Lifestyle "1983 Redux Zeitgeist Surf School"

Remove this Banner Ad

Brian Oblivion said:
To be fair, hand on heart - it was only ever the crossword - which was easy and also the sports pages, which I would devour down Chapel St to Sth Yarra - sorry but I forget the tram number for that one. This only went on for a few months - then I was buying The Age and trying somehow, given it's size to try and read it on the tram without annoying or encroaching on the personal space of who had the misfortune to be seated next to me. Once had a smoker sitting next to me accidentally set fire to The Age I was reading at the time. Threw it out the door with the assistance of the conductor.
Click to expand...
Tram number 78.
Though back then they did run a 'Special' tram down Chapel St alone in peak hours which from memory had a number 9 in it, either 99 90 or 29.
You never learnt to fold the 'AGE' into columns and say nothing of doing that crossword which was much harder than the Huns. And there was of course the 'Truth' seen in many a paw depending which line you were on. An ex who did their apprenticeship at the Truth told me that for the horoscopes they had a system of just pulling them out of a hat, it worked for them.

Ah the long gone days of the green trams with conductors...I went on the 'City Circle' tourist loop, up Latrobe st last year for the first time...the old restored green trams made over in brown and 'safe' with sliding automatic doors so no tourists will fall out.
Gone are the days when you would run for a tram and while it headed off grab the handrail and swing up the stairs. And the one bar that was pulled down on the 'wrong' side all open and airy, the wooden slats on the floors, lined with cigarette butts and a danger to having your high heels eaten.
The city circle tram is a santitised version of the delightful perils and lessons in Tramming. The only skill left is surfing them around the corners with out holding on. There are now signs everywhere and I mean everywhere, "this tram may stop suddenly you are advised to hold on".
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Pamcake1 said:
This thread is definitely requiring some Roxy Music:







Click to expand...

Just after I met her, Mrs m became part of a Roxy Music cover band. And when she was pregnant with our eldest she got to see them at the Entertainment Centre, right down the front. Phil Manzanera goes alright. Love the 801 Live album he did with Eno.
 
Pamcake1 said:
Tram number 78.
Though back then they did run a 'Special' tram down Chapel St alone in peak hours which from memory had a number 9 in it, either 99 90 or 29.
You never learnt to fold the 'AGE' into columns and say nothing of doing that crossword which was much harder than the Huns. And there was of course the 'Truth' seen in many a paw depending which line you were on. An ex who did their apprenticeship at the Truth told me that for the horoscopes they had a system of just pulling them out of a hat, it worked for them.

Ah the long gone days of the green trams with conductors...I went on the 'City Circle' tourist loop, up Latrobe st last year for the first time...the old restored green trams made over in brown and 'safe' with sliding automatic doors so no tourists will fall out.
Gone are the days when you would run for a tram and while it headed off grab the handrail and swing up the stairs. And the one bar that was pulled down on the 'wrong' side all open and airy, the wooden slats on the floors, lined with cigarette butts and a danger to having your high heels eaten.
The city circle tram is a santitised version of the delightful perils and lessons in Tramming. The only skill left is surfing them around the corners with out holding on. There are now signs everywhere and I mean everywhere, "this tram may stop suddenly you are advised to hold on".
Click to expand...
Ah yes the old trams ....... I remember them well. When I was in primary school I used to take the Number 64 tram to and from school. A couple of tales - one good and the other, not so much.

First the good one - there was a tram conductor - an older French fellow who was very funny - have vague memories his name was "Hugh" but I could be wrong (edit - yep - I was wrong about this detail) - he used to do magic tricks - mostly slight of hand sort of things - like when he gave you change - he'd show you his open hand and then appear to make a coin appear from behind your ear. He also used to swing on the handles people used when standing. Everyone loved him.

EDIT - found this on FB - "Melbourne Australia : Arguably the greatest Melbourne Tram Conductor of all time was a fellah nick-named Frenchie. Many people fondly remember Frenchie who performed and entertained while conducting in W Class trams for more than 20 years from around 1960 to the early 80s. He's Malvern Tram Depot's most famous trammie and was a Connie on the No 69 Kew to St Kilda Beach line along Glenferrie Road, the No 8 Toorak to City, the No 72 Camberwell to City, the No 6 Glen Iris to City and the No 5 Malvern to City via Dandenong Road. Many Melbournians love telling us colourful tales of a Conductor who entertained people while fulfilling his duties as a Tram Conductor. Here's a brief look into the life of Frenchie who's real name is Armand Lefebvre. "As an 11 year old Armand Lefebvre played piano accordion on the streets of Paris earning money for food & shelter. An orphan & busker, in his mid-teens Armand started touring with a French Circus. Later he migrated to Australia & picked up a job as a Melbourne tram conductor at Malvern Depot. Nick named Frenchie he went onto become a famous performing connie. Journalist Robert Coleman wrote in the Herald on December 26 1970. “A lot of people have written to the Tramways Board commending friend Lefebvre. He uses a juggler’s skill to flip his cap, making it fly up, loop & fall back on his head. Kids love him as he jokes around & moves through a tram like an acrobat monkey”. He liked bringing people together & seeing strangers talking with each other”. Tram Conductors served Melbourne's tram-loving community from the days of the Cable Trams to the modern era."

