Another Day, Another Commercial Break

Yeah, it's another one of those days when I just can't think of anything to post: I'm afraid that it is just one of those weeks, I'm on leave from the end of tomorrow for a week and a half and, right now, that's all I can think about.  Needless to say, work is piling on as much crap as they can in the three days I'm working this week, in another concerted effort to push my stress levels up.  This situation really is getting very tiresome, but I'm getting better at just responding with a point blank 'No' these days to expectations that I'm going to do unpaid overtime and/or put myself at risk.  The continued closure of my local pub is also making me restless - I just can't settle at any alternatives.  None of them feel comfortable.

Anyway, to get back to the point, as ever in these situations, instead of a proper post, I present a selection of old TV ads.  This time from 1976.  A year when print media still advertised on TV.  The Daily Mirror ad is fascinating, spotlighting dear old Marje Proops, agony aunt extraordinaire.  These were the days when middle aged ladies like her and Claire Rayner regularly dispensed advice on sex and relationships from the pages of daily newspapers. Reading those problem pages was always a secret thrill for me as a kid - all that talk about sex in a non-pornograhic context was quite an eye-opener - as it was for just about every other young lad of my age.  Once again 'old tech' is much in evidence with the newspaper's 'Record club' - vinyl LPs?  Sold in W H Smiths?  The fact that I remember a time when Smiths sold records as well as stationary and books makes me feel positively ancient.

As for Chrysler - it seems incomprehensible that the Alpine was ever 'Car of the Year'.  The bundling together of the old Rootes Group car marques (including Hillman, Humber and Singer) under the brand name of their parent company, Chrysler, was a last ditch attempt to compete with Ford and Vauxhall, brands which dominated the UK car market.  Unfortunately, the change of name couldn't disguise the fact that they were peddling increasingly antiquated models like the Hunter and the Avenger, whch just couldn't compete with the likes of the Ford Escort or Vauxhall Cavalier.   As I recall, it didn't end well, with the UK government having to bail out Chrysler's UK arm, which was renamed Talbot before being sold to Peugeot.  As for Dutch Pride Butter, well, that would definitely be banned now by the Brextremists.  Night Nurse is, of course, still going and is, apparently, the cold remedy of choice for alcoholics.  The late Keith Chegwin, I seem to recall, once admitted to having a Night Nurse addiction which severely drained his finances.  One wonders if he had ever heard of vodka - it is both cheaper and more alcoholic.  And let's not forget that women now shape their own futures: by reading Women's Own, apparently.  Then there's one of those dog food ads where a breeder speaks so enthusiastically about the product you can't help but suspect that he eats it himself.  Finally, we have that Gnu who likes Typhoo - what can one say about that?