A GENTLE BREEZE From HUSHABYE MOUNTAIN...

Over Easter, one of the most famous cars in the world was parked in my local central shopping precinct.  Or at least, a replica of it was.  It's MOT'd, taxed, insured, and fully road-worthy, so it is a real car - it's just not one of the half-dozen that appeared in the actual film.  However, apart from the number plate, GEN 22 (as opposed to the original - GEN 11), I'd say it would be difficult to spot the difference unless one is a total expert on CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG and all its variants.

I first saw the film on TV in the mid-'70s and bought the soundtrack LP not long after.  I now have it on CD as well - along with a DVD of the movie itself.  Back in the '60s, one of my cousins had the CORGI TOYS model of the car, and today I have several versions in my collection: The Corgi original, a '90s rerelease, a recent, cheaper Corgi version, and three Corgi Juniors.  I've also got a bigger, super-detailed version around 14 inches long, not counting the front and back wings.

Here, though, is an actual full-sized, fully-working replica of the car which I photographed in a quiet moment over Easter.  Standing next to it, one is amazed by the sheer enormity of the vehicle - it's huge - about 16 feet long.  If it ever comes to your town, make sure you go and see it - it's well worth doing so, I assure you.

It's not unusual to see the film attributed to DISNEY in TV listings whenever it's on the telly, but, in actual fact, it's an EON production - the same company which makes the JAMES BOND movies.  Hardly surprising when you consider that it was IAN FLEMING who wrote the book on which the movie was based.  The SHERMAN BROTHERS composed the songs for the film, which partly explains it being mistaken for a Disney one as they also wrote the songs for the earlier MARY POPPINS.  The fact that DICK VAN DYKE starred in both cinematic classics cements the misconception in most people's minds.

The original 1967 car was designed by KEN ADAM and FREDERICK ROLAND EMETT, and built by ALAN MANN RACING in Hertfordshire.  Like the original, the replica above had its boat-deck portion built by actual boatbuilders.  Also, the brass snake horn is from one of the original movie Chittys, so therefore shares a connection to the 'real' one.

Incidentally, the car does have wings (I saw them on a previous occasion a few years back -see photo below), which for some reason weren't deployed this time around.  (They're separate pieces which have to be affixed.)  Perhaps it was due to space restrictions in the display area, or to prevent people tripping over them.

WATCHING THE CLOUDS DRIFT BY...

Image copyright DC COMICS

I'm not 100% sure exactly what year it was - maybe 1969 or '70 - when the above comicbook first came into my possession, but some of the stories stuck in my mind from that point on.  It was a fellow by the name of GRAHAM BROWN, whose family lived in the house across the back lane from ours, who gave it to me along with some others - none of which I now recall, strange as it may seem.  (At least, not in relation to that particular day.)  What was it about this comic which etched itself in my memory?  Who can tell after all this time?  Certainly not me.

I remember the day was a sunny one.  I was sitting on a small rug on the path in my back garden, leaning against the door of the cellar in which I often sat when it rained, listening to drops pattering off the roof.  Not today though.  Today the sun shone brightly overhead, and on the far horizon I could see a famous Scottish mountain, purple against the blue sky, and white clouds drifting lazily by in the distance.  A faint hint of a balmy breeze gently blew on my face and hair, and it felt good merely to be alive without a care in the world.

My garden cellar.  'Twas the door on the right against which I sat

As I sat there, out came Graham with a pile of U.S. comicbooks and dropped them into my lap.  I can no longer recall if the comics were a gift freely given or exchanged for a heavily discounted monetary consideration.  Graham was a friend of my brother, so wouldn't have wanted to be seen exploiting his pal's younger sibling.  In fact, let's be charitable - let's just say he gave them to me because he'd read and was done with them.  That's more than likely the case.  And thus the day passed into history.

When I bought SUPERMAN From The '30s To The '70s in late 1972, I instantly recognised three stories from the 80 page giant: The CASE Of The FUNNY PAPER CRIMES, The MYSTERIOUS Mr. MXYZPTLK, and SUPERMAN, CARTOON HERO.  However, when I obtained a replacement copy of this issue a couple or so years ago, there was one adventure I didn't recall at all - WHEN SUPERMAN LOST HIS POWERS.  Some aspects from another tale, The EYE Of METROPOLIS, seemed vaguely familiar - but had I not seen it again first, I doubt the suggestion of memory would ever have occurred unprompted.

The very mountain in the distance - Ben Lomond

So why did I seemingly forget those two tales as opposed to the other three?  Was it because their splash pages weren't featured on the cover and therefore made less of an impression on me?  Or could it be that, not having appeared in the '72 Superman book, their previous association wasn't reinforced in my memory like the other strips were?  Perhaps it's simply the case that the stories weren't particularly memorable.  Guess I'll never really know for sure, but it's unlike me to forget two stories in one comic.

A picture, 'tis said, is worth a thousand words - it can also be worth many memories. I only have to look at that cover and I'm once again a boy sitting out in my back garden, reading comics and occasionally watching the clouds drift by.  Oh, to be a lad again.

******

I'd give all wealth that years have piled,
The slow result of life's decay,
To be once more a little child
For one bright summer-day.

From "Solitude" by Lewis Carroll.  March 16th, 1853.