Maybe it's not really the case, but the world seems like a far noisier and busier place these days, what with people playing radios for all to hear in their front and back gardens, kids screaming their lungs out at completely unnecessary levels, and the sound of increased traffic permeating the air, so that rare moment of peace and tranquillity was very welcome and, as I said, a nice reminder of simpler, less hectic times. I almost felt like digging out a back issue from the '70s and extending the moment by burying my nose in its contents.
When was the last time you had such a moment, fellow Crivvies, and, like me, were reminded of a distant age, when the simplest and best of pleasures could be found within the enchanting pages of a weekly or monthly comic? And if any particular periodical conjures up memories of the type I've just described, when you likewise thought that forever lay in front of you, which one was it and what made it so special? Revive your past in the comments section before your recollections dissipate like morning mist in the rays of the summer sun.
12 comments:
I live in a cottage on the main road of my current town. When I first moved here it was a busy but relatively quiet road/town . Now with the town growing (the town has added around 7,000 to the population and the surrounding villages are also growing) the road is busy 24/7 with lorry’s and cars as the main M74 junction to Glasgow/Carlisle etc is only about 2 miles away .
Luckily we have a large back garden and for some reason despite the busy main road it is lovely and quiet there. My partners turned the garden into an amazing space with plants, garden furniture / features etc so I’m lucky as it really is a stunning wee oasis with birds, bees etc - she’s done a great job. The front garden we just leave, we keep it tidy etc but you couldn’t sit there due to the cars (and the ignorant folk that just drop litter everyday - that stresses me out big time so I am leaning just to pick it up and pop it in my bin now.
When I get time I love to sit in the garden with my cuppa and relax and its like the 60s again when I was a kid with that nice quiet feel we used to have in less hectic times. Our neighbour has 2 babies but they are lovely and quiet, the odd wee laugh and gurgle which is nice to hear. While I totally understand that folk now can (at times) be less thoughtful I recall similar issue in the 1970s with neighbours playing loud music, drinking and kids screaming etc. so its certainly not new but I think some folk now can be much more ignorant of others and self-centred than we were in the past so I understand 100% your “pain”. Its not going to get better we have generation coming up of some truly great/kind folk but with that comes a lot of loud mouthed aggressive self opinionated (I'm on a roll here) lowlife trash - I genuinely feel for the decent folk in the future.
I don't mind babies so much (unless they're having a 2 hour cry-fest), it's kids and teenagers who bug me. But I've banged that drum before, so won't bore you with it further. I almost envy you and your back garden, McS, and as for it being quiet, I suppose it's down to the acoustics of the area and how it's laid out that defines which sounds travel and which don't. A guy across the road from me has just replaced a hedge with a high fence, and already I can hear his kids screaming in his back garden because there's no barrier of shrubbery to muffle the sound. Y'know, I've never yet seen a hedge blown over in a strong wind, but I've seen plenty of fences blown down. I don't know why people do it - apart, of course, to avoid having to trim the hedge.
I grew up in a cul-de-sac in a village which was mostly quiet but there were noisy kids too at times (I suppose I was one of them back in the '70s) but now I live in the centre of town and there's a garage/auto-repair business opposite me which can get a bit noisy but I don't really mind. At night though it's really quiet and I like to relax by sitting in my kitchen, drinking a cappuccino from my special Costa coffee mug and listening to something on BBC Sounds on my phone (eg: a programme from Radio 4 that I missed when it was first broadcast). I have an orange night light in my kitchen which I switch on so the room is dark except for a cosy orange glow.
That sounds ideal, CJ. When can I move in? Though you'll have to find somewhere else to live 'cos I'm not one for sharing. McS can no doubt set you up with a nice Scottish lassie and you can move in with her. Don't worry, I'll look after your gaff while you're trying to make babies.
I've only been able to sit in my kitchen as described above since last year because I never had anything previously to actually sit on. But last May I found the perfect thing - a stool lying abandoned on its' side next to some black plastic bags full of rubbish. It was obviously intended to be thrown out so I took it home with me and cleaned it up until it was good as new. The stool has a round wooden seat with a back and four metal legs and it's just perfect for my needs - I'm sitting on it at this very moment while typing on my laptop in my kitchen.
Sitting in the kitchen is a good idea, 'cos it means you're near the fridge if you fancy a snack. Got a telly in the kitchen, CJ?
No, unless you count my laptop on which I watch content from BBC iPlayer.
By the way, Kid - I've just been reading your comment on Rip Jagger's Dojo concerning your memories of FF #150. That FF story holds a memory for me too from when it appeared in The Complete Fantastic Four in January 1978. I came home from school to discover there was a power cut and it was also the day I got my weekly comics (Complete FF, SSM and Rampage). I should have waited until the electricity came back on but that might take hours for all I knew so I read the wedding of Crystal and Quicksilver by candlelight.
What, no torch? Oh, what a deprived childhood you must've had, CJ. Every boy should have a torch by which to read his comics. You'll be telling me next that you had a generator powered by your pet hamster running in his wheel.
Strange as it seems FF 150 hold a strong memory for myself as well. My dad bought me that issue as my mum getting an operation and was out the house . I recall reading it and although missed my mum (and was worried about her having an operation) I had a nice time chatting to my dad for the 3 or 4 days my mum was away. That comic takes me right back to that time.
You, CJ, and me will have to start a club, McS - the FF 150 club. Today a club, tomorrow the world. You've just given me an idea for a post - all will be revealed shortly.
Reading Spider-man comics weekly. Of course I was aware of the new Marvel and DC books so I knew I was reading reprints but they were all new to me. Spidey himself and Ditko started hitting with Sandman issue. I was actually ten years late to the party but I read all the silver age stories at the right age. I will always remember riding my bike to the newsagent to find the colour Marvel comics . Funny I don’t remember how they came home, in a bag or stuffed in a trouser pocket or what !
I was going to suggest that perhaps you read some comics balancing them on the handlebars as you cycled, but then I realised you'd have remembered that due to crashing into lampposts on the way home. I'd actually read the stories in MWOM and SMCW a few years before in Wham!, Smash!, and Pow!, etc., but it was still good to see them again.
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