HOW TO RECAPTURE YOUR LONG-AGO YOUTH - ESPECIALLY PARTS YOU MAY'VE MISSED AT THE TIME... (Updated)

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I recently purchased the complete series of Man In A Suitcase on dvd, and it's amazing how many episodes I'm seeing for the very first time.  There was only one series of 30 episodes ever made, and I'd mistakenly assumed that I must've seen all of them over the years at one point or another.  To think that I'm only just now seeing some episodes that were initially broadcast when I was around 8 or 9 years of age means that I'm sort of going back in time to see something I should've seen then, but didn't.  (Or maybe I did, but just don't remember.  Either way, it amounts to the same thing.)

Man In A Suitcase is an excellent show, and lead actor Richard Bradford is perfect as the disgraced former CIA agent who was set up to take the rap for helping someone defect to the other side.  Bradford died four years ago (2016) at the age of 81 or 82 (depending on which source you read), but there he is on my TV screen, as young as fit as he ever was, when he was a grown-up and I was a mere kid.  I'm now far older than he was then, which is a bit scary, but I temporarily forget that little fact while watching the show, as I'm returned to another house in another neighbourhood in another age, when I still enjoyed the illusion that I had eternity in front of me and Death was a stranger I'd never meet.

Did you watch Man In a Suitcase back in the '60s, readers, and what did you think of the show?  How do you think it compared to other '60s shows like The Saint, The Baron, Department S, The Avengers, The Champions, Adam Adamant, Callan, and Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)?  Tell all in the comments section.

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Having now watched all 30 episodes, I'm astounded by the fact that I only seem to remember seeing about two of them back in the '60s.  In fact, I may be remembering them from repeats in the '70s or '80s.  I can only assume that I watched the opening credits for the great title music, then switched off my brain (not the TV) and read a comic or something.  There are a few scenes in a few other episodes that seem vaguely familiar, but overall, my recent viewing of the show was like watching a completely new series starring a familiar character.  Well, that's me caught up with another piece of my past - I wonder what'll be next?!   

AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN...

Taken in my pal's back garden a couple of nights ago

It was sometime in 1969 (if I recall correctly), that a classmate offered to sell me some back issues of Fantastic and Terrific, which I eagerly accepted.  I accompanied him back to his house after school, whereupon his mother told him to give them to me for nothing, presumably because they were only going to be thrown out to clear some space in a cupboard.  Understandably, he wasn't too happy, but reluctantly complied with his mother's instruction.  (I've never forgotten sitting at the top of the stairs, looking through the comics that I was about to acquire.)  I eventually made it up to him around three and a bit years later by giving him (unprompted) just slightly more than the amount originally agreed upon, as I was still feeling a tiny bit guilty about him being deprived of the whopping sum of either one shilling and thruppence or one and ninepence.  (I gave him ten new pence, being two shillings in 'old' money, the extra remuneration being 'interest'.)
  

A replacement, acquired in 1980, for one of the comics I got in 1969

It was to be 18 years before I returned to his house on three more occasions in the late '80s and early '90s, when he was there visiting or staying with his parents after living and working abroad.  Fast forward almost 30 years, and I've now been in his family home at least another dozen times since April this year, as he's been travelling up from England (where he now lives, and has done for a long time) to prepare the house for putting on the market, 55 years after his family first moved in back in 1965.  (Sadly, his elderly mother has dementia and had to go into a care home last December as she can no longer look after herself.)  In fact, he's been staying in the house for almost the last three weeks (with it going up for sale only a few days ago), and he started back down to England this morning, currently being sat on a train in transit as I type.

The actual size replica photo, in my friend's house

Anyway, back in 1987, my pal gave me his original copy of a primary school class photograph taken in the playground just outside the annexed huts, as the one I'd owned had been lost, damaged, or thrown out back in the late '70s or early '80s.  The plan was that I'd have it copied and returned to him, but he generously let me keep it and supply him with an enlargement in its place.  The original had been snapped in 1967 by a departing teacher, presumably to remember her pupils by, and she had a number of extra copies developed to give one to each of us.  (I say 'give', but I can no longer recall whether they were free or we had to pay for the privilege.)

  

A scan of the original photo...

I've now had that photo for a whopping 33 years (which is nearly three times as long as I had my own copy of it), but, like with the comics, I've always felt a bit guilty about my pal being deprived of the original print he'd had from his '60s primary school days, even though I'd supplied him with a bigger, newer, professionally produced copy to replace it.  On the back of the original pic was printed 'Gratispool Sep 1967', missing from the new copy as, par for the course, only the front pictorial image had been duplicated, not the back.  However, I felt that the info on the back reflected the time it was first taken as much as the front and was incomplete without it, so I recently decided to remedy the situation.

