Random musings and general banter.

[Battiola73]

I had to visit the Royal Jewellers once to collect a gold watch for the MD of the company I worked for. I was about 19 at the time. Of course nothing was priced. I remember they had a doorman in full uniform with a peaked cap and white gloves. I was questioned who I was and why I was visiting. Fortunately the MDs secretary had phoned ahead to say I’d be collecting. It was a bit daunting as to me jewellers were Samuel’s or Hinds. Ratners back then were quite classy.

 

[UkSki]

Regarding Woolworths, what I mainly remember is, picking the Casette or CD I wanted, you would take the case to the desk, and they would never find it

Ah the "masterbag" system of stopping stock getting stolen, I'm so old I was one of a team that went to "Our Price" stores to put the stock back in the cases/sleeves, Shrinkwrap them, Add the special barcodes with the door loop security tags on the back and enter the stock into the EPOS (how do you even deal with stock in a record store without EPOS?!)
You might be shocked how much empty packaging got stolen

 

[Muttley]

Good old Winfield. And Woolworths - where bells used to ring if you dared produce a £5 note at the Crouch End branch, and a flustered looking supervisor with a large bunch of keys appeared to open a special part of the till. Also you weren’t allowed to power up and play the Rosedale organs. The miserable sods always had them unplugged along with the Stylophones.

I remember in my branch they used to sell contact paper - rolls of vinyl you can cut to size. There was a sign next to it saying "ring bell and wait", always made me laugh as no-one ever responded to it!

 

[Muttley]

Regarding Woolworths, what I mainly remember is, picking the Casette or CD I wanted, you would take the case to the desk, and they would never find it

Or they would give you the wrong record, they would just give you anything by the same artist (if you were lucky!). And it was vinyl in my day

 

[Hammy60]

Hmm, are you sure, Hammy?

I don't want to question your expertise in watches, but I did hear that Emma worked for the royal jewellers once. I'm sure it wasn't just a Saturday job cleaning the cabinets. I'm inclined to think she knows watches like Mike knows sound (and in case you haven't heard, he KNOWS sound).

I also feel for her in general

She keeps buying expensive branded items outside of work, then goes into work and oh no—Ideal World is making her sell a cheap knockoff that she's discovered is "just as good—in fact, better" than the expensive one she just bought!

I'm not embarrassed to admit this: I have multi-bought out of pity during her shows. She just kept saying how "gutted, gutted, gutted" she was at her mistake, and how lucky we viewers are to have the chance to buy something better, but cheaper, so I couldn't not.

I know it might make me sound wet and mushy, a bit like a breaded chicken thigh air-fired by mark stewart, but I'm not the charred, dry, acerbic herring some may think.

I'm sorry but there is only one Royal Jeweller, the one and only Miss Gerrards, Caroline Jones, a horology saleswoman of the highest order, her horology knowledge has been unsurpassed since those heady days of the marvelous watch shows on the original Ideal World, featuring the luxury watch brand with watches made in China, oops sorry mean Germany, Constantin Weisz.

Actually that's a bit unfair on Caroline, she was just horologically challenged, Miss Precision on the other hand is not only horologically challenged, but also an out and out shyster too boot, her and Bordell are tied at the top of the watch shyster league on IW.

On the buying more expensive items outwith IW, that seems to be a common action and regularly stated by most of the presenters, except Peter, he can "can ill afford to buy anything" outside of poundland Ideal world.

 

[Duke of Cheese]

4p for a can of own brand pop, I remember. When I was very young, we had all these weird (never!!) singles that sounded like the real hits, but weren’t. Mum and Dad never had a pot to pi…in so instead of paying 7/6d for the original artiste version..,bought these Embassy label 7” cover versions for cheaper - Woolies’ in- house record label. Later, when I was growing up in ‘70s, these equally naff TOTP Woolworths made 33s appeared featuring chart hits of the day, but again, made by session players and singers. A girl in a straw hat and hot pants (nothing else..) on the cover. I hated them as well (the records format, not the girls). Or you could buy those original artists, but dodgy quality truncated track length Arcade, Ronco and K-TEL versions for a bit more…What a day in 1983 when you could finally buy a top labels, original artists and recording quality vinyl hits of the day compilation - NOW That’s What I Call Music…I bought the first ten or fifteen and some of the videos..What is it now?? NOW 3689? Where did the parsley go??

