Last week I celebrated my 75th birthday and received an unusually large number of birthday cards no doubt because of the milestone achievement. Two of them, including one from my wife, were particularly interesting as they did not just say “Happy 75th birthday” but also referred to the fact that I was born in 1950. First it is obvious that the shelf life of such a card would be relatively short. Both cards then listed several interesting facts to do with things that happened in 1950, the year of my birth. There is some overlap between the two cards but the two taken together I found really quite fascinating and I will use this blog to pass some of these on to my readers.

In 1950 the global population was 2,499,322,157, that is close to 2.5 billion. It has trebled since then which is remarkable. 1950 was for those who care about these things the Chinese Year of the Tiger and I've always actually found that quite motivating. Among some other random facts, in 1950 the Eagle comic was first published and issue one sold approximately 900,000 copies. The pilot episode of the long-standing soap opera The Archers was broadcast on BBC Radio and that is another thing that has lasted. Of course, back then there was only one TV channel. Similarly the Kenwood Chef Food Mixer was launched and that has also lasted to the present day. The children's programme Andy Pandy was first aired on BBC television and I can certainly remember that if not from that first episode but from a few years later.

There were general elections both in the UK and the USA. In the UK it was the first to be held after a full term of a majority Labour government. The general election was held on Thursday 23 February 1950, and was also the first to be held following the abolition of plural voting and university constituencies. The government's majority over the Conservative opposition shrank dramatically, and Labour was returned to power but with an overall majority significantly reduced from 146 to just 5. There was a sizeable swing towards the Conservatives, who gained 90 seats.  The BBC held its first election results programme which given the closeness would have made fascinating viewing. Labour called another general election the following year, which the Conservative Party won, returning Churchill to government after six years in opposition.
In the US Elections were held on November 7, 1950, and elected the members of the 82nd United States Congress. The election took place during the Korean War, during Democratic President Harry S. Truman's second (only full) term. The Democrats lost twenty-eight seats to the Republican Party in the House of Representatives. The Democrats also lost five seats in the U.S. Senate to the Republicans.^[2] The defeat of the Labor Party congressman Vito Marcantonio left third parties without representation in Congress for the first time since 1908.

Among those born like me in 1950 included Judy Walters the actress, Richard Branson the entrepreneur, Agnetha Fältskog the singer and songwriter with ABBA, Jeremy Paxman the television presenter, Peter Gabriel the singer and songwriter, Susan George the actress, Gabriel Byrne the actor. Also born that year included Stevie Wonder, Bill Murray and Tom Petty.

Among the hit songs of 1950 was Mona Lisa by Nat King Cole. The Third Man theme by Anton Karas and The Tennessee Waltz by Patti Page. Popular songs from that year also included Bewitched by Doris Day, Dear Hearts and Gentle People by Bing Crosby. My Foolish Heart by Steve Conway, Silver Dollar by Eve Young and Music! Music! Music! by Teresa Brewer.

Popular books that were published in 1950 included The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis, The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie, I Robot by Isaac Asimov, and A Town Like Alice by Neville Shute. Some of the top movies in 1950 included Samson and Delilah, directed by Cecil B. de Mille, starring Hedy Lamarr and Victor Mature, King Solomon's Mines starring Cedric Hardwicke and Paul Robeson, Annie Get Your Gun with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and starring Betty Hutton and Howard Keel , Cheaper by the Dozen starring Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy, Cinderella produced by Walt Disney, Born Yesterday directed by George Cukor and starring William Holden and Judy Holliday who won the Oscar,  and Sunset Boulevard directed by Billy Wilder and starring Gloria Swanson and William Holden. In the world of technology the Aircall Corporation marketed the first radio pager. Triumph created a 650CC engine for the Triumph Thunderbird which was ridden by Marlon Brando in the film The Wild One. New cars that were launched that year included the Rover P4, the 1950 MG TD/TF and the Morris Minor which had a very long life.

In Sport the Commonwealth Games were held in Auckland, New Zealand. Back then they were called the British Empire Games. In golf the US Open was won by Ben Hogan and the Open Championship by Bobby Locke. The FIFA World Cup football tournament was held in Brazil but won by Uruguay. England playing in their first World Cup tournament suffered an embarrassing defeat to the United States. The first Grand Prix was held at Silverstone. The Wimbledon singles champions were Budge Patty and Louise Brough.

Here are a selection of average costs:

House - £1891
Car £ 395
Salary £385 p.a.
Loaf of bread 5 1/2d (equal in today's money to 1.8p)
Petrol was 6 shillings per gallon (30P in today's money)
A postage stamp, and of course there was only one class, cost 2 1/2 D or 1P in today's money.
A pint of beer was one shilling and 4D or about 7 P.

 I don't know what the official rate of inflation is when you think about how these costs have gone up so alarmingly over 75 years but I suspect it's much higher than what is officially reported just as it is today. We are told officially inflation is about 2 or 3% but for my average basket of goods it is much higher. Olive oil which may not appear in the normal basket of goods is up 40% over the last year or two. If you go to stay in a hotel it's more than double the price of two or three years ago. If you go out for dinner it's at least double the price, maybe treble the price of what it was two or three years ago. If you go to a show in the West End you'll be lucky if you get any seat for less than £100. Not that long ago it would have been £30 or £40.