’d taught myself to play and was a useful addition to the flute in the jazz ensemble. Aside from flute and clarinet, are there any other instruments that you can play? I play piano and flute (my main instruments) but I also have grade 6 recorder, and I can play the clarinet and saxophone too. Man of many talents - and instruments! Who are your musical influences? My popular musical influences haven’t really influenced the music I write but I’ve always loved these artists and followed their careers: Gloria Estefan, U2, All About Eve, Matt Bianco, Basia, Pink Martini. I have really eclectic tastes in music encompassing classical and jazz but I also love old school popular music by legends such as Elton John, Neil Diamond, Fleetwood Mac and many others. You’re a fan of TV shows from the seventies and eighties. What’s your favourite TV score? This is a hard one. I used to love the very jolly old theme tune to the iconic ITV holiday show, Wish You Were Here…? but I’ve always liked film scores. Anything by John Williams so any film score to classic 80s films by him such as E.T. Indiana Jones films etc. Is there a theme for a film that you wish you’d composed? Wish I’d have been good enough at music technology as I might have become a successful film composer then! So yes, I wish I’d composed a John Williams’ film score to make my Hollywood name and fortune!! Who in the world of music would you most like to work with? I’d love to have collaborated on a film score with John Williams - obviously! What influences from your childhood and teen years steered you towards the path of a career in music? My biggest influences were my high school music teacher Liz York and my high school flute teacher, Trish Jones. I owe all my subsequent musical experiences and successes to them! This or That 1980s or 1990s? 1980s for the memories and fashion Chocolate chip or vanilla bean? Chocolate chip definitely - mint chocolate chip is my favourite ice cream! Grunge or Techno? Do I have to choose between grunge and techno? Well, neither is my bag but I’m not a fan of clubby dance music so I’ll go grunge! Neighbours or Home and Away? Always followed Neighbours much more than Home & Away. Top of the Pops or The Chart Show? TOTP no contest! That’s what kept me up-to-date with the week’s new releases. I lived for 7.30 on a Thursday night! It’s a shame it was stopped, as now, I haven’t a clue what’s in the charts any more. And I could be missing some great new artists. (Agree a hundred per cent! - Angel) LA Gear or British Knights? I was never a ‘must-have-those-cool-new-trainers- kind of kid, or adult really! But if I made a choice based on how they look I’d go for British Knights. West Side Story or Grease? Two iconic musicals - what a choice!! It’d have to be West Side Story, mainly for the music. Leonard Bernstein wrote some of the finest musical songs in WSS. Still sound awesome today. Loungewear or Sportswear? Never been sporty really so sportswear has been always been largely absent from my wardrobe - but loungewear rocks. I have many pairs of fleecy loungewear trousers. I live in them - well during lockdown staying in was the new going out, wasn’t it? Even before that for me actually..! Take That or Bad Boys Inc? Bad Boys Inc! I Had a major crush on David Ross for ages and you’d have found him adorning my bedroom walls c. 1994. I only actually recently found out he is gay and lives in Los Angeles. Yes!!!! P.E. or Double Science? Oh god - horrible memories of high school. Wasn’t a fan of this period in my life - except for the music but I hated everything else. I’m lucky as I was medically excused from PE and Games due to me being born blind in my right eye, so during this time I’d have a laugh with my friends who used to take it in turns to bunk off and keep me company. It’d usually involve us finding an empty classroom and trying to avoid getting rumbled by a wandering teacher. I think we used to play Give Us A Clue and muck around with those silly stories you’d all take it in turns to write a line, fold it over then pass it on so you’d end up with a very silly and often hilarious story! Hated all sciences at school and was rubbish at them. I used to zone out, chat and muck about with friends and generally have a good laugh! And Finally… What do you think of sea shanties? (that one's from The Fella!) Sea shanties?! Well…I heard recently a guy has tried to make them popular again?? Nathan Evans that’s him. Apparently he loves them and he’s gone viral singing them on TikTok! They were essential during long sea voyages to maintain morale amongst the sailors and rowers below. I think shanties were the equivalent of the black workers in Africa singing blues songs whilst working on the plantations. Just one musical style was at sea and the other on land. I bet if I delved into it sea shanties have an interesting history…I wonder if anyone has written any contemporary ones? (Um, maybe you could??? - Angel!) If you enjoyed our post with Jay and you'd like to collaborate with him on a project; hire him as a music teacher; ask him more about a career in music composition, or just say hi (he's super friendly!) You can connect with Jay at any of the following: www.jaysonmackie.com Instagram - @greenjourney94 Facebook - @JayMackieMusic Jay - it's been a pleasure. Cheers mate! xx Photos: Courtesy of Jay Mackie, Pixabay and Wix Word Cloud: Angel Noire

It was around eight years ago that The Fella, who hails from the good old U.S of A, watched his first ever Eurovision Song Contest. He laughed at the tactical voting; thought the entertainment during the interval was cheesy; cringed at some of the ridiculous acts; questioned whether or not some of the countries were technically part of Europe; wondered what the hell the wardrobe department were thinking; expressed surprise at the low placing of the United Kingdom and marvelled at how next year’s show would coincidentally be held in the country of the winning entry. Er well… Welcome to the wonderful, weird and wacky world of Eurovision - an annual song contest where various European nations compete to see which music act is the best on the continent, with the following year's event taking place in the country of the winning act. Tomorrow will be the grand final of the sixty fifth Eurovision Song Contest, held in Rotterdam, and we get to see not only who the winner will be, but where the contest will be held next year. And we will also see which countries earned themselves the dreaded 'nul points'. It must be like Christmas for die-hard fans who had to miss out on the musical extravaganza last year due to Covid. I have to admit that these days I'm not the big Eurovision fan that I used to be, and only tune in to watch the voting – if at all! But I didn't always feel like that. Growing up, Eurovision was a big deal in our house. Well many households around Europe, I would imagine. And every year my mum’s enthusiasm would rub off on all of us. Dinner would be out of the way and we would all be huddled on the sofa as we prepared for three hours of what was then great family entertainment. Snacks would have been bought at least a week in advance and we would all chomp our way through the United Kingdom’s latest non-winning number; Ireland’s new victory and yet another 'nul points' for Norway. Eurovision always took place on a Saturday and we couldn't very well not watch it because we knew it would be the talk of the form room come Monday. Today there are a lot of people who think of the Eurovision Song Contest as a bit of a cheesefest, but there were lots of highlights, and I’m glad that I was able to witness some classic moments: Michael Ball’s dad dancing; Frances Ruffelle’s sexy dancing; Sonia’s vibrant performance; the first ever entry by a transsexual artist; seeing the same artist take the most amusing tumble on stage a year later; the powerful vocals of Niamh Kavanagh and ‘Mr. Eurovision’ himself, Johnny Logan; a rap entry from the UK; a hard rock entry from Finland; the United Kingdom bringing it home with Katrina and the Waves in 1997… and losing it abysmally in 2003 