Back in Time with Colin Baker

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• Publication: Best of British
• Date: Dec. 2019
• Author:
• Page: 82
• Language: English

BoB's very own Time Lord shares his memories of some of this issue's themes including Christmas games, Bayko and the importance of panto

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 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 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.

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. 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.

Christmas is also the time of panto, which is well and truly "behind me". Note to editor — please do not insert "Oh no it isn't" here. Panto is for younger, leaner more agile performers than your septuagenarian columnist.

I loved doing all 33 of my pantos, culminating in my last appearance as Abanazar in Basingstoke six years ago. For decades, Christmas had been a one-day wonder, meaning I left everyone at home snoozing and groaning as I swept off to a Boxing Day matinee somewhere distant and festive.

In my panto years, I missed all the local Christmas parties and the shopping, and made a lot of strangers' Christmases jolly (hopefully) — so a win/win situation there really.

Over that time, I was lucky enough to play every traditional panto role except the leading lady. Maybe it is time for a comeback as a less taxing Alderman Fitzwarren? No shouting, no quick changes, no pies in the face.

The first panto I ever saw was at the Palace Theatre, Manchester. It ran for three months and had Jewel and Warris at the top of the bill and newcomers Morecambe and Wise at the bottom. Most are a month maximum now, but are an important part of funding for local theatres — so please continue to take your children and grandchildren and keep the tradition going.

Caption: Boo hiss. It's Colin as Aladdin baddy Abanazar.

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• APA 6th ed.: (Dec. 2019). Back in Time with Colin Baker. Best of British p. 82.
• MLA 7th ed.: "Back in Time with Colin Baker." Best of British [add city] Dec. 2019, 82. Print.
• Chicago 15th ed.: "Back in Time with Colin Baker." Best of British, edition, sec., Dec. 2019
• Turabian: "Back in Time with Colin Baker." Best of British, Dec. 2019, section, 82 edition.
• Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Back in Time with Colin Baker | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Back_in_Time_with_Colin_Baker | work=Best of British | pages=82 | date=Dec. 2019 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=28 April 2025 }}</ref>
• Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Back in Time with Colin Baker | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Back_in_Time_with_Colin_Baker | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=28 April 2025}}</ref>