RAMBLING REPOST: NEW COINS FOR OLD...

Following the previous post, I thought this earlier one on the same theme might prove interesting to those who've forgotten it from its first outing.  Remember now, despite the above set being described as Britain's first decimal coins, the first one was actually the Florin, first introduced in 1849.  (Like, wow!)

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If you're anywhere around my age, you'll no doubt remember L.s.d. from back in the 1960s.  No, not the similarly-named hallucinogenic drug of which hippies were reputedly so fond, but Britain's system of currency (pounds, shillings and pence, from the Latin, 'librae, solidi, denari) before decimalisation was officially introduced in 1971.  (Although usually pronounced and written as 'L.s.d.', apparently the proper way to render it is '£sd'.) 



What most of us tend to forget however, is that two years before 'D-Day', some decimal coins were introduced into our £sd currency.  In 1968, the five, ten, and fifty 'new' pence coins were issued, mingling quite happily with the threepenny (pronounced thruppenny) bit, sixpences, shillings and florins (two shilling piece), until the new decimal system officially took over.  The old sixpence (tanner) continued in circulation until 1980, and shillings and florins were interchangeable with their counterparts for many years after, until the size of the new coins was reduced in the early '90s.

When I bought the above set around twenty years ago, I was amazed by how many of my pals claimed to remember it, saying that they were given one of these little blue plastic wallets at school.  They can't all be mistaken, so I can only assume that I was off the day they were handed out because I definitely never received one.  I didn't even know they existed until I saw them in a coin catalogue back in the early '90s.

So, if you were one of the lucky ones who received a decimal coin set as a child, enjoy this look back at a moment in time which I never got to share - and then feel free to reminiscence about it in the ever-lovin' comments section.

ARE YOU A BIT OF A SPY?

Here's a question for you - when did Great Britain first adopt decimal currency?  February 15th 1971 you say?  Well, you're right, though you're not completely right, as the Florin (two bob bit) was actually our first decimal coin, and it was introduced in 1849.

I learned that fact from the above little book, dug out of a box in my attic the other day.  It was published in 1969, and no doubt my father purchased it then - or perhaps in 1970/'71.  To think it's been lying up in the loft for all this time is rather amazing.

I-SPY was a great series of booklets, and I remember buying a couple in Blackpool back in 1973 or '74 (I think it was '74 in fact), which I've still got somewhere.  Did you ever have any of these little booklets?  Let's hear all about them then.

BABE Of The DAY - MICHELLE KEEGAN...

Here's lovely MICHELLE

KEEGAN - putting 'red-hot' into

 that red dress she's wearing.

RETURN Of The CAPED CRUSADERS...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Fans of ADAM WEST's and BURT WARD's portrayals of BATMAN and ROBIN may be interested in this new animated DVD movie, featuring the voices of West, Ward and the seductive JULIE NEWMAR.  I haven't watched it yet, so can't give any details as to its merits (or lack of them), but you can always buy it and then make up your own minds on the matter.

RAMBLING REPOST: WHERE WERE YOU IN SEPTEMBER 1967?

"Looking back to those days of old ere the gate shut to behind me..."

 From 'The Golden Age' by Kenneth Grahame.

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The above photo was taken in September 1967 by departing teacher Mrs. TIGHE (not sure about the spelling, to be honest), in front of the annexed huts in the grounds of my primary school.  I can actually recall the photo being taken, and can only assume that Mrs. Tighe wanted a memento of her 'angelic' pupils to look back on in later years.  Maybe she was just trying out for a career as a photographer though, as she made copies available (can't recall whether she charged us or not) to those of us who wanted one.

The image is off-centre, as you can see, but I decided to leave it un-cropped in order to make an ego-feeding speculation.  The exact middle of the photo lies between myself (I'm wearing my blue jumper, but that wasn't the day I was at the zoo with DOUGAL and FATHER TED) and DAVID DRUMMOND (on my left), and I can't help but think that Mrs. Tighe naturally gravitated towards me as the most obvious centre of attention.  (I know what you're thinking, but I prefer my version.)

