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| Image copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd |
Here's the latest instalment of the 1970s weekly nursery comic LITTLE STAR's back page feature, PLAYMATES From FAR-AWAY PLACES. We're now halfway through this 12 part series, so I'll have to see what else the comic contains that I can inflict on you present for your reading pleasure.
8 comments:
The only incongruity here is the fez, since that was banned in Turkey after the fall of the Ottomans, though I don't suppose they really care about it these days (what with the Turks rediscovering their roots it seems).
Maybe Abdul's a Tommy Cooper fan, Chris.
I thought exactly the same as Christopher - Kemal Ataturk came to power in the 1920's and was desperate to modernize and secularize Turkey, one of the things he did was abolish the fez so it's highly unlikely a little Turkish boy would be wearing one in 1972. And it seems they couldn't think of anything "Turkish" for him to do so they show him combing a rabbit...?? Abdul has a nice view from his window though - the Hagia Sophia was completed in AD 527 and those minarets were added a thousand years later when it became a mosque :)
Ah, but you've misread the picture, CJ. Abdul received a Tommy Cooper magic set for his birthday, which contained a fez from which he produced that rabbit. True, none of the magic sets I had as a kid were that good, but he must've got an extra-special one. (Tommy Cooper didn't allow his name to be used on any old rubbish you know.)
Kid, I never had a magic set but I did get a 'Potter's Wheel' (remember those ?) for Christmas and I confidently told my "Auntie" Linda (she was actually my mother's cousin) that I'd make her a pot - which was never heard of again. I also had a chemistry set which was rather disappointing as I remember.
Vaguely remember the Potter's Wheel, but never had one, CJ. The chemistry set sounds familiar, but I can't recall if I had one or not.
I've found these images very touching. They attempt to inform young children about the wider world but they're also so inclusive. Very sweet considering how insular and divisive modern media images are.
I think they're a nice reminder of a seemingly gentler, more innocent age, Dougie, which is why I decided to run them. (And, to be honest, as they're on the back page, I didn't have to hunt through each issue for something to post.)
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