Any time you're Lambeth way,
Any evening, any day,
You'll find us all
Doin' the Lambeth Walk. Oi!
Every little Lambeth gal,
With her little Lambeth pal,
You'll find 'em all
Doin' the Lambeth Walk. Oi!
'Waterloo Road', http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037447/ set in 1944 and starring John Mills, is the story of soldier Jim Colter (John Mills) who, on hearing rumours about his wife and local bad boy Ted Pervis (Stewart Granger) goes AWOL from his regiment to sort it all out. The star for me was, as ever, London. Although bombed, grey, smokey and grim there were parts that I recognised from my childhood. I have no idea if they filmed some of it in Lambeth Walk but it was eerily familiar. I lived in Lambeth Walk as a child and the bombsites, the grey terraced houses, even the market with 'J Sainsburys' in the background all looked as I remembered it. My Aunt Nell worked in that Sainsburys behind the cheese counter. I was run over by a car down that market, which in 1965 was bad luck, considering how few cars there were on the road in those days. I lost the half a crown I had just been given (and was rushing to the sweetshop to spend) when I was hit by this car. It was going slowly -on account of it being a busy market - but the driver took me and my mum straight to St Thomas' Hospital. In the film the local GP (Alastair Sim)) has his surgery down the market and it looked exactly like our family doctors in Lambeth Walk. The film deals with the problem of being apart from your partner for extended periods of time. From the difficulties faced by Fred and Ruby (Ruby, played by the wonderful Alison Leggatt) who pass in the night, thanks to incompatible shifts and Jim and Tillie who have to deal with the far greater trauma of being separated for months at a time, with no guarantee that Jim will ever return, let alone the prospect of their own home and family. The film isn't a weepie, not like Waterloo Bridge, which is a real tear jerker, but I was glad of that. Having cried uncontrollably the other night at the end of 'The Pursuit of Happiness' I had vowed to only watch comedies from now on.
It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what. How did he know that? Christopher Gardner
Out of curiosity and being bored from staying in bed but too weak to get up I later Googled 'Waterloo Bridge'. It mentioned something called a Billiken, a cuteish, if somewhat cheeky looking lucky charm.
Wiki:
The Billiken was a charm doll created by an American art teacher and illustrator, Ms. Florence Pretz of St. Louis, Missouri, who is said to have seen the mysterious figure in a dream.[1] In 1908 she patented the Billiken who was elf-like with pointed ears, a mischievous smile, and a tuft of hair on his pointed head. His arms were short and he was generally sitting with his legs stretched out in front of him. One point on Billiken luck: To buy a Billiken gives the purchaser luck, but to have one given to you is better luck.[2] The Billiken was auspiciously named after the newly elected President of the United States, William Howard Taft.[verification needed] (The manufacturer of the dolls, Horsman Dolls, Inc., had earlier enjoyed success with the Teddy bear: a toy named after the previous president, Theodore Roosevelt.) The Billiken was one of the first copyrighted dolls and the first likenesses of the Billiken, banks and statues, were produced in 1909. After a few brief years of popularity, like many other fad toys, the Billiken faded into obscurity. The Billiken should not be confused with baby-like Kewpie figures that debuted in the December 1909 Ladies' Home Journal. The Billiken made its Japanese debut in 1908. A statue was installed in the uppermost level of the original Tsutenkaku Tower as it was opened to the public in 1912. When the nearby Luna Park was closed in 1925, the tower's Billiken statue disappeared. In 1980, a replacement statue made its appearance in a new Tsutenkaku Tower that was built in 1956. It was elevated to almost god-like status and became so popular that he was considered to be another god of luck in addition to the traditional seven Japanese gods of luck.
Seven Gods of Good Luck
Ebisu 恵比須
God of Fishermen, Good Fortune, Commerce, and Honest Labour.
Virtue = Candor
Fair Dealing. Popular among fishing folk, sailors, and people in the food industry.
Daikokuten 大黒天
God of Earth, Agriculture, Farmers, Wealth, Prosperity, Flood Control, The Kitchen.
Virtue = Fortune
Popular among farmers, agricultural businesses, & traders.
Benzaiten 弁財天
Goddess of Music, Fine Arts, Beauty, Eloquence, and Literature.
Virtue = Amiability
Only female among the seven. Popular among artists, musicians, and writers.
Hotei 布袋
God of Contentment and Happiness.
Virtue = Magnanimity
known as the Laughing Buddha; rubbing his stomach is said to bring good luck;
Popular among bartenders and all classes of people. Among the seven, the best known outside Japan.
Fukurokuju 福禄寿
God of Wealth, Happiness, Longevity, Virility, and Fertility.
Virtue = Popularity
Popular among watchmakers, athletes, others.
Jurōjin 寿老人
God of Wisdom & Longevity.
Virtue = Longevity.
Popular among teachers, professors, and scientists.
Bishamonten 毘沙門天
God of Treasure, Bringer of Wealth, Defender of the Nation, Scourge of Evil Doers, Healer of Illness.
Virtue = Dignity
Popular among soldiers, doctors, and certain Buddhist monasteries; the only member of the Shitenno worshipped independently.
Santen 三天
In Japan, there is another goddess (of Hindu origin) named Marishiten who is revered as a tutelary deity of the warrior class. In later centuries, she was worshipped as a goddess of wealth and prosperity among merchants. She was counted along with Daikokuten 大黒天 and Benzaiten 弁財天 as one of a trio of "three deities" (Santen 三天) invoked for good fortune during the Edo period. Marishiten is a member of the TENBU group, but her worship has been largely supplanted by Benzaiten.
Sanmen Daikoku
三面大黒天
In Japan’s Muromachi Era (1392-1568), an esoteric three-headed form of Daikokuten emerged that combined the head’s of Daikokuten, Benzaiten, and Bishamonten. All three are members of the Seven Lucky Gods. This 3-headed version of Daikokuten is is believed to protect the Three Buddhist Treasures (the Buddha, the law, and the community of followers). This iconography is very similar to another kitchen deity named Kōjin-sama. As the three-headed deity, Sanmen Daikoku awards followers with wealth and virtue.
It is strange how a link to 'Waterloo Bridge' brought me back to the virtues. Maybe it is a sign? Of what I don't know? To be more virtuous?
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