by getting their first ever nul points courtesy of Jemini. And who could forget Riverdance - the most famous thing to come out of Eurovision, aside from Abba. It's incredible to think that what was meant to be a filler for the song contest went on to become a worldwide phenomenon. Riverdance, I mean. Well Abba too. Except Abba was never a filler! Moreover I am sorry that Abba's winning entry was before my time, and that I can't remember that classic Bucks Fizz performance. One of my favourite entries was back in 1988 when Scott Fitzgerald represented the UK with the tear jerking ballad Go. I may have been very young at the time but even I couldn’t mistake the power, emotion and meaning in the song. Anyone who watched Eurovision that year will also remember how fierce the voting was and the nail biting race to the finish line as it looked as though a well deserved victory for the United kingdom was imminent. Sadly victory belonged to Switzerland that year as we were beaten by one measly point. The singer who secured Switzerland’s win was a Canadian girl with a dodgy perm and we all believed that once the fuss died down, she’d just fade into obscurity. However the singer, Celine Dion, had other ideas… And furthermore, whenever I think of Eurovision, I still remember the dulcet tones of the show's great commentator, the late Terry Wogan, who was to Eurovision what Noel Edmonds was to Christmas. Wogan had been the commentator for Eurovision for pretty much most of my life up until 2008. In addition to this, Wogan also presented the selection show - which underwent a few name changes but I knew it as A Song For Europe - in which the entry for the United Kingdom was chosen. Then in 1998 when the song contest was being held in England, thanks to the win by Katrina and the Waves, Terry Wogan co-hosted the event with Ulrika Jonsson, making him the third person in the event's history to act as both commentator and host. Very talented bloke, that Terry! I'm still reminded of Terry Wogan whenever I think of the Eurovision Song Contest. Graham Norton, of whom I am a big fan, is doing a great job as the current commentator. But Terry will always have a special place in my heart, and I'm sure that can be said for anyone who's watched the event over a period of thirty-odd years, and to this day, he is still deeply missed. Rest in Peace Terry xx Who do you think will be the winner of Eurovision 2021? Photos: Youtube Word Cloud; Angel Noire

Aah, good old mousse au chocolat. Or chocolate mousse to the rest of us. Or 'chocolate mouse' if you're in a Two Ronnies' skit! Some things never go out of style and chocolate mousse is one of them. Once people had got over their obsession with black forest gateau in the seventies (which is equally yum by the way!) chocolate mousse pretty much became the dinner party dessert of the eighties, and it's not hard to see why: elegant, sophisticated, and considered the ultimate dessert for those who wanted to do 'fancy' (but thought profiteroles were too much hard work!) And you always had room for light-as-air mousse even after a very rich meal. Our Childhood Memories For those of us who remember the last three decades of the twentieth century, you couldn't escape these velvety, foamy clouds of chocolatey awesomeness. Even if your mum wasn't whipping up a mousse for her latest dinner party, they could be found in the freezer section at the supermarket (but became more popular in the chiller section in the early nineties) or in just-add-milk packet form a la Angel Delight. Cooking shows were teaching you how to make chocolate mousse, and there were recipes aplenty in magazines and cook books. This is hardly a surprise as the seventies and eighties were the years of Cordon Bleu cooking and French cuisine was all the rage - especially if you wanted to appear worldly, sophisticated and give the impression that you had a weekend cottage in the French countryside! But that doesn't stop some know-it-all on Come Dine With Me declaring that a fellow contestant has chosen the 'safe' option when mousse is spotted on the menu. Although if you spot chocolate mousse on a menu these days it is a surprise because it is unfairly considered a little passé and a dessert that screams 1980s dinner party. Personally we don't think there's anything wrong with an eighties dinner party, and it's a real pity that chocolate mousse is considered 'so last season' because it is deliciously decadent and seriously... who couldn't like chocolate mousse! It's not old-fashioned - it's a classic. But we do still see chocolate mousse as a filling for a cake or pie, or a component/accompaniment for other desserts, so like an eighties legend making a cameo in a new movie, chocolate mousse does indeed pop up from time to time. Now For The History Bit! Although the exact origins of chocolate mousse are unclear, it is believed to have originated in nineteenth century France ('mousse' is the French word for froth or foam) around three centuries after chocolate was first brought to Europe by the Spanish from Mexico, and was used mainly in hot beverages. Savoury mousses were created in France in the eighteenth century, and dessert mousses - which were mainly made with fruit - made an appearance around a hundred years later. The Evolution of Chocolate Mousse Despite dessert mousses being created in the latter part of the nineteenth century, there are recipes in cookbooks from the 1700s for 'frozen mousses' though these were more like ice-cream rather than mousse as we know it today. Mousse eventually found it's way to America where a recipe for chocolate mousse appeared in the Boston Globe in 1892. However this mousse was more like a chocolate custard-type dessert rather than the foamy dessert we are more familiar with. Americans started to become more acquainted with chocolate mousse during the 1930s. It's popularity continued to grow around the world after the Second World War with the rise of French cuisine. And indeed it was in the thirties that mousse as we now know it began to develop. The consumption of electric whisks made it far easier to whip up the eggs and/or cream, taking it from the thick custard sauce-type consistency to something more light and fluffy. And as if this wasn't exciting enough, it was in 1977 that chef Michel Fitoussi created white chocolate mousse (it just gets better and better!) at New York restaurant, The Palace. What Makes A Good Mousse? Chocolate mousse - or any kind of mousse for that matter - may appear simple and easy to make, and indeed it probably is easy for those who are blessed with an abundant amount of culinary talent. But mousse can be a risky option when you want a dinner party dessert that impresses as there are a number of things that could potentially go wrong including setting issues; problems with the consistency; the texture being more custard-pudding than mousse-like; the mousse becoming too grainy if the chocolate isn't tempered correctly... plus we all know that desserts with raw egg can be unsafe for certain people. So not as simple as it looks. There are certain key ingredients needed to make a good, rich but light, flavourful chocolate mousse, the first of which is a good quality chocolate with a high cocoa content. Of course there's also the aerator to create that cloud-like texture, and for that you could use whisked egg whites, whipped cream, or whisked aquafaba. If you want the chocolate mousse to hold it's shape better, you may also want to include some kind of setting agent like gelatin or agar agar. No Two Mousses Are Ever Alike! The above is a rough guide to the basics of chocolate mousse-making. But the end result can vary greatly depending on the combination and kind of ingredients used. The textures can differ from thick and slightly puddingy to light and overflowing with chocolate air bubbles (that's the best kind - Angel!) You can omit the eggs entirely and just use whipped cream, or a plant based whipped cream with aquafaba. If you wish to jazz things up a little, try adding your preferred flavouring such as vanilla, brandy, peppermint, orange