The Tread Mill. Memories of Sir Johnny Dankworth

Feeling my age this afternoon. In the morning we had to carve out space to store my new tread mill. For all my protestation that it would fit under the stairs I knew in reality it would not. We live in a tiny modern cottage. In fact many an old cottage would have more room than our house. But I wanted a tread mill with the big computer board so I could read it easily – and I can.
Now the cupboard under the stairs which lead off from our living room, had its wall and door ripped off as soon after we moved in. Making the room more spacious we called it. We then proceeded to fill it with everything we could get in there and more. Shelving, filing cabinets, big plastic boxes and stationary folders. Plus the rubbish. At one time our whole office and computer desk was in there.
Today it had to all come out, be sorted, (Stuff thrown away) new fittings made and finally the great lumbering beast of the tread mill wheeled in. It fits with in and inch of its life and the roller blind, fitted sometime ago to hide the rubbish from the sight of visitors, was pulled down with success. The only thing I can say is that had we left the wall and doors on there would have been no way we could have got the tread mill in there!

Sir Johnny Dankworth

I can’t say I was all that fond of his music, not being a jazz lover, but he will be a sad loss to the world of British music. I have only one memory of him. In about 1955 or so I was in the Air Force stationed in Wales. We all went on a night out to a big dance hall in Porthcawl. Johnny Dankworth’s band was there in the days of ‘The Big Bands’. He had a hit at the time entitled ‘Three Blind Mice’. The only other thing I remember was Cleo Lane had started in 1951singing with the band. We thought her a bit odd as she was not white and they had cut her curly hair so short she looked almost bald. She wore a neon pink full skirted dress, short not long. We didn’t think much of her and never expected her to turn into the famous songtress she did let alone marry Dankworth. But she did both and I am sure that this is a very sad weekend for her and her family. I offer my deepest sympathy.