Exiled Welshman prone to sudden moments of nostalgia for the land of my fathers. I'm on my way home soon....
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your first record I stood in the James Howell department store in Cardiff (still there of course) holding my record token and tried to make my mind up between I Can Take Or Leave Your Loving by Herman's Hermits or Mighty Quinn by Manfred Mann which having seen them on the Dee Time I was now edging towards. What is a boy to do?
I would now so love to be able to boast that I made the more street credible choice but sadly I opted for the rather goofy Mr Noone and his cohorts. It cost eight shillings and sixpence and I still have it. Sunshine Girl too if I'm honest. In those days B sides were pretty darn good though so your money always felt well spent.
Toy Soldiers Still got mine. Nearly all bought with my pocket money at Jimmy Lendon's in Cardiff -a shop I am delighted to say is still trading as The Model Shop to this day.
Two shillings pocket money and all the soldiers attached to a central plastic moulding. You then twisted each one off. Looking through my old Quality Street tin I have a real mixture: Africa Corps, 8th Army, US Marines, Infantry Combat Group, Cowboys & Indians, Robin Hood and his Merry Men, Confederates and Union, US Calvary, Arabs (with camels), French Foreign Legion, Germans (Second & First World War), Commandos etc. Hours and hours spent setting them up and then knocking them all down again complete with the accompanying explosions and shooting noises. My mother was very tolerant looking back.
When I graduated to Subbuteo she was less enamoured with my perpetual commentary and crowd noises however. Still by that time I was 37 years of age so I guess she did have a point.....
Rowntree's Fruit Gums A treat was having these in a little box rather than a tube which you seemed to only be able to get when you went to the pictures. At Christmas you could get one of those big tubes too. In truth I preferred Fruit Pastilles and still have the habit today as my dentist will vouch.
Ironside A Man Called Ironside was compulsory viewing in my house. My sister and I would curl up with our sweets to avidly watch it every Saturday night. Dad was a fan too. I loved all the genial characters Mark Sanger, Ed Brown and of course the lovely Officer Fran Belding. That fantastic theme tune - Da Da Da Duh Duh....Da Da Da Duuuh. Marvellous.
Action Man I had the Army one. I had broken the leg of a friends Action Man due to some over exuberance in throwing it in the air. It landed on a concrete path and that was that. My Dad bought a new one for him and I had to have the damaged one as my birthday present. My Dad pointed out that he had had to pay 32 shillings and eleven pence in James Howells in Cardiff, whereas they were thirty two shillings and sixpence up at Jimmy Lendons but were out of stock there when he went in. Bizarrely my 'new' Action Man had huge street credibility among my mates as he now had genuine war injuries.
I diligently saved up all the stars on the accessory packs so that I could send off for the tent kit which duly arrived. I sold the action man and kit through the South Wales Echo free kids ads for about five shillings a few years later.