or coffee. You could also top it with sweetened whipped cream, chocolate flakes, mint leaves, fruit pieces or crystalized petals or orange rind to make your dessert look pretty. And if you couldn't decide between dark, milk or white chocolate for your mousse, you could just use all three for a layered dessert that was very popular in the eighties and nineties! A Most Versatile Dessert Back in the day, chocolate mousse was usually served with shortbread or tuile biscuits as part of the dessert course. In fact those biscuits are still a favourite accompaniment for chocolate mousse. But this dessert is actually very versatile and can be served in a variety of ways. Chocolate mousse can be: Piped into profiteroles, eclairs, doughnuts, choux buns or even cream horns (remember those!) Used as a filling for tartlets or pies In the form of a mousse cake or as a filling for a gateau Set with gelatin to create a type of airy, much lighter blancmange Frozen to make a type of ice-cream As a topping for a trifle Recipe While there may be a whole host of more trendier desserts out there, we doubt that anything could really take the place of chocolate mousse! There's something about the decadent, velvety texture of chocolate mousse that brings back memories of celebrations gone by as we remember the entertaining traditions of a time we once knew. We reckon that Hyacinth Bucket would see mousse au chocolat as a very fitting finale to one of her candlelight suppers! Chocolate mousse looks stunning and luxurious but it is a dessert that requires minimal preparation time, although you will have to prepare it well ahead of time so that it will chill in the fridge for at least eight hours and set well. For our Comfort Food Recipe, we wanted one that was deliciously vintage - because we're all about the vintage at Nostalgia Pie in case you couldn't tell - so we looked through our collection of vintage recipe books for inspiration, and then decided to base our chocolate mousse recipe on one from Good Housekeeping's Hot and Cold Puddings which we believe was published in the 1950s. We loved the old-fashionedness of this recipe and felt it was proper retro! Unlike a lot of the other chocolate mousse recipes we'd come across, this one uses just eggs and no cream in the actual mousse. So we felt it was very vintage and quite unusual for today's tastes. However if you're concerned about using raw eggs, you can always use pasteurized ones or leave out the eggs altogether and use whipped cream or aquafaba but bear in mind that it will obviously make a difference to the taste and texture. And we were also inspired by a recipe which featured on BBC's Breakfast Time back in the eighties which featured rosewater. So here's our take on a very retro chocolate mousse. Chocolate Rosewater Mousse Prep time: 15min Cook time: 5 mins Set time: 8hrs Serves: 4-6 Ingredients 8oz good quality plain or milk chocolate (with cocoa content minimum 60%) grated 1 tbsp hot water 1 tbsp espresso or strong coffee 2oz butter 4 eggs, separated 3-4oz caster sugar 1 tbsp. rosewater Crystalized rose petals Chocolate flakes or curls Sweetened whipped cream (optional) Raspberries or strawberries (optional) Method Put chocolate, water, espresso & butter in pan. Heat gently until chocolate melted & mixture creamy. Cool slightly before adding beaten egg yolks & rosewater. Whisk egg whites until stiff, adding sugar a bit at a time. Fold egg whites gently into chocolate mixture. Pour into glasses. Set overnight. When ready to serve, top with sweetened whipped cream and berries if using. Decorate with rose petals and chocolate flakes. Cook's Tips To really emphasize the rose aspect of this chocolate mousse, add a layer of rose petal jam or jelly to the bottom of the glass before topping with the chocolate mousse. For those of you wondering how coffee and rose work well together as a flavour combination, the coffee exists only to enhance the chocolate, not to flavour the dessert so shouldn't taste it. But if you prefer you can omit the coffee and just add another tablespoon of water instead. FREEBIE ALERT!!! For the first time ever, Nostalgia Pie are giving away a free recipe card to accompany this Comfort Food feature for chocolate mousse. Download and save it to your computer. Or print it out and store it in a recipe box if you want to be real old-school! Only Nostalgia Pie members have access to the Free Recipe Card page, so if you're not a member, sign up to join the Nostalgia Pie community (it's free!) Then keep your eyes peeled for future free cards. Madame, with this free recipe card, you are really spoiling us! Photos from: Pixabay and Wix Word cloud: Angel Noire

The second part of our look at legendary comedy sketch show The Two Ronnies which celebrates fifty years since it was first broadcast on BBC1 in 1971. Iconic Sketches There are some very famous Two Ronnies' sketches that are much-loved and still talked about today. Four Candles (1976) - A series of misunderstandings causes a shopkeeper to become fed up with the requests of a very vague customer. The Two Ronnies most iconic and talked-about sketch. A round of drinks (1976) - A man tries to order a round of drinks for a large party while becoming increasingly drunk each time he attempts to order. Mastermind (1980) - A contestant on the quiz show Mastermind answers each question before last. One of the greatest pieces of comedy ever created with the duos comedic timing being on point. Sheer genius! The Sweet Shop (1980) - Never say 'nothing is too much trouble' unless you really mean it! Barker's sweet shop owner realizes he may have to change his catchphrase after his encounter with Corbett's awkward customer. Anyone who's ever worked in retail will relate! Crossed Lines (1981) - Two men using payphones next to each other, making two separate calls, sound as though they're having the same conversation with each other. Hilarious! The Name Guessing Game (1982) - A party guest insists on guessing the name of a man he's just met. If he gets it right, he gets to spend the night with the man's wife. The Sheikh in the Grocery Store (1985) - Chocolate mouse, anyone?A sheikh struggles with the pronounciation of the items on his shopping list, making the grocer really work for his money. Solo sections Most of The Two Ronnies sketches involved both performers, but most episodes would feature solo skits from each of them. Barker's would often be a fast-paced, word-play sketch, where he was the head of a ridiculously-named organization in an effort to send up authority figures. And Corbett would have his 'armchair monologue' in which he would sit in a darkened set with the spotlight on him, facing the camera while he told a humorous story to the audience, in which he would often digress on the way to the amusing denouement of the story and by the time he got there, Corbett would have told a handful of unrelated anecdotes. Continuing Sagas One of the highlights of The Two Ronnies were the various continuing spoof serials which ran throughout many of the series which would often feature special guests. Hampton Wick (1971) The first serial of The Two Ronnies was a humorous costume drama about a governess called Henrietta Beckett. Barker played a randy aristocrat called Sir Geoffrey, and Corbett played his son Edward, though as the serial progressed, Barker and Corbett played a variety of different characters as well as their main roles. Done to Death (1972) Featuring the characters of Piggy Malone (Barker) and Charley Farley (Corbett) these private detectives investigate a mass murder in this serial. The first seven episodes of Done to Death ended with the same phrase: "Only one thing was for certain. There would be very little sleep for anyone that night." Death Can Be Fatal (1975) In the second serial to feature Piggy and Charley, a frogman delivers a note, and the private detectives are sent in search of the formula for the Clumsy Drug. Corbett and Barker also played the roles of the two villains in the story, Mr Greensleeves and his Japanese henchman Bobjob. The endings of each episode