Spoken Word

Miss Dorothy Blake was born in Barton Manor on the Osborne estate on the Isle of Wight in November 1886. Her father had recently been appointed agent to the estate and, in this capacity, was responsible for arranging Queen Victoria's daily tours of the grounds when she was in residence. These recordings were made in 1965 when Miss Blake was nearly 80 and tell of the ageing Queen's life at Osborne. Regular Royal visitors at this time were the Duke and Duchess of Connaught and their children, Prince Henry of Battenburg and his wife Princess Beatrice (who was Queen Victoria's youngest daughter) with their children Prince Alexander - who was born within a fortnight of Miss Blake - Princess Ena (Victoria Eugenie 1887 - 1969), Prince Leopold and baby Prince Morris. The interview is full of domestic detail and an insight into the life of the Victorian royal family from a perspective not recorded in the history books.

Category: Spoken Word For more information please click on the disc cover or catalogue number

	CD-SDL 222 Cotswold Characters Stories and reminiscences of country life in the Cotswold Hills in the Early 20th Century.
	CD-SDL 247 Cotswold Craftsmen Recollections of traditional country crafts by some of the last exponents. An important social document of the trades and crafts that once formed a central role in rural life.
	CD-SDL 255 Isambard Kingdom Brunel with Old Pete and John Christie Bristolese humour and dialect from BBC Radio Bristol veteran Pete Lawrence with some of his stories set to music and sung by John Christie
	CD-SDL 267 Cotswold Voices This album features the dialect of the Gloucestershire Cotswolds with recollections, poetry and humour connected with days long past. The real stars are George and Dorcas Juggins who were 'famous' in the Stroud valleys and remembered by many people for their unique slant on life.
	CD-SDL 268 Cotswold Ballads The popular Cotswold poetry of Frank Mansell read by him with some set to music and sung by Peter Tatham and Celia Carroll
	CD-SDL 284 Steam and Harness Gloucestershire Country Life Series Steam and Harness, Recollections of Power & Transport on the Cotswolds
	CD-SDL 285 Memories Of Osborne Miss Dorothy Blake was born in Barton Manor on the Osborne estate on the Isle of Wight in November 1886. Her father had recently been appointed agent to the estate and, in this capacity, was responsible for arranging Queen Victoria's daily tours of the grounds when she was in residence. These recordings were made in 1965 when Miss Blake was nearly 80 and tell of the ageing Queen's life at Osborne. Regular Royal visitors at this time were the Duke and Duchess of Connaught and their children, Prince Henry of Battenburg and his wife Princess Beatrice (who was Queen Victoria's youngest daughter) with their children Prince Alexander - who was born within a fortnight of Miss Blake - Princess Ena (Victoria Eugenie 1887 - 1969), Prince Leopold and baby Prince Morris. The interview is full of domestic detail and an insight into the life of the Victorian royal family from a perspective not recorded in the history books.
	CD-SDL 294 Parlour Poetry Kenneth Williams Comic, Patriotic and Improving Verse from the Victorian Age
	CD-SDL 300 While I Work I Whistle Songs and Humour of the Cotswolds including Granny's Old Armchair, When I Took My Nance To Church, Johnny Ochre, Farmer Giles, To Be A Farmer's Boy, While I Work I Whistle, When Jones Ale Was New and plenty of old rural jokes and amusing anecdotes.
	CD-SDL 301 Down To Earth Mrs. Elliot was the eldest girl of a family of sixteen. Her vivid descriptions of the life of a poor rural family in the late 19th century are both fascinating and revealing. This kind of reminiscence rarely makes it into the history books and the descriptions are made all the more poignant by Mrs Elliot's gentle delivery.
	CD-SDL 309 Kilvert's Diary Timothy Davies Readings from the fascinating and illuminating diary of the Rev. Francis Kilvert
	CD-SDL 316 Forest Talk A memorable evening of music, memories and laughter from the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire with Winifred Foley, Harry Beddington, Keith Morgan and Dick Brice
	CD-SDL 322 Geoffrey Woodruff Entertains Geoffrey Woodruff is an expert on the Bristol dialect and his exposition on this subject made him a household name in the City and beyond. His two original 7" records are now combined and heard on CD for the first time.
	CD-SDL 385 The Musical Life Of Samuel Pepys A real slice of history in which Richard Wistreich reads extracts from the Diary relating to Pepys' musical experiences and sings some of Pepys' favourite songs including: Arise, arise, ye subterranean winds, Lucifero, Beauty retire, Cloris Yielding, Hero's Complaint, Inconstancy return'd, Down to the very centre of the earth.
	CD-SDL 425 English Customs and Traditions Many of these customs go back to the dawn of time and their meaning is often mysterious but somehow are as relevant today and attract a great deal of interest
	CD-SDL 434 Gloucestershire Characters Recollections from the Forest of Dean, Severn Vale and high Cotswold
	CD-SDL 435 George Swinford of Filkins George Swinford was about 75 years of age when recorded in 1962. His family had lived in Filkins for several generations and, like his father, he worked as a mason. His recollections are interesting not only as a social history document of rural life but also due to his unusual associations with famous men of the day. In 1925 he went to work as estate manager for Sir Stafford Krips whom he came to know well and through him frequently met and talked with prime movers in the early Labour Party.; ; Pandit Nehru also visited him at his house when staying in the Krips household. George Swinford was always intrigued by old artifacts dug up whilst doing building work and this culminated in Sir Stafford, who always took a close interest in his finds, buying a property for George Swinford to set up as a folk museum.
	CD-SDL 436 Pleasures and Treasures The Music Includes world music, traditional British music, early classical music on original instruments, novelty numbers, jazz, music hall, musical boxes, guitar quartets, saxophone quartet, brass group, viol consorts, choral music and chant, handbells and church bells, poetry and readings - from mediaeval times to the present day. This double album forms part of Saydisc’s 50th Anniversary celebration releases and is drawn from recordings made over the years from mono open reel recording to high quality stereo digital.
	CD-SDL 441 South Moon Riding [Book & CD] In addition to full printed texts and many beautiful photos, Gef Lucena reads his own poems on the included CD. These 32 poems on various subjects have been highly praised by other poets, musicians, artists, historians and, in particular, wildlife experts. ‘Inspirational’, ‘very accessible and evocative’, ‘delightful and beautifully produced’, ‘I am absolutely bowled over, it is such a delightful compilation’, ‘I `felt` every line, it is inspirational, the colours… well, everything that is written, beautiful. I cannot say more, It means so much inwardly’, ‘I've already been recommending it to friends’. These are just some of the comments received on pre-publication copies sold.
	CD-SDL 444 The Funny Side of Saydisc This anthology of wit and humour has been drawn from Saydisc’s vast archives going back over 50 years. Here is nearly 80 minutes of a wide variety of humour from our catalogue created since 1965 and exploring material from Victorian times to the present day. We hope it provides amusement and even inspiration. It is a window into our vast array of musical and non-musical recordings from all corners of the world.
	CD-SDL 445 Victoriana - Music, Verse & Recollections from the Time of Queen Victoria Music, Verse and recollections from the time of Queen Victoria from Kenneth Williams, Miss Dorothy Blake's personal account of life with the Queen at Osborne House, The Broadside Band, Richard Burnett and many more with a detailed 32 page booklet with numerous quotations from Queen Victoria's journals, Mendelssohn letter and other historical background information.