The blond boy on crutches further along in the same row is GAVIN REID, alas now sadly deceased.  He had his right leg strapped up behind him all through primary school (due to some medical condition), and it came as a surprise when I later saw him in secondary school walking normally without the crutches.  He started secondary the year after me, so he may have discarded the crutches in his last year at primary, or in the school holidays between changing schools.  He was killed in a motorbike accident, aged only about 18 or 19, I think, in the late '70s.  (Update: ROBERT BAIRD, next to him on the left of the picture, died of Covid in January of 2021, and ALAN BOWIE, far left, end row, died of cancer in January of 2013, though I didn't learn of his demise until over ten years later in September of 2023.)

Not long before Gavin died, my parents told me that someone had asked them if they were "Gordon Robson's mum and dad" as they waited at a bus stop, and when they confirmed that they were, asked them to pass on his regards.  "Gavin Reid was his name" they said, recounting the incident to me when they got home that night.  Poor Gavin.  To endure a childhood infirmity for so long, and then be cut short in his prime.  He used to play football in the playground, using his crutches for support as he kicked the ball around, or sometimes using one of them to blooter the ball between the 'goalpost jumpers'.  I can still see him in my mind's eye to this day, hopping around as fast as any jackrabbit ever could.

Returning to David Drummond, he used to trot along to my house on November 5th for two (maybe three) years in a row, in order to partake in our 'Bonfire Night' celebrations.  Lest you think we indulged on a grand scale, let me disabuse you of any such notion by revealing that it consisted mainly of waving sparklers around and setting off a couple or so bangers, with a handful of rockets from the smallest box of fireworks available.  Nothing grand by any means, but David's parents didn't observe the 'Fawkes festivities', so he shared in our meagre show held within the perimeters of our back garden.

A 2023 replacement for the Santa Raymond gave me

Three along from me on my right is RAYMOND BENNIE, who emigrated to Australia around '68 or '69.  I haven't seen him since and sometimes wonder what happened to him and whether he's ever been back to visit.  On the only occasion I was ever in his house, he gave me a stuffed Santa (which may have been a cat's toy) and I have fond memories of me and my brother playing 'dodge it' as we tried to hit each other with poor ol' Mr. Claus from opposite sides of our bedroom on Saturday or Sunday mornings. 

At least two other people in the photo (AUDREY HAMILTON and GORDON FAIRBAIRN) also emigrated Down Under in later years, Louise around 1983, and Gordon in '88 or '89.  I know Australia's a big place, but I'd like to think that they run into each other on occasion and reminisce about happy days gone by.  Just imagine that, in the fullness of time, everyone in the photo (apart from myself) were to emigrate over there - I wonder if they'd even remember me?

Ah, so many familiar faces, so many meandering memories.  Funny how events from nearly 50 years ago can sometimes seem as fresh and as close as what happened only yesterday.

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29 years ago, I returned to the playground with a framed copy of the photo from 20 years earlier, and snapped myself beside it on the same spot.  The annexed wooden huts had been gone for some years by then,  The school followed them into oblivion at the beginning of 2014 after a replacement building had been erected in the football fields nearby.

Me, with photo to my right, in front of the former site of the huts sometime in 1987

WHO ARE YOU GONNA SPEND CHRISTMAS WITH?

The GO GO's are gonna spend it with a DALEK.  Sure beats spending it with the in-laws, eh?  (Not that I'd know from personal experience.)  Go on, admit it - 'cos they feel the exact same about you.

BABE Of The DAY - SOPHIA LOREN...

I wish I could think of something

interesting to say about this photo of

SOPHIA LOREN, but I've suddenly

gone all weak at the knees and need to

lie down for a bit.  I don't quite know

 why.  (Maybe it's my age.)

SPECTACULAR SPLASH PAGES #15...

Image copyright relevant owner

This story is interesting in that there was once a TRIGAN EMPIRE strip with essentially the same plot.  One day I'll get around to checking which tale came first, but in the meantime, let's just enjoy this spectacular splash page by JACK KIRBY & JOE SIMON.  Now that's what I call activity!

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Oh, wait a minute, what was I thinking?  FIGHTING AMERICAN was published in the '50s, The Trigan Empire in the '60s, so I guess that settles the matter.

THE MEANING OF C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S. ...

JIM REEVES spells out the meaning of

Christmas.  Listen to him hold that crystal-

clear note at the end of the song.  Lovely.

BABE Of The DAY - EMILY PROCTER...

There was a knock on my door last week and

when I opened it, there stood EMILY PROCTER.