of Death Can Be Fatal had a Dick Barton-esque vibe to them. The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town (1976) The writers are credited as "Spike Milligan and a Gentleman" - with the "Gentleman" being Ronnie Barker! A Jack the Ripper parody in which a mysterious figure goes wondering around Victorian London late at night and terrorizes members of the establishment... by blowing raspberries at them! The raspberry-blowing sound effects were said to have been done by another legend - David Jason; Granville to Barker's Arkwright in Open All Hours. Stop! You're Killing Me (1977–78) Another case for Piggy and Charley as they investigate the murder of Devonshire yokels whose bodies are discovered in London The Worm That Turned (1980) A bit of feminist sci-fi here in this very memorable serial in which it's women who rule the country and gender roles are completely reversed - which prompts Barker and Corbett's characters to want to escape to Wales along with a lot of other disgruntled men. Band of Slaves (1981–82) Piggy Malone and Charley Farley on the case again where an all-girls orchestra is sold into slavery. Not only was this the final Piggy and Charley mystery serial but it was also the last in The Two Ronnies collection of serials as the following series of the show did not include any. A real shame if you ask us! Famous Faces There were a whole host of famous faces from seventies and eighties TV who had guest roles in The Two Ronnies. These included Carol Hawkins; Diana Dors; Kate O'Mara; Julia McKenzie; John Cleese; Joan Sims; Barry Cryer and Patricia Routledge to name but a few. Special Guests There were often special well-known guests invited to the show to perform and these included Elaine Paige; Barbara Dickson; Pan's People and Elkie Brooks. What We Think We think you know what we think - that The Two Ronnies is comedy gold! There are so many things that made this show a hit, and since it left our screens with no new series being made, there has never been anything quite like it. And certainly nothing that has endured or made a lasting impression on viewers the way The Two Ronnies did. First of all there was the unmistakable chemistry between Barker and Corbett which makes you wonder if the double act ever could have worked half as well as it did if either of the two had teamed up with another entertainer. Barker and Corbett had a strong friendship that came through in their work - even if the characters they were playing were meant to be mean to each other! Another thing that came through was their love and enthusiasm for their work and you could see that they thoroughly enjoyed what they did. And where the public were concerned, they just loved Barker and Corbett! There was something sweet and lovable about these two and even though we didn't know them, we felt as though we did. And how endearing was it that Corbett often poked fun at his lack of height! There was no ego; no arrogance, and no scandal - you felt that with them what you saw was what you got. It's no surprise then that the public felt the loss of Barker and Corbett very deeply when the two comedy legends passed away in 2005 and 2016 respectively. Then there was the writing! The Two Ronnies had some of the best writers in the business working on this show and this came through in scenes that were well-written, sharp, and absolutely hilarious - in fact many of these sketches can't be described as anything other than sheer genius. The comedy was always centered around the dialogue and the character, with Barker and Corbett being spot on with their comic timing, and many of these scenes were laced with lots of funny double- entendres. The Test-of- Time Test Fans of the show will say that The Two Ronnies are as watchable today as it was fifty years ago due to it being so well-written and acted. It's as laugh out loud now as it was back then. The magic of the show and of the partnership of Barker and Corbett cannot be compared to anything that's around today. Back then there was quality and real craftsmanship. But today there's a never-ending churning out of boring soaps; dire reality TV shows and talent contests where viewers will probably never see or hear from the winner after a couple of months! We'd rather have The Two Ronnies than any of that drivel! But while those of us who grew up watching The Two Ronnies will always see the magic of this show, there are many others, especially those who didn't experience the programme the first time around, who will see The Two Ronnies as typical of its time. And we can't argue with that as the show just screams seventies and eighties! But as we all know viewing habits and preferences change as the years go by, and the whole comedy sketch genre isn't really en vogue right now. And neither are comedy double acts (unless you're Ant and Dec!) So admittedly there are those who will find it all a little old hat. And many other features of the show - the gags, the musical finales, the musical acts etc. - will seem a little dated to modern ears and eyes. Furthermore the non-PC material which is so typical of comic material from back in the day will not go down well with audiences today - and that's putting it mildly. So fifty years later, it will be very difficult to repeat the show. By the time The Two Ronnies had come to an end, comedy had started to move on to satire and alternative humour anyway, and was beginning to leave Barker and Corbett's brand of comedy behind. But to the die hard fans, even fifty years later it's comedy heaven. That's all we have time for tonight so it's good night from us! What are your favourite memories of The Two Ronnies? Photos: YouTube Word Cloud: Angel Noire

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom GENRE: Comedy Sketch Show CHANNEL: BBC1 Produced by: BBC Years: 1971-87 NUMBER OF SERIES: 12 EPISODES: 93 CREATED BY: Bill Cotton THEME MUSIC: Ronnie Hazlehurst DIRECTED BY: Robert Knights STARRING: Ronnie Barker Ronnie Corbett Plus special guests And In A Packed Programme Tonight... In a packed post tonight we look at a comedy sketch show that began fifty years ago with two British comedy legends who both have the same first name. Mr. Barker uses it from Monday to Friday while Mr. Corbett takes over at the weekend! OK, OK, we're not Mr. Ronnie Barker or Mr. Ronnie Corbett so you can't expect us to be hysterically funny. You can't compete with legends - especially not two who have written and starred in one of the most iconic comedy sketch shows on British television. If you were a child of the seventies and eighties, there's a good chance that The Two Ronnies was compulsive viewing in your house. When the show first aired on 10th April 1971, who knew that it would take off the way that it did? Or that fifty years later The Two Ronnies would still be such a comic institution? From the moment each episode opened with the bespectacled pair talking about 'a packed programme tonight' and ending with a 'goodnight from him,' they had audiences up and down the country howling! Barker and Corbett bid a permanant goodnight to the show in December 1987, and well - TV was a little less brighter and a lot less funnier. The Two Ronnies, when first broadcast in 1971, was given the prime-time slot of 8pm on a Saturday night (when telly was fab!) and it soon went on to become one of the most successful, long running British light entertainment programmes. At its peak, The Two Ronnies pulled in audiences of just under nineteen million viewers per episode. There were Christmas specials (yep, when Christmas telly was fab!) shows reworked for the Australian audience where the show was regularly screened, and after the series ended in 1987, there were the occasional compilation episodes hosted by Barker and Corbett and these continued until Barker's death in 2005. As The Two Ronnies celebrates fifty years since it first aired, we take a look at what went into making the show such a spectacular and why Barker and Corbett were such a class act. When Ronnie Met Ronnie In 1963, a diminutive actor - between acting jobs - was working at the