About Me

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No Fixed Abode, Home Counties, United Kingdom
I’m a 60-year-old Aspergic gardening CAD-Monkey. Sardonic, cynical and with the political leanings of a social reformer, I’m also a toy and model figure collector, particularly interested in the history of plastics and plastic toys. Other interests are history, current affairs, modern art, and architecture, gardening and natural history. I love plain chocolate, fireworks and trees, but I don’t hug them, I do hug kittens. I hate ignorance, when it can be avoided, so I hate the 'educational' establishment and pity the millions they’ve failed with teaching-to-test and rote 'learning' and I hate the short-sighted stupidity of the entire ruling/industrial elite, with their planet destroying fascism and added “buy-one-get-one-free”. Likewise, I also have no time for fools and little time for the false crap we're all supposed to pretend we haven't noticed, or the games we're supposed to play. I will 'bite the hand that feeds', to remind it why it feeds.

Friday, April 5, 2019

News, Views Etc . . . Forthcoming Events; Saturday 6th-Friday 12th April 2019

Well . . . so . . . errr . . . phew! That was an interesting un-birthday, was it not? We're still 'In' and looking for another extension as I write, which is all looking good for this year's May PW show!


I love the juxtaposition of the ES shot above, being a complete opposite of the demographic stereotypes we've been led to believe 'make up' the Brwreakshit/Remoan divide; with the 'old git' (whom the Guardian would have us believe is a reactionary, parochial Brexiteer) supporting Europe, while a young Afro-Caribbean looking chap (the Daily Pail would hysterically inform us was some sort of loony left, ganja-smoking immigrant layabout not interested in the crown or state and 'probably' illegal) is supporting 'Out'.
Note however - how the other stereotype of shouty, pointing, spittle-flecked aggression from the Brwreakshiteer is true to form, while the liberal leftie just looks faintly bemused! Right Wing pro-Brexit protests tend end in violence, Left Wing pro-Peoples's-Vote protests usually end with some Labour Front-bencher wishing everyone a safe journey home on the tube!
And does the guy on the right (in all senses of the word!) not understand what might happen to him if Mogg, Johnson and Farage (rhymes with C**t) start appointing Tommy Robson's goons to run the country, after all; a lot of intellectual Jews in 1930's Germany voted for Herr Hitler's mob to 'sort the country out'.
No doubt something they lived to repent at leisure . . . no, sorry, something they rapidly died regretting. But make no mistake, that's how the wind blows - in Trump's America, in Erdogan's Turkey, in Orban's Hungary, in Brazil, the Philippines, Rumania, Israel and elsewhere. And it was started by Teresa May-be Maybe-not's 'Hostile Environment' while she was Home secretary, also overseeing massive cuts to policing, prisons and probation - each of which is now in crisis!
So, for another week, the only ointment I can offer you is toy-buying while there are still toys to buy and a bit of geldt to buy them with!

Toy Fairs
Saturday 6th April 2019
Cardiff - Chris Dyer Fairs
Penarth Leisure Centre, Andrew Road, Cogan, Cardiff, Wales, CF64 2NS.
Web. - www.chrisdyerfairs.co.uk
Tel. - 01643 702 757
Mob. - 07966 694 579
Hours unknown
Admission [probably] £2


Purley - East Surry N Gauge (ESNG) / N Gauge Forum - N Gauge SouthEast
Riddlesdown Collegiate, Honister Heights, Purley, Surrey, CR8 1EX
The Facebook - N Gauge SouthEast Show
10:00-16:00hrs
Admission £7.50, children £3.00, family ticket £20.00
Refreshments
Free Parking

