THE SADDEST WORDS...

                                         

               Three friends were sitting at the bar, by late hour undeterred,
               "Pray tell me, lads," says I, "what are, the saddest words you've heard?"
               "Could they be 'bar's now closed'," says one, "when ordering the drinks?"
               "Or how about 'we're dry', my son,"  the other says, then winks.

               "But no," says I, "the saddest sound that you will ever hear,
               is two words very often bound with thoughts of one held dear.
               See, once I loved a gal so fair - (in fact I love her yet),
               with love that was beyond compare, though seasoned with regret."

                "She loved a better man than I, saw me as 'just a friend',
                and never knew for her I'd die, so I had to pretend.
                Aye, pretend that she meant nothing and didn't hold my heart,
                ah, but lads, the strain of bluffing almost tore me apart."

                "We've all been down that road I'm sure, that well-worn travelled track,
                where we've no choice but to endure someone not loving back.
                Ah, if only she had loved me, if only she had dared;
                if only she had wanted me - if only she had cared."

                "If only she had needed me, as living things need air.
                If only she had longed for me, I wouldn't know despair.
                Another time, another place, who knows what might've been?
                The look of love upon her face is what I might've seen."

                 "Despite my heartache I'll be brave, though no fate's worse than this -
                 to trudge through life towards my grave and never know her kiss.
                 The saddest words you'll ever hear (the anthem of the lonely),
                 come with a sigh and oft a tear - two whispered words... 'if only'."

KEN REID'S FINAL FACEACHE - UNPUBLISHED (UNTIL NOW)...

FACEACHE copyright REBELLION

There's a story behind this image, and it's this.  I was sent it by a part-time publisher, who asked me not to show it on my blog, and for quite a few years now, I've respected his request.  (I've not even shown it to anyone else anywhere.)  However, this same fellow reneged on his promise to supply me with copies of everything I provided him with for use in promoting a two-volume set of KEN REID strips that he was responsible for (specifically, prints of two FRANKIE STEIN pages), so I now no longer feel obliged to accommodate his wishes.  If he won't keep his promises to me, then why should I be bound by mine to him?  There are repercussions to messing me around, as he'll now be only too well aware.  

Ken Reid had this page on his drawing board when he passed away, and I remember reading a letter from his son (I think - or perhaps another member of the family) pinned to a notice-board on the wall beside BUSTER editor ALLEN CUMMING's desk when I was down in London one day, which said that he'd like to keep it as it was the last thing his father had worked on before he died.  I doubt it would have been of any use to IPC/FLEETWAY anyway, as only the first panel had been partially completed, so it was fitting that it 'stayed in the family'.

So, here at last, is the final Ken Reid illustration of FACEACHE for your perusal, unseen (as far as I'm aware, aside from a few people) since it was first drawn back in 1987.  Was Faceache one of your favourite strips when you were a kid?  Happily reminisce away to your heart's content in the comments section. 

(And the moral of this post?  Don't f*ck with ROY ROGERS!)