bar of the Buckstone Club in London where he met a larger than life, more established radio and West End actor. Nobody knew that this was the beginning of an enduring - and endearing - comedy double act that would rival Laurel and Hardy or Morecambe and Wise. But as well as their comedy partnership, Barker and Corbett were also very good friends. And when Barker decided to retire from showbiz and call time on The Two Ronnies, the only person who was aware of his plans (other than Mrs. Barker of course) was Ronnie Corbett. After Ronnie Barker passed away in 2005, Corbett said that in all the years they'd been friends, there had never been a cross word between them - even though they both worked in a very high pressured industry. How's that for friendship! But despite the success of the show, Barker and Corbett didn't work exclusively as a double act. Aside from The Two Ronnies they did star in a number of car adverts together from the late seventies, but in their celebrated and extensive careers, both stars were also known for their individual projects and for roles in shows such as Porridge; Open all Hours, and Clarence (Barker) and Now Look Here; Sorry! as well as hosting Small Talk (Corbett, where in the latter the children sometimes referred to him as Mr. Cornet!) The Beginning of Something Great... After meeting at the Buckstone Club, the pair met up again at an audition for David Frost's new show The Frost Report. But the two Ronnies big break came unexpectedly, when totally unprepared and unscripted, the unflappable pair had to fill in at the 1970 British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards with an improvised piece during a whopping eleven minute technical hitch. As if this wasn't enough of a testament to their true talent and wit, it was all the more amazing because Ronnie Barker was always known for being shy and uncomfortable in the spotlight unless he was portraying a character. But somehow Barker, along with Corbett, gave a performance that secured their destiny as one of Britain's best-loved comedy duos. In the audience that night controller of BBC1, Sir Paul Fox, and Head of Light Entertainment, Bill Cotton - who had worked on a number of shows including Monty Python, The Generation Game, and Parkinson, and is also a relative of presenter Fearne Cotton - were impressed by the pair and decided to snap them up. And before Barker and Corbett knew it, they were given their own show by the Beeb! The Writers As well as Barker and Corbett, there were many well-known writers involved in the writing process for The Two Ronnies, including writers John Cleese, Eric Idle, John Sullivan, Barry Cryer, Michael Palin, and Spike Milligan among others. So if anyone is wondering why some of The Two Ronnies' sketches often had something of a Monty Python vibe to them - now you know! Oh and there was also a Gerald Wiley who wrote for some fantastic sketches too... Who is Gerald Wiley? The BBC began getting material from a writer called Gerald Wiley for sketches. No one knew who he was, and he never turned up for any meetings. The mysterious Gerald Wiley turned out to be Ronnie Barker under a pseudonym who didn't want to push his ideas on to others. Self-effacing as ever! Opening and Closing Themes The distinctive and now wonderfully retro opening and closing themes were composed by another Ronnie - British composer and conductor Ronnie Hazlehurst, who worked on many theme tunes for TV shows in the seventies and eighties including Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em; The Liver Birds; Butterflies and The Generation Game among many, many others. It appeared that the theme music for the opening and closing credits were two completely different compositions but in actual fact they were two parts of a longer piece of music. The theme that was used for the show's serial Charlie Farley and Piggy Malone was called The Detectives and was the work of composer Alan Tew. Fans of seventies telly would also know that the same track was the theme for the TV series The Hanged Man. The Format The Two Ronnies was more than just your average sketch show as it took on the appearance of a mini variety show. The show's format was comprised of sketches, solo sections, serial stories, musical finales and sometimes musical performances from other artists. But it always began and ended with the 'newsdesk' feature... News desk The Two Ronnies always began with Corbett and Barker parodying newsreaders, reading spoof news bulletins. As a child watching the show, you always knew when each episode had reached the end because the pair would be back at their desks reading 'the news'. It was evident during the news desk section of the show, that the two Ronnies would always be trying to stifle their laughter as they read each item. Whether this was them in character or because they were genuinely trying not to laugh, we don't know. But if it was the latter, who could blame them? And The Two Ronnies always ended on the same note with the same catchphrase: Corbett: That's all we've got time for, so it's "Goodnight" from me. Barker: And it's "Goodnight" from him. Both: Goodnight! Sketches Well written, well acted, and well directed - that's how you could describe the sketches in The Two Ronnies. Maybe that's why they were so well received! The show consisted mainly of a series of comic sketches, many of them where Barker and Corbett appeared in together. The sketches often involved complex word-play, the ridicule of eccentrics, officials and establishment figures. Some of the jokes and dialogue could be quite bawdy, veering on downright raunchy - but they still weren't quite Benny Hill or Kenny Everett! Much of the material for The Two Ronnies had a slight surreal Monty Python feel about it which isn't a surprise considering who was writing a lot of the scripts and sketches. And of course the double act, routine and skits drew obvious comparisons with Morecambe and Wise. Musical finales Just before the final newsdesk feature of the episode, there would be a grand musical finale where Barker, Corbett and other singers and musicians would sing a melody of songs to suit the comic situation they were portraying. Check out the second part of the post And It's Good Night From Him: 50 Years of The Two Ronnies. Photos: YouTube Word Cloud: Angel Noire

Oh my goodness - half a century since the dawn of The Two Ronnies! I can hardly believe that it's been fifty years since The Two Ronnies was first seen on British TV back in the spring of 1971. Whatever the expectations may have been from that first episode, I wonder if anyone could have guessed what an absolute institution this comedy sketch show was to become featuring some iconic and much-talked about sketches with Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett going on to become two of Britain's best-loved entertainers. Four candles, anyone? I often say this here but comedy really was a big deal in our house. My mum loved her soaps, my sis and I loved everything as long as it was on the telly (but not sport!) and if there was any comedy on, you could bet your life my dad would be watching it! And boy did he love The Two Ronnies. I can still see him lounging about on the floor in front of the TV, absolutely howling with laughter and thumping the floor. Goodness knows what the neighbours made of all that but The Two Ronnies was definitely essential viewing in our house. You knew you were in for a fun evening when Mr. Barker and Mr. Corbett were on the box! Like most people, I had my favourite and not-so-favourite parts of this iconic comedy sketch show. I loved the spoof serials such as The Phantom Raspberry Blower and The Worm That Turned but I really didn't like 'Ronnie Corbett in the chair' (as I called it!) segment. I thought it was very boring having Ronnie just sitting on a chair talking to the audience. But it was only as I got older that I got to appreciate these monologues, Ronnie's stories, and his witty delivery much more than I had done. But my favourite ever sketch ever has to be the sheikh in the grocery store. I remember