"Come on in and make yourself at home" I said to her.

Well blow me down with a twirly straw, she did!  I like

my guests to be comfy, but Emily is taking me a tad too

literally, as you can see from the above photo.  (And

 she eats like a horse, lemme tell ya.)

RECOMMENDED READING: X-MEN EPIC COLLECTION VOLUME TWO...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

There's nothing I like more than a good bit of X.  In fact, it could be said that I'm very highly Xd, but I don't like to brag.  Given my strong X drive, it's hardly surprising that this new book is right up my street.  It's seriously Xy, so you're bound to love it too.  MARVEL's X-MEN EPIC COLLECTION Volume 2 is in your local friendly comicbook store now!

PICK A COLOUR - WHITE OR BLUE...?

What colour of Christmas do you think you're going to have,

Criv-ite chums?  As far as I know, there are only two choices -

white or blue - and neither of them is mutually exclusive.

SSSSHHH! The EMPEROR Has A SECRET...

The DALEKS copyright BBC TV and the Estate of TERRY NATION

If you're a doddery old fart fogey like me, you'll recall when the golden DALEK EMPEROR was challenged by ZEG, the red Dalek, to a duel for supremacy, as recounted in the pages of TV CENTURY 21.  Although red is my favourite colour, I cheered on the Emperor and was glad when he won.  Well, now you lucky peeps are in for a rare treat, for here's a four-page tale about the very chappie, from the pages of The DALEK OUTER SPACE Book.  Enjoy!

BABE Of The DAY - VICTORIA VETRI...

This sure looks to me like VICTORIA VETRI

hatching from an egg.  I've been misinformed about

the facts of life.  (I thought when the stork brought

 them, they were pre-hatched and ready to go.)

SPECTACULAR SPLASH PAGES #14...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

Continuing our Crivens super series of spectacular splash pages, now ain't that a kick in the head?  CAPTAIN MARVEL gives it to The CONTROLLER, big-time, in a no holds barred, no punches spared, and no kicks left out fight-fest that's sure to have left at least one of them with a headache.   A JIM STARLIN (pencils) and AL MILGROM (inks) power-packed presentation.

YOGI PLAYS SANTA...

Images copyright HANNA-BARBERA Productions, Inc

Here's the bold bruin YOGI BEAR in a Christmas adventure from 1962/'63, when he was regularly appearing on TV.  He's still a major cartoon (and big-budget movie) star today, so not only is he smarter than the average bear, he's longer-lasting, too.  Let's see what he and his furry friend BOO BOO are up to...

And below is the cover to the tale you've just read.

BABE Of The DAY - LEE MERIWETHER...

Here she is, fellas - the cat's pyjamas.

None other than the alluringly lovely LEE

MERIWETHER playing CATWOMAN in

the 1966 BATMAN movie.  (I'd give her a

 saucer of milk any day of the week.)

RECOMMENDED READING: SUPERMAN IN THE '70s...

Images copyright DC COMICS

SUPERMAN In The '70s is one in a series of books covering different decades in the Man of Steel's comicbook career.  It was published in 2000, but may well still be in print.  If not, eBay or Amazon might be able to accommodate you, should you decide you just have to add it to your collection.  Check your local comicbook store first, though, as they may still have copies in stock.  Give 'em a try!

  

HAVE YOU GOT AN OLD CHRISTMAS CARD?

Christmas is the season for sentiment, and

you can't get more sentimental than this particular

song.  So sit back and relax, and let the man whose

voice is like the echo of a whisper wash away your

troubles with this soothing little number.

RECOMMENDED READING: CAPTAIN MARVEL - THE 'COMPLETE' COLLECTION...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Okay, strictly speaking, this new MARVEL softcover collected edition of CAPTAIN MARVEL isn't really complete, in that it doesn't reprint every Captain Marvel story ever published.  It does, however, contain all the issues produced by JIM STARLIN, which is nothing to be sniffed at.  Just read the spiel on the back cover, then get yourselves straight over to your nearest comicbook store and buy one today!

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(Incidentally, the quality of reproduction in this volume is far superior to that of the 1990 softcover book, The LIFE And DEATH Of CAPTAIN MARVEL, so it's worth buying for that fact alone.  Well, just what're you waiting for??!)

(BOND) BABE Of The DAY - JULIE EGE...

