The Share Your Nostalgia experiment is nearing a close. It’s been fun for me to see what my fellow bloggers have chosen as the Toy of Their Life. They were asked to write about the ONE toy that meant the most to them as a child. What was the toy that had to go wherever they went and that they took to show and tell? What toy is the one they look back on as their favorite.

Today, I have yet another musical blogger friend to introduce you to. Stewart love music, and especially the top hits. I am talking about those songs that sat on the top of the charts. To be more specific, on top of the UK charts. His site is a delight to read. The UK Number Ones Blog can be found here: https://number1sblog.com/ I always love to compare how a song does here and in the UK. Check it out when you can.

Stewart is ready to go, so grab a slice of pizza and read on …

Heroes in a half shell… Turtle Power!

First of all, thanks Keith for giving me a slot on your Toy Nostalgia series! My piece of toy nostalgia isn’t so much something I remember having, but something I remember wishing I had. I loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – or Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles as they were known in the UK, as the word ‘ninja’ was considered too violent for our delicate ears back in the late 1980s – and it was for a while my favourite TV cartoon.

I had the plastic figurines, Michelangelo (the orange one) being my favourite, as well as bad guy Shredder and his warthog henchmen Bebop and Rocksteady. I’d have loved the evil brain-in-a-jar Krang too, though I don’t think they ever made him into a toy. Most of all, though, I always wanted my own Turtle Van (AKA The Party Wagon). Yet, for reasons that are now lost to the mists of time, I never came to own one.

Maybe I didn’t have enough pocket money, maybe other toys took priority when it came to asking for birthday and Christmas presents, or maybe (and this is most likely) my parents weren’t up for shelling out on yet more plastic junk. My mum and dad were big believers in educational toys – LEGO, Meccano, arts sets and the like – and The TMNTs clearly weren’t educational enough. And looking at pictures of the Turtle Van toy now, I don’t blame them. It looks a lot cheaper and nastier than I remember…

Anyway, this wasn’t the only desirable object I was denied as a kid. I remember desperately wanting a Soda Stream, and a Mr. Frosty, and never getting either. But this isn’t the place for airing childhood grievances… At least I had friends who owned the Turtle Van, and could play with it when I went to their houses.

I just watched the opening credits of the classic cartoon for the first time in years, and was transported back to Saturday mornings in my childhood living room. I could remember most of the words (They’re the world’s most fearsome fighting team…) and the loveably hand-drawn animation. I drew the line at the live-action movies though. Something very creepy about seeing the Turtles come to life in Latex…

Finally, seeing as I run a blog all about number one singles, it would be remiss of me not to mention the fact that the Turtles were so popular that they even enjoyed a chart-topping record in the UK: 1990’s ‘Turtle Power’, by Partners in Kryme. Enjoy!