Valerie Masters

Valerie Masters (born 24 April 1940) is a British former singer, television and radio presenter and actress, who recorded and performed in the late 1950s and 1960s.

Life and career

She was born in Stepney Green, East London, the daughter of Jacob Muster and Sarah "Sally" Sassienie. She started work as a typist and personal secretary for the mayor of Stepney before, at the age of 17, being introduced to Ray Ellington and shortly afterwards joining his band as featured vocalist, to replace Marion Ryan. She remained with Ellington's band until 1959, and also recorded as a solo singer. Her first record, "The Secret of Happiness", was released on the Fontana label in April 1958. She continued to record a series of singles for Fontana through to 1961; none made the official UK singles chart although her 1960 single "Banjo Boy" made the lower reaches of the New Musical Express's own chart. Between 1959 and 1961 she had her own show on Radio Luxembourg, Valerie and her Boyfriends, and in 1960 she represented Britain in the European Song Contest (unrelated to the Eurovision Song Contest), following which she became popular in Scandinavia, Germany and the Netherlands. She also appeared frequently on BBC radio and on television, as well as performing live in cabaret and clubs, often with Ellington's former pianist Dick Katz (1916-1981); they married in 1961.

The World in Winter

The World in Winter (US title The Long Winter) is a 1962 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by John Christopher. It deals with a new ice age caused by a reduction in the output of the Sun.

Plot summary

The story involves a new ice age hitting Europe, British refugees fleeing to Nigeria, and what a later group find when they return.

As the story opens, Andrew Leedon, a London-based television documentary producer, is given a new story to research: an Italian scientist, Fratellini, has proposed an imminent fall in solar radiation for the forthcoming few years which may lead to harsher winters. Leedon meets with David Cartwell, a Home Office civil servant and useful source, to see if he can find out more. Cartwell quickly becomes a close friend of Leedon, but also begins an affair with Leedon's wife, Carol.

The winter of that year is, as predicted, long and harsh, but by January is it becoming clear to insiders that the solar downturn is worse than Fratellini had calculated and no upturn is in sight. By March, food stocks are becoming dangerously low, rationing has been imposed and the Government imposes martial law. Those in the know, including Andrew's estranged wife, sell up and move south to the tropics and countries such as Nigeria. Leedon stays behind, as inner London is finally cordoned off from the rest of the UK to protect the seat of power – an area called the London Pale – as the rest of the country is abandoned to starvation and barbarism.