"Ground floor; Perfumery, stationary and leather goods, wigs and haberdashery, kitchenware and food."
"Going up…"
"First floor; Telephones, gents ready made suits, shirts, suits, ties, hats, underwear, and shoes."
"Going up…"
Are you ‘young' enough to remember the 1970’s?
The famous and brilliant theme tune for "Are you being served?" was one of the first examples that introduced us, as a British population to rap music.
What an amazing bit of trivia!
Rap uses spoken word, or chanted rhyming lyrics in time to a simple beat; or rap.
All the elements performed in the 1970’s are indistinguishable from modern day rap music as we now know it.
And rap music although we think its modern, dates back with school yard chants, clapping games and skipping rope rhymes and actually finds its roots back in the 16th Century.
"Second floor; Carpets, travel goods, and bedding, materials, soft furnishings, restaurants, and ties."
"Going down…"
Wrap; or gift wrapping paper by contrast, was first used in ancient China where paper was invented in the 2nd century BC. It first became really popular to ‘wrap ‘ presents in 1917 when a pair of brothers running a stationary store in Kansas City ran out of their standard inventory of tissue paper.
Needing a quick replacement, they found in their supplies a stack of ‘fancy French paper’. The paper was not meant for display, but for lining envelopes.
The paper sold out immediately. The brothers, Joyce and Rollie Hall became known as Hallmark.
"First floor; Telephones, gents ready made suits, shirts, suits, ties, hats, underwear, and shoes."
"Going down…"
Do I have a point to this story?
Er… no, not really.
Its just another bit of trivia.
But its a way of connecting you with our new line of wrapping paper.
So I thought I’d just combine a few words and sentences together on two topics which are totally unrelated. Except they have the same phonetically sounding word.
Maybe I should take the rap now and write my own rap song?
A monotonous shaggy dog story with a simple beat, that has little, or no point?
Oh… of course, I've written the story already!
Are you still reading this?
He’s gone mad. He’s lost it completely this time, I can almost hear you say.
And with that there should be a loud ‘rap’ at the door and the men in the white coats will come to take me away.
"Ground floor; Perfumery, stationary and leather goods, wigs and haberdashery, kitchenware and food."
"Going up…"
Please hold the door!
I want to get off.
Its the ground floor and the stationary department and lots of new Sophie Morrell wrapping paper to look at and a rap song to write...
"I'm getting in a flap with my little rhyme of rap,
trying to bridge the generation gap,
I let my hands clap and my feet tap,
trying out a song to put Sophie Morrell on the map"
Oh well at least I tried....
I think I'll stick to designing Wrap.
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With acknowledgement and courtesy to:
BBC : Are you being Served?
Writers: David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd
Theme music composer: Ronnie Hazelhurst
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