Difference between revisions of "Back in Time with Colin Baker"
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It is only fitting that the Christmas issue of Best of British should celebrate a product that appeared under my Christmas tree over quite a long period of the 40s and 50s. It was something that my parents must have shrewdly deduced would keep me occupied and out from under their feet for the duration of the festivities, allowing them to enjoy their annual glasses of [[wikipedia:Advocaat]] in peace and quiet. I think the same bottle of that sweet and decadent beverage lasted throughout my childhood (my parents were not drinkers). The product concerned is so firmly embedded in my nostalgia reflex that I tracked some down on eBay a few years ago and battered boxes of it now reside in my wardrobe, much to the annoyance of my wife. | It is only fitting that the Christmas issue of Best of British should celebrate a product that appeared under my Christmas tree over quite a long period of the 40s and 50s. It was something that my parents must have shrewdly deduced would keep me occupied and out from under their feet for the duration of the festivities, allowing them to enjoy their annual glasses of [[wikipedia:Advocaat]] in peace and quiet. I think the same bottle of that sweet and decadent beverage lasted throughout my childhood (my parents were not drinkers). The product concerned is so firmly embedded in my nostalgia reflex that I tracked some down on eBay a few years ago and battered boxes of it now reside in my wardrobe, much to the annoyance of my wife. | ||
| − | I speak of [[wikipedia:Bayko]]. I satisfied my retirement age Bayko yearning by buying a whole load of it and it has kept me content for some time just to own it; so I haven't reminded myself of the laborious construction process that left me with sore fingers and thumbs for days after. | + | I speak of [[wikipedia:Bayko|Bayko]]. I satisfied my retirement age Bayko yearning by buying a whole load of it and it has kept me content for some time just to own it; so I haven't reminded myself of the laborious construction process that left me with sore fingers and thumbs for days after. |
The house building Bakelite pieces are slotted between rods inserted in holes in the plastic bases and held together at the top of each column by perforated metal strips. Locating and processing those hundreds of fixing points played havoc with childish fingertips. So far, I have resisted the urge for commemorative self-harming. | The house building Bakelite pieces are slotted between rods inserted in holes in the plastic bases and held together at the top of each column by perforated metal strips. Locating and processing those hundreds of fixing points played havoc with childish fingertips. So far, I have resisted the urge for commemorative self-harming. | ||
| − | Waddington Games was also a major feature of Baker Christmases. One of my all-time favourites was Scoop, a newspaper building game that boasted a flat telephone construction which you had to rotate to get the editor's okay for your stories. That kept us occupied for many years and was perhaps a tiny pointer to what I am doing right now — filling in an empty bit on a white page. [[wikipedia:Totopoly]] was another favourite — a horse racing game with two boards. On one you trained your horses and on a second one the actual race took place. I recall that I always wanted to have Leonidas the Second as my horse. My older brother knowing that would try to stop me. | + | Waddington Games was also a major feature of Baker Christmases. One of my all-time favourites was Scoop, a newspaper building game that boasted a flat telephone construction which you had to rotate to get the editor's okay for your stories. That kept us occupied for many years and was perhaps a tiny pointer to what I am doing right now — filling in an empty bit on a white page. [[wikipedia:Totopoly|Totopoly]] was another favourite — a horse racing game with two boards. On one you trained your horses and on a second one the actual race took place. I recall that I always wanted to have Leonidas the Second as my horse. My older brother knowing that would try to stop me. |
Mind you, he did try and put me in the dustbin when I was a baby. Fortunately, my mother was watching out of the window as he removed me from my pram. | Mind you, he did try and put me in the dustbin when I was a baby. Fortunately, my mother was watching out of the window as he removed me from my pram. | ||
