I've been a huge fan of Jane Horrocks ever since I first saw her as 'Bubble', in Ab Fab. Her talent is amazing, and just now, after a happy half-hour on Youtube watching some hilarious clips, (if anyone has a copy of her 'Children's Marching Song' from 'Never mind the Horrocks', I'll crawl stark naked over three miles of broken glass in sub-zero temperatures, just to watch one second of the finale), but I digress.
I'm also neatly set up for the post now...(half a second then...?)
Sodastream.
Yup, Sodastream!
I found this advert in an old Private Eye in the roof, and it comes from issue 298, dated 18th May, 1973. (I've got a few more of these old beauties and they'll be mentioned in another post when I've counted them...).
It was the cost which made my eyes water when I read the blurb again. "Leading brands of cola at 7p, soda syphon 12p (remember them, great for shooting scotch all over the lounge ceiling), bottle of gin, £2.38p", and so on.
We bought one for the Daughts (and me because I used to be addicted to dry ginger, and Mrs S because she liked the bitter lemon), and they would eventually have odd flavours and colours like Intergalactic Space Juice, which was blue, and never ever washed out of the school uniforms.
But I suppose like all these gadgets, they get old, dirty, uninteresting and eventually chucked out which is a great pity, because looking at the website, it seems that you can pay anything up to £150 for a big new model. Ours went years ago.
It's also interesting to see the style of the ad, mentioning 'housewives having to carry heavy things...(?)', and also how they are honest in admitting that they hadn't got one flavour quite right yet! Now that really is refreshing!
But back to gorgeous Jane. I can watch 'Little Voice' every time it's shown on the TV, and as I also pretend in my dreams that I could be a dead ringer for Michael Caine (I wish - Lils don't you ever, ever say a word...), I reckon that there's the tiniest chance that she might see this and send me a copy of the bit when she loses her cool at the words of that 'Marching song', and curses everyone in sight...
Hurrah! My mum bought a second-hand Sodastream at a jumble sale and it was brilliant! It was a bit knackered so gassing up the water was a bit of a skill otherwise the thing exploded but what a brilliant invention!
ReplyDeleteAlthough, in fairness, the drinks never did taste as good as the bottled ones. The parents liked the tonic for their gin, but the cola was never real cola.
I had a sodastream in the sixties, sadly, it ended up in a jumble sale.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't you just kick yourself, for throwing out gadgets years ago that, could now be worth a fortune.
Can't find a version of 'Bubbles's'
Childrens Marching anywhere, although, I think, it used to be known as Nick Nack Paddy Whack..give the dog
a bone.
My dad used to have an old 78rpm record of Cyril Stapleton and his Orchestra playing it, we all used to march up and down the sitting room like soldiers, singing it at the tops of our voices.
Great fun, my Dad!
Di.xx
I like Jane Horrocks too. She was utterly brilliant in Little Voice.
ReplyDeletePaula does excellent impersonations of
- Jane Horrocks
-Toyah Wilcox
and
- Leslie Ash (sans the silly lips)
I get to mate with all four of them !
if I remember correctly, when I were 'lad, there was a lemonade called Horrocks
ReplyDeletea real one, not ersatz, sodastream stuff
or am i halucinating again ?
Nick, you're not expecting that the ceiling is falling in, you've just stood up...
ReplyDeleteI'll try and find your tipple, mark my words!
Blues, do you remember the phirghhh
ReplyDeletephirghhh phirghhh phirghhh phirghhh when it had finshed?
It frightened the life out of me and various neighbours within three miles...
Gin will always need a second one in this household, Sodastream or not!
Trubes, that is a deep answer...!
ReplyDeleteThe 'Sod-you-stream' was a diversion for going away on Spanish hols etc, although we did take it to Dawlish one year, and I was allowed to smoke then...
The Marching song was a sketch the lovely lady did, emulating someone like Daphne Oxenford (bless her - another super Lady), when the beloved Jane was putting on a pre-war Beeb voice only understood by children, and singing raucously about marching for something or other.
The bit near the end, which still creases me when I remember it was after about twenty refrains of the same regimental song, and she just collapses and says something like 'there's an awful lot of f****** marching going on here..."
I'm afraid I'm like that and she's my hero...and lovely to look at and listen to!
Elecs, you have just eleveated yourself several yards up in my estimation, (although I'd be slightly worried about Toyah's screeching...)
ReplyDeleteLeslie Ash was lovely before she had her face exploded, and I cannot for the life of me understand why she did that!
If your lovely Paula can do an impersonation of Jane doing an impersonation of someone, where does that leave poor old blokes like me; I'll have nobody to think about...;0)
I loved 'Litle Voice' and thought Horrocks was amazing.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't have a soda stream (got one now) but a soda syphon you screwed a little bulb onto, like a little miniature bomb almost, and it carbonated the water. Then you unscrewed it and there was your syphon full of soda water. You swished it out with a lever. It was black and very chic.
Pips, they are great those smaller ones, and yes, you'd screw this thing in and step back in case the room went up in smoke/water/both...!
ReplyDeleteThe black ones cost more...!
I tried fizzing home made wine and it definitely didn't work!
I remember one Christmas Eve gassing up a pint of Lagavulin for my father. I still remember the tears of joy in his eyes.
ReplyDeleteSo how does one make sparkling wine, Scrobs?
ReplyDeleteSome of Dad's friends used to make elderberry (or was it flower?) champagne and it was lovely.
Pips, they would have made it the normal way, by fermenting the flowers sugar etc, but not letting the yeast die.
ReplyDeleteThe idea is that you then bottle it in champagne bottles with a little sugar, and it starts to ferment again, but the CO2 has nowhere to go, so the wine becomes fizzy.
It really is very good, and worth doing at any time in the summer...
What, not in Sodastream Fuller?
ReplyDeleteMy philistine childhood precludes a taste for the peat, and I try harder every time a bottle of Laphroaig appears on the horizon...
But I can never get enough of the Scotch from the other side, which may be a pity, but so far I'm content!
I'm glad your father's eyes lit up, as I can recall doing something similar for Dcrobs Senior!
On the subject of sodastreams; I would be happy to consign them all to the Sunday carboot sale.
ReplyDeleteOver the years I have had some down right salty cavas handed to me at various parties...
Dear Fuller, by pure coincidence, during an enforced wakeful half hour or so last night, Rod Sharpe on 'Up all night' Radio 5, was interviewing a Scotch expert, and they were discussing the splendour of the very same Lagavulin that you describe!
ReplyDeleteIt's odd lying in bed, thinking about 'smoky-undertones' and a 'smell of christmas cake fruit' at three-thirty in the morning...
If you want to hear it, there may be a podcast or even a reel-to-reel tape recording somewhere in the ether...
Actually Trubes, Fuller and co, did you ever have one of those cork openers whch was a pump with a hollow needle, which you thrust into the cork, and pumped vigorously...
ReplyDeleteI think it would get an '18 certificate' now, but was worth a few gasps back then...
Dear Fellow, "It's odd lying in bed, thinking about 'smoky-undertones' and a 'smell of christmas cake fruit' at three-thirty in the morning..." Just take it one day at a time. my sister tells me that you should consider the following: -
ReplyDeleteAdmitting that one cannot control one's addiction or compulsion.
Recognizing a greater power that can give strength.
Examining past errors with the help of a sponsor (experienced member).
Making amends for these errors.
Learning to live a new life with a new code of behavior.
Helping others that suffer from the same addictions or compulsions.
... and in regard to opening bottles of wine; I am relieved to find you are not just popping open a tin.