Uncle Bernard

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"Hello Bloggers Everywhere"

Well in my younger days it used to be "Hello Children Everywhere."

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The idea to post about this came from the fact that I seem to have acquired a load of 'new' nieces who insist on calling me Uncle. Not that I mind in the least....anything is better than 'a grumpy old xxx'.

As children we knew loads of gentlemen who we referred to as Uncles. In fact, we only had two true uncles, one on each side of my parents families. Any of my father's friends who came to the house were respectfully referred to as Uncles.

It was Uncle Jim, never.....Jim !

We had loads of other Uncles, in fact every male member of the family tree, other than Cousins and Grandfathers were called Uncles.

We even had Uncles in comics and books....and of course on the radio.

Around 1954, for generations of children, Saturday morning with Uncle Mac, was one of the great highlights of the week. Although the weekday "Children's Hour" provided rich entertainment for those between the ages of potty and puberty , Uncle Mac's selection of record requests was something very special: you might even hear your name being read out!

And thinking back...the three most requested tunes were, The Laughing Policeman, The Runaway Train and of course I know an Old Lady who swallowed a Fly.

We all knew the words of every verse and would sit there like good little boys (I don't think) and sing along.

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I won't type out all the verses of all the songs; life is too short, but here is a flavour.

The Runaway Train

T'was in the year of '89 on that old Great Western line,

When the winter wind was blowin' shrill,

The rails were froze, the wheels were cold, then the air brakes wouldn't hold,

And Number 9 came roaring down the hill -- oh!

The runaway train came down the track and she blew,

The runaway train came down the track and she blew,

The runaway train came down the track, her whistle wide and her throttle back,

And she blew, blew, blew, blew, blew.

The above song was played regularly on the 'Children's Choice' radio programme that went out on the old BBC Light Programme. Vernon Dalhart was one of the true pioneers of Country music along with his compatriots Jimmie Rodgers, Carson Robison and The Carter Family.

I know an Old Lady

I know an old lady who swallowed a fly,

I don't know why she swallowed the fly,

I guess she'll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed a spider,

That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.

She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,

I don't know why she swallowed the fly,

I guess she'll die.

The song was written by Alan Mills, and the lyrics were penned by Rose Bonne. Probably the best-known version of the song was released on Brunswick Records in 1953, and sung by Burl Ives.

The song tells the story of an old woman who swallowed increasingly large animals, each to catch the previously swallowed animal. There are many variations of phrasing in the lyrics, especially for the description of swallowing each animal.

The Laughing Policeman

I know a fat old policeman

He's always on our street

A fat and jolly red-faced man

He really is a treat

He's too kind for a policeman

He's never known to frown

And everybody says

He is the happiest man in town!

All the above can be found on YouTube.

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