ONE BOY & HIS DOG (AND A CAKE TOPPER)...

THE OPTIMIST

One of the items I remember from my childhood right up to my late teens (at least) was a biscuit tin that was kept in a cupboard (or larder) in four of our houses.  I don't recall it ever having biscuits - it was used for storing screws, nails, clips, curtain hoops, and all sorts of odds-and-ends that had no other place for them to go.  One day it just disappeared, though I'd have been unaware of its absence until some time after the fact.  I've thought about it often over the years, and, with the passage of time, slightly misremembered the illustration on the lid.  I recalled it as a TOM SAWYER-type boy (wearing a straw hat) on a raft, with a little Scottie dog, but it was actually a wash-tub, as I discovered when I saw a picture of the tin over on PINTEREST recently.  'Twas good to see it again - and in the very same house I was living in when I last laid eyes on it.

In a previous post (here), I showed you a photo of a chalk snowman (or Eskimo) the original of which had been one of our Christmas decorations ever since I'd been a kid.  The first one got damaged at some point, and was relegated to the biscuit tin which, at that time, was stored in our larder.  They may well have been consigned to oblivion on the same day, but I managed to obtain a replacement for 'Chalky' around 30 years ago, and he's adorned the base of the Christmas tree every year ever since.  I thought I'd show that photo again, and reunite both of them (or their images at least) just for old times' sake.  I guess I'm just a great, big, silly, sentimental old Hector.

Any Criv-ites ever have this tin?  It contained biscuits by McVITIE & PRICE, and was available circa 1960 onwards.  (I've managed to track one down and hope to be buying it soon.  Update: Bought it.)

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Captain's Log, Stardate Saturday 16th: I received my tin today and the first thing I did was place it in a wall cupboard which now occupies the upper space of where the larder once was.  I thought it fitting to put it in pretty much the same spot I'd last seen the original, as it suggested to my mind a continuity and resumption of how things were in the 1970s.  It must be around 40 years since the first tin 'disappeared', yet seeing its replacement banished the passage of time in an instant and immediately returned me to back then.  Amazing, eh?  I only kept it in the cupboard for a short time to establish that link with the past, and as I type, it sits on the floor beside me so that I can gaze upon it and continue the illusion that I'm 40 years younger than I am.  Sad?  Maybe.  Fulfilling?  Definitely.           

JAMES BOND & HIS ASTON MARTIN D.B.5...

Just dug out my Danbury Mint ASTON MARTIN D.B.5 from storage and snapped a quick couple of photos to show all you panting Criv-ites.  The ejector seat (which works) is lying upended inside the car, and there's a bit of tape on the roof to keep the hatch in place, but you can see what a beauty it is.  One day, when I have more time, I'll put the seat in place and remove the tape, then take some photos from different angles to give you a better look.

With the right background and a decent photographer, this would look like a real car - it's incredibly accurate, with opening doors, bonnet and boot, and other features. (The over-riders extend, the rear lights pull down to reveal the oil dispensers, the tyre-slashers pull out, the number plates revolve, the petrol cap covers open, the bulletproof shield pops up, and lots of other stuff.)   Next time I'll show you the engine.

The JAMES BOND 007 figure is by CORGI and completes the display nicely. 

   

PLAYS, POSTERS, PINSTRIPES, & PAPERBACKS...

I acquired the above paperback of FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE sometime in the early '80s (1980 or '81, I think).  It was a prop in a play by a local amateur dramatics group for which I supplied the occasional poster - and also my blue pinstripe suit for the lead actor to wear in this particular production.  The book was one of many gracing an on-stage bookcase in a living-room scene, and had been supplied by one of the amateur actors, a doctor whose medical career perhaps wasn't as fulfilling as it might be (I'm guessing).

As I collected BOND paperbacks with covers related to their movie incarnations, I asked if he would sell it to me, and he said I could have it once the play's run was over.  I've had it ever since, but never read it, mainly because I'd read the novel back in 1972 or '73.  I decided to start on it last night, figuring that, as I'd first and last read the story over 40 years before, I'd probably forgotten enough of it for it to seem new to me.  (Not the plot obviously, as I'm familiar with that from the movie. I'm talking about IAN FLEMING's writing-style and all the stuff that never made it into the film.)

The book is a 1963 edition, and is in such good condition that it seems more than likely to have been read only once when first purchased, 50-odd years ago.  I find that an amazing thought, and it's almost like stepping back into a vanished era - as if I'm once again in 1963 and have picked up the book only moments after the first person to read it put it down.  Of course, it also takes me back to the early '80s when I first laid eyes on the paperback, which makes it seem as if I've had two different lives associated with it.  Which reminds me of the title of another 007 novel - YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE - so maybe I have.

(Gosh, that was quite a neat wrap-up.  I must be getting better at this bloggy stuff.) Anyway, thought you might like to see it as it's a nice-looking cover.