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Archive for the ‘Memories’ Category

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Breakfast Cereal Toys

Posted by Big Boo on January 25th, 2010

breakfast cereal toysI was walking through the breakfast cereal aisle of my local supermarket the other night when I noticed something that surprised me. It seems the practice of putting little toys and freebie gifts in packets of breakfast cereals is all but dying out, as I didn’t notice a single prize to be had from any of the boxes on the shop shelves.

I remember as a child that I had a favourite breakfast cereal (Coco Pops as it happens, and I have to admit I’m still partial to the old bowl of them today) but as an easily bought child consumer I could be made to defect to another cereal if it contained a more interesting toy or free gift.

The kinds of toys you could get varied from the really rubbish to the surprisingly good. At the rubbish end of the scale it might be a little plastic frisbee thing which could be flicked around the room using another piece of plastic, or a Yo-Yo which had a string that was too short, or was made out too lightweight a plastic (or both).

Conversely some of the better toys were actually quite good. I remember getting some magic tricks in a box of Weetos (I think that was in Weetos, which were my second favourite cereal) and I think Frosties had an exclusive range of glow in the dark Monster in my Pockets.

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Playground Christmas Carols

Posted by Big Boo on December 23rd, 2009

christmas carolsOne of the things I’ve always liked about Christmas is the singing of Christmas Carols. My earliest memories of singing Christmas Carols at primary school were of the whole school going into the assembly hall and singing carols, with the words provided thanks to the schools overhead projector and some acetate sheets.

Whilst I enjoyed (and still do enjoy) listening to and singing good old traditional Christmas songs, I also remember that I used to find the alternative lyrics, that somehow all kids end up knowing, quite amusing. So, in honour of those funny lyrics, here are my favourite messed about with Christmas songs, but if you know any others, then please leave them in a comment on this post!

Good King Wenceslas

This was one of the carols that you could even mess around with when singing the correct lyrics, over emphasising the Brrrr when it got to “bring me flesh and bring me wine“. There were also plenty of giggles with “heat was in the very sod” since sod was sort of a swear word. Anyway, here is the alternate version:-

Good King Wenceslas went out,
In his cabbage garden,
Bumped into a Brussels Sprout,
And said I beg your pardon.

Jingle Bells

There are several variations to this one, but the one I remember best is:-

Jingle bells, Batman smells,
Robin laid an egg,
The Batmobile lost its wheel,
On the Motorway.

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When did Father Christmas become Santa Claus?

Posted by Big Boo on December 18th, 2009

father christmasYou may know him as Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle or Annual Gift Man (if you believe the writers of The Simpsons) but when I was very little the jolly fat man in the red suit was always known as Father Christmas.

At some point during my childhood though, the name Santa Claus started to rise in popularity, probably due to the way that British TV gradually started to become much more Americanised. This makes me wonder how many young children in the UK today know only the name Santa Claus, and whether it’s just that Santa Claus seems a little bit more “grown up” sounding than Father Christmas, so older children feel less babyish with this name?

Anyway, this was an idle musing of mine, but I thought it would be an interesting one for you to mull over. Tomorrow’s survey will be asking you which name you personally prefer, so have a little think and come back tomorrow to cast your vote. In the meantime, I’d love to hear your feelings about this, so why not post a comment below.

Sticking with the Father Christmas theme, here are some interesting facts about the man himself that you may not know:-

  • Traditionally, if you have been naughty, Father Christmas would just leave you a piece of coal. Try getting that to play on your Nintendo Wii.
  • Depending on where you live, his home could either be at the North Pole or perhaps Lapland, although every Nordic country lays claim to his residence and magical toy factory being situated within it’s borders.
  • In 2008, Canada officially awarded Santa with Canadian citizenship, since the North Pole is apparently under Canadian jurisdiction.
  • When writing your letter to Santa, don’t forget the postcode, which is H0H 0H0 (look at it carefully!). This is the official Canadian postcode for the North Pole!
  • The traditional red and white suit was cemented in history thanks to Coca Cola, who have been using this image since the 1930’s to advertise their beverage. Presumably he was given red and white to tie in with the soft drink can colours?
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The Great Storm of 1987

Posted by Big Boo on November 27th, 2009

storm damageThe stormy weather we’ve been having in southern England over the past week or two prompted my friend Philip to suggest that a good post for this site would be about the Great Storm of 1987, so a big “Cheers” to him for the inspiration today.

During the night of October 15th 1987 the southern part of England was hit by the worst storm in over 250 years. By the time the storm dissipated the following day it had left a trail of destruction across the country, killing at least 18 people. The storms also ravaged France, adding a further four people to the death toll.

The thing about this particular storm is that it took the country completely by surprise, as the weather forecasters predicted that the storm would die out before it reached the UK. Rumours of a storm brewing did get started some how, prompting one woman to make weather man Michael Fish look a little foolish after the event. “A woman rang to say she’d heard there was a hurricane on the way.“, Mr. Fish almost mockingly said. “Don’t worry, there isn’t“, he went on.

To be fair to Michael, he was sort of correct. Whilst the winds generated by the storm had the speed normally associated with a hurricane, the storm couldn’t actually be classed as a hurricane because it didn’t bring enough rain with it, and the wind profile of a hurricane is also very different, having a much larger whirling effect associated with it.

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Stocking Fillers - Suppliers to Father Christmas
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Climate Change? Here’s My Evidence!

Posted by Big Boo on October 15th, 2009

hat and scarfToday’s post is my little contribution to this years Blog Action Day. The idea behind Blog Action Day is to get as many people talking about a big global issue by having blog writers post on a particular topic, and this year that topic is Climate Change.

