Hearing of the Lockdown Action Man quickly bobbed round with a nice Spring Tulip for Missus Moonbase and me before isolating himself in the footlocker.
It'll cheer us up when we do a wash in the morning
Like many of you across the world, the UK is now in lockdown. Our PM has just announced draconian national measures on a televised address to the nation. Each of the four nations of the UK have followed suit.
Its a frightening thing to be isolated by the State even when its for such obvious and virtuous reasons. I think my Parents experienced martial law in World War II but I never thought me my Missus would have to.
Best of luck to everyone out there, to you and your loved ones and for what its worth I will try to keep Moonbase Central going as long as there's internet space and electricity in case you need some light relief.
As sentient beings we worry. We worry about the unknown and our demise. Moments of global worry have filled the imaginations of Sci-Fi and disaster film and radio writers for decades. Watching these films again helps me to see how we cope in fictional disasters in the face of our own very real viral calamity now. Often these films and plays contain stark beginnings, last TV and radio broadcasts and occasionally happy ends. I'll start with the powerful introduction to HG Well's War of the Worlds as read by Orson Welles in his infamous radio broadcast in 1938. The 1953 movie version of War of the Worlds captures Well's final words offering humanity a beacon of light, an ending somewhat at odds with the world at the moment.
In 1961 came a movie which to me is the finest of all disaster tales, The Day the Earth Caught Fire and the anti-hero's final broadcast as he walks down an empty street is truly sobering.
The Day of the Triffids offered us some hope at the end in 1962 when simple seawater would save the world.
Deep Impact in 1998 gave Tia Leoni her best role as a TV news broadcaster who becomes the comforting voice for millions. Her final bulletin explains the rescue plans, the missile strikes and a tragic global lottery.
In 2002 28 Days later painted a startlingly stark picture of a vacant echoey London. I wonder if we will see empty streets like this soon?
Can you think of any more memorable beginnings or final broadcasts in disaster films readers?
After watching all those disaster movies as a kid I never thought I'd actually be isolated in my home.
The UK isn't yet on lockdown but it may happen soon. Me and the Missus are self-isolating anyway. We just go out for her odd post knee-op hospital appointments as part of her recovery.
I will have to get some more milk and dog food too soon as well but don't relish going into shops at all.
Its suddenly become a scary world to be in.
Are in you in lockdown already in your country? How are you coping with isolation readers?
Seleccion Terror was a Spanish pulp issued in the 1960's. Many of the stories were written by the prolific Clark Carrados. Clark Carrados was an alias of Luis Garcia Lecha. It must have been great collecting them. As with many cheap pulp publications Terror lifted some previous illustrations for use on its own garish and attention-grabbing covers. Some look do original though - just google Seleccion Terror. I'm unsure of the Terror artists but here are a few lifted Terror covers and what I think are their possible origins and a few mysteries you could help with too!
Dr. Terrors House of Horrors movie
Dirty Harry movie
Night of the Demon movie [but is the screamer lifted too?]
And here area few mysteries.
I have an inkling about these lifted covers but just can't put my finger on them.
Just a line to say that thanks to the wonderful Aviation Retail Direct Shop at Hillingdon and some online drawings of the original AT version I now have a 1/200 scale model of Fireflash with gear down.
Now all I need is to get a large London airport photo blown up as a backdrop!
When I was a nipper matchboxes were everywhere because everyone smoked in the Sixties. These little magic drawers could be used for anything once the fiery contents were duds. Some kids loved the used matches and went on to build galleons and forts. I did deploy the little timbers in matchstick canons as well. I loved the empty boxes most though. My faves were small ones like England's Glory and Swan Vestas.
I never really got into the bigger kitchen boxes like Cooks Matches. Just what is a safety match anyway? So, just what went into my empty matchbox? Well anything really. Usually something alive or more often dead. Spiders, both living and husked; caterpillars, dead flies, beetles, millipedes, webs and small skulls found in the garden. It's was nature's rich larder that I kept in that small magic drawer! It slipped easily in the pocket to be brought out when duty called such as when a big brother was bugging me or a big sister was looking decidedly calm. The results were instant mayhem! ha ha I doubt I ever kept living flies and centipedes in matchboxes. They were just too fast to catch. Ants neither - too small and scurrisome. Wasps and bees definately not! Unless they were gonners! Mention must be made at this point I feel for the matchbox's most solemn calling, its use as a small coffin for dead pets. Millions of us will have mourned as a Bryant and May fish funeral was held for a departed goldfish buried in the flowerbed. They were rites of passage for sure. I don't recall any other pet fitting in a matchbox. Do you? Obviously less yukky stuff could be boxed; messages, marbles [which turned them into a moving box!], die-casts [I think they were big enough for cars or?], treasures like gems and fools gold, small ammonites and fossil shark teeth bought on holiday and of course a single small Airfix soldier or a couple of Action Man stick grenades! What fun! England's glory! Some of my mates advanced onto proper magic with matchboxes, using them in their tricks and impromptu shows for family and friends, my sixpence would vanish and fingers would be sliced off. I never advanced to magic and stubbornly clung onto my simple ikky ways for years. Did you place stuff in matchboxes readers? With the decline in smoking, do kids still do it?