the first time I saw that and I thought it was hilarious (Chocolate mouse, steak and kidney pee!) Fast forward many years later, and as an EFL teacher, I've encountered many similar situations due to students mispronouncing words which has provided many moments of hilarity. And my years in retail have meant that over the years, I've met my fair share of Mr. Four Candles and Ronnie Corbett's Pink Gobstopper man! Check out our post about these two bespectacled comedy legends and their amazing show. Did anyone know that there was a National Chocolate Mouse Day? Neither did I but it was on 3rd April. Why there wasn't more fanfare about this day, I don't know. But in an ode to my favourite Two Ronnies' sketch, our Comfort Food feature is all about the sublime chocolate mouse, I mean - mousse! This deliciously light and airy dessert is one of my absolute favourites. In fact, I'd like to think I was something of a chocolate mousse connoisseur - I'm not sure if there's a chocolate mousse or variation I haven't tried. And for me, this dinner party classic really was comfort food. I used to turn to the chiller cabinet in the supermarket for chocolate mousse during exam time when I was stressed out or if I just needed a bit of cheering up. Women's magazines in the eighties and nineties always featured recipes for some kind of variation on this dessert. And I remember when my tinier-than-I-am-now self was watching BBC's Breakfast Time while getting ready for school, and I saw Frank Bough and Debbie Greenwood tucking into a delicious chocolate mousse made with rosewater - how amazing does that sound??? Oh by the way, The Breakfast Time crew were deep in chocolate mousse because the cooking segment had just finished and they were sampling the end result - not because they were feeling a bit peckish while on air. So is it any surprise that our chocolate mousse recipe has taken inspiration from Breakfast Time and is made with rosewater for that subtle, sweet flavour and aroma I'm a big fan of. Have a go at making it and tell us what you think. These last few days have been marred with sadness as a few people in the public eye have passed away. Actor Paul Ritter; Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh; rapper DMX, and Big Brother's Nikki Grahame are all no longer with us. I sincerely hope there wil be no more bad news. May they rest in eternal peace x Photos: YouTube Word Cloud: Angel Noire

Prince Akeem... Prince Akeem... Prince Akeem... Ridicule is nothing to be... Oops, wrong prince! But you have to admit, Zamunda's Prince Akeem is pretty damn charming! When I learned that there was going to be a sequel to Coming To America, the 1988 romantic comedy starring Eddie Murphy as the Prince and Arsenio Hall as his sidekick, Semmi, it immediately brought back memories of having watched it as a kid back in the early nineties with my parents when it was shown by the BBC. I was very interested to know what this sequel was going to be like and how the storyline would go. I also wanted to see how many of the original characters and actors would return in Coming 2 America almost thirty-three years after Coming To America was first released But before watching Coming 2 America, The Man insisted that we should make it a double bill by watching the original as he also hadn't watched Coming To America since he was a child. And I'm very glad he did as we'd both forgotten how much we enjoyed the movie back in the day. We totally forgot that Eriq La Salle had a starring role before he went on to become ER's Dr. Benton. I remembered the McDonald's rip-off McDowell's (Big Mic on a non-sesame seed bun, anybody?) We didn't know that music legend Nile Rodgers was responsible for the 'Soul Glo' jingle, and The Man was excited when he saw the cameo by Mortimer and Randolph Duke - played by Don Amici and Ralph Bellamy - from the 1983 movie Trading Places. I did wonder why I didn't remember that famous bath scene. But then I remembered that the first time I watched Coming To America, it was with my parents! So I quite clearly blocked out the memory. And who can blame me? Cringe! I do, however, love a fairytale ending so I was pleased that Prince Akeem got the girl in the end, and I do remember that wedding scene. While I knew that watching Coming To America again would be taking a step back in time, I didn't expect Coming 2 America to transport me back to the nineties - but that's exactly what it did! There was a starring role by Wesley Snipes, who I had the biggest crush on back in the day. I would make it my mission in life to watch everything that he starred in! Then there were cameos by Salt-N-Pepa, with En Vogue performing Whatta Man (although for the movie it was reworked to be Whatta King!) And then there was a rendition of my most favourite Prince song ever, Gett Off, which for me definitely made the whole movie! Mr. D and I agreed that Coming 2 America made for interesting viewing and while it may have made a good stand-alone movie, for those of us who have a habit of comparing sequels to the original movies (listen out for the inside joke about sequels in Coming 2 America...) well let's just say we definitely preferred Coming To America because despite all the highlights of Coming 2 America, we just felt the storyline of the previous offering was a lot stronger, and we liked the contrast between the urban grittiness of Queens and the luxuriousness of the royal palace. Coming To America is funny, well acted, well scripted, and it's a love story to boot. What's there not to like? Furthermore, back in the late eighties, it was very unusual for a movie that featured a predominantly black cast to attract mainstream audiences the way that it did and be such a hit. So the original was definitely a tough act to follow . But check out Coming 2 America for yourselves and tell us what you think. Photos: YouTube Word Cloud: Angel Noire

If ever there was a day that was better than Thanksgiving and Christmas combined, National Retro Day would come pretty damn close, we think! Nostalgia addicts are coming together to celebrate one of the biggest days in the nostalgiac calendar - National Retro Day! It's a day when we let the wave of nostalgia wash over us; reminisce over our childhoods and teen years; remember the simplicity of the past, and try to get through the day with as few distractions from modern day life as possible! Although National Retro Day is celebrated in America, there's no reason why nostalgia addicts all over the world shouldn't participate in this fabulous event. So let's take a look at what this day is all about and how to observe it. WHAT IS NATIONAL RETRO DAY? It's a day in which we celebrate our love for all things retro and let our nostalgiac flag fly - with the emphasis on embracing simpler times and avoiding the distractions of modern day life. It's a day to forget about likes, followers and hashtags; it's a day to ignore who's saying what on social media, and it's a day to switch the devices off and party like it's 1999! WHEN IS IT? 27th February - which is also the day of: The first Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans (1827) The godfathers of psychology Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud meeting for the first time in Vienna (1907) Birth of Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor (1932) Female suffrage granted in Egypt (1956) Birth of TLC's Rozonda Thomas aka Chilli (1971) Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder recording Ebony and Ivory (1981) Angel Noire getting engaged! HOW DID IT ALL START? National Retro Day is the brainchild of Hermelinda A. Aguilar and her son and daughter-in-law Robert and Tina Duran (yep, we're thinking it too - great name!) Together they founded National Retro Day which has been observed since 2018 - making this year's NRD the fourth to ever take place - when the folks at National Day Calendar declared that National Retro Day was to be held on February 27 every year. WHAT'S THE PURPOSE OF NATIONAL RETRO DAY? Do you remember when that little rectangular device in our pockets was for