 

[Lord Helpus]

4p for a can of own brand pop, I remember. When I was very young, we had all these weird (never!!) singles that sounded like the real hits, but weren’t. Mum and Dad never had a pot to pi…in so instead of paying 7/6d for the original artiste version..,bought these Embassy label 7” cover versions for cheaper - Woolies’ in- house record label. Later, when I was growing up in ‘70s, these equally naff TOTP Woolworths made 33s appeared featuring chart hits of the day, but again, made by session players and singers. A girl in a straw hat and hot pants (nothing else..) on the cover. I hated them as well (the records format, not the girls). Or you could buy those original artists, but dodgy quality truncated track length Arcade, Ronco and K-TEL versions for a bit more…What a day in 1983 when you could finally buy a top labels, original artists and recording quality vinyl hits of the day compilation - NOW That’s What I Call Music…I bought the first ten or fifteen and some of the videos..What is it now?? NOW 3689? Where did the parsley go??

However, one of those session musicians was none other than Elton John, getting paid a few quid to imitate the stars of the day before he became one of the biggest himself.

 

[Duke of Cheese]

Indeed…Did I also read Jimmy Page and Big Jim Sullivan were used as session players on those Embassy Label recordings in the 1960s?

 

[Lord Helpus]

Indeed…Did I also read Jimmy Page and Big Jim Sullivan were used as session players on those Embassy Label recordings in the 1960s?

And Rick Wakeman, guru of the keyboards.

 

[Lord Helpus]

Natalia looks like she's been sprayed bronzey gold. Reminds me of the lovely Shirley Eaton in Goldfinger.

 

[Duke of Cheese]

I like your Kenneth Cope avatar, Lord. Amazingly, he only died this year, earlier in September. Must have been pushing 100? Er..93, checking…

 

[Lord Helpus]

Yes, Duke, that Randall & Hopkirk was so cleverly done and I still watch the repeats today. I was fortunate enough to speak with a director of the show, Roy Ward Baker, who told me how the actors became expert at interacting with the 'ghost' played so brilliantly by Kenneth Cope. Classic vintage TV.

 

[Duke of Cheese]

And a fantastic theme tune..Department S..Jason King..The Prisoner...The Protectors...so many great filmed TV action type series back in the late 1960s/early 70s..

 

[cheeky chappie]

“We’ve been around for 23 years on national TV,” he says. Apart from when the rattan run out and the screens went blank in 2023. Tell ‘em whatever you want them to hear. Don’t worry about it being the truth or not.

I would assert there's a big difference between 'national tv' and tv that is broadcast nationally

 

[Hammy60]

I see Sally blaming sickness on Disney, food poisoning, violently erupting from both ends, must have been an awful weekend, still despite being gravely ill, she managed it back from Disney and in her PJs still managed to keep her millions and millions of worried fans uptodate with her condition.

 

[Duke of Cheese]

She didn’t try one of those children’s meals, did she?

 

[galesgal57]

I see Sally blaming sickness on Disney, food poisoning, violently erupting from both ends, must have been an awful weekend, still despite being gravely ill, she managed it back from Disney and in her PJs still managed to keep her millions and millions of worried fans uptodate with her condition.

I think she should stay at home, because every time she goes away she has some sort of catastrophe. And doesn't she love telling us all about it.

 

[Craftalot]

I'm sorry but there is only one Royal Jeweller, the one and only Miss Gerrards, Caroline Jones, a horology saleswoman of the highest order, her horology knowledge has been unsurpassed since those heady days of the marvelous watch shows on the original Ideal World, featuring the luxury watch brand with watches made in China, oops sorry mean

We used to have a bet on our Caroline - we'd guess how long it would take either her or the presenter to mention that she used to work for Garrards, and whoever got closest had to make the tea. She rarely got to the 90 second mark.

I'm surprised Garrards didn't send her an (English) version of a Cease And Desist for constantly attempting that classical conditioning trick.

 

[Battiola73]

I see Sally blaming sickness on Disney, food poisoning, violently erupting from both ends, must have been an awful weekend, still despite being gravely ill, she managed it back from Disney and in her PJs still managed to keep her millions and millions of worried fans uptodate with her condition.

I hope she has proof it was Disney that caused her food poisoning. They don’t take kindly to anyone taking their brand into disrepute.

 

[Samki]

James Herriot could bring those burgers back to life