The world of British television off and on the screen, as it was sixty years ago.

Who is Sylvia?

The day’s proceedings on BBC Television are opened at 3pm by For Women, an hour-long magazine programme intended for just over 50% of the population. As part of this, Andrea Troubridge introduces “Family Tree” in which Evelyn Gibbs continued to trace Katharine Sibbring’s genealogy; “Bookshelf”, which allows Peter Forster to recommend new books; Kwok, who demonstrates the traditional method of “Chinese Painting”; Honor Balfour, who introduces four new Members of Parliament in “New M.P.s” and lastly “Music”, fronted by Beatrix Clare. Rosemary Hill is the producer.

Children’s TV was blessed with Shaun Sutton’s The Gordon Honour in which the ownership of a candlestick causes much dispute between the Gordon family (in effect, the goodies here) and the Fitzwilliam family (boo! hiss!) across a number of centuries. Many actors of the actors play multiple roles as members of different generations of the same family. Among those taking part were Bruce Gordon and Paul Whitsun-Jones (as Gordons) Barry Letts and Colin Douglas (as Fitzwilliams) and Sheila Shand Gibbs as a variety of wenches, maids etc.

Prolific translators Helen and Harley Granville-Barker were responsible for the English version of the evening’s play: Gregorio Martinez Sierra‘s comedy The Romantic Young Lady starring Sylvia Syms as Rosario and Tony Britton as ‘The Apparition’. Syms had first appeared on television just a month ago in one of Lester Powell’s Terminus plays, so she seems to be doing rather well.

None of the newspapers have anything worthwhile today, so that’s your lot.

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