http://www.whatmatters.tv/

This Thanksgiving finds many families telling family stories at the dinner table.  Some stories are tall tales and others are rich chapters of extraordinary experience.  On this episode of What Matters we have two incredible and insprirational stories to share with you.

At age 6, Ray Evans’ escape wasn’t by his own choice.  In 1933, Nazi Germany was targeting his native country of Britain.  He shares this story in his book, “Before The Last All Clear,” of how he was forced away from his family until he was 12 years old.  

At age 17, Aniko Tottossy escaped her native home of Hungary during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. She shares her story of how she fled to America while on the Hungarian Womens’ National Basketball Team. 

 Cathy Lewis hosts What Matters

November 27th at 8:30 p.m. on WHRO-TV 15 

Watch for rebroadcasts during the week 

My brothers and I spent many an evening staring at those little black and white television sets in the shop windows – sometimes right up until ten o’clock at night when programming closed down for the night with a shot of the “BBC Clock” [it had style all of its own and can still be seen within the BBC logo even today] and they played God Save the Queen before signing off for the night. Although we couldn’t tell that at the time because we were watching from outside the shop, so it was all just a bit like the silent movie days for us.

Initially there was only one channel – the BBC [British Broadcasting Corporation] whose first broadcast was from the House of Commons in 1950 and later that year a British Children’s staple that you may remember [if not check out the link – as my granddaughter informed me it’s “hysterically lame”] Andy Pandy also made his debut. 

Andy Pandy

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjK0ION3ZQk

Andy Pandy was the very first BBC programme for toddlers and was centered around a wooden puppet that was made by a friend of the show’s producer. Andy Pandy ran uninterrupted until 1969 but then returned again with updated versions in the both the 1970’s and 2000’s.

Bill & Ben Flower Pot Men

Quick to latch onto a good thing when they saw it, the creators of Andy Pandy went on to introduce another children’s show Bill and Ben The Flowerpot Men. With funny voices that appealed to children [especially mine later on in the 60’s] there was an outcry from concerned parents about the lack of “educational English”. Compared to me and some of my friends growing up, Bill and Ben sometimes sounded quite eloquent!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOv2cUv4gcU&feature=related

The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was televised in 1953 – many a front parlor was packed that day I can assure you, as neighbors crammed into any home with a TV set to watch the historic event. This was the first time a TV broadcast garnered a bigger audience than radio, but it is widely recognized as a milestone marking the time when television became ingrained in the British consciousness. 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btDd5qDj7BA  

1960 was a big year for many reasons, President Kennedy was elected in America, Coronation Street, England’s longest running Soap Opera  [ still running today with its original theme tune and now even boasts online updates for ex-patriots who just can’t live without the latest “Corrie” updates] began broadcasting. The Queens Christmas broadcast was pre-recorded at Sandringham for the very first time.

The launch of ITV [Independent TeleVision] ended the BBC’s monopoly on the telly in September 1955. Transmitting from Croydon in Surrey the schedule featured regional and network shows but was also allowed to show commercials, a first for British television at the time.

As ITV expanded its reach in 1961 we were introduced to the very first Spy-fi show The Avengers. Patrick McNee seared his character John Steed into the public conscious but it was was four more years before Diana Rigg introduced us to the leather clad Emma Peel and it would be 1969 before Steed would retire his “brolly” and bowler for the last time, only to be resurrected for the big screen later on.

As ITV was growing and expanding into new regions, the BBC was also adding to its reach introducing their second channel BBC Two in 1964. Although the opening night was wrecked by a huge power failure that caused chaos in London and actually took down television center. It would be the next day before normal service would resume, so the first proper broadcast on BBC Two was actually the children’s program Play School.

Other major milestones were Top of the Pops which showed “young people” dancing and screaming and was presented by a chap [Jimmy Saville] with a very strange haircut, chomping on a cigar and I never understood why he always wore a track suit. The show was shot live and in its first week featured the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Dusty Springfield and the Hollies. NO wonder it became the springboard for many a musical career and I dare say the catalyst for the whole British Invasion of the early sixties here in America.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/totp/artists/b/beatles_the/clips/i_feel_fine.shtml

One of my personal favorites was Match of the Day, a weekly programme where they showed a full length football match and often featured my home town team Liverpool, although to be honest my brothers and I would watch pretty much anything they showed as long as it was football!