1713915190353.png

Now the other one - I went to Caulfied North Central School and lived in East St Kilda and when I was 6 years old in grade 2 (1967) I took the tram home from the corner of Hawthorn Road and Balaclava Road. It was a warm day so I sat in the middle of the tram - the open bit where the smokers used to do their thing. So when the tram was turning left into Dandenong Road it was t-boned by a semi trailer driver who have flown through a red light at speed. What follows is not my memory, just what I was told later.

I was the only one injured and was thrown out of the tram and onto the road. Big gash on my head, fractured skull and unconscious. A motorist who happened to be a doctor apparently saw what happened and stopped to provide assistance. He decided that rather than wait for an ambulance, he laid me down on his back seat and drove me to the Alfred Hospital himself.

Around 6pm I briefly woke up and said one thing "527-7370" which was my parents home phone number, then I went back to cloud cuckoo land. Turns out my parents were worried sick as I hadn't come home and had no idea what had happened. So then of course someone at the hospital called my folks.

I was in hospital for a few weeks and then home for about two months. I do recall being given a hero's welcome on my return to school.

During my recovery, I listened to the radio a lot - I have always loved radio - and this song was played a lot. My grandma as a treat bought me the single to cheer me up as I told her I liked it. Flipside Penny Lane wasn't bad either.

 
Last edited:
Brian Oblivion said:
Ah yes the old trams ....... I remember them well. When I was in primary school I used to take the Number 64 tram to and from school. A couple of tales - one good and the other, not so much.

First the good one - there was a tram conductor - an older French fellow who was very funny - he used to do magic tricks - mostly slight of hand sort of things - like when he gave you change - he'd show you his open hand and then appear to make a coin appear from behind your ear. He also used to swing on the handles people used when standing. Everyone loved him.

Now the other one - I went to Caulfied North Central School and lived in East St Kilda and when I was 6 years old in grade 2 (1967) I took the tram home from the corner of Hawthorn Road and Balaclava Road. It was a warm day so I sat in the middle of the tram - the open bit where the smokers used to do their thing. So when the tram was turning left into Dandenong Road it was t-boned by a semi trailer driver who have flown through a red light at speed. What follows is not my memory, just what I was told later.

I was the only one injured and was thrown out of the tram and onto the road. Big gash on my head, fractured skull and unconscious. A motorist who happened to be a doctor apparently saw what happened and stopped to provide assistance. He decided that rather than wait for an ambulance, he laid me down on his back seat and drove me to the Alfred Hospital himself.

Around 6pm I briefly woke up and said one thing "527-7370" which was my parents home phone number, then I went back to cloud cuckoo land. Turns out my parents were worried sick as I hadn't come home and had no idea what had happened. So then of course someone at the hospital called my folks.

I was in hospital for a few weeks and then home for about two months. I do recall being given a hero's welcome on my return to school.

During my recovery, I listened to the radio a lot - I have always loved radio - and this song was played a lot. My grandma as a treat bought me the single to cheer me up as I told her I liked it a lot. Flipside Penny Lane wasn't bad either.

Click to expand...

IMG_8828.jpeg IMG_8832.jpeg IMG_8834.jpeg IMG_8831.jpeg IMG_8833.jpeg
Strawberry Field (2019)
 
Childhood TV:
When times were very civilised and rather polite, these were probably the first things I remember seeing.
We named our dogs Dougal and Florence.
The next we agreed was to be Zebadee.
Never got there as the others lived so long we'd all moved out of home by then



Then there was the notorious twister of language Cpt Pugwash.
Pugwash by the way is another word for 'think tank'

 
Last edited:
1966 the original confrontational TV host (who had a wooden leg) Joe Pyne interviewed Frank Zappa.
The interview starts off with Joe Pyne asking Frank Zappa, "So you have long hair. Does that make you a woman?"
Franks responds, " So, Joe, you have a wooden leg. Does that make you a table?"

Here is some another interview in 1969:

 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Pamcake1 said:
Definitely can't change after so many decades. We all knew it as oh oh Chungo.

I'd like to know what they were trying to indoctrinate us in exactly....

Click to expand...

Imagine coming back from serving in Vietnam and seeing this on your TV. Martin Luther King Jnr and Robert Kennedy were assassinated the previous year, the country was tearing itself apart and then there was Woodstock AND the Moon Landing (Thanks Pammy) . What was the TV show actually about? Strange Days.

1713869972804.png
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

jmoo wan
Jmoos School Holiday Programme Werewolf
74 75 76 77 78
Replies
2K
Views
24K
guero
guero

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top