Ah yes, the Supersonic Lockheed Blackbird model kit. You could get some great stuff from breakfast cereals! Today’s strip ends with the most annoying thing you could ever see at the end of your favourite TV series’ episode: ‘To be continued…’

TV Torture

Yep – just as Steve Austin was about to be defeated by Barney – or David Banner was being annoyed – too much – by some thugs, that bloody text would appear onscreen. And it wasn’t like you could just skip to the next episode on your BluRay disc or play the next one on some subscription web TV service. Oh no, no, no; You would have to wait a whole WEEK.

And do you know what else might happen then? It gets worse. Much worse. There you are, a week later, sat on the floor in front of the telly with your Corn Flakes, your little heart racing, counting down the seconds – just like you did «waiting for Space 1999 to come on at 5 o’clock – and an announcer would say:

This week’s episode of Planet of the Apes has been postponed – until further notice – due to Racing at Chepstow.

You could say that life wasn’t actually all great for kids in the ’70s. In many ways, it could be hell.

The Cereal Aisle

I asked the question last week on the Between * Wars Facebook Group:

“During boring Saturday trips to the supermarket, what was your favourite aisle?”

In the landslide of reader comments that ensued; three of the three readers who answered, replied with “The one with all the amazing cheese varieties in it.” – that was Rove; and ” “The wine section in Superquinn in the 1980s” – said my little sister Candace, who would have been aged between 3 and 13 at the time! And finally, Tom Gatto who said “The cereal aisle!”

You see Tom, (as I adjust my monocle and put on a German accent) you and I are not so verrry different after all…

Tom actually even cracked one of the gags in today’s strip: “(…) swearing that the worst cereal on the shelf was your favorite, because it came with a (supposedly) good prize.” Not so verrry different, Mein Herr.

Without meaning to sound holier-than-thou, I loved having breakfast at my cousins’ houses in England. They usually had Kellogg’s Variety Packs. If you were quick enough you could snag some crappy Sugar Puffs, or Frosties. At home my mum usually gave me Ready Brek [powdered oats] with a concoction of stuff added to it: Bran, Wheat Germ and Lyles Golden Syrup. The latter was supposedly more healthy than plain sugar. Hmmm.

Supersonic Blackbird Model Kit!

Finally, a word or two about one of the main focuses of today’s strip, the special offer model kit. My mate Alan had one of these. I just reversed the roles of the 2 kids. Jack has it – and Adam is coveting it. It might have been a Rice Crispies or Frosties cereal offer that he availed of – not sure. But of course, I coveted it. Well just look at it – it’s amazing! It was black – and it had the word Supersonic in its name!

It was a tricky game in those days, trying to stay with the right breakfast cereals as they offered Dr. Who cards and Dioramas; or Olympic Games collectible stamps; or Star Wars Letraset transfer scenes… It was a bit like deciding what your 1 or 2 weekly comic allowance would be used for. Warlord? 2000ad? Battle? Fireball? Spiderman Weekly?

Like I said, being a kid in the ’70s could be hell sometimes.

** Stay Groovy, all you 1970s kids! **

– John White