A STAR, A PUMP & A SIDEBOARD...

Image copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

Well, if that title doesn't grab your attention, nothing ever will.

Back between 1971 and '72, while I was yet 13, I had a paper round.

One day, in January of '71, while in the newsagent's collecting my news-

papers for delivery, I noticed a new comic on sale - LITTLE STAR.  It

was published by D.C.  THOMSON and was a companion paper to their

TWINKLE comic.  Even 'though Little Star was a nursery comic and I

was obviously too old for it, I purchased the first few issues anyway.

(I could seldom resist the lure of a new comic.)

The second issue had a free gift of stickers featuring characters from

the comic, which I promptly affixed to our ARIEL BALLOON PUMP,

purchased from WOOLWORTH'S back in, if the price of 3/11 marked

on the surface is anything to go by, the (probably late) 1960s.  Thing is.

I remember the day my mother bought this balloon pump (which I still

have) as I was with her when she did.

The balloon pump resided in the sideboard for many years, until said

item of furniture was given to a relative in 1981.  12 years later, I bought

the sideboard back, and the balloon pump was reunited with its 'home' and

has lived there again for 22 years.  There's a clown on the pump, whose face

I covered with a sticker, but I always remembered that face - or so I thought.

Having seen a duplicate pump only recently, I was surprised to discover that

the face was not similar to MAD's ALFRED E. NEUMAN as I had thought

for many a long year, but entirely different.  However, having seen it again,

the reset button was pressed in my mind and the memory of it as it

actually was has resurfaced.  Funny thing memory, eh?

Anyway, no great insight or profundity this time around (when is

there ever, some of you may be thinking), but I just wanted to relive

the past for a few moments and considered it selfish not to share.

Posted in: Cartoons