News continues from Tanimbla, the little town where Blue Hills was set. David Atherfold of Avalon Beach remembers, “I was only a little fellow when my mother and grandmother would religiously down tools to listen to Blue Hills. I have no memory of the storyline, but I am sure that the beautiful theme music was responsible for my lifelong love of the French Horn. And yes, it is available on YouTube.”
Anne Powter of Dapto says, “My mum used to tell me that in Goulburn in the ’40s, when I was born, no babies were to be born at 1.00 pm at Sister Guthrie’s Maternity Hospital as the midwives would be listening to Blue Hills.” Oh, for the days when sisters were listened to and babies were born when they were told to be, so much simpler than today.
Meanwhile, Peter Sexton of Lindfield has found the source. “On holiday in Samoa recently, the ‘take-out library’ had a 1948 hard cover edition of The Lawsons (the Blue Hills saga family), which I have borrowed.”
Others were, perhaps, less enthusiastic. Dave Pyett, Maroubra, claims, “My uncle worked at the ABC for many years and he told us that the serial was referred to there as ‘rhu [for rhubarb] pills’ because it gave them the same result.”
There are other serials, of course. Judith Campbell of Drummoyne says, “A helpful local assisted our family with directions in the Netherlands in 1989. When we said we were from Australia, they wanted to know the latest developments in Neighbours as the episodes broadcast there were behind Australia. They were astonished that we didn’t watch it.”
C8’s mention on Friday of “Yes What” by noted correspondent and dachshund fancier Nola Tucker brought back memories for Michael Fletcher of Ulsan in Korea, who laments, “I have the tapes of the recordings but alas in this day and age nothing to play them on.”
Other time-consumers include the story by Peter Jeffery of Garran (ACT) that, “My wife’s waters broke during State of Origin on June 16, 1987. Despite being a sensitive new-age guy, I insisted we wait until the end of the game before going to the hospital. Our daughter was born the next day – sadly, she supports Queensland.” That seems a fair revenge to C8.
Don Bain of Port Macquarie would like to finish with, “As a postscript to the South African TV anecdotes, I can attest that sets became available quite some time before programming began. I, for one, spent many an anticipatory session with the test pattern.”
Column8@smh.com.au
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