P is for Pak-Me-Mee's Powdered Pudding Players!

Continuing with two of yesterday's themes;- premiums (Lever) and football (Pink Panther); it's always fun to find new stuff, especially when it's A) foreign of origin and B) has some digging to be done or research to indulge in, I picked these up from the one of the Belgian dealers at Sandown Park, and have had fun tying them up enough to pass the bare bones on to you!

They were obviously premiums of some kind and the seller explained that the under-base marking 'Pak-Me-Mee' (see below) roughly translated as 'pick me' (or 'choose me'?) and that was it - as far as the purchase went. They weren't cheap, but given they are 'new to hobby' and the best part of 110mm (or four-and-a-half-inch figures); they weren't expensive either!

So, Monday (when I should have been posting something) found me digging around Google for Pak Me Mee premiums, which proved fruitless - as far as premiums goes - but did give me the basic story behind these, which don't seem to represent individuals (as other football premiums have) but are rather just generic 'statuettes'.

P. Dumortier Brothers still seem to be in business (now based/headquartered in France; at Tourcoing) as a grain/cereal-mill and producers of powders and dry sauce mixes for cooking or the catering trade (think Colman's, Baxter's or Knorr), however my nascent Googling would suggest the Pak Me Mee pudding powder (something like a blancmange or similar 'milk pudding'?) was originally thought-up by an A Vanhecke and Sons, who were presumably taken over or merged with Dumortier?

Due to the bilingual nature of Belgium however (the seller is quint-a-lingual!) it's not that clear and it could be that Vanhecke and others (A V Roeslare and H R Kortrijk) were wholesalers or agents? My French is poor, my Walloon and Flemish non-existent! However these figures are marked Dumortier and they are the surviving name.

There was another pudding-name in the line-up: 'Prenez-Moi'; which I think is the Franco-Walloon for the Flemish Pak-Me-Mee, i.e. also 'pick me'? And - as well as these footballers - it seems collector's cards of some sort were issued a'la Brook Bond with send-away-for albums (available in either language) to put them in.

My camera was dying when I shot these (it has now died! New one's in the post) so these shots both needed stopping right-down on the 'shadows' setting to show anything, which is; both marks (on the left), the P. Dumortier Fres moulded integrally to the figures, the Pak-Me-Mee heat-stamped after manufacture - suggesting a Prenez-Moi series as well, or other brands/goods carrying the figures.

On the right - a sizer with the Airfix 54mm figure; "Can I 'ava go Dad . . Dad! Can I 'ava go! Gi'us the ball Dad . . cummon, let'us 'ava go!". There are eight to collect, each showing a 'standard' or named move, pass or trick in/with a football