making and receiving calls only? Do you remember even further back when leaving the house with a phone seemed like the impossible dream??? Well today we can't live without our mobile phones which seem to perform a million and one functions! In fact we can't seem to live without any kind of technological gadget, and if Wi-Fi is down even for five minutes - it almost feels as though someone has cut off our oxygen supply! There's no denying that there are huge advantages to living in an age of great technological advancements and where we can get everything at the click of a button and at our door the next day. But many of us are also well aware that there is a downside to being connected all the time. And one of the disadvantages is that ironically it has made us a little disconnected - from ourselves, from reality and from each other! We find ourselves at the beck and call of our gadgets; we buy into the seemingly perfect life of the latest social media darling, and despite having five thousand 'friends' on Facebook, loneliness has become a severe issue of pandemic-like proportions sweeping over the nation. So what's the point of National Retro Day, you ask? Well besides being a day to celebrate all things retro - both for those who want to relive a past decade they grew up in and for those who want to know what life looked like at a particular time - it's a chance to bask in the memories of the good ol' days, and fly the flag for nostalgiacs everywhere; it's a day to unplug and take it back to more simpler times before the internet, Wi-Fi, and social media started to take over our daily lives. Whenever we think back to highlights from our childhoods, we think about simple pleasures and quality time spent with the people we love. National Retro Day reminds us of how good it is to look back at these great times and remember to spend some time away from the demands of new technology and modern day living. It's a day to create some new retro-inspired memories, and live in the moment without a gadget in the palm of our hands! SO WHAT COUNTS AS RETRO? Good question! The definition of 'retro' will mean different things to different people but the emphasis is always on 'old school' 'back in the day,' and times gone by.' While we can all agree that retro basically constitutes, er, 'old,' it's difficult to pinpoint exactly what point in time is considered 'retro.' To some people, retro is all things 1950s. To others is 1980s. Some believe 'retro' denotes a time when comic books, pinball machines and superheroes ruled the world, while others would say it's before dial-up connection and floppy disks... before mobile phones... before Wi-Fi... before reality TV... Before Little Mix... Your guess is as good as theirs. But yes - retro still means old! But in a GREAT way!!! WHICH DECADES CAN WE CELEBRATE FOR NRD? The time considered to be 'retro' are the fifties right up to the nineties. But as we've said, there is no concrete definition as to what constitutes a 'retro period' so nostalgia fans can celebrate any retro time period they prefer. SO WHAT EXACTLY DO I HAVE TO DO FOR NATIONAL RETRO DAY? One of the prerequisites for National Retro Day is that you stay as unplugged as much as possible - or better still, you stay completely unplugged. Which means no endlessly scrolling through your phone, no constant social media use, no being glued to your laptop. The aim is to live as simply as possible - for one day! We're taking it back to the days of in-person, face-face-connection;* family meals eaten around the dining table and not in front of the telly; when kids spent time outside the house and explored more than just the web, and participated in activities that didn't require Wi-Fi. Do you get it now? National Retro Day is a day to do all things the old school way! There are many things you can do in order to celebrate retro-ness in all it's nostalgic glory. The creators of NRD encourage celebrants to participate in activities that fall into one of these four categories: wear it, play it, drive it, and show it. Nostalgia Pie decided to add a few more unofficial categories just because we wanted to: make it, attend it, consume it, read it, watch it, do it! Read on for celebratory ideas. WEAR IT Wear retro clothes relating to your chosen decade. Some classic retro clothes might include ra-ra skirts, drainpipes, bell bottoms, ripped jeans, 'Choose Life' T-shirts, leather jackets, platform shoes, shell suits, puffball dresses etc. Certain designers are synonymous with certain decades so you could always dress in Chanel, Mary Quant, Karl Kani, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Ossie Clark etc. Think about classic retro hairstyles. Get your quiffs, pompadours, beehives and perms in order! Rock make-up that is associated with your chosen decade. Accessories often get overlooked, so don't forget those chokers, peace sign medallions, bandanas, and retro hair bobbles. Wear a watch. We know, right! Who even does that any more! PLAY IT Play those retro video game consoles - Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Atari 2600, Sega Saturn, etc. Play a classic board game such as Scrabble, Monopoly, Ludo, Risk, Axis and Allies etc. Listen to your collection of vinyls, cassette tapes, or compact discs. Pick a particular musical genre - rock 'n' roll, glam rock, disco, techno, hip-hop, punk - or a particular artist - Elvis, Diana Ross, Rolling Stones, David Bowie. Or you could just listen to a big retro selection! Play music on a non-internet jukebox. If you're the proud owner of a vintage instrument - play it! DRIVE IT If you have a classic vehicle, be sure to get it out on the road. SHOW IT OFF If you collect any kind of vintage memorabilia, now's your chance to show them off: Milk bottles, vintage magazines, sports cards, movie posters, action figures... This'll be your opportunity, if you're a pop fan, to display all the merch you've collected over the years. If you're into retro styling, showcase the hair and make up skills you've learned with the help of your trusty polaroid! Rock retro-style clothes that you've sewn/crocheted/knitted yourself Those of you who have styled your home in retro fashion may want to take this opportunity to highlight your interior design skills MAKE IT Indulge in crafts that were popular back in the day - macramé, tie-dying, paper marbling, model aeroplanes etc. Cook or bake something from a vintage cookbook Sew/knit/crochet a retro-inspired item of clothing Create old-school soft furnishings for your home ATTEND IT See a movie at a drive-in theater. Have a date at an old-school fifties style diner Go to an arcade. Head to a roller rink. Roller disco anyone! Go to an eighties event CONSUME IT Have dinner around a table with your family or friends. Eat at the oldest restaurant/café/diner in your neighbourhood Grab dinner at a drive-in restaurant. Scoff a pack of those sweets and chocolates you couldn't get enough of as a kid. Create a three course meal based on dishes that were popular at your chosen time. READ IT Read a print newspaper or magazine. Read a book - not an eBook! Choose a well known retro novel - Valley of the Dolls; The Handmaid's Tale, Midnight's Children, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit Read something by an author who was popular during a particular period - Harold Robbins, Jackie Collins, Barbara Taylor Bradford Reread a book from a series you were addicted to as a teen - Sweet Valley High, Nancy Drew, Babysitters Club WATCH IT Stick on a VHS tape/DVD and watch a retro film: Rebel Without a Cause; Psycho; The Graduate, Diamonds Are Forever; The Shining; Jaws; The Omen; Star Wars, The Godfather; Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, E.T. The Terminator; Sister Act; Jurassic Park, Forrest Gump... take your pick! Watch an old television show: Dallas, Dynasty; Friends; Happy Days; Hill Street Blues; St. Elsewhere; Cold Feet; Starsky and Hutch Dukes of Hazard... Check out documentaries about past decades Watch a TV show or film that absolutely screams a particular decade: Valley of the Dolls (1960s) Abigail's