There continued to be many landmark miniseries produced as television became a fixture in the corner of almost every living room and the 1970’s was definitely the decade of the television miniseries at least in the UK. As a nation, we graduated quite quickly to color telly, that made a world of difference and I do remember finding my kids [and a bunch of others] sitting on the wall outside one neighborhood house where they had the first “color telly” in the “close”. They were all sitting watching through the window, much as my brothers and I had done years before, except we were outside a store, these kids were gawping through the window. I did wonder why the people left their curtains open though – it was almost as if they were showing off with their new color telly.

The 80’s started off with a bang when Dallas hit the screens and we all wondered “who shot JR?”. The Royal Wedding of Charles and Diana had a worldwide audience of 750 million elsewhere and a gaggle of women including my wife, daughter and several neighbors in our living room – all watching and commenting [on everyone’s hats, dresses etc] over tea and crumpets as if they were actually invited and there in person.

Coverage of the Royal Wedding included the first ever Buckingham Palace balcony kiss!

Amazingly it was 1982 before ITV launched Channel 4, although I remember two very differing opinions of the programming – I heard it was a bit risqué and then also that it was a bit “highbrow” too. Being a bit highbrow was also a common complaint about programming for BBC2 as well, although I quite enjoyed the many documentaries on cheese and sheepherding.

Breakfast TV arrived in Britain in 1983 although I have to admit I never really became a big fan of it myself, preferring the radio to accompany me with my cornflakes and toast. I suppose such high building and infrastructure density must have precluded Cable TV from really getting a hold as it had in America, but we finally got satellite TV in 1989 with the introduction of Sky TV. British Satellite Broadcasting, the government backed supposed competitor for Sky launched in 1990, but barely lasted six months before being swallowed up by the far more successful Sky system.

As the age of television  matured there were fewer and fewer firsts but the 90’s saw a few landmark moments such as Margaret Thatcher’s tearful farewell form the House of Commons, Channel 4 entered the breakfast TV market and we also had the beginning of Good Morning TV which has really become a staple in many European households. The shopping channel started in 1993 and 1997 saw the launch of the BBC’s first 24 hour news and the launch of the first new TV channel in 15 years Channel 5. ITV fought back with the launch of its first new channel since its own launch in 1955 with the introduction of ITV2 showing soaps, sports and quiz shows aimed at a younger audience – consequently I never really watched it much! The 90’s really went out with a TV bang [trust me I’m joking] by experimental broadcasts from Parliament. Finally we could all see what our honorable representatives were up to as they snored through endless political rhetoric – but every now and then things would liven up with a good argument as can be seen even in America when CSPAN sometimes shows coverage of Prime Minister’s Question Time – a British curiosity I find more difficult to explain to my friends here than Cricket.

My granddaughter was horrified as a young teen visiting family in England when she discovered there were still only 5 channels, unless you had cable or “Sky TV” which apparently many of the family members she was visiting with did not. Her main complaint was that there was nothing on, and when there was, it was mostly boring. She did discover Top Gear and the British version of The Office though which she found hilariously funny. I am happy to say she has an appreciation for most good Brit telly and humor such as Black Adder, Monty Python and most recently Eddie Izzard in particular. She did also come back with a proper understanding of why I still use the phrase “what’s on the other side” meaning the other channel – as she now knows, for a long time in England there were only two to choose from.

Back to the 50’s though, because that’s really where all this started and what I really wanted to tell you about. The first people in our street to have a television in their home were the Benson family. No matter what electric appliance or gadget came out, Mrs (bragging) Benson would just have to be the first in the neighborhood to have one. It didn’t matter if she was behind with her rent [which according to the street gossip, she always was] she just had to have that shiny new toaster or food mixer. In fact she was the very first person in our street to own a fridge, and of course she made sure everyone knew it even if it meant watching the telly in the front parlor with the lights off and the curtains open! It was an unwritten rule that only braggarts and show offs sat in their homes with the curtains open for all to see in. As soon as the light started to fade, which could be as early as 3:30 or 4:00 pm in the winter time, it was someone’s job to go around and close the curtains BEFORE turning on any of the lights – I’m not sure but maybe it was a holdover from the war and the black outs, but certainly if you left them open you’d be accused of showing off.

