Christmas Day Edition

It's nearly another year in the history of this blog and as today is Christmas day like last year we are having synchronized entries on the blogs ready cooked like our turkey is ready for lunch with my parents and my presents are with them.

The one thing is they are all connected very much to my little side, the side that remains very much a boy and to be truthful Christmas for me is a boys affair - mine.

I'm in my V neck jersey with matching banded turn over long socks from Mr Prendergast's store white shirt, tie and grey shorts just like that boy from my past.

For all of the things that have been happening this week my focus is very much upon having christmas as that boy knowing of but not being driven by events, just playing which I saw many children doing earlier in the week.

They have been opened across the morning and I've just got around to posting a bit about them as with the present pandemic we're not expecting any visitors for drinks and snacks.

This year I had the vintage Legoland set 653 which makes an ambulance helicopter to go with new and old lego sets I've had for the last two Christmas's.

As well, I had the vintage Legoland 691 rescue helicopter kit both of which were issued in 1974 and were things I would of had then and indeed I did have lego then bought me.

These two helicopters expand the playability of my lego by adding kits that I can play with from my own era.

Back in 1974 I did have an Action Man, actually I had a handful of action men with many accessories such as uniforms, vehicles, weaponry and equipment that I loved to play with and I have talked about on the blog a few times.

They were sadly casualties of casting away to relatives children when my parents felt at fifteen I no longer wanted them which wasn't true cos I was still playing with them.

Recently a limited edition range of new "classic" Action Man figures were issued and this year for christmas I actually have a new one to treasure.

As many of you know, this boy is passionate about footie and so in something that was affected very much by Covid, I had the Match annual looking at this last year in the game in the UK across Europe and the classic football annual now published by Nationwide full of facts and figures for the current season.

Rupert the Bear is celebrating his 100th birthday this year so I had this most useful calendar

plus...

The 100th anniversary Rupert annual with classic stories from Nutwood to read across the year.

 

The Dandy is no longer published today weekly as it was when I was first young but D C Thomson do publish a Summer Special and a Annual with some newly drawn stories from the cartoon strips I loved as a boy.

This years annual which I had is shown with Desperate Dan carrying the weight of the Dandy.

Annuals were always a big thing with me and apart from the Dandy's I also had the Beano's but the modern Beano is of necessity different to suit today's children and that world so I didn't have this years but the Christmas 68 page Special edition which is enough to give me that feel of Christmas in Beanotown on top of the regular comic.

Some of the best of the past years Beano and Dandy cartoon strips is to be found in this years "Classic" Beano and The Dandy themed special compilations, this year devoted to the late Dudley D Watkins.

With the Beano, outside of the original annuals of the period I was first young, they take me back me to those days for being clearly set in the era so to read this years is to feel I was reading those comics and annuals all over again.

Scouting is covered on another blog in much more detail but this year I did have a most useful hardback book.

Let's say Scouting and all it means has been at the core of much of my life this year and it'll be of great use to me.

Finally I did a record that only recently was issued which contains many of the hits I can remember from original boyhood Christmas's including Merry Xmas Everybody, the number 1 Christmas hit of 1973

A Selection Box, not quite the classic packaging but pretty much the sort of thing I had back then.

I'll write something up after boxing day looking back over the year, what it has meant to me but until then I hope you've had a great enjoyable Christmas and wish you all a happy new year.

Pause for Christmas Edition 2020

Today we are but a week away from Christmas which we will be marking with a pause after watching yesterday's Blue Peter special edition as I gear up helping my family make Christmas what it is as much as they help make very much a boys christmas for me, free of adult stuff.

Christmas is after all very much a time for boys and girls and those of us in that kind of space rather than people who don't see that magic, who don't  love the rituals  adoring the decorations, something that really came over to me when a week ago I went into town for the first time in nearly nine months seeing them and the market store traders decked with christmas goods.

Memories of childhood christmases just overwhelmed me emotionally walking around looking at them.

Next week there will be a Christmas  Day special post on this blog a bit later on but as of today I'll be taking a break from the likes of Tumblr and ASB.

It remains to me to wish everyone and their families following this blog a Happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year

The sights and sounds of Christmas

As we're all too well aware, things haven't been as you normally would of expected thanks to Covid and yet we're only two weeks away from Christmas so while I have been about I noticed a good number of decorations both indoors and out.

Here we have a penguin and a snowman out with a traditional wreath.

Traditional imitation Candy Canes were in much evidence here apart from a good deal of illuminated objectives,

Here Mr. Claus is joined by a reindeer sadly not red nosed but delightfully posed.

Trees of various sizes remain popular with people since the days of Victoria and Albert and this is a small one suited to properties with limited garden space, modestly decorated.

Christmas sure hasn't been cancelled this year!

Advent time

That's it, this week where Adventure Box Max's December edition arrived in its envelope on Monday means only one thing.

No, not gripping stories, cartoon strips and facts although they are in there but rather that as we've entered December we're on the countdown to that most marvellous time of year for boys of all ages - Crimbo! 

Well on Blue Peter last Thursday they may of made their own Advent Calendar from cardboard, used card tubes and crepe paper before adding the treats for each day but my folks bought me this ready made one to nom my way through, one day at a time!

You push open each door to reveal the wrapped chocolate.

A boyhood tradition carried out each year without fail.

On this weeks show they showed you how to make your very own Christmas Cards which was fun.