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Tam Pierce
"Widecombe Fair", also called "Tom Pearce" (sometimes spelt "Tam Pierce"), is a Devon folk song about a man called Tom Pearce, whose horse dies after someone borrows it to travel to the fair in Widecombe with his friends. Its chorus ends with a long list of the people travelling to the fair: "''Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, Peter Gurney, Peter Davy, Dan'l Whiddon, Harry Hawke, Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all''." Some research suggests that the names originally referred to real people. As the last name in a long list, " Uncle Tom Cobley and all" has come to be used as a humorous colloquialism meaning "anyone and everyone". The surname is spelt as "Cobleigh" in some references. History The song was published by Sabine Baring-Gould in the book ''Songs and Ballads of the West'' (1889–91) (referring to the West Country in England), though it also exists in variant forms. The title is spelt "Widdecombe Fair" in the original publication, though "Widecombe" is now the standard spelling of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Widecombe Fair
Widecombe Fair is an annual fair in England, held in the Dartmoor village of Widecombe-in-the-Moor on the second Tuesday of September. It is well known as the subject of the folk song of the Widecombe Fair (song), same name, featuring Uncle Tom Cobley and his friends. History The earliest written record was in 1850, when it was described in the ''Plymouth Gazette'' as a cattle fair. It soon became an opportunity to show and sell other livestock, particularly locally bred sheep and Dartmoor pony, Dartmoor ponies, and by the 1920s it had also become a sports day for local schoolchildren. In 1933, stalls were introduced, selling rural arts and crafts. World War I saw a cancellation of the Fair between 1915 and 1918. Widecombe Fair was suspended during the Second World War, but reinstated in 1945 with new attractions, including a Gymkhana (Equestrian), gymkhana and tug of war. All profits were donated to the 'Local Welcome Home Fund' for returning soldiers, sailors and airmen. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Worzel Gummidge
Worzel Gummidge is a scarecrow in British children's fiction, who originally appeared in a series of books by the English novelist Barbara Euphan Todd."Worzel Gummidge (1979–81)" ''ScreenOnline.org.uk'' It was the first story book published by . The books have been adapted for radio and television a number of times. Frank Atkinson was the first person to play the role in the 1953 children's television series '' [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goosey Fair
Tavistock Goose Fair, known locally as Goosey,James, Trevor (2010) ''Tavistock Memories'' or Goosie,Gunnell, Clive (1978) ''To Tavistock Goosie Fair'' Fair, is the annual fair in the stannary town of Tavistock in the west of Devon, England. It has been held on the second Wednesday of October since 1823 and it is one of only three historically established traditional fairs in the UK to carry the name, the other being the larger Nottingham Goose Fair, and the smaller Michaelmas Goose Fayre in Colyford, also in Devon. History Tavistock Goose Fair is one of the best known fairs in the West Country and has its ancient origins in the Michelmas fair that first came into being in the early 12th century. Adoption of the Gregorian calendar by Britain in 1752 necessitated a correction to the established dates of charter fairs, in this case moving Tavistock's fair from Michelmas day (29 September) to October 10. Whilst there appears to be little published evidence of the name ‘Goosey Fai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Benny Hill Show
''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV (from 1969) between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketches that were full of slapstick, mime, parody and double entendre (which could be described as a filmatographic version of British saucy seaside postcard humour). At its peak ''The Benny Hill Show'' was among the most-watched programmes in the UK with the audience reaching more than 21 million viewers in 1971. In 1972, Hill received a BAFTA Television Award for Best Writer, and he was nominated for the BAFTA for Best Entertainment Performance. In the late 1970s, the Thames Television version of the show gained a following in the United States and would run in syndication until 1991. In 1980 and 1981, it received Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Variety. In 1984 Hill received a Rose d'Or. Thames cancelled production of the show in 1989 due to declining ratings and large pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Renaissance (band)
Renaissance are an English progressive rock band, best known for their 1978 UK top 10 hit " Northern Lights" and progressive rock classics like "Carpet of the Sun", "Mother Russia", and "Ashes Are Burning". They developed a unique sound, combining a female Lead vocalist, lead vocal with a fusion of classical music, classical, folk music, folk, rock music, rock, and jazz influences. Characteristic elements of the Renaissance sound are Annie Haslam's wide vocal range, prominent piano accompaniment, orchestration, orchestral arrangements, vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser, and versatile drum work. The band created a significant following in the northeast United States in the 1970s, and that region remains their strongest fan base. The original line-up included two former members of the Yardbirds, Keith Relf and Jim McCarty, along with John Hawken, Louis Cennamo and Relf's sister Jane Relf. They intended to put "something together with more of a classical in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Nashville Teens
The Nashville Teens are a British rock band, formed in Surrey in 1962. They are best known for their 1964 hit single "Tobacco Road", a top 10 UK hit and a top 20 hit in the United States. Early membership Art Sharp (born Arthur Sharp, 26 May 1941, Woking, Surrey) began his career in music as manager of Aerco Records in Woking, Surrey. The group's line-up eventually comprised singers Sharp and Ray Phillips (born Ramon John Philips, 16 January 1939, Tiger Bay, Cardiff, South Wales), with former Cruisers Rock Combo members John Hawken (piano), Mick Dunford (lead guitar) (born Michael Dunford, 8 July 1944, Addlestone, Surrey died 20 November 2012, Surrey), Pete Shannon (born Peter Shannon Harris, 23 September 1941, Antrim, County Antrim, Northern Ireland) (bass) and Dave Maine (drums). Roger Groome replaced Maine shortly afterward, but was in turn replaced by Barry Jenkins in 1963, which is the year a third vocalist, Terry Crowe (born Terence Crowe, 1941, Woking, Surrey) joined br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faber And Faber
Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel Beckett, Philip Larkin, Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney, Paul Muldoon, Milan Kundera, and Kazuo Ishiguro. Founded in 1929, in 2006 the company was named the KPMG Publisher of the Year. Faber and Faber Inc., formerly the American branch of the London company, was sold in 1998 to the Holtzbrinck company Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG). Faber and Faber ended the partnership with FSG in 2015 and began distributing its books directly in the United States. History Faber and Faber began as a firm in 1929, but originates in the Scientific Press, owned by Sir Maurice and Lady Gwyer. The Scientific Press derived much of its income from the weekly magazine ''The Nursing Mirror.'' The Gwyers' desire to expand into trade publishing led them to Geoffrey Fab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Worsley Adamson
George Worsley Adamson, RE, MCSD (7 February 1913 – 5 March 2005) was a book illustrator, writer, and cartoonist, who held American and British dual citizenship from 1931. Early life Adamson was born in the Bronx, New York City. His parents were George William Adamson, a master car builder for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, and Mary Lydia (Lily, née Howard). His father, born in Glasgow, Scotland, and his mother, born in Wigan, Lancashire, had moved to New York City from Bombay in 1910. Following the death of his mother in February 1921, George Adamson sailed to England with his father, his Aunt Florence, and his two sisters, Marie and Dorothy, on the Cunard liner RMS ''Caronia'', landing at Liverpool on July 10. His father sailed back to New York in October 1921, where he died the following year. George Adamson was educated at the Wigan Mining and Technical College and the Liverpool City School of Art, where he studied etching and engraving under Geoffrey We ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC Light Programme
The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 1. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the long wave frequency which had earlier been used – prior to the outbreak of the Second World War on 1 September 1939 – by the National Programme. The service was intended as a domestic replacement for the wartime General Forces Programme which had gained many civilian listeners in Britain as well as members of the British Armed Forces. History The long wave signal on 200 kHz/1500 metres was transmitted from Droitwich in the English Midlands (as it still is today for BBC Radio 4, although adjusted slightly to 198 kHz/1515 metres from 1 February 1988) and gave fairly good coverage of most of the United Kingdom, although a number of low-power medium wave transmitters (using 1214 kHz/247 metres) were added later to fill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ted Willis, Baron Willis
Edward Henry Willis, Baron Willis (13 January 1914 – 22 December 1992) was an English playwright, novelist and screenwriter who was also politically active in support of the Labour Party. In 1941 he became the General Secretary of the Young Communist League, the youth branch of the Communist Party of Great Britain. Early life and War service Born in Tottenham, Middlesex, Willis described when he was leaving school at the age of fourteen: "I had a two-second 'career interview' with my Headmaster. He asked me what I wished to do for the future and I told him that I intended to become a writer. His response was a cackle followed by the remark: 'You will never make a writer in a hundred years. You haven't got the imagination for it or the intelligence. Go away and learn a good trade.'" Willis was elected Chairman of the Labour League of Youth as the candidate of the left in 1937. In 1939, along with much of the League of Youth leadership, he joined the Young Communist League. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rambling Syd Rumpo
Rambling Syd Rumpo was a folk singer character, played by the English comedian and actor Kenneth Williams, originally in the 1960s BBC Radio comedy series ''Round the Horne''. History The Rambling Syd sketches generally began with a short discourse on the nature of the song, which would inexorably follow; these discourses and the songs involved suggestiveness and double entendre. For this, Rambling Syd was customarily introduced by Kenneth Horne, who would set things up by (for example) inquiring as to the nature and origin of the song. Rambling Syd would (usually) respond with an "Ello, me dearios", before launching into the ensuing detailed explanation which left a great deal to the imagination. The songs themselves pushed and extended boundaries of sexual suggestiveness, using nonsense (or little-known) words such as 'moolies' and ' nadgers' in suggestive contexts. Many of the words used by Rambling Syd were invented by the ''Round the Horne'' scriptwriters Barry Took and Marty F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was an English actor of Welsh heritage. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films, and appeared in many British television programmes and radio comedies, including series with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne, as well as being a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4's comedy panel show ''Just a Minute'' from its second series in 1968 until his death 20 years later. Williams grew up in Central London in a working-class family; he claimed his father spoke cockney. He served in the Royal Engineers during World War II, where he first became interested in becoming an entertainer. After a short spell in repertory theatre as a serious actor, he turned to comedy and achieved national fame in ''Hancock's Half Hour''. He sustained continued success throughout the 1960s and 1970s with his regular app ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