The world has come a long way since those days, and in many ways for the better of all of us. It’s quite acceptable not to draw your curtains at night and in fact I have many friends who don’t even have curtains at their windows at all. Yet they don’t need to worry that their neighbors will think they are doing it just to show off whatever new gizmo or gadget they have inside for all to see because their neighbors likely have the same gizmo’s. Either that or their neighbors are too far away to be able to see in – unlike the row houses we grew up living in, where everyone lived right on top of each other, the front doors opened right onto the street and everyone knew everyone else’s business, or at least pretended to and then made up what they didn’t. I do know for sure that I have a much higher standard of living today than my parents ever enjoyed, my kids too and their kids even more so. I think we all can benefit from a quick look over our shoulders, back to the not so distant past, to help us realize, as much as we may collectively want to bemoan the undeniable effects of the current economic crises on our daily lives – we really do still have it incredibly good!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend if you’re in the US or Spring Bank Holiday if you’re in the UK and regardless of where you are in the world remember, it’s good to know where you’re headed, but don’t forget where you’ve come from – it will help you appreciate where you are!

It was a Monday, so I would have been at school in Llanelli, South Wales, completely unaware of the impact that man’s actions would once again have on me personally. News didn’t travel or get reported near as fast in those days, and although the German’s announced his death the following day, the Allied forces and their collective governments would not report the death until they could be ABSOLUTELY sure that it was true.

It would be another full week before they would be able to make a coordinated announcement of Victory in Europe, and finally herald the beginning of the end of WW II. Although it would still be some time before the Japanese surrendered, May 7th was a time for great celebration all over Europe.

Back to the 30th of April though, Hitler had finally married Eva Braun, his long time companion the night before [I suppose today they would say he was the ultimate commitment-phoebe, only bothering to marry her when he knew they were intending to commit suicide the very next day]. They even had a Champagne toast and celebration dinner in the Fuhrerbunker, 50 feet below the Chancellery buildings in Berlin. The Russians were said to be within a few city blocks of the bunker by this time and he must have finally conceded his dreams for a thousand year Reich would collapse around him after only 12 years! He is said to have been determined not to be captured by the allies and so instead he elected to commit suicide.
The events and even the timelines of the day are widely reported, I suppose mostly from the accounts of those who were in the bunker at the time. Apparently after a full day of meetings, farewells [Hitler actually gave his secretaries Cyanide Ampoules as a parting gift] and even a light vegetarian lunch, Hitler and Eva retired to their private quarters about 3:30 in the afternoon. Bormann & Goebbels were waiting in the bunker nearby when they heard a gunshot. They waited a few moments and then entered the room to find the couple sprawled on the sofa, he with a gunshot wound to the head and she having died from swallowing poison. The bodies were carried up to the Chancellery garden, doused with gasoline and burned. The charred remains were repeatedly doused with gasoline and the charred remains were finally dumped in a nearby shell crater and buried.

For two decades there was a lot of mystery, much speculation and conspiracy theories surrounding the deaths. It would be August, 1968 before a report in Time Magazine revealed that “In a book published last week, Lev Bezymenski a former Red army intelligence officer, reveals that the Russians not only found Hitler’s body after taking the bunker but that they also performed an exhaustive autopsy.” The book also said the Russians had initially mistaken another corpse for that of Hitler’s, and had actually initially buried the other two corpses, but unearthed them around May 8th to have a team of forensics experts perform autopsies in a Berlin mortuary. A meticulous comparison of Hitler’s dental records finally convinced them they had found and identified the body of Hitler. Eva’s body was also identified using dental records. Reports later also coming out of Russia, said that the autopsy showed there was evidence of broken glass in his jaw it is generally believed that the glass was from a cyanide capsule. Eva had simply taken the cyanide.

