On 4th October members thoroughly enjoyed a visit to the Black Country Living Museum at Dudley. Although many of us had been there previously there is always something new to see. Many of us thought the talk on 11th October “Drainpipe Trousers to Rock & Roll” would be about popular music but Graham Sutherland’s highly entertaining talk concerned life in the 1950s. Setting the scene with the Berlin Airlift and the start of the Cold War, the TA (Territorial Army), Civil Defence Corps and CND, he moved on to the Festival of Britain 1951 and Battersea Funfair. Rationing, football pools, coal deliveries, post-war slum clearance, Formica, fitted kitchens, ice cream – just to mention these things conjured up memories. By use of adverts a vivid picture was painted and reference to radio and TV programmes, clothes, comics, Butlins, the first motorways and parking meters completed the journey down memory lane. It is hard to imagine now how revolutionary it was for Teddy Boys to hang out in coffee bars! Members were very appreciative of this wallow in nostalgia, only a few purporting not to be old enough to remember the era. Our next meeting on 18th October will feature a talk by Alan Benjamin about the history of Morris dancing. We meet at 10:00 every Thursday at The Boathouse, Evesham Rowing Club. Full details can be found on our website www.eveshamprobus.co.uk Alan Smith Photo Caption: Three Wise Men at the Black Country Museum Photo Credit: Grenville Burrows