...and the back.  Unsure if date is when it was taken or developed

Being the proud possessor of an excellent scanner and printer, I decided to scan both sides of the main photo and print out an actual-size copy, then present it to my pal so that it could spend some time in the very same house where the original had resided for 20 years before passing into my hands.  Things had turned full circle, the 'master copy' having come from that house, and its doppelganger having returned to it while still owned by one of the first tenants, the very person who gave me the photo 33 years ago.  It's now on its way to somewhere in England, tucked safely away in my pal's luggage, but the fact it (okay then, if you want to be picky, an exact duplicate) made it back to where it started from - even if only for several days - gives me an immense sense of satisfaction.  It feels like I've finally completed an unfinished task.

My pal's house - now up for sale

It's fairly safe to assume that my pal probably doesn't share my outlook to the same (or even any) extent as I do, but to me, it's a case of 'there and back again' (sort of) and that provides me with a huge measure of pleasure.  Bonkers I know, but it's always good to complete the circle, don't you think?  To my mind, it's the end of an era, as - even should my pal have to return to deal with anything concerning its sale - it's by no means certain he'll get to set foot inside the house again before it changes hands, never mind spend another night in it.  So it just seems immensely fitting to me that, henceforth, whenever he looks at that photo, not only will he associate its image with his old house when he first lived there as a child, but also from when just before, as an adult, he left it for perhaps the final time prior to another family eventually assuming ownership of it.

Oh, go on then - one more of the replica

Well, don't know about you, but I find that touching.  The comment section patiently awaits your thoughts (if any).  Feel free to say how mad you think I am, 'cos I don't think I could dispute it with any measure of confidence.

BABE Of The DAY - SYBIL DANNING...

Being a woman of beauty and

brains, Sybil Danning has referred

to Crivens on a couple of occasions on

her own site, though it doesn't mean she

agrees with every (or even any) particular

point of view expressed here.  However,

one thing she surely does recognise is

that we Crivs simply adore her - so

all hail the goddess Sybil!

HIGHLY INCONVENIENT...

I was in a local cafe the other day and had to visit the gents.  (I don't like using public toilets, but "needs must" as they say.)  I'd only just got settled on the seat when I heard a voice from the next cubicle say: "Hi, how's it going?"  I was taken aback for a second, but replied: "Aye, all right!", hoping that would be the extent of our interchange.  "What you doing at the moment?" the voice said.   "Er, same as you!" I replied.  "Is it all right if I come over?" the voice from next door enquired. "Well, I'm kind of busy at the moment!" I said, glancing up at the top of the dividing partition somewhat alarmed.  Then the voice said: "Look, I'll have to call you back - some idiot in the next cubicle keeps answering my questions!"

Ooer!  I wanted to disappear down the u-bend.

FRIENDS, GLASWEGIANS, CRIVVIES - LEND ME YOUR EYES...

Managed a rare trip into Glasgow today with an old school friend, and embarked on a wee tour around some familiar spots, including the area in the West End where I lived as a toddler back in prehistoric times.  (At least, that's what it feels like.)  Took a few photos, and the above one shows what once used to be The Odeon Cinema in Renfield Street, though before that, it was known as The Paramount Cinema until it changed hands after World War II.  It was built in 1934 and closed in 2006.

The above photo shows part of Kelvingrove Park, as do the following six.  I really should do some research and tell you something about it, but am far too lazy to bother.  Anyway, all you really need to know is that it's a very pleasant-looking spot and the higher level just off Park Circus has some nice views of Glasgow University.  I used to live just around the corner from both the park and university light-years ago, but was far too young to know about the unsavoury reputation of parts of the park at certain times, and in fact, only learned of it as an adult.  (Not as a participant, I hasten to add.)

Below is a nice-looking stairway next to the subway (no, not the eatery) on Great Western Road, running over the River Kelvin.  Next is a couple of pics of the Glasgow Coat Of Arms, followed by a few of Glasgow University and the flowerbed in the grounds.  In times past I used to sit in the quadrangle of the uni, and it was like being in an episode of Inspector Morse (or Lewis).  The Greek/Roman-looking building 11 pics down is further along the street just across the road from the university and ties into (sort of) this post's title.

Okay, I've kept the worst 'til last.  Below is the landing of the flat my family lived in a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, followed by my good self standing in the entrance to the building.  I really should've hitched up my trousers before the photo was taken, but that apart, the role of James Bond has surely got my name written all over it.  What do you mean, no?  Cheeky Crivvies!  Okay, that's your lot for now.  (Maybe not the best blog post in the world, but hey, it filled a space.) 

