with BBC Radio Gloucestershire’s Mark Cummings
Magical myths
Did you hear the one about a swimming pool on the top of the Eagle Tower building? How about the iconic Verve album cover featuring May Hill? Maybe I could tempt you into a tale about how Café René in Gloucester was inspired by the BBC sitcom ’Allo ’Allo. All these stories have been told many times and over the years the folklore, for some, has become fact. When Eagle Tower was constructed in the late sixties, rumour had it that they’d snuck in a swimming pool on the roof, but this is a complete lie. Richard Ashcroft from The Verve has a place at the foot of May Hill at Taynton, but the tree-clad image of the band on their classic Urban Hymns album was not from our wonderful landmark. Café René was inspired by French philosopher René Descartes. We now move into the grey area. Was the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty inspired by the siege of Gloucester in The Civil War? It depends on which local historian you believe. I want to claim this for Gloucester, so I’ll go with those who say the Humpty Dumpty siege gun inspired the ditty, and we can claim it for ourselves. Did the term “Beatlemania” come from a headline in the Daily Mirror the morning after The Fab Four appeared in Cheltenham? Another hotly disputed ‘fact’ is the origin of the word Chav. Did it really come from Cheltenham Ladies’ College girls referring to non-college girls as Cheltenham Average… hence CHAV? To conclude, I need to dispel the rumour that the shop in Ronnie Barker’s Open All Hours was inspired when the BBC filmed in Dursley and Thornbury. Riddifords grocers in Thornbury was thought to have been the location for the programme but, however, the filming in Dursley and Thornbury was later, many years after Open All Hours had first aired. To conclude, enjoy these brilliant images sent to me when they filmed The Worm That Turned on Parsonage Street in Dursley.
We are family
I’m pulling together a list of iconic local surnames after being inspired by a recent guest on my show. Claire Danter is one of the many family members who take fairground rides around the country, and she was with me to promote her involvement in the Tewkesbury Mop Fair. She loves having an iconic, local surname and all the conversations that come with it. It inspired me to track down other people in the area who have huge pride in their last name. So far, I’ve enjoyed the company of the Attwoolls family who have been supplying marques and camping equipment at Whitminster since the 1930s, Peter Badham whose father Richard opened his first chemist shop in 1940 and Thomas Cullimore from the well-known freight transport company who spoke with great pride about his family’s heritage. Next on my list is the grandson of George Dowty from the famous Dowty propeller company, members of The Downton family whose trucks you see all over the UK and there are many Teagues in the area so I reckon rugby icon Mike Teague will have something to say and it would be nice to catch up with Laurie’s daughter, Jessie Lee. After that how about the Watts family from Watts Tyres in the Forest, Gardiners Shoes, Creed Food Service, Tartaglia ice cream, De Tomaso ice cream, Guilders logistics, Pulhams Coaches, Godsells Cheese and Meeks shoes. I think I’ve only just scratched the surface, if you can think of anymore please let me know… cummings@bbc.co.uk
Bath time
For a birthday treat, my daughter chose an afternoon shopping and wine bar cruising in Bath. This is not my dream day out, but I offered to be the designated driver so she could have a mum-and-daughter mooch, with a dad taxi thrown in. The only condition I imposed was a sartorial one as I insisted on wearing my Gloucester Rugby shirt. We had beaten them a few days previously at The Rec in the Prem Cup, and our 64-0 victory at Kingsholm last season was still very fresh in my memory. That incredible victory will be remembered forever. Before the game, many of us were nervous as Bath had found recent form. At half time we were well ahead, but we’ve been there before and blown it; however, this time the tries just kept coming. Grown men were in tears on the way out and I’ll never forget it. Luckily, my daughter was with me that day to share the joy so was quite calm about her embarrassing dad strutting through Bath with a smug self-satisfied grin.
Who were you talking to?
When I drive into work in the middle of the night, I talk to my favourite traffic lights. The ones on a sensor that change to green as I approach always get a ‘Thank you’ from me. I thought I was alone in this strange habit of talking to inanimate objects, but my listeners reassured me I’m not. When Dave arrives at the marina to take his narrowboat out, he always says ‘Hello, how are you?’ when he opens her up. Taff used to be a dry stone waller and would talk to his stones with ‘Go on, you know you want to fit’. Sarah says ‘thank you’ to her Sat Nav, Sandra chats to her mop whilst cleaning, Frank praises his garden spade on a good job, Peter thanks the cash machine after a withdrawal, and Alan says ‘hello’, and ‘thanks’ to the River Severn after a good day’s fishing.
Email: cummings@bbc.co.uk
