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When was it now? Lemme see - late '60s perhaps, no later than 1970 while I was yet a primary school pupil. On the way back from the town centre, my family stopped at what was called 'the old Westwood shops' and popped into a newsagent's so my father could buy some tobacco for his pipe. Hanging high above the counter, affixed to a cord stretched between the top of the display cabinets on either side, I spied a Bugs Bunny toy and promptly bought it - or maybe 'twas my parents who made the purchase, can't quite recall.
It was known (and still is) as a Khoner's Jumpkin, and I spied one on eBay recently, still on its backing card, with an asking price of £150. Worry ye not, Crivvies, I opted for a far, far, far less expensive one without the backing card, as I only had a dim recollection of it, likely having disposed of the card almost immediately (or not long after getting home). To be honest, it's not much of a plaything, but in my constant quest to replace as many items from my childhood as I can, I just had to have it again - and now I do!
I didn't retain my original one for long, as, being rather limited in its playtime potential, I dismantled the toy and then put it back together again without the string, which, when pulled, had made Bugs' limbs go up and down as though he were jumping. If I recall correctly, I glued the arms and legs in place, transforming it into a 'static' item, with even less entertainment value than it had possessed before my adventurous administrations as to its function reduced it to not much more than an ornament as opposed to a toy.
There was also a Popeye one, I believe, though I don't think I've ever seen it, and it's more than likely there were others too. It's strange to think it's been around 58-60 years since I owned my original Bugs, but the immense span between then and now melted away once its replacement arrived at Castel Crivens to take up residence. Wish I had that length of time ahead of me to enjoy ownership, not just of Bugs, but also all my other 'clones' of childhood treasures, but I suppose I'll be lucky if I have half of that.
Lucky and grateful. So here's a slightly weird question for you all that's only just occurred to me; if you could pick a number of how many years you might have left in life, what would be the minimum you'd go for? Or would you rather not know when you were gonna go? Comments?
