As Seen on T.V.

I have just been made to realise, that going to work full time makes you miss a lot of what 's going on.
Having to take early retirement I now occasionally get time to watch daytime T.V. and twice this week have switched on the tele whilst eating my lunch and seen familiar faces on the screen.
On Monday 16th November I was watching 'Collectors Lot' on channel 4 at 3.30, and saw Stanley Hunter showing and talking about the 1938 Empire Exhibition held in Glasgow (Scotland). Stanley is a master on his subjects and showed a lot of his collection. There were several versions of china Tait towers. On was picked out specially by Goss, as it features the Clachan Highland Village painted on it. There was also spoons, a tea strainer, and a hand bag mirror. There were photo's taken of people who visited the exhibition, but as Stanley said they looked more like passport photo's (still very collectable however). He also showed compacts and other items, some made of butterfly wings (which would be illegal to make now).
Amy Johnson whilst on a visit to the exhibition was shown a quick way out and in return she autographed a season entrance ticket, which has found its way into Stanley's collection.
Stanley said he went to the exhibition but could not remember much as he was taken round in a Moses basket. He showed two signed that he said were perhaps his favourite items. One was a flat cut-out of people waiting for a but. This was used to indicate the bus routes and stop. The other sign was a waiter with a tray in his hand serving people sitting at a table. This was used to show you where to find the restaurants, these signs were to be found around the exhibition.
As the norm nowadays, Stanley had a lot of collectibles on the table but the camera and the presenter only just touched the fringe. I would have liked to have seen all of the programme devoted to Stanley's collection and to have heard him talk about it, as to coin a phrase "he knows what he's talking about". Stanley mentioned that he became interested in exhibitions because he lives near Kelvin Grove. Well done Stanley.
That was Monday's surprise, then on Tuesday the 19th November there was a programme on BBC2 called 'History Hour'. I had just gone out of the room to use my computer when my wife called me back into the room, she had recognised another face. It was Bob Tough. He was talking about his father and what he did in the 1939-1945 war when our troops needed to be evacuated from Dunkirk. The Navy needed small boats to get close to the beaches so as they could get the men off and transferred to larger ships laying off shore.
Bob's father had a business along the Thames at Teddington and he was asked to find and collect the small boats. He did, 200 in all. As the Navy did not have people to crew these Bob's father was asked to find these as well. Once again he succeeded, 400 people, two for each boat. The rest is History. What a father to be proud of!
Bob's family is still on the river at Teddington. They have a boat yard there which is run by his sons. He still goes there quite often (just to over see).
Bob also spoke of Barnes Wallace, of the bouncing bomb fame, and that he used a water tank not far from Bob's yard to do his testing. Bob said that he had used the tank himself to test his model boats before making them full size. Well done Bob.
As all member of the Exhibition Study Group already know, both of these TV stars are members too. I think they are to be congratulated on the way the presented their subjects, the Group can be proud of them.
I think that this article has proved my point, that working gets in the way of the things that really matter.

Journal published by the Exhibition Study Group.
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EXHIBITION STUDY GROUP