Bash Street Kids Annual 1991

Time for another collected volume of Bash Street Kids stories, originally published weekly in the Beano comic of course. Part of the fun of these volumes (well for me anyway) is trying to work out when the stories may have been originally published. This annual is actually pretty easy to date to around 1982, one of the stories features the World Cup and it took place in that year. Another story has the Kids dress up for a disco and Smiffy looks like Adam Ant!

So, i probably read these stories in the comic as i was a weekly reader back then though i don't really remember them. But it was a long time ago.

This is a good collection of stories, the Kids were on top form. Unlike their exam results of course.

Rebooting the shrubbery

A few years ago (during the Covid lock down in fact) i built a second raised bed in the garden and planted a small collection of shrubs in it. A few of the shrubs have thrived though some have died so i have decided to try and reboot the shrubbery this year. Earlier, i bought two new shrubs and planted them. Since the photograph i have also cut back the dead parts of the shrubs already there to tidy things up. I think there is space for one more.

A trip to Cosford

At the weekend i headed up to the RAF Museum at Cosford in Shropshire. It isn't that far away but, judging from my previous photo albums on Flickr, i seem to go every six years. So, back here in 2032 then!

Cosford is a great museum, i was able to update my photography of a lot of aircraft, many will be featured in the new British Aeroplanes section of my website. You can see my photos here.

The Sarcophagi of the Sixth Continent (part 2)

Blake & Mortimer books usually have sumptuous covers but they have really gone to town on this one, it is a classic of comic art. The ligne claire artwork inside is pretty good too, being to the usual B&M standard. The artwork is very well drawn and accurate depicting an idealised view of the world of the 1950s, beautifully coloured... and of course (as it is a B&M story) with plenty of words!

The story continues the one begun in part 1, which involved a mysterious Indian living god launching an electrical attack on the Brussels Universal Exposition. In part 2 our heroes travel to Antarctica to track down the source of the attacks. If you like secret bases at the South Pole and mysterious retro-future technology then you will be sure to love this. It is packed full of action and weird science...

The best part of the story though, to me, is the backstory these two volumes have provided to Professor Mortimer. Part 1 showed us some of his adventures in India as a young man and this all comes to a conclusion here where his past and present collide.

Skeleton in search of a cupboard

Another enjoyable crime novel by Elizabeth Ferrars, who has fast become one of my favourite authors. This is not a book in one of her series with recurring characters though, it is a stand alone story involving a young couple and their rather large family. The family have gathered for their step-mother's 80th birthday but thats when things start to go wrong.

The step-mother's house catches fire, a couple of her valuable paintings go missing, but worst of all: in the smouldering debris of the house a hidden cupboard is revealed which contains a female skeleton! The investigation into crimes in the past and the present day (a number of murders) begins.

A good story that, once it got going, was very easy to read however, i did not think this was Ferrars' best book. A lot of the story, especially at the end, seems rather overly convenient and the actions of the characters are often a bit strange. For example, one of the characters - a young pregnant woman - implies she has gone off to kill herself and no one seems bothered to try and stop her.

The concept - the discovered skeleton - is great but the story itself did not quite live up to it.

A trip to Liverpool

At the weekend i made my first trip of the year to Merseyside. I wanted to cross off three more stations in the Liverpool area so travelled first to West Allerton, then Mossley Hill and finally Halewood. My uncle and auntie lives in Halewood and when we came up to Liverpool when i was a kid we always used to visit them. I never came to the station though, until now!

You can see my photos here.