Proper old suitcases used to tell a story

ISN'T it funny the train of thought one record can lead you on?

- JUDI SPIERS

Last week on my Boom Radio show, I played Ron Grainer's theme to the 60s television series Man in a Suitcase. It was great, as were most of Ron Grainer's themes... sadly, the series wasn't.

It starred Richard Bradford as McGill, a former US intelligence officer accused of treason. Unable to clear his name or return to the US, he made ends meet by working as a travelling private detective and bounty hunter based in Britain, living out of his suitcase (hence the title).

Obviously, it was meant to be a thriller but it always made me laugh because no matter how violent his frequent altercations were, no matter how many times he was thrown across a room ... he always got up with his cigarette still firmly clenched between his teeth!

Anyway, my train of thought didn't end at McGill's adventures, and I went on to a sort of mind-mapping exercise considering what I call 'proper' suitcases, not those 'wheely bin' affairs.