The WAY It BEGAN... (FAVOURITE COMICS Of The PAST - PART SEVEN)

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

I bought my original copy of the above mag - FANTASTIC FOUR #126 - in a newsagents in Hamilton, Scotland, on Friday, October 6th 1972.  I should've been at school, and would've been if not for the fact I'd already been off ill for a day or two and there was no point in going back on the last day before the weekend.  I therefore remained absent, and - as I was feeling slightly better as the morning wore on - my father took me with him when he journeyed into Hamilton on some errand or other.

I also picked up another copy of The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL #1 that very afternoon (released only the Saturday before), the second issue being due out the next day.  I well remember the fun I had comparing JACK KIRBY's version of the FF's origin with JOHN BUSCEMA's - it sure was difficult to decide on just which interpretation was best, although Big John's was perhaps a tad more dynamically rendered.  Having said that, he was channelling Jack's solid storytelling principles through his own style, so Kirby deserves a share of the credit, I suppose.

This was ROY THOMAS's first issue as regular scripter of the FF.  He'd written some fill-in stories before, of course, when STAN LEE was on vacation, but this was his 'debut' as the quartet's ongoing scribe now that Stan had been promoted to president and publisher with little or no time for writing.  At least, that was the plan, but Rascally Roy's increased duties as newly appointed editor-in-chief meant that he soon had to turn the regular scripting chores over to someone else.  (Step forward twenty-year-old boy-genius, GERRY CONWAY.)

This issue was intended to be a new beginning for the fabulous foursome, and the title managed to offer some respectable stories before losing its impetus somewhere along the line.  Eventually, the comic began to tread water, until writer/artist JOHN BYRNE came on board with issue #232 in 1981.  His 'Back to Basics' first issue succeeded in revitalising the flagging series and managed to restore some much-needed credibility to the title's famous front-cover tag-line - "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!"  FF fans everywhere were mighty grateful.

However, with that landmark 126th issue back in 1972, the heady hint of promise hung heavy in the air, and - for a while at least - the expectations of the faithful were not disappointed.

GOING TO THE GROSVENOR, GUV'NOR?

Those of a certain age who are familiar with Glasgow's West End will likely remember the famous Grosvenor Cafe once situated in the equally famous Ashton Lane.  At one time it was renowned for its 'all-you-can-eat' 99 pence student breakfasts.  Unfortunately, I didn't discover this charming establishment until August of 1999, when I and a young lady partook of a good old-fashioned 'fry-up' one morning in an attempt to replenish the energy we had so enthusiastically expended the night before.  Breakfasts cost a little more than 99p by then (though still extremely reasonably priced), and I instantly fell in love with the place. Consequently, I returned as often as I could over the course of the next couple of years or so.

Imagine my dismay then, when I read in The Daily Record, dated Saturday, November 3rd, 2001, that the historic eatery had closed its doors for the final time.  However, exactly a week later, on the 10th, the same newspaper reported that a new owner had moved the cafe upstairs. Alas, it was the same in name only - even though some of the staff from downstairs had come with it.  The original premises were turned into a Vodka-Wodka Bar, and the new Grosvenor didn't last too long before becoming a Mediterranean-style eatery called Mimmo's.

(As it turned out, Mimmo's proved to be an excellent restaurant, and I had many a fine meal there over the years.  A few weeks back, however, I trotted along to treat myself to yet another gourmet delight - only to discover it had also now closed.  I was informed by staff in the bar downstairs that it had relocated, and that a new owner would be re-opening the upstairs premises under another name, but I haven't yet had a chance to get back along and check the place out.  Here's hoping it can continue the fine standard established by the previous owner.  Although I digress.)

So, for all those who remember the Grosvenor Cafe in Ashton Lane, here's a couple of photos from 2000 to stir up some fond memories for you.  (I'd have taken more, but my camera ran out of film.)  The mural on the wall was printed on the old cafe's menus a little while before it closed, and I managed to bribe one of the waitresses who went to work upstairs to part with one she'd kept as a souvenir.  One glance at that mural and it's 1999 once more, and I'm having breakfast with a young lady whose insatiable appetite was not confined to bangers, beans, bacon and eggs, regardless of how delicious they happened to be.

Ah, to be young again.

******

Re-reading this today, September 6th, 2013, I'm struck by the fact that The Grosvenor Cafe has now been gone for a couple of months short of twelve years.  My visits took place over a mere two year period (though seems longer than that), but the memories remain as fresh and as vivid as if they occurred only a few short months ago.  Where on earth does the time go?