Journeying down Barnard Avenue today I glimpsed a workman seemingly involved in taking down The Thin Blue Sign outside Brigg police station. If that proves to be the case (and he wasn't embarking on extensive repairs), it is not unexpected, as the new, white nameplate went up last autumn (see picture), in keeping with others erected at Humberside stations. The blue sign went up in 1978 when this police station replaced the old one in Wrawby Street, adjoining the courthouse. The sign is of no architectural merit and well away from Brigg Conservation Area but somehow its design and white-on-deep-blue lettering harks back to the days of Dixon of Dock Green. Remember watching Jack Warner delivering his trademark salute on the highly-popular and very long-running Saturday evening TV series? People mocked Jack for playing the character well into his 70s, pointing out he'd have been pensioned off long ago. Yet Jack Frost (Sir David Jason) reached similar vintage without coming in for the same amount of stick (truncheon?).
The new white signage at our station on Barnard Avenue reflects the 21st century image of Humberside Police; The Thin Blue Sign harks back to an earlier era - gone but certainly not forgotten by many of us.
Evening All
The police station at Barton still has the traditional blue 'Police' lamp - I've seen it many a-time on the occasions when I been escorted into the nick by a number of heafty bobbies!!
ReplyDeleteApart from the age bit, Scribs, Dixon and Frost have another connection............both were shot.
ReplyDeleteIn the film, 'The Blue Lamp' - PC Dixon of Dock Green (must have been in the East Eand) was shot and killed - only to make a miraculous recovery to play the same character in the black and white BBC tv's 1950'S series of the same name.
Jack Frost was shot after tackling a gunman and was awarded the George Cross.
It wasn't quite, 'Evening All', Scribs......before he gave his usual dramatised soliloquy at the start, he would say, 'Good Evening, All'........at the end he concluded with a smart salute.
Why don't you give me a salute, Nige, insteasd of grimacing?
I know 'Dixon of DG' was televised well into the 60's...but during that era, 'Z-Cars' (was it on ITV?) started to appear.
But there was another tv series that ran alongside Dixon in thd 50's and 60's.....something of Scotland Yard - it involved police detectives charging about in large black police cars with bells ringing and zooming in and out of the old Scotland Yard gates.
Does anyone have a clearer picture of the title?
Thinking about it, Scribs, I think it was just called 'Scotland Yard' - DC Supt Lockhart was the main character........but then there was 'Fabian of the Yard' and a private detective with one arm who whizzed about in a sports car - all in the 50's.
ReplyDeleteTo be a detective then one had to wear a large, heavy coat, wear a trilby and smoke a pipe - leather gloves were optional - and be very seriously stern and go round being very polite to folks.
Clearly you feel there's
ReplyDeleteNO HIDING PLACE
for you, or me, in Brigg, Ken!
Even me mug-shot appeared in the local rag tonight!
ReplyDeleteI think some sneaky guy's been going about with his camera - any idea who that could be, Scribs?
Anyway, Nige, the scuffers* won't catch me, I'm an Untouchable!
....and I think that the secret photographer must be a snout!!!
*ancient Liverpool slang expression of the police.....relates to the practise of being 'scuffed around the ear'.
Seriously, we should be glad that we still have a police station in Brigg. Many across the UK have been closed in towns bigger than ours.
ReplyDeleteI've said it before, Nige, but police stations are often called 'Bridewells' in liverpool.
ReplyDeleteIt relates to ?C17th Bridewell Palace in London which was later used as a prison.....term probably migrated to Liverpool as result of sea-going nature.
It's a bit like 'barm cake' or 'balm cake' - found in areas of Lancashire, North West England. In wider northern England, a similar bread roll would be known instead as a "breadbun", "breadcake", "bap", "cob" (an East Midland term) or even (in the enlarged form of Tyneside) a "stotty".
My son-in-law is a true Scouser, Ken. I've never tasted the local dish behind the nickname. Gather it's something with Scandinavian roots. Hope I like it as much as the "peaz pudn" put before me while covering a cricket match in N'wcas'l years ago. Funny colour - great taste.
ReplyDeleteScouse
ReplyDeleteBelieved to originate from Scandanavian 'Lobscouse' stew - basic seafaring meal.
700 g mutton (stew steak), cubed
1 pinches salt and black pepper
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, cut into 1cm pieces
800 ml beef stock
1 bay leaves
225 g potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 large carrots, cut into 1.5cm cubes
850 cl of water (wine)
(2 cloves of garlic - finely chopped)
A bottle of Pickled Cabbage
Method
1. Season the mutton (beef) with salt and pepper, and coat with flour.
2. Heat a large saucepan over a medium heat and pour in the olive oil. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes, before stirring in the mutton (beef) and (garlic). Seal the meat on both sides - about 1 minute.
3. Pour in the water (wine) and reduce by half - about 5-8 minutes. Add the (beef stock) and bay leaf and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Tip in the potatoes and carrots, and continue to simmer gently for another hour. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
5. Serve the scouse steaming hot in bowls and top with a good dollop of pickled cabbage.
Notes: Scouse should have a thin, repeat thinish gravy sauce.
Traditional scouse is made from cheap mutton and is a very simple, but tasty dish.
If you want Posh Scouse add the ingredients shown in brackets - but this is doing a dis-service to real scouse.
Must be eaten with pickled cabbage - roll (and butter) for scraping bowl usually needed.
Cooked properly, which is an art, it has a distinctive taste.