CHUMP SEES THE BLACK AND WHITE MINSTRELS! — 1967-1968: Diary of a Posh Schoolgirl

Apr 25

Apr 25 CHUMP SEES THE BLACK AND WHITE MINSTRELS!

1960s Media

T U E S D A Y, 2 5 A P R I L

Skinny Alison has also decided not to go on the cruise - same reasons as Anya and me. We had an argument with Janet Brown on it - she is going. Ghastly creature.

At lunch time us three went along to the Bi-Lab for the meeting on Belgium given by HEN!!! It was just as hilarious as we hoped it would be: her French accent!! She moves like a chicken and she adds an 'e' onto the end of every word. On top of that, she talks to us as though we were five-year-olds - 'jeudi' is pronounced 'je dis'! The film was of Bruges and absolutely gorgeous. I'd adore to go there.

Mrs Gilpin fetched Chumpy after school and they went up to London to see the Black and White Minstrels! She came back at quarter to 10, had a fab time.

Spent evening in my room because there was the most FAB interview with Michel Polnareff on Europe No. 1. - I even rang up Anya to tell her to listen. Oh, he is nice, he really is. His laugh is like a schoolgirl's giggle. It’s very funny to see what I wrote on Dec 6th last year when I saw pictures of him for the first time - “Poor Michel Polnareff is such a weed, he’s got long blond hair and looks like a girl!”

Got a stitch in the evening on the right-hand side.

“The Black and White Minstrel Show”

From 1958 to 1978, the Black and White Minstrels enjoyed a Saturday evening prime time slot. The male 'Mitchell Minstrels' wore black make-up, with eyes and mouths ringed in white. The female 'Toppers' did not have to black up (but did have to wear mountains of crimplene). By 1964 this BBC show had an audience of 21 million. It was the first TV programme to transfer successfully to the stage, and was one of the first to be shown in colour.

Accusations of racism were eventually levelled, but a 'whiteface' version failed and The Black and White Minstrel Show returned. Finally, in 1978, it gave up the ghost. My memories of the TV show are dim. The blacking-up seemed unremarkable at the time; this was still the era of the 'golliwog'.