Share Your Nostalgia

After seven days of great toys, I suppose it is my turn to wrap things up in my Toy of Your Life topic. Before I begin, I want to extend my gratitude to those seven writers who said, “Yeah, Keith. I’ll write up something for your silly feature.” Nancy, Colin, Christian, Randy, Max, Dave, and Stewart – I thank you for each contributing and making this trial run successful. I really enjoyed reading your pieces and so did my readers.

When I was approached to host this topic based feature, I was really unsure if it would work. First, I didn’t think anyone would be interested enough to write for it. I knew it had to be a topic that would be relatable to the writers as well as the readers. I think that this was accomplished. What I loved about this was that despite the diverseness of the choices, I could relate to all of them.

Right from the start, I had a turntable that was much like the one Nancy wrote about. I played my Beatles albums and my 45’s on my red one.

Colin’s Subbuteo table soccer game was completely unknown to me. However, it jogged my memory as to the electric football game I used to have.

When Christian picked Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars, I connected immediately. I had hundreds of them. As I mentioned in a comment, we spent hours outside building cities and roads for ours.

Max chose a couple. First, the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle. I was reminded my a school buddy that they not only had the cycle, but some other Evel vehicles.

He also picked Pong. We had it, too! It was the Atari 2600 that took things to a whole new level for us.

Who doesn’t love Legos (when they are not being stepped on)? Dave’s choice was another universal love for me and the readers of this blog. I have fond memories of putting things together myself, and watching my kids build things.

Randy spoke of his Roy Rogers action figures and Stewart’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figures needed their very own van. I had my own action figures … more on that in a moment.

I thought long and hard about what toy to choose. At first, I thought about how everyone in my neighborhood had a Big Wheel. However, in 1978, when I saw the ad for The Green Machine, I had to have it. It was a blast and a lot of the kids were envious of mine. But, I couldn’t pick this one, because it wasn’t THE toy of my life.

The other toy I begged for was called the Sound Gizmo. I loved this thing. It made all kinds of sounds and you could change the speed and pitch to make them sound different. I used this when my buddy and I would be playing outside. We’d be spies, or treasure hunters, or something. If we needed a “tool” to cut through a padlock, I’d use this thing with a laser sound and an explosion. It enhanced the imagination.

I truly believe this was one of those toys that my folks regretted getting for me as soon as I opened it!

No, when I had to chose THE toy (toys, in this case) of my life, it would have to be Star Wars action figures. My brother and I bugged my grandparents for them as soon as we knew they were available. There were plenty of commercials on TV for the figures and the various vehicles and sets.

My brother and I each had a complete set of figures, thanks to my grandparents. Grandma made sure we knew how hard she looked for those things, too. She told us how difficult it was to find Yoda or the Jawa figures. She went to great lengths not to disappoint (and spoil) us!

I don’t even know how she did it, but she got them all! I mean there were like 100 of those things! That means 200 figures at whatever they cost back in the 70’s. It was insane.

Star Wars toys were on our list from 1977 through the early 80’s! You couldn’t go wrong with Star Wars stuff. Some years it was vehicles, other years we got 12 inch Star Wars dolls.

My brother and I used to play with those figures constantly. I think he had this small three shelf thing that he turned into a three floor apartment house for his figures. We used all kinds of things with our figures. The one thing I remember most is taking those old McDonald’s Styrofoam containers and making cars or spaceships out of them.

We’d cut holes in the top of them and bingo, it was a spaceship. Need a bed for them to sleep in? Cut off the top! We used those things for everything.

There were times our front lawn was full of Star Wars ships, animals, and parts of a space station. Not to mention 200+ figures. We spent summer days playing out front. It was such a blast.

Whenever we’d spend the night at my grandparent’s house, we’d lug over boxes and bags with figures and vehicles. They went with us everywhere! They were truly the Toy of our Lives.

