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Back when I was a mere boy circa 1970 or thereabouts, a friend told me about the 'Just William' books by Richmal Crompton. (It seemed like decades before I learned Richmond was a woman and not a man.) "They're hilarious" he said - and he was right. He also told me about 'Alfred Hitchcock & The Three Investigator' books by Robert Arthur, though I'm uncertain as to which of the two series of books he recommended first. I'd actually already read 'The Mystery Of The Green Ghost', but I'm unsure as to whether I was aware there was more than one, but I was soon devouring them with relish.
In the late '70s I avidly watched the Just William TV show and a few years ago bought the DVD box set, which, one night, I took round to the flat of the same friend who'd first told me about the character and we watched a few episodes together. At some point he bought the two '70s Annuals from a charity shop (might've been before I bought the DVDs, might've been after), which prompted me to buy them from eBay as I'd certainly had the one for 1978 as a teenager, though I'm not sure about the one for 1979.
The friend was Joe, who died back in October, and I've been helping (in a small way) to pack up his stuff to be dispersed to charity shops, the local dump, and to anyone who wants any of it, his friends having had 'first pick' of what was available. Most of the items I picked were comics I'd given him going right back to the late '70s, though there was a few things which were new to me. Three or four days ago, I brought round to my house a bunch of books, a couple of which were the same two Just William Annuals he'd acquired a few years back.
And so the circle is complete. It was Joe who told me about the irrepressible William Brown nearly 60 years ago, so it seems rather fitting to now have his William Annuals in my possession to sit alongside my own. Do I need two copies of each book? No, but I somehow don't have the heart to dispose of them as being surplus to requirements. I'm sure Joe would approve.
Has a friend of yours ever recommended anything (movies, albums, or books) to you, which you were glad of, and which has added immense pleasure and enjoyment to your life that you might otherwise never have experienced? And which when you look at, listen to, or read, reminds you of them? Do tell if you'd be so good.
You recommended Wind In The Willows, Kid, which I'd never read so I downloaded an e-book version. That was in 2014 and whenever WITW is mentioned, on Radio 4 for example, I now feel familiar with the book and its' characters thanks to you!
ReplyDeleteAh, shucks, CJ, you're making me blush. Here's another recommendation for you - Moonfleet by J. Meade Faulkner.
DeleteKid, on the subject of WITW - a couple of months ago Radio 4 had a play called A Weasel's Tale which dramatised the later events of WITW as seen through the experience of a young weasel. I meant to mention it but I forgot though I wasn't sure if you'd have been interested anyway.
ReplyDeleteThis wasn't exactly a recommendation but I remember my father telling me about the Lady Chatterley trial in 1960 which lifted the long ban on Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence. My father read the book when it became available and he said it was rather saucy so when I saw a paperback version in WH Smith's about 15 years ago I bought a copy out of curiosity. It seemed very tame by today's standards and you'd probably find racier stuff in a Mills & Boon novel nowadays!
I think I heard it advertised beforehand, CJ, but I never got to listen to it. It sounds similar to Wild Wood, by Jan Needle, which was WITW from the stoats, weasels, and ferrets point of view. Quite enjoyed it.
DeleteAs for Mills & Boon, I'd better give such fiction a miss as I don't think my poor heart could withstand that sort of excitement now that I'm a doddery ol' git.
When I was in junior school, a friend recommended The Beano. At the time (1977) I was buying The Topper but I switched on his recommendation. The first issue I bought had a free gift of a 'Pop Pistol'. I think I stuck with the Beano until 1984 when I decided that I was too old for it although now I realise that you're never too old for something you enjoy.
ReplyDeleteThe Just William books are on my to do list, as are the Jennings books. I started reading the 3 Investigators books a few years back but got stuck at the Silver Spider which I felt dragged a little. Book 8 in the series I think.
I quite enjoyed the Silver Spider, M, and remember reading it in my former house. Re-read it only recently I thought, then realised it was around 30 years ago. Time flies, eh?
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