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I often wonder just how many people in the world are as happy or satisfied with their present circumstances and experiences as they are with past ones from their childhood, teenage, and early adult years. Things usually change (not always for the better) as time gradually unfolds, and there are places, people, and periods from my past I wish I still had access to - in reality as opposed to merely memory. Let me tell you about one of them.
When my family moved into a new (to us, though truth to tell, it was only two or three years old) house in 1965, a new church was in the process of being built across the road. Once completed, after a few years when any jumble sales or church fayres were held, I could often be found the night before as the tables were being set up (more on that in a moment), looking for second-hand toys, annuals, and bagatelles that probably wouldn't have been affordable to me brand-new, but certainly fell within my budget as 'pre-used' items.
We lived in that neighbourhood for 6 years and 7 months, and when we moved to my present domicile, I would still stroll along to see what goodies could be had to add to my stash of possessions that other people had relinquished. My mother still attended that church even after we'd flitted and she continued to receive requests from organisers for tins of food, unwanted bric-a-brac and the like, as donations to any upcoming jumble sales or fayres.
She would give them to me in a carrier bag to take along to the church building, which I was only too happy to do as it gave me unquestioned access to other contributions, and those in attendance who were arranging the presentation of said items had no objections to selling me any comic, book, or toy that took my fancy. These events invariably occurred on a Saturday, so I'd plod along on a Friday evening with some donations and then take my pick of what was on offer and thereby beat the Saturday melee, though I'd usually still attend that just to soak up the atmosphere.
Even when we flitted again in 1983, I continued this custom, and I yet own quite a few things today that were obtained in this fashion. When we returned to my current house in '87, the practice continued for a few years until the church was demolished and a new one erected in its place. Again, I still attended with a carrier bag of donations two or three times a year, until someone from the church started calling at our front door for them after a suitable advance warning/request for any unwanted goods. ('Twas the same for every member, not just us.)
And so my advance visits came to an end, but I have many happy memories of such occasions and wish I could yet indulge myself - even though the reality of being able to do so might no longer afford the same excitement and satisfaction (and hoard of goodies) as was once the case. (I miss the original building, demolished over 30 years ago.)
And what about you Crivvies? Do you have any moments from your past that have expired over time that you wish you could resurrect and once again experience a cherished, halcyon period from your childhood or teenage years? If so, let's read all about them, and maybe be reminded of our own long-gone days of yesteryear. The comments section awaits.
18 comments:
One memory that springs to mind for me is from the mid to late 70s when my brothers and I used to frequent the two used books stores in the town where I grew up, in search of comics. In the one we frequented the most, Bill's Book Bar, the books were on shelves along the walls and the comics kept on lower shelves closer to floor level. We'd sit on the floor, cross-legged, sorting comics from one pile to another sifting out the ones we wanted until we hit the limit of the money we had with us.
I still have many of the comics acquired back then, distinguished by the store's name, address and phone number stamped inside the cover. A detail that would probably lower the value should I ever sell them, which I won't.
The only way to pick up silver and bronze age comics now is to scroll through listings on eBay where the curated pricing sees titles with a perceived rarity listed with crazy price tags that I can neither afford or would willingly pay even if I could!
I wonder if our US friends would reject a comic with the T&P price stamp on the cover, PC, on the grounds that it's defaced? We Brits (of a certain age) are so used to seeing it, it's almost invisible after a while. Not too long ago, I replaced an issue of Lois Lane with a better copy, as the one I'd had for years (not my original) had a store's name and address stamped on the cover. It never really bothered me too much, then suddenly one day it did. That's another thing I miss; the trek to various newsagents scattered throughout the town in search of US comics, as each shop had some issues that others didn't. Most (if not all) of those shops no longer exist.
I also miss the weekly trek to local newsagents to pick up comics and also my weekly trip to Glasgow to visit comic specialist stores (Aka etc) and Indie record shops etc. Forbidden Planet and City centre comics are still there but I miss the wee indy I stores with the musty smell of paper. I miss my brother, parents and pals and family that have passed , but in general I am as happy now as I was in the past.
I sometimes wonder whether I've ever truly been happy beyond a mere nodding acquaintance with the notion, McS. I suppose you having someone to share your life with might be what makes the difference, but I fear I might feel suffocated if I was part of a 'double act'. Thing is, I've always missed the past from an early age, so I guess it's congenital with me. Bring back Woolworth's, Lewis's, Safeway, and Tam Shepherd's is what I say.
I used to love meeting the kids around town to play sports depending on the season…..football (American), basketball, or baseball. The games were fun, but I treasured the back and forth between my friends and it always drew a nice crowd. It was sad when everyone started going to college or beginning a work career. Now there are buildings where we used to play our games.
I also loved my trips to the store to pick up comics…..riding my bicycle until the store in town stopped carrying them and then driving weekly to a city 30 minutes away when I got my license. I eventually “outgrew” them when I went off to college, actually I was so busy with schoolwork I wasn’t able to stay with them. It was always exciting to see the next issue of any series I was following.
I actually had that same feeling with record stores. Lots of times, I would just be browsing and find some hidden treasures thumbing through the racks. Now, finding a record store is a challenge and book stores are getting that way.
