Alfred J Kwak

I have random stuff, I really do.

Amongst my card and sticker collections I have a few unopened packs.

The one below is a from a Panini sticker set for Alfred J. Kwak, which was a Dutch Japanese anime television series. The series lasted for 52 episodes, broadcast between 1989 and 1991.

I say that with some authority, but ..... that was internet searched info. I don't recall ever having heard of Alfred J Kwak. I just happen to have a pack of stickers!

Castles and Forts - An Instant Picture Book

Remember these? A picture book with a transfer sheet to create your own battle scenes by Patterson Blick.

Clearly I created some kick-ass historical battles as Henry II's knights lay siege in Normandy and defended their fortified base in Malta.

I'm particularly proud of the levitating knight over Chateau Gaillard, and the art of bow-warfare whilst falling. 😏

Royal Wedding Commemorative... Football!

Charles and Diana Royal Wedding Commemorative Memorabilia

Oh yes indeedy! No ceramic plates or mugs or anything of the sort for me.

This bad boy (the ball, not Charlie), sat on the desk in my bedroom for many years. I didn't want to play with it (though I suspect it probably got booted around my room once or twice) to keep it nice. Now, I'm not a big royal family fan, but even back then I probably had a eye for a collectors item! 😎

I haven't pumped it up since the day I got it, hence it's a bit misshapen. The photo is a bit blurrier than I thought it was so I might post a revised picture in the future.

Clown pencil case

If you have a phobia of clowns this one isn't for you! 😊

The design has several clowns on and you can change the heads (which are on the case lid) to make different clowns. Hours of fun!

I think I got the case in the early 1980s.

The Simpsons..... watch!

Watch The Simpsons, wear The Simpsons' watch!

In 2004 this was a watch was free as long as you bought (an maybe consumed) several boxes of Kelloggs cereal. 

Okay, this items breaks the 70s/80s/90s convention, but as The Simpsons was the most popular TV show of the 1990s I figured we can stretch it a little. Hey, afterall it is my blog!

Flash Gordon trading card

Heads up. This photo is a bit blurry. I'll redo it when I get a spare moment, I promise.

My memory is iffy at the best of times, so I'm not 100% sure how I came to own this Flash Gordon card. I collected various cards in the early 1990s so I suspect I may have got it whilst purchasing other cards.

I used to watch old Flash Gordon reruns on telly in the 1980s and, of course, the film of that era was enjoyable. After all these years I'm still mildly amused by the presence of Peter Duncan from Blue Peter!

We must sign off with a bit of Brian Blessed............"GORDON'S ALIVE!"

Random pull-back toy car

What it says on the title.

I'll have to find it again to add more info such as manufacturer, year of make etc.

Tomy stretch-legged Stoomdorm

Air pump powered fun! Me and and brother both had one of these cool gizmos. His (the Hoomdorm) hopped, mine (the unusually named Stoomdorm) scooted across the floor like a robotic rodent on steroids. Apparently they were marketed as "Space Pets". Weird.

Just pump up this bad boy and watch it clatter away, bringing unbridled carnage to livign rooms across the country. If you thought toy cars were a trip hazard, well these fellas moved so fast that the trip-factor increased tenfold. Probably.

I couldn't find a modern equivalent "Space Pet" - this thing below is the closest I could find.

3...2...1... It's Dusty Bin!

Ah, Ted Rogers. What a game show legend. The king of the cryptic clue! 3-2-1 was lowest common denominator stuff, but it was great TV too.

Dusty Bin was the shows's booby prize. You didn't get to take home the remote control bin with eyes, but if you did lose you got a little replica of Dusty Bin to take home.

No, I didn't go on the show. No, no-one in my family went on either. This was a wind-up toy version of the trashcan hero.

Hankies

Here's a few hankies that my mum probably shoved in my pocket when as infant school. They may have been used, though it's unlikely. Afterall, all boys know that's what your school jumper sleeve is for!

Why did I kept them? No idea. I found them amongst a bag of my old football kit.

A couple of them have the PG Tips chimpanzees on them, so they must've been collected by drinking lots of tea.

Subtle Plug

No, there wasn't a weird toy from the 1980s called a "subtle plug". I just figured that whilst this blog covered some random stuff from my childhood I should also point you in the direction of something that was central to my upbringing. Also, the photo was a bit of a clue.

So, here's a link to my Original Star Wars blog, with pictures of some of my Star Wars stuff. One of these days I'll sell fit on, but I wanted to capture it for posterity.

