Russian Roulette for the under 12's.

We will always be children in the eyes and precious memories of our parents.


In attics, eaves storage cupboards, on tops of wardrobes and in boxes in the garage at the old family home will be treasured possessions from our childhoods even though at dire risk of 1) Being ravaged by our own offspring during a visit to their grandparents 2) Sold at a Car Boot Sale 3) Put in a Charity collection bag or 4) Taken to the tip to make space for a Nordic Ski machine or hot tub.


Parents may be tactful in their heavy hints that your own house must have some room for you  to take the ephemera of your younger years.  I got that very call some years ago and as a consequence I have not been able to access my shed because of the great number of bicycles,bits of bicycle and spare bike wheels which were relocated on request. Stumbling across familiar things from our youngest formative years  is both reminiscent and poignant in that a certain smell, touch or visual image immediately returns you to a far off point in time before the exposure to the stresses and mundanity of an adult life drag out any spirit of innocence and excitement.


Such was my time travelling experience in finding a long lost Ladybird Book whilst rooting around at the old house.


The Ladybird publications were keenly purchased because of the great range of subjects and topics they covered and the fact that they were within pocket money range, about two old shillings and sixpence or with the introduction of decimalisation the equivalent twelve and a half new pence. The vast Ladybird library was heavily directed towards reading and literacy but in a good way with large type print on one side of the page and a very real life artwork on the other. The hardback covers were equally enticing to eager minds and the book size was just compatible with most pockets of home made clothes or hand-me-downs. There was warmth and comfort in the sight of a small collection of these books on the bedside table or playroom bookshelf. At the back of an attic storeroom shelf, behind my Sun Newspaper Football Annual 1973 and my Fathers 1946 Christmas present entitled 'The boys book of modern scientific wonders and inventions' I spied a book which had provided many, many hours of activities, crafting and haphazard, nigh downright perilous exposure to, and use of scissors, razor blades and toxic or nauseous adhesives and substances. It is, on reflection, close to a miracle that I survived potential self mutilation, laceration, addiction and chemically catalysed brain damage before the age of ten.


The small book was a 1966 print by Ladybird of " Toys and Games to make". Within the 20 pages were projects to capture the imagination, spark an interest which could lead well into senior years and an unhealthy reliance on raw materials that could only really be sourced from the heaviest of cigarette smokers and most enthusiastic of alcoholics. Just about every thing to be made required  matchboxes, live matches and wine bottle corks as integral parts. The diet in my childhood must also have been very different as other assembly tasks in the book presumed that there was unfettered access to empty tropical date boxes, the type with a rough wood base and metal stapled card surround. Other materials were very much of that period including wooden cotton reels, left over soap, glycerine, bits of candles and chocolate boxes.


The list of tools by which to achieve the desired target toy or game were again an indication of a very relaxed health and safety culture. Aimed at ages up to 12 there were no disclaimers or recommendations for parental supervision or assistance in the more challenging aspects calling for a hammer, nails, knitting needle with a point at each end, sharp stick, bradawl, skewer, drawing pins, foil, wire, half a clothes peg and glycerine. Of course, nothing could be attempted without the most common carried possession of the under 12's- a very sharp penknife. I have not heard of any litigation against Labybird Books for injury or worse arising from the faithful adherence to the instructions contained therein by scarred individuals or their distraught parents. Nowadays, any amassing of the required materials and equipment would no doubt arouse the interest of the anti- terrorism forces in our midst.


The first collection of things to make was my favourite. A full compliment of miniature furniture for a dolls house. Dresser, sideboard, chair, TV and a bed fashioned from cloth upholstered matchboxes with live matchsticks,tip down to emulate castors on legs. Confidence in the working with such basic materials soon caused the pages in the book to be turned . A box guitar with a one string effect elastic band caused much antagonism in the house. Games to be made ranged from a strong bubble liquid and wire blower to a magnetic fishing game, boomerang to a balancing cork man on the lid of a pop bottle, tin can revolving crane to a paddle steamer, yes an elastic powered matchbox. Many wooden cotton reels were taken from our Mothers sewing basket, whether empty of thread or not. These formed the basis for a knitting machine, working tractor and a very elaborate and structurally intricate dancing doll, a bit like those figures crafted out of tied together terracotta flowerpots. Paper based toys and games were on the theme of magic tricks with a disappearing bird in a cage, a kaleidescope and a wallet which both amazed and mesmerised grandparents like a cheap side show attraction with equal depletion of their hard earned savings paper money in particular.


At the time the toys and games were items of great pride and young satisfaction. They were high in recreational and educational value but sadly not sturdy enough to survive imaginative or boisterous play. The miniature furniture fared worse  by not being very retardant to the ravages of a scaled down conflagration from the unpredictable, shocking but ultimately entertaining spontaneous combustion of their unstable, thin and spindly phosphorous tipped matchstick legs.