LEADING man Tony Harris got a blast from the past when trying on a Shakespearian costume for a forthcoming hit musical.

Hidden inside the jacket he found an old copy of the Argus, which had been crumpled up and stuffed into a nylon stocking to form part of a shoulder pad.

On opening it up

he found the paper

dated back to May 24, 1967 - exactly 33 years to the month when his new play is due to open.

Tony, 38, of Surrey Road, Seaford, is playing the role of Fred Graham in Battle Light Opera Group's production of Cole Porter's Shakespearian-themed musical Kiss Me Kate, at Battle Memorial Hall next month.

Wardrobe mistress Liz McNab thought the

costume, an Elizabethan doublet with puffed shoulders, had been used countless times over the years but no one had ever seen the need to take out the shoulder pads before.

She said: "Tony's shoulders were just too big and we had to make some room. That's when we found the paper. It was amazing to see how life had changed."

Adverts for the paper showed a brand new Triumph Spitfire would set you back £677 while a taxed and insured Vespa scooter, the must-have item for Sixties mods, was just £89.

Six driving lessons in Brighton would get you through the test for £5 and there were job vacancies for junior clerks at the princely wage of £10 a week.

Tony said: "I suppose it was the house prices which surprised me the most. Semi-detached bungalows in Peacehaven were selling for £4,300 and a four-bedroom house in Hove was just £4,900."

Kiss Me Kate, directed by Colin Edridge, runs at the Battle Memorial Hall from May 4 to 6. Tickets available from the Tourist Information Centre in Battle on 01424 773721.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.