Garfield Annual

Yep. Not much to say about this other than it's the 1990 Garfield Annual.

Drinks Coasters and Beer Mats

I'm not 100% sure when and where I got this pair of drinks coasters. It might've been at the Norfolk Show at some time in the early 1980s. It also might have been. My dad would often pick these things up somewhere and give them to me.

In fact I've got a tub of drinks coasters, so here's a few more to delight/bore you.

The first one is a slate coaster from Wales, with a nice red dragon and the word Cymru (Wales). I got this whilst on a family holiday in Wales in the late 1980s.

To give the next one the correct terminology, it's a beer mat. Most of my "coasters" are actually beer mats. This is definitely I didn't personally obtain as it was way before I was legally allowed in the pub!  Given the loud tie and chunky sideburns I think it dates back to the 1970s.

The final one is from the Chatterley Whitfield Experience. Chatterley Whitfield Colliery is a disused coal mine on the outskirts of Chell, Staffordshire in Stoke on Trent and I think this coaster/mat was picked up on a school trip, though it might've been on a family visit. I'm not sure.

The mine closed in 1977 and reopened in 1979 as a museum. In 1986 the Chatterley Whitfield Experience opened, a purpose built mining experience (apparently it had become unsage for visitors to visit the old underground workings of Chatterley Whitfield.). Sadly Chatterley Whitfield Museum closed in 1993, however, the site has been scheduled as an Ancient Monument by English Heritage and can now be visited on Heritage Open Days. If you want to find out more check out Chatterley Whitfield Friends

I may post a few more of the beer mat/coaster collection another time.

Oink!

Who remembers Oink! comic? It ran from 1986 to 1988  - I think I was a subscriber for pretty much the entire run.

Oink! was a British comic book magazine for children which was published from 3 May 1986 to 22 October 1988 (with summer specials through to 1990). It was kind of like Viz for kids, although when it first came out I don't think us kids knew what Viz was.

But what we did like was the anarchy that Oink! bought - a perfect next step for kids who still wanted to read comics but had outgrown the Beano, Dandy, Whizzer & Chips, Buster etc. 

Many of my childhood comics were binned not long after they were read. Or cut up with favourite strips and posters  blue-tacked to walls. The exception to this was my collection of American comics, including Groo, X-Men and Transformers. Okay, my some UK Transformers and Return of the Jedi comic survived too but that was different.

Sadly I don't have them all but I found 3 old Oink! comics surviving amongst my comic collection; No 6, 9 and 10. There is no specific reason as to why these ones were kept, at least not to my recollection. I think I was a member of the Oink! Fan Club too - pretty sure I have a badge somewhere. If I ever find it I'll add it to this page.

There were some great characters in the comic, including Uncle Pigg,  Mary Lighthouse (parody of crazy ultra-conservative, Mary Whitehouse), The Street-Hogs, Harry the Head, Pete and his Pimple, Tom Thug, Burp The Smelly Alien, Hugo the Hungry Hippo and, of course, the legendary Frank Sidebottom.

Football History Map of England and Wales

This cost one whole pound when purchased in the late 1970s - the sticker is still on, whowing I bought it at Warwick Castle of all places. I have to say it is one of my favourite things ever.

Bartholomew's Historical Football Map of England and Wales showed the founding info of the 161 teams that had been in the Football League (at the time of publishing), and the location of all 92 league teams marked on the map by their kit.

Me and my brother both had one and they adorned our bedrooms wall for many years. It was the first thing I would put up in my room every time we moved house (quite a few times). The blue tack is still on the back - maybe I was worried about removing it or perhaps I had plans to put it back up. Who knows.

And the modern equivalent? Check out this collect & scratch travel map (see link below.)

Tape Cassette labels

For some reason I have kept a few tape cassette labels. I can't remember the last time I played a tape never mind actually recording with a tape. But I've kept them,and I can't imagine me ever throwing them away either.

FYI, there may also be some Hi8 video tables in there too.

The Union Flag

This handy little do-hicky was given to me by an aunt who helped out at the Girl Guides.

It showed how the Union Flag was made up of the Flag of St George for England, the Cross of St Patrick for Ireland and the Cross of St Andrew for Scotland.

Adding the St George flag over the St Andrew flag gives you the Jack, as ordered by James I. Putting the Cross of St Patrick in between to get the current Union flag.

I kept this as I thought it would be useful to show my own kids.