BABE Of The DAY - BERNADETTE PETERS...

I notice in my stats that someone

keeps visiting this site (the finest blog

in the universe - if you inhabit an alternate

universe, obviously) in search of actress and

singer BERNADETTE PETERS, so I've

decided to oblige them by showing this

 pic of her.  Isn't that nice of me?

RUMINATIN' REPOST: JUST WALKIN' IN THE RAIN...?

Outside, it's a wet and windy day.  The rain lashes the streets with unrelenting fervour as, from my window, I observe a few bedraggled passers-by scurry for shelter or in pursuit of some purpose know only to themselves.  The sky is grey and ominous, clouds swirl overhead in regal, grim-miened majesty, contemptuously regarding us mere mortals as the lowly ants we undoubtedly are.

And that's the weather forecast for today.

However, cosily ensconced within the comfortable confines of my comics covered cubbyhole, I luxuriate in the warmth emanating from the radiator and concern myself with what pithy (no, I don't have a lisp), profound and poignant comments I can bestow upon my eager audience, who look to me to lighten and brighten their unbearable burden by bedazzling them with the wit and wisdom which so freely pours forth from my meaningful, methodical and monumental mind. 

Oh, what lucky people you are.

When I was a boy in Belmont, we had an outside 'garden cellar' (as did most houses in the street), in which we stored coal in one half and garden tools (lawnmower, spades, etc.) in the other.  (It was called a cellar even though it wasn't underground, but apparently the term is not misapplied in such circumstances.)  On rainy days I'd sit on a deckchair inside the bigger-sized half with the door slightly ajar, reading comics and listening to the rain pattering off the pavement and caressing the concrete roof under which I ever-so-snugly sheltered.

Even today, I find it a supremely calming experience to sit in a car in the rain and listen to the drops rattling on the roof in their staccato, tinny-sounding fashion.  There's a wonderfully diverse quality to rain; when one is out walking in it, it invigorates, it refreshes, and it cleanses.  Yet, when one takes the time to regard its presence in quiet contemplation from the comfort of a dry haven, it also relaxes the mind and soothes the soul.

Sadly, refuge in the garden cellar of my youth is a couple of houses ago and many years in the past.  However, I can still seek sanctuary in its shadows with one short step into the hallowed halls of memory.  As Cicero himself said: "Memory is the treasury and guardian of all things."  Failing that, of course, I can always go and sit in my nice new acrylic garden shed and listen to the rain pitter-patter all around me, the door half-open to allow me to watch it in silent awe.

******

Incidentally, the photo below was taken almost thirty years ago outside the very cellar mentioned, around twenty years after I had moved from the house.  How did I manage that, do I hear you ask?  Ah, but that's a story for another time.

MIGHTY MARVEL COLLECTED EDITION CHECKLIST - ON SALE NOW!

The ASTONISHING SPIDER-MAN #47

Copyright MARVEL COMICS.  Published by PANINI

52 action-packed pages of arachnid adventure!

There’s been a major theft the likes of which we’ve never seen and for once, the Black Cat didn’t do it.  But Spider-Man might need the help of his once-foe-once-friend-once-crime-boss Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat!  Trouble is the Black Cat still wants to clean her claws with Spidey’s face!  By Nicks Spencer & Humberto Ramos!

Reprinting material from Amazing Spider-Man #9 &10.

On sale Now!

£4.50.

Dr. MESMER'S REVENGE...

Copyright REBELLION

Got this great book today, which I'm looking forward to working my way through when I can find the time to apply myself.  The cover is slightly misleading though, because the cover attributes the strip to THUNDER, and the stories within were actually first published in the combined LION & Thunder.  (The correct credit is given inside.)  However, that's a somewhat minor niggle as it contains some terrific artwork by CARLOS CRUZ, illustrating great stories written by DONNE AVENELL.  Definitely one to add to your collection if you're a fan of classic British adventure strips.  Dr. MESMER'S REVENGE - rush right out and get yours now!  (No, silly - the book, not your revenge!)  Priced £14.99.