Party (1970s) Wall Street (1980s) Watch a type of TV format that was once super popular but now... not so much (damn you, reality TV!) - quiz shows; comedy sketch shows; candid camera type shows, TV anthology series etc. DO IT! Call someone on a landline telephone - rotary, cordless, or push button. It's all good! Send someone a handwritten letter Go outside and play some sports Go for a bike ride Don those rollerblades and go for a skate along the beach/in the park Use a clock, an actual clock, for the time. And not your phone If you have trouble adding up digits, use a calculator. And actual calculator. Not your phone Use a non-digital camera to take pics Pretend it's 1985 and use a notebook and pen! This may seem to be a bit of a contradiction considering that we're all supposed to be offline, but one of the official suggestions for National Retro Day is to share what fantastical retro magic you're getting up to on social media, using the hashtag #NationalRetroDay. But there's no reason why you can't post something the night before of what you plan to do. Or you could take pics on the day and post them the next morning. That sounds fair enough and we're sure you won't get carted away by the retro police! The important thing is that you enjoy this day and have fun - lots of it. *At the time of writing this post, we are well aware that the world is still in the midst of the pandemic which will inevitably limit the kind of activities you can do this year depending on the rules of where you live. Remember there's always next year when hopefully life will return to some kind of normal! Happy Retro Day!!! Enjoy! Photos: Pixabay Blog graphics: Angel Noire

Soap fans who have watched a show from the beginning are always delighted when a character from back in the day makes a return, even if it is only briefly. And in recent years Neighbours fans have been pleased to see Clive Gibbons and Beverly Robinson return as recurring characters, as well as Des Clarke, Lucy Robinson, Sky Mangel and Mark Gottlieb to name just a few. So fans of the soap are thrilled to see Amy Greenwood and Melanie Pearson make a long-awaited return to Ramsay Street. Both characters were very popular back in the nineties, although Amy and Melanie were never neighbours because they both lived on Ramsay Street at different times. Melanie first appeared in the eighties as a recurring character - a girlfriend of Henry Ramsay with a laugh that made most people think she was in need of oxygen! A couple of years later, after Henry had moved to New Zealand and married Bronwen Davies, Melanie became a Ramsay Street regular when she moved into number 32 as Joe Mangel's housemate. She then went on to become Joe's wife (thus Jane Harris' aunt!) and the Mangels left Erinsborough to start a new life - although the marriage did not last long and Joe returned to Ramsay Street on the lookout for wife number four. Amy was a popular character back in the mid-nineties who was part of the Erinsborough High group of friends who were made up of Toadfish Rebbechi, Billy Kennedy, and twins Lance and Anne Wilkinson. One of the most popular girls at high school, Amy ended up dating geeky Lance Wilkinson and had an on-off relationship with him before cheating on him with her colleague Damien and becoming pregnant with Damien's baby which inevitably put paid to her relationship with Lance. But being the gent that he was, Lance got Amy and Damien to reconcile, and Amy left the street to start a new life with Damien and their baby. Both Amy and Melanie appeared on Annalise Hartman's documentary (as part of the show's twenty fifth anniversary celebrations) but this is the first time both characters have returned to Ramsay Street since leaving. We've just seen Melanie catch up with Des and Jane - and have Paul running and hiding from her in terror - and Amy has just started dating Shane Rebbechi. Despite being a little on the annoying side, and we see not much has changed, both characters injected so much fun into the show when they were around the first time - it would be so great to see them back as regulars. We take a look at other characters, who much to the delight of fans, couldn't keep away from Erinsborough! JANE HARRIS (Annie Jones) Neighbours' fans were delighted when it was announced back in 2018 that actress Annie Jones would be reprising her role as Ramsay Street favourite Jane 'Superbrain' Harris after an absence of twenty nine years. However it was a bit of a shock to see that the glamourous Lassiter's Girl had been replaced with a younger version of her stickybeak grandmother Nell Mangel! Annie made three guest appearances over a period of two years before finally being brought back as a regular this year. It's just a pity her overbearing daughter Nicolette came along too, who definitely has Nan Mangel's malicious streak. 2. CAROLINE AND CHRISTINA ALESSI (Gayle and Gillian Blakeney) It was quite an accomplishment getting the Alessi Twins to make a return as the actresses who played them back in the early nineties, Gayle and Gillian Blakeney, had actually given up acting and were enjoying life in California. But thankfully for the long-time fans of the show, Gayle and Gillian agreed to reprise the roles that made them household names in Britain, and return for a storyline involving Paul Robinson. Their time on screen was definitely not long enough and we definitely hope they'll be asked to return again soon - and this time stay a little longer. 3. GAIL LEWIS (Fiona Corke) While no one can deny that Paul has met his match in the current Mrs. Robinson, Therese, wife number two Gail Lewis is still a firm favourite with fans. Like Therese, Gail didn't take much nonsense from Paul Robinson, but she couldn't get him to give up his workaholic ways, and viewers were saddened when Gail walked out on him while pregnant with their much-longed for triplets. Over the years, Fiona Corke has returned to Ramsay Street for brief stints as Gail - she made her last appearance in 2019. We cannot wait to see Gail make another return to Erinsborough and as her granddaughter Harlow is now living on the Street, Gail has a very good reason for paying a visit. 4. GEMMA RAMSAY (Beth Buchanan) The last time viewers saw Madge Bishop's niece Gemma on the show, she was saying a tearful goodbye to her boyfriend Adam Willis before boarding a bus to Newcastle to start attending veterinary school. The couple then married off-screen before moving to Darwin. Then last spring, after an absence of thirty years, Gemma made a surprise visit to Ramsay Street with her wayward daughter Roxy in tow, in the hope that her former sister-in-law Therese would take Roxy in. Gemma then made another visit to Erinsborough, disappointing fans with the news that she and Adam had split up. Perhaps this won't be the last we see of Gemma... But what most of us want to know is how does Beth Buchanan who played Gemma look exactly the same thirty years later? Incidentally Simone Buchanan, Beth's equally talented sister, also made a return to the soap as lawyer Sam Fitzgerald, eager to settle some old scores with the Kennedys. Good genes clearly run in that family. 5. JIM ROBINSON (Alan Dale) Now this was a comeback nobody could have predicted - Jim Robinson back from the dead! Well as a figment of son Paul's conscience anyway. Twenty seven years ago, horrified viewers watched as Street stalwart Jim collapsed and died of a heart attack while his shady girlfriend, Fiona, took the opportunity to fleece him. Fans didn't know it at the time but Jim had been written out of the show after a disagreement between actor Alan Dale and the powers that be on the show. Clearly Dale and Neighbours' bosses eventually agreed to let bygones be bygones, and Jim Robinson made his comeback, warning Paul to change his ways. Obviously Alan Dale could never return to the soap as anything other than a ghost, but seeing as his career has gone from strength to strength, especially in America, we don't think he's too fussed! Who would you like to see back in Ramsay Street? Photos: YouTube Word Cloud: Angel Noire