As we got older, characters became other people. Ben Kenobi was an old drunk guy, one of the Tuscan Raiders was always annoying people, and a Princess Leia figure became “Aunt Carol.” We don’t even have an Aunt Carol, so don’t ask me how that came about.

I could kick myself for what ended up happening to most of those figures. We cut horns off some of them. Others we put over a candle to see if they would melt. Some would get tied to a firecracker to see if we could blow them up. The lucky ones got tied to bottle rockets and took a ride down our street.

Today, when I walk into a store with vintage toys, I see how much some of those figures are selling for and I shake my head. I suppose I wish I had taken better care of them so I could pass them down to my kids. Other times I wish I still had them in the package they came in, because those are worth more money. But then I think about it. What kind of memories would I have today if they never came out of the package?!

Hours and hours my brother and I played with those figures. We had so much fun with them. It was an amazing time where we could create our own scenarios and fire up the imagination. There was an empty script and we got to write it. Darth Vader didn’t have to be a bad guy if we didn’t want him to be. Chewbacca could have bad gas if we wanted him to. Jabba the Hut could join Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers. Han Solo could be a door to door Amway salesman!

Those days were so special. Those figures led to thousands of stories, hundreds of laughs, and a memory strong enough to cause me to seek out other folks to share their favorite toy memories with you and me.

I hope you enjoyed the posts from the last week. Thank you again to those bloggers who participated. If you haven’t visited their blogs, please do. Maybe I can find another topic and we can do this again? Suggestions? Let me know.

Thanks for reading!

Share Your Nostalgia

I hope that you are enjoying the trial run of Share Your Nostalgia, an idea suggested to me by some fellow bloggers. The topic for this feature is “The Toy of Your Life.” Was there one toy that you considered the “best?” When you think of yourself as a child, what is the toy that immediately pops into your mind? What was the toy that you brought to Show and Tell or took with you everywhere?

Today we continue with my buddy, Colin. Colin is the author of two blogs that I follow. His music blog, Once Upon a Time in the 70’s, is a great site that he writes with his pal, Paul. (https://onceuponatimeinthe70s.com/) Over at his personal site, you will find musically oriented pieces, 1970’s stories, book reviews and you can find out about the books that he has authored! You can find him here: https://ceeteejackson.com/

Since Colin is from Scotland, I wondered what toy he might pick. I’m not going to lie, it’s pretty cool. Tell us a wee little bit about it, my friend….

Finger Flickin’ Good!

What was the “Toy of Your Life?”. What was that one toy that you carried with you everywhere, brought to show and tell, and made your friends envious of you? When you think back to your childhood, what is that one toy that sticks out as a favorite? Why was it? Why did you want it? How did you get it?

First off, thanks to Keith – The Nostalgic Italian – for the invite to contribute to his

I would have to acknowledge being very fortunate as a kid in The Sixties and teenager in the early part of The Seventies. My parents didn’t kit me out in ‘brand’ clothing and were not in the habit of spoiling me with loads of toys, but as a young lad growing up in suburban Glasgow, I was easy pleased.

Give me anything to do with football (soccer) and I’d be happy. Football strips, football boots, track suits and football annuals were always top of my lists to Santa Claus.

However, the one football related ‘toy’ most lads coveted, was Subbuteo.

Invented in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, back in 1946 by Peter Adolph, the table-top game is still played and enjoyed by all ages, male and female, to this day. In fact, the most recent ‘World Cup’ event was recently staged in the game’s birthplace and involved over three hundred players from twenty-six countries.

For those unfamiliar with the game, it’s played on a green cloth, sort of felt-like, I suppose, and each player has eleven little team members, mounted on rocking plinths. The aim is to pass a disproportionately large plastic ball between the players on your team and scoring a goal. Movement of the ball is done by flicking the player to push (kick) the ball.

The plastic players came in the team colours of all the major teams in the English and Scottish football leagues. Some from the lower divisions were also available, as were the more popular international teams.