It's always sad when much-loved routines, places, and people finally fade from our everyday lives, G. Having said that, if they didn't, we wouldn't then have the bittersweet experience of wistfully remembering them after the fact. Catch 22? Part of the 'magic' is unconsciously believing we have forever in front of us as kids and teens, which is a harder illusion to maintain when we get older and realise it's exactly that - an illusion.
I don’t have any such detailed recollections, but I do recall buying The Beaver Annual 1962 at a school fete when I was a child. It reprinted Hanna-Barbera Flintstones, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound and PIxie & Dixie comic strips in full colour from the American Dell comics of 1961. It also featured journalistic pieces about celebrities and sports stars of that time period. I enjoyed re-reading those comic pages and the nostalgia in the articles of a time that I never knew. I still have this book that’s why I can remember what it contained.
As a teenager I bought a copy of the original Marvel Conan the Barbarian #1 from a local market stall for 5p. It was the first (and only) number one of a famous comic character that I ever owned, therefore it had a special place in my comic collection for some time. I got rid of most of my comics by the end of my teenage years (thrown in the dustbin), however this comic fascinated me for some time, and I kept hold of it for a few more years and later sold it to Forbidden Planet in London for £25.
Life goes in so fast after your 30s, I can't believe that I retired yesterday after working for nearly 50 years, the last of the late 1970s intake ( not that I worked in the same place, I had 7 separate employers). It only seems like a few years ago I started to look at retiring and now it's here . We tend to think we're invaluable but we're not, we are just a cog in the machine. I imagine some new guy has already taken over my job and he/she will say the same thing in 50 years time....
I bought CTB #1 a few years back and wish it had only cost me £25, Anon, but it was quite a bit more than that. One of my friends had a copy back in the day, given to him by a neighbour, and whenever I look at my issue, I'm once again sitting on his back doorstep, drinking in Barry Smith's art. I wonder if you'd sold all your comics instead of binning them, just how much you'd have got for them all?
Happy retirement ol' timer, though it's all downhill from here on in. Well, let's hope it's not and that you now devote yourself to interesting blogposts and philanthropy, and helping small animals and children. And you can bung me a few quid from time-to-time if you like - all donations gratefully received (and squandered).
I grew up in a village which had a fete every year (we called it a carnival) and there was always a stall selling old books. I remember buying an early Marvel annual (1973?) and a Doctor Who annual from the Patrick Troughton era even though I was unfamiliar with Troughton's Doctor or his companions. One year there was a pile of Look-In magazines from several different years and though I didn't buy any of them I did notice that Look-In always started again at No.1 in the first week of January every year which seemed quite strange to me at the time.
What was the cover like on the Marvel Annual, CJ? If it was The Hulk hoisting a cannon into the air, with a red background, that was the 1973 Annual, issued towards the end of '72. I didn't start buying Look-In until 1975, and then only for a short time. I have a handful of issues in my collection, including the first and the last.
Yes, it probably was the 1973 annual, Kid. On the subject of Patrick Troughton - I started watching Dr Who at the very end of the Troughton era when I was only three but I'd totally forgotten Troughton's Doctor by the time I bought that Who annual from the fete around 1977.
Memory is a funny thing, CJ. I used to watch Ivanhoe when I was a small boy, but when I saw Roger Moore in The Saint, I didn't recall him as the actor who played Ivanhoe. Same with Peter Purves in Doctor Who; when he later turned up in Blue Peter, I didn't realise he was once the Doctor's sidekick.
And neither did I recall that Micky Dolenz from The Monkees was the same actor (under the name of Micky Braddock) who'd played Circus Boy, which I'd watched as a kid.
I was totally unaware of that Shazam 40's to the 70's book, Kid. Is it a hardback? I may see if I can track one down. I still have my original Batman '30s to '70s UK paperback edition, published by Crown, I believe. I don't believe that we ever had the hardback editions in the UK? Did we?
Re your observation about US collectors reacting to a T&P stamp....in my experience people see it is an interesting curio, but does not affect the value of the book. Many 1960s newsstand-distributed comics here in the US have a date stamp on the cover for when they were sent to the retailer, for example. The T&P stamp is part of the UK distribution process. CGC regard any stamp which is part of the distribution process to not affect the value of a comic.
If the manager in my local comic shop here west of Chicago comes across an old comic with a T&P stamp, he puts it aside for me. It seems a strange "coals to Newcastle" situation when a comic has been across the Atlantic and then found it way back to the States.
Yes, it's a hardback, B. There was also a Wonder Woman volume, though I've never seen it anywhere. The only hardbacks of the Supes and Bats volumes that MIGHT have been available in the UK would've been imports from the States, but I couldn't state with any confidence that they were ever imported. I've got the first and second printings of the UK softcover versions, plus a US hardback of each that I bought via eBay.
Americans may not mind the T&P stamped issues, but I hear they're not too keen on earlier editions where the US price (10c) was replaced by the UK one (9d), and the date on the cover was omitted - even though they were printed on the same presses as the US issues.
Funnily enough, I prefer to have my US issues stamped with the T&P symbol - they don't seem 'genuine' without it.
I took a look on your behalf, B, and there are several copies of the book available on eBay at various prices and in varying conditions.
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