MILES FROM TOMORROWLAND

Just bought a bundle of this modern space toy line. Miles from Tomorrowland, from Facebook Marketplace. A really neat range and we're hoping Moonbase Junior will think so too when he visits on Friday!

THE HONEY WEST VAN

Woodsy

I finished the two episodes of Burke's Law with Anne Francis as Honey West or Best.

It was interesting to see the vehicles in the early Burke's Law episode, not only does Honey have a Jaguar rather than a Cobra (which she also drives in one episode of her own series), but the surveillance van is different too.

Looking at Mark's amazing Honey West site, I found an old article from a Ford Motor Company magazine called Clues, aimed at those in the trucking industry. No idea how Mark managed to find this, but it has an article in it on the Honey West van.

The best part being that the photos are in colour - the Econoline van is light blue, with mainly yellow lettering on the side. If you have not seen this before, it is well worth a look.

http://www.thechampions.info/hwac/h66WINa.htm

There is also a short clip on You Tube, which is a brief history of Honey West. While it does not offer anything new, it is a good potted history lesson, and includes plenty of stills

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J371qvrh1ug

Yours Sincerely,
Paul Adams from New Zealand

A CABINET OF CHRISTMAS THINGS

Its been a festive come-out-of-lockdown-gone-into-tier-3 sort of weekend. the best thing is that most shops are open including .... charity shops and second hand emporia.

Taking advantage of this the Missus and me visited our local town and hit the vintage trail. A shop called Etsy had the following cabinet full of old toys, which I snapped for your delectation. See anything you like?

We managed to drag the old tree from the attic too and wrestle with the lights. Alas, one set didn't work so we got some more from Wilko. A bit sparkly but they did the job and the tree is fully trimmed up and ready for Christmas business.

Today is Nikolaus so I gave my Missus a Bunte Teller. Its a plate full of chocs and goodies delivered personally by St.Nicholas himself.

he dropped off a couple of little plastic goodies for me too [ found in a charity shop yesterday], which I've yet to ID.

All in all and given the current circumstances, a very festive weekend. Among the decorations boxes I even found my old miniature PC toy with my old email address on from 20 years ago! No idea which provider CW was now!

Have you trimmed the house for Christmas readers?

WALLPAPERING MY BOOKS

I had a blast from the past today. Do you remember covering your school exercise books in wallpaper! 

I recall vividly wrapping my school books in thick paper and sticking down the corners with big strips of sticky tape.

They ended up twice as thick as they were!

I was always fascinated by how all my wallpaper covered books slid into my school bag, especially the felt-blobbed stuff, which I think was called Anaglypta. Is that right?

Ring any bells readers?

ST. NICHOLAS'S DAY

Today is St. Nicholas's Day or as my Missus calls it, Nikolaus. It is in effect the root of our modern Christmas, since St. Nicholas the gift-bringer eventually morphed into Sinterklass, then Santa Claus and in Britain, Father Christmas.

On Nikolaus my Missus would leave shoes outside her flat on the landing as a kid, which would be secretly filled with delicious sweets and a plate of confections would appear too, the Bunte Teller or colourful plate.

The good Saint Nicholaus did have his antonyms though,  in the form of the very nasty Knecht Ruprecht and the increasingly-celebritised monster, Krampus, the evil child snatcher. All three roam the streets on the 6th December. Just make sure you meet the nice guy and not the other two!

St. Nicholas's Day isn't celebrated in England these days, which is our loss really, as its a fine precursor of the kind season to come.

Do you celebrate Nikolaus readers?

Nikolaus and the nasties in Europe!

DO YOU REMEMBER HICKIES?

A bit of adolescent nostalgia now, one of those things that would have made us giggle back in the day and maybe even now.

I'm talking about hickies or to give them their scientific term, love bites.

Yes, love bites were those ugly looking mouth-shaped bruises that boys and girls displayed with pride on their necks at school.

Looking like a carp had latched on, I assume the blue-purple hickie was the result of localised suction created  by sucking.

I honestly can't remember if I was love bitten but I recall seeing them worn like a badge of honour at high schools. 

Like all bruises they decayed into a fairly gross but colourful palette of blues, purples and even bright yellows, never a pleasant sight.

Do you remember hickies readers?

ADVENT: SECOND

 

SPANISH BLUE BOX SPACE JET

Checking Spain's Todocollecion site I was amazed to see our old Blue Box space jet chums moonlighting on a display card issued by Jeysu?

Do you like them?

Sadly the company didn't release the rest of Blue Box's spaceships and plumped for these small chubby planes and open top roadsters.