The PHANTOM VIKING - WHAT A CHAMPION!

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A nice little find in a charity shop through the week was the CHAMPION Annual 1968 (released near the end of '67), priced at a mere £1.  Being the generous sort, I thought I'd share one of the strips with you - THOR's UK stand-in, The PHANTOM VIKING.  Champion was a weekly comic from 1966 that lasted only 15 issues before being merged into LION, but it spawned two Annuals for '67 and '68, and I also have the first of them, having purchased it quite a number of years ago.

Anyway, let's see what Thor's relative is up to in the first of two strips contained in the Annual.  If you're all well-behaved and respond nicely (or even just respond at all), I'll maybe let you see the second strip, which is (alternately) in full and spot colour.  Helmets on?  Then let's go! 

BABE Of The DAY - VALERIE PEREZ...

Sparks sure fly when Wonder Babe

VALERIE PEREZ is around, and when-

ever I look at her I can see stars!  Why can't

I get a hot girlfriend like Val?  (And the first

person to say 'cause I'm an ugly buggah

 gets barred - iron barred!  Got it?!)

UNPUBLISHED COMICS - WHACKO!

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Back in the mists of time - well, around 1971 at least - some unidentified person or persons tried to get the LYONS company interested in producing a new comic called WHACKO!  (Or did Lyons approach a publisher like IPC with the idea?)  It may have been only a provisional name, but it was never published - though a single homemade 'dummy' was cobbled together by someone to show the company what it might look like.  Whoever came up with the idea - whether a Lyons employee or an outsider - is currently unknown, but the pages were discovered in a second-hand bookshop by someone (see last paragraph) quite a number of years ago.

If I rightly understand what I've read elsewhere, none of the strips used were specifically produced for the actual dummy, but culled from other sources.  Note that the concept of JOLLY ROLLO And His MAGIC FLUTE echoes that of PHIL The FLUTER (should actually be Flautist, but Fluter is 'smoother') from THUNDER (1970).  Was Jolly a rip-off of Phil, or an early 'prototype' that was later pressed into service for the dummy?  Perhaps we'll just never know.  ZOOM The SPACE DOG (a renamed HAPPY) seems similar in theme to strips like GALAXUS, BARRY & BOING, and, in particular, PADDY McGINTY'S GOAT, being a bit of a mix of them.

No original art was used in the dummy, the pages being merely boards with photocopies of strips stuck to them.  It's entirely possible that they were rejected proposals (with completely different strip titles, as Zoom/Happy seems to confirm) for IPC/FLEETWAY, which were then renamed to make the characters seem unique to Lyons & Co.  (I've digitally 'diluted' the shadows of the new logos pasted over the originals.)  The late and legendary cartoonist TERRY BAVE drew all the humour strips, so could he have been responsible for trying to interest Lyons in producing their own promotional 'custom comic', or was he called upon because he drew for IPC, who might've been the potential publisher on Lyons' behalf?

Or maybe it was an outside freelance project by an IPC editor, who asked Terry to come up with some ideas - or simply used some rejected strips of his.  Whichever of those scenarios it was, Terry never mentioned the comic in his autobiography, but if it was the latter, it's possible he never even knew that strips he'd submitted to IPC - possibly to try and drum up some extra work - had been renamed and included in the proposal for Whacko!  It may have been the same situation for the adventure strip artists, TOM KERR and JOHN RICHARDSON, to say nothing of the writers, whoever they were.

Would a comic priced at one new pence been a viable proposition for Lyons (or anyone) back in 1971?  Given the cost involved in producing a comic, it's doubtful it would ever have been intended as a 'giveaway', but perhaps the possibility of it being part of a promotional offer that readers could send away for, enclosing a penny (plus p&p?) along with several coupons cut from the wrappers or boxes of Lyons products was considered?  Again, the facts are probably lost to history, but isn't it fascinating to speculate?

Anyway, the pages have been shown before several years back on other blogs, but I suspect they're new to most Crivvies.  So thanks to STEVE HOLLAND from BEAR ALLEY BOOKS for permission to reproduce the pages (with a little mild enhancement by me for this presentation), to DEZ SKINN who produced an improved version of the cover (at the foot of the post), and to RICHARD SHEAF for finding them in a second-hand bookshop all those years ago.  What a discovery.

Does this look like the sort of comic you'd have bought as a kid?  Say yea or nay in the comments section - if you'd be so good.

FISHBOY, BIRDMAN Of BARATOGA, and
KID CHAMELEON spring to mind

A page from VALIANT by the look of it, suggesting
an IPC person's involvement in some capacity

DEZ SKINN wasn't too impressed by the cover logo,
so digitally reworked it to better effect