Previously on this site I’ve written about the hole in the ozone layer, which is probably one of the first things people think about when they hear the words climate change – that and the fact that the polar regions (both north and south) seem to be melting away at a rather alarming rate. Now, I have no evidence to corroborate any of this, but I am convinced that something is going on with the UK weather systems, and I’ll now explain why!

Firstly, this week is the week of my home towns annual fun fair. I used to love attending the fair, going on the rides and relishing my only chance other than during the summer holidays to play on the arcade games. When I think of these memories I also remember just how cold and wet it used to be when the fair came to town.

My parents would make my sister and I wrap up warm, with wooly hat, scarf, mittens or gloves (on elastic of course) and my fur lined hooded jacket. We also had to put on two pairs of socks and our wellington boots, simply because it usually rained around then and turned the field on which the fun fair was sited to turn into a muddy quagmire in places. Even with all this, the wind still rattled through you and chilled you to the bone.

Fast forward 25 years or so to today and the fair still comes to town at the same time of year, but now it’s quite possible to walk around it in the evening with normal shoes, one pair of socks, a lightweight jacket and no hat, scarf or gloves at all. Could it be that now I’m older I don’t feel the cold so much? Possibly, but I don’t think so, given that my nephews can go to the fair and not have to wrap up as if it’s arctic conditions out there. I can only surmise then that the UK weather in October has got milder.

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How to Make a Calculator Laugh!

Posted by Big Boo on September 2nd, 2009

texet calculatorWhen I was at primary school I bought myself my first calculator with my own pocket money. It was fairly simple, with red numbers on its display and great buttons that made a clicking sound when you pressed them. It was made by Texet, and it was grey with black buttons and a metal panel surround in silver and blue.  I was quite shocked to find the picture of it accompanying this post on the Internet I must admit, so thanks to the Freeman PC Museum website page on classic calculators!

I used to spend many happy hours just tinkering with it, adding and subtracting numbers, until the “equals” button got prised off with a pair of compasses by a “mate”, which made it useless for doing sums. I could however still use it for that finest of calculator uses – entering numbers which when the display is viewed upside down spell out a word.

I first came across this idea in a book of practical jokes, which contained an piece entitled “How to make a calculator laugh”. Intrigued I read through and it instructed me to enter the number 376616 and turn the calculator upside down. I did this and was most amused to read the word GIGGLE on the calculator screen. I then set out on a quest to find as many of these words as I could. Here are a few of those that I remember, with a cryptic clue as to what the word was!

  • 14 – Greetings!
  • 0.7734 – More greetings!
  • 0.02 – Lots of animals here.
  • 5317 – Make your calculator tell fibs.
  • 710.77345 – Product of a petrol company?
  • 5318008 – Every schoolboys favourite.

If you’re having trouble working these out, or want to create a few of your own, then below is a fun little toy for you to play with (assuming you have Java installed that is!). It’s a calculator that’s already upside down, saving you all that effort of turning a real calculator through 180 degrees. Just click the buttons on the keypad and enjoy!

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Ghostbusters Week – 25th Anniversary Celebration

Posted by Big Boo on July 13th, 2009

ghostbustersWhenever I’m asked to name my favourite film I don’t need to hesitate.  Quite simply, there’s something about Ghostbusters that grabbed my attention as a kid, and still holds it today.  I guess part of the reason is that the idea of ghosts and hauntings has always fascinated me, and I used to love watching programmes such as Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World.  I’ve even been known to watch the odd episode of (cough) Most Haunted…

This year Ghostbusters is 25 years old (crikey, that makes me feel old) so to celebrate I’m making this Ghostbusters Week on Child Of The 1980’s.

What I like most about Ghostbusters though is the fact that, proton packs and free roaming vapours aside, it almost seems plausible that these guys could actually go round sucking up ghosts.  The fact that doctors Venkman, Stantz and Spengler are all highly educated people going about with massive backpacks and guns yet still trying to blend in as though they are just cockroach exterminators I find very amusing.

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The Puffin Book Club

Posted by Big Boo on April 30th, 2009

puffin booksOnce a term, or thereabouts, we used to get handed leaflets at school from The Puffin Book Club.  I always used to look forward to this as the leaflet contained a stack of different books with something to please everyone.  I’m sure Mum used to groan whenever she saw me run out of school waving the leaflet in her face, as it meant I was then going to harp on about ordering a book from it for the next week or so.

The Puffin Book Club operated both at primary and secondary school levels, obviously featuring different leaflets for the different age groups, and it was a great way of finding a new book that you may not otherwise have known about.  Of course all the books were ones published by Puffin Books (the childrens arm of Penguin Books) but that was fine as they had a great range of books available.

So after choosing my book and persuading Mum to buy it for me, I took the completed order form into school, and so began the wait for the new book to arrive.  Every day I would go in expecting the books to be available, only to be disappointed.  Eventually, after what seemed like months (it was probably only a couple of weeks) the books arrived and the teacher handed out everyones orders.  To this day, I still enjoy getting a new book, whether as a gift or bought for myself, and if they are in unopened pristine condition then so much the better.  Only trouble is I then hate to open them for fear of creasing the spine!

I also remember another book club operating at primary school, but I can’t remember what it was called.  This one was slightly different in that the school hall was filled with shelves containing various different books, and you could go in after school and buy a new book there and then, which was instantly more gratifying as you didn’t have the long drawn out wait for your chosen book to arrive.