Ken Dodd's Diddymen Annual 1972 and other Christmas Annuals (1971)

 

 

So its 1971, Christmas is a few short weeks away and there is a fresh batch of Annuals to be looked at in the bookshops  It was traditional, I recall, that during a trip into town, we kids would select which ones we would like Santa to bring us. Sometimes it was hard to pick just one and sometimes the choice would be made for us  My mum would then make a note, so as not to forget who wanted what when letting the fat red fella know, and then we would leave and let the magic happen.

This particular year I ended up with the Teddy Bear Annual and my elder brother had Star Trek.  This amuses me no end because as I may have already said in a previous post, he grew to hate all that "sci-fi rubbish" where as I remain quite keen.  If I'm honest though, I'm not all that fussed about teddy bears nowadays but in 1971, and for a few years after, I think I spent a lot of time in that book. Having recently discovered it lurking in the old family home, I was compelled to immediately revisit the Ice-Cream Mountains, a double page spread of what I remember as the first place I ever wanted to emigrate to.

Cool! isn't it and with the pun fully intended.  And while I'm not sure I would still make the move today, I find I remain very fond of Ivor, the giant four legged Jumbly who seems like he might be a distant ancestor of Chorlton the Happiness Dragon.

That's it for this post except to say that we'll definitely be back to look at the Diddymen again

because they do have a touch of the Candy and Andy uncanniness, abut them.

 

And when we move forward to Christmas 73 we might also be taking a closer look at that Wham! cover because the artwork seems strangely familiar.

 

Steve