I imagine that day my biggest concern on my way home from school would have been what we would have for dinner. I was finally in a home where I was treated very well with respect and as a member of the family. After six years and six different billets I was actually quite happy with my situation. I was well cared for, well fed and had Ieuan, Des and Gwyneth for company. Although I missed my real brothers and sisters I had finally grown used to the separation and pretty much just concerned myself with typical 12 year old things such as what film would be playing that Saturday at the picture house and as always what my next meal would consist of.

I had no idea as I walked home from school that day, that although Hitler was to my friends and I, pretty much just a hated caricature of a villain, and even though he was many miles away, old Adolf’s actions would have a direct and long term affect on my life YET AGAIN!

So my daughter’s been working on developing this new website and she tells me now we’re going to put a “blog” on there. Well of course I’m sitting here asking her what the heck is a “blog” when it’s at home and what has it got to do with me? She explained that it’s a combination word derived from web and log, and it’s basically what I would have thought of as a sort of diary but you keep it online so other people can read it and comment. I told her I got into big trouble with my sister “our Elsie” for looking at her diary when I was kid, if I’d have put it up somewhere for all to see, like your suggesting I do in a blog,  she’d have killed me for sure! But anyway, she assures me that this is what people do nowadays and so here we are…welcome to my blog. I’m not entirely sure what I will be writing about here but I’ll give it a shot and hope it’s something you find worth reading and checking back for. One thing’s for sure I promise not to be mad because you looked at it.

I thought I might start by sharing some little known facts about me and then maybe share some funny stories I’ve told many friends over the years that I hope will bring you a smile. You know, I’ve always wanted to be a comedian, most of my family kids, grandkids, brothers especially like to say my material is old and repetitive, although I prefer to see it as “well honed”. Anyway, my uncle [Mother’s brother] was a comedian back in the days of vaudeville and I always had a secret hankering to follow in his footsteps. I suppose if I write them down in a “blog” I’ll be able to look back and see if I HAVE told it before – maybe this won’t be so bad after all!

Well I was born in Liverpool, England in 1933, I am married to Lilian now for 52 years and counting, an avid Liverpool FC supporter and in 2005 my first book Before the Last All Clear was published in England. I never thought for a minute I would ever be a published author, most of the things I’ve written over the years would qualify more as graffiti than anything else. Although, I did always like to make up little ditties – you know those four line rhymes that tell a tale, for sure I would never have and still don’t consider myself a “writer”, I am very much a story teller though and that’s what I’ve always been good at and enjoy. So I hope you will come back often to “my blog” and if the stories here make you smile, feel free to share them with your friends and family…

Arc-GW Staff, Trudy Rheinhardt, Lilian & Ray

The Muscarelle Museum hosted author Ray Evans at an event to benefit the Arc of Greater Williamsburg. 

The museum provided a wonderful venue for this VIP event. The evening began with a 30 minute multi media presentation about the British Government’s “Operation Pied Piper”. This incredible program orchestrated the evacuation of over 3 million children from cities and know Luftwaffe targets to the countryside, in an effort to provide safe haven from the bombing raids during World War II. The presentation was followed by a question and answer session with evacuee and author of Before the Last All Clear, Ray Evans and a social reception.

The evening was a great success raising funds for The Arc-GW thanks to the efforts of Arc staff Pamela McGregor, Darla Krupski and Bette-Faye Poythress-King along with the staff and support of the Muscarelle Museum.

The Arc-GW provides programs for adults with intellectual disabilities, while also providing support and respite for their families. The objective of the vent was to raise funds and awareness for the Arc’s Literature and the Arts Class. Please visit their website at www.thearcgw.org to learn more, volunteer or to offer your personal support.

Friday 27th March, Muscarelle Museum http://web.wm.edu/muscarelle/?svr=www on the campus of William & Mary.

Ray with Arc-GW supporter Trudy Rheinhardt who was a child in Austria during the Nazi occupation.

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 Click Here to Play – 3 Minute Trailer

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