THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF KIDS TV NAMES

It's always fascinated me what stuff is called in other languages. When I was a birdwatcher I used to know loads of birds' names, for example Chiff Chaff is called Zilp Zalp in German and Tjifttjaf in Dutch, all three being onomatopoeia for the distinctive call of this summer visitor.

 

 

The same fascination extends to TV Shows and toys. Here are a few I like:

 

 

The Avengers [Steed and Peel, not the comic] - Schirm, Charm und Melone in German, meaning Umbrella, Charm and Bowler.

 

 

Follyfoot - Die Follyfoot Farm in German meaning The Follyfoot Farm, which was made not far from my home in West Yorkshire [unsure of the Lightning Tree is still there]. It was partly produced by ZDF of Germany and has its own fan site there.

 

 

Belle and Sebastian - Belle et Sebastian in French. I loved this show about a boy and his dog.

 

 

Thunderbirds - Donnervogeln in German.

 

 

Catweazle - Catweazle in Dutch [fan site here] and German too. His malapropism Electrickery was called Elektrik-Trick in German.

 

 

Major Matt Mason - Capitan Meteoro in Mexico.

 

 

Callisto - Cripton in Mexico

 

 

Sesame Street - Sesame Park from 1996 in Canada.

 

 

What were kids' favourite TV shows, including Gerry Anderson's, called in your neck of the woods?

ASTRONOMICAL ANNUAL

While I was tidying the attic out recently, I spotted a copy of the 1970 Tell Me Why annual, with a lovely Ron Embleton cover. Its one thats been around since I was a kid and part of my dads vain attempt to wean me off space stuff into more general knowledge. Naturally, it didn't work and the book joined the Look & Learn annuals in obselescence. Fanning through it the other day, I was amazed to find an illustration of the Astronomical Telescope Satellite, which appeared in the Spacex II range about the same time.

 

Probably the  weakest of all the Spacex toys, both in terms of design and construction; the actual toy was about 5" long and essentially a childs telescope with a couple of accessories attached. The solar panels were especially flimsy and after being played with once or twice, tended to snap in two. When I got the toy back around 1971, I recognised it straight away and it was clearly because i'd already seen it in the annual!

MOON BEAMS

Another photo of the Moon I took tonight which I thought I'd share with you all. It was a tad cloudy hence that glare around it, but some of the  detail can be seen, especially along the terminator.

SPACEX STAMPS

 

 

I've had some luck recently finding postage stamps online picturing Spacex type vehicles. Here we have:

 

Top to bottom, Left to right:

 

 

Astronomic Telescopic Satellite, Nova

Lunar Orbiter, Moon Buggy

MEV 2 ['ish!], MLP

 

 

The vehicle I come across the most on different stamps by far is the Lunar Orbiter, which seemed to capture the global philatelic imagination when it was launched. I haven't managed to find a single Dyna Soar or M1F2/HL10 Lifting Body stamp, although they do feature as illustrations on many first day covers. I have just found this SR71 Blackbird aka Space Patrol 1. There must be more - MOLAB, Stiletto [Hawk], Atomic Beta One [Supply Force Mercury] - have a google. All your finds will be licked and stuck on the blog!

 

 

THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO M'LADY!

A City Magazine we don't feature too much here on the blog is Lady Penelope comic. I never had much to do with it when I was a nipper in spite of it's Thunderbirds connections, principally because it was obviously aimed at girls, and as I wasn't infatuated with Illya Kuryakin's birthsign or The Monkees daft antics, or for that matter, a girl, I just felt it wasn't my scene, man!  However, flicking through a few issues I found a couple of pages that I thought might be of some small interest.

At the bottom of the page it mentions another feature for the following week about Lady P's role in the film. I'm wondering if that might have been a photo story similar to the one in TV 21. I don't have that next edition. Anybody out there got a scan of it they'd like to share.

TOYS ON COVERS: THE LOST WORLD

 

 

Continuing my look at toys used on book covers, here's one I saw online, The Lost World, where no expense has been spared on the artwork! Hmmm! They've gone for Tyrannosaurus Plasticus Nasticus plopped in some grit and sand. A few fir tree branches have been shoved in for that authentic Jurassic look!

 

 

Can't find out the date of this version of the Conan Doyle classic but it screams the Eighties or Nineties. I collect old paperbacks of Lost World, along with Journey To the Centre of the Earth and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea, but this gem has eluded my collection! I can't imagine anyone knowing what T.Rex toy it actually is. Or?

SPACEX AND SPV

Kev Davies presents a rare combinatIon of scratchbuilt SPV and Spacex Helicopter P3. Match made in .... Space!

ECONOMY OF SCALE

Just taken the dog for a walk, wind had whipped the soil off the fields inti lovely sculpted dunes next to the path, each about a foot high. Luckily, I was carrying a Konami U59 Explosives Truck in my pocket! So I whipped out my phone for a little shoot!