Heavy one, this, so take a deep breath and make sure you're in a decent frame of mind before watching the last interview. Friday, 4th March, 1988 was a couple of days before the first anniversary of the Zeebrugge ferry disaster, and a year on from being caught up in it, Eleanor Parker tells it like it is to Anne Diamond and Mike Morris. And, my goodness, does she speak well on such unbelievably dark subjects. Also on the sofa is one Peter Hodgkinson, who helped set up a Survivor Support Unit, and he offers a few words of wisdom. But I can't get away from Eleanor, who articulates perfectly a level of trauma I don't think anyone will ever truly understand unless they've been to the places she has. (I don't mean Belgium.) I've tried looking her up, but haven't managed to find anything - I hope beyond hope she eventually found her happiness again.
Before all that, we've got one-and-a-half news bulletins read by Gordon Honeycomb and Geoff Meade, with a disagreement between Britain and West Germany over a NATO summit, a food poisoning outbreak, air traffic controllers getting upset, George Bush's election campaign gathering momentum, Prince Charles heading to Pittsburgh and Eddie the Eagle back in Cheltenham. There are also three sets of ads, with a couple for Rowntree's Breakaway, and some Fruit Pastilles tongue-twisters for you to try at home. Then there's the Dixcel "Luxury Bathroom Tissue", which is so luxury that it doesn't even mention the toilet. I can't help thinking that the cats are there to subconsciously place it in direct competition with Andrex, but off the top of my head, I've heard of Andrex but don't remember Dixcel. I'm obviously not "luxury" enough. I can't help thinking that the whole "Babykini" name was a massive mis-step, too. Oh, and can anyone say whether "Hi!" magazine lasted more than a handful of issues? That's another one that doesn't ring a bell with me.
Grateful thanks to Ben for providing this recording - please take the time to check out / benriggers when you get the chance.
(To the best of my knowledge, the contents of this video have never been available commercially anywhere in the world. Please also note that I don't monetise any of my uploads. Nevertheless, if you are a copyright holder and have an objection, please don't hesitate to contact me.)
12 сен 2024