I know all sports across the world will have their rivalries, but here’s how serious things were here in the west of Scotland back in the late ‘60s / early ‘70s: growing up in a Glasgow Rangers supporting family, I naturally had a Subbuteo team in my club’s royal blue colours. While on holiday one year (Penzance, Cornwall, if memory serves correct) I noticed the town’s toy shop had a team in the colours of Glasgow Celtic for sale.

I rushed back to our holiday B&B and told my dad what I’d found. I had pocket money to burn, and I worked up ‘courage’ to plead my case.

“Dad – can I spend ten shillings on a Celtic Subbuteo team? Then I can play Rangers -v- Celtic matches … and make sure Rangers win them all!”

“Knock yourself out, kid!”

I still haven’t worked out if my dad liked my thinking or if he was just not as petty and prejudiced as other adults I knew. But I did buy that Celtic team. And they did lose every match to Rangers!

Actually, I wasn’t very good a Subbuteo. Matches where I played myself and controlled both teams proved the bulk of the ‘wins’ in my win / loss record.

I’m not really a bad loser, but on reflection, my poor results weren’t just down to an overzealous finger. Just as our British football teams would discover when playing European Cup ties on the Continent, underhand tactics were often employed in the pursuit of a Subbuteo win.

Firstly, ‘home’ advantage played a huge part in the match result. For instance, most liked to play on a flat surface – just as real, quality football players do. 😉So, I would lay my cloth pitch on the back of some hardboard. The pitch was then easily smoothed out as it attached itself to the rough side of the board.

Job done. A pitch fit for Messi, himself.

However, certain friends were practitioners of Subbuteo dark arts – they would simply lay the pitch on top of their living room carpet!

Oh, horror of horrors! The result was a bumpy playing surface, ensuring random rolls of the ball. Trying to play a free-flowing game of Subbuteo on that was impossible. It truly was a leveller – like the Baseball Ground, home of Derby County back in the early 1970s. (That’s one for any UK readers, right there. 😉 )

And that’s not the end of it. Frequently, should a result not be going the way of the unscrupulous home team, a feeble excuse to briefly leave the room would be offered by the host. A couple of minutes later, they’d reappear but leave the door ajar – just enough for their pet dog to make an excited entry, and run amok across the pitch, scattering the teams and resulting in a game postponement.

I have lots of happy memories playing Subbuteo. My friends and I would set up leagues and spend days on end competing in our own wee tournaments.

I remember too, that I was playing Subbuteo at my pal Derek’s house when I first heard the music of Rory Gallagher. Derek shared a room with his brother and Alan put on a record of Taste, the band Rory had just left to go solo. It totally blew my twelve-year-old mind.

(I was playing Subbuteo as Chile that day, and the track played was ‘Catfish’ … funny the things you remember from fifty-four years ago when you often forget the reason for walking upstairs in your home.)

I still have my Subbuteo set and about ten different teams. My favourite (Subbuteo) team was Blackpool. They had tangerine-coloured tops, white shorts and white socks. Queens Park Rangers (blue and white hoops, white shorts and socks) ran them close. Other teams I remember having, in addition to Rangers and Celtic, were Tottenham Hotspur, Norwich City, Manchester City, Manchester United (they also lost a lot! 😉) Falkirk and Dunfermline Athletic.

I know these are all stashed away in the loft but sadly, I couldn’t find them when I searched. I reckon my wife has intentionally buried them under heaps of cushions and garden furniture, knowing that if I did find them, I’d be proudly displaying rows of brightly painted miniature figures all around my office.

It’s true – us blokes never grow up.

_____

** If you’re wondering about the relevance of the game’s name it resulted from the inventor initially calling it simply ‘Hobby.’ However, the Patent Office ruled the name not specific enough, so Adolph, being a keen birdwatcher decided to name it, after the Eurasian hobby hawk … Falco Subbuteo. **