"C'mon in, the water's lovely!" says divine

JULIE EGE.  She's not fooling me though - she

only wants me to find the soap and then scrub her

back.  Er, wait a sec - that's hardly a chore, is it?

"Okay, count me in - make room, Julie!"

The POWER Of The DALEKS...

DR. WHO copyright BBC TV.  The DALEKS copyright BBC TV and the Estate of TERRY NATION

Someone I know very kindly gave me the new DOCTOR WHO DVD, The POWER Of The DALEKS recently.  The master tapes were wiped in the '60s & '70s, but the soundtrack to each episode somehow survived.  Cue some bright spark suggesting utilising animation to resurrect the episodes for modern-day viewing.  Great idea, woeful execution, alas.

Sadly, the animation isn't much better than an episode of CAPTAIN PUGWASH. So far I've watched the special features disc and the first episode of the actual serial, but the BBC should really have put more money into the project as it's painfully obvious that it was produced on an extremely limited budget.  So just what's wrong with it?

What isn't?  The accompanying booklet is riddled with typos that render some sentences gibberish, and, on screen, there's no consistency between the sizes of POLLY and BEN.  Sometimes Ben is taller than Polly, sometimes it's the other way around, and sometimes they're both the same size.  You can actually see through the DOCTOR's coat to his shirt and braces underneath, and in one scene his left hand is several times the size of his right and can be seen through his body.

The animation is basic and jerky, the backgrounds static, with characters often facing in the wrong direction to what's supposed to be occurring the other way.  The animation in SCOOBY DOO is better, so that should give you all an idea of just how bad it is.  In one scene, the Doctor and his two companions are being kept in a room, and Ben and Polly are seen in"suitable clothing" - which hasn't yet been given to them at that point in the story.

Anyway, I'll persevere with the remaining episodes when my masochistic tendencies kick in again, but I may just book an appointment with the dentist instead.  Not quite one to avoid, because the documentary on the making of the programme is interesting, but don't expect PIXAR quality animation or you're bound to be disappointed.  Marks?  Only four out of ten, sadly.  Should've been  much better.

LINKS, CHAINS, AND PAINS...

The attitude of some people often astounds me, and the following story is a perfect example of just what I'm talking about.  Almost ten years back, I worked in a watch repair shop.  At one time, after I'd left its employ, myself and a friend were in negotiations to buy the business, but eventually pulled out of the deal as the incompetent owners couldn't get their act together (though I'll bet that's not what they told the person they eventually sold it to).  But I digress.

One day, a women I knew came into the shop looking to have links removed from a chain bracelet of some kind.  The standard charge for this particular procedure was £7.99, but because she was a member of a church I'd once attended when younger, I decided to do her a favour.  After I'd completed the task, she asked me how much she owed and I smiled and told her just to give me two quid.

The manageress was in that day observing proceedings, so I was quite prepared to make up the £6 discount from my own pocket simply to do the woman a good turn.  She looked taken aback, and grudgingly started to reach for her purse.  Noticing her scowl, I asked her why she didn't seem too happy.  "I think you've got a cheek asking for that" she responded.  It was now my turn to be taken aback.  I explained that I was letting her off with six quid and therefore didn't understand her attitude, and to remember that it was a business and not a charity. 

Anyway, she paid up and left, but the experience dispirited me.  Had she expected me to do it for nothing merely because we were acquainted?  If I'd worked in Asda, would she have expected me to wave her through the checkout with a box of biscuits without charging her?  Who goes into a shop looking for goods or services without expecting to pay?  I'm still staggered by her attitude.

No doubt when relating her version of events to her friends, I was painted as the bad guy.  It brings to mind the old saying - "No good deed goes unpunished."

Too true, mate - too bleedin' true.   

BING'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS...

Continuing our Yuletide theme, here's BING CROSBY letting us all

know that he'll be home for Christmas.  Wonder if it'll be a white one?

RECOMMENDED READING: Dr. STRANGE - The OATH...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

You all know the drill by now - I let the official spiel on the back cover speak for itself.  Suffice to say that if you're a Dr. STRANGE fan, then you're sure to love The OATH - no sweary words involved.  By The Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth, race right 'round to your nearest friendly neighbourhood comicbook store and buy this book today!  (Or The Omnipotent Oshtur will bite you on the bum!)