Sunday 7th April 2019
Bolton - Barry Potter / BP Fairs - 'Macron'
The Premier Suite, Macron Stadium, Bolton, Lancashire, BL6 6SF
Tel. - 01604 846 688
Mob. - 07966 527 177
[Probably] 10:30 - 15:00hrs
Admission £4.00, early-bird £8, (from 08:00hrs), seniors £3.50, children £1
Free parking
Eastbourne - Eastbourne Historic Vehicle Club - Toy & Transport Collectors Fair 
Polegate Community Centre, 54 Windsor Way, Polegate, Eastbourn, East Sussex, BN26 6QF
Web. - www.ehvc.co.uk
Telephone unknown
10:00 - 14:00hrs
Admission£1.50p, children free
Club event
Falkirk, Scotland - McLaren Models
Tel. - 01324 624 102
Malvern - Bulldog Fairs
The Seven Hall, Three Counties Showground, Malvern, Worcestershire; WR13 6NW
Tel. - 01373 452 857
Mob. - 07917 125 641
10:30 - 14:30hrs
Adults £4, under 16's free if accompanied, early-bird (from 08:30hrs) £10.
Spalding - Colin Boor - Model Tractor, Construction & Literature 2019
Springfields Exhibition Centre, Spalding, Lincolnshire, PE12 6ET
Tel. - 07710 321 471
10:00 - 15:00hrs
Admission £6, accompanied children free
St. Ives - J&J Fairs (J&J Webb)
'One Leisure' St. Ives, Burgess Hall Events & Conference Centre, Westwood Road, St. Ives, Cambridgeshire, PE27 6WU
Tel. - 01522 880 383
10:00 - 14:30hrs
Admission - Adult £3.00p, seniors £2.50, 1st child £2.00p
Where the cats and the sacks and the wives came from, not Cornwall!
Swindon - Retro Ronnie
Swindon Town Football Club, County Ground, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN1 2ED
Mob. I - 07708 385 061
Mob. II - 07900 266 427
Hours unknown
Admission charge unknown
Tuesday 9th April 2019
Hook - Steven Clements Fairs - Hook Evening Fair
Hook Community Centre, Hook, Hampshire, RG27 9NN
Tel. - 01380 725 322
Mob. - 07958 101 891
18:30 - 21:30hrs
Admission £1
Free parking
Auctions
Saturday 6th April 2019
Ilkley - Hartleys Auctioneers And Valuers
Victoria Hall, Little Lane, Ilkley, West Yorkshire, LS29 8EA
Tel. - 01943 816 363
Viewing 13:00-17:30hrs, Friday 1st April (today) and from 09:00-12.30hrs on the day of the sale; sale starts 12:30hrs.
General toys, collectables and autographs.
Monday 8th April 2019
Downham Market - Barry L Hawkins
The Estate Office, 15 Lynn Road, Downham Market, Norfolk, PE38 9NL
Web. - www.barryhawkins.co.uk
eMail - info@barryhawkins.co.uk
Tel. -01366387180
Sale starts 10:00hrs
Scale models and collectable toys
Tuesday 9th - Thursday 11th April 2019
Stockton-on-Tees - Vectis Auctions (3-day sale)
Fleck Way, Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, TS17 9JZ
01642 750 616
Tuesday 9th - Wednesday 10th - Specialist die-cast sale
Thursday 11th - General toy sale
[Note: There will be imagery and blurb from Vectis, probably on Monday or over the weekend so I'll do a follow-up 'News Views' before the sale]

Tuesday -


"The Specialist sale to be held on the 9th of April starts at the earlier time of 10am to incorporate the seven private owner collections. The Iain Gothard Collection, The Colin Collin's Collection - Part 2, The North East Collection, The European Military Collection, The Oxfordshire Collection, The Hereford Collection - Part 2 and The Swiss Collection all include Corgi and Dinky models. Including sports, racing and road cars; commercials, trucks, buses, farm, and military; Gift Sets, TV & Film related, French Dinky and Trade Packs. Plus others, including Britains Motorcycles, Scalextric, Budgie, Solido and more. Also included in the sale are White Metal & Resin lots from TW Collection (Trevor Wright models), Durham Classics and Brooklin. Plus, factory wrapped Dinky models, Corgi pre-production (1st shot) samples, catalogues, reference books and much more."

Thursday 11th April 2019
Heathfield - Watson's Auctions
Heathfield Auction Rooms, Burwash Road, Heathfield, East Sussex, TN21 8RA
Tel. - 01435 862 132
Sale starts 10:00am
Toys & Transport Auction
Stockton-on-Tees - Vectis Auctions (last day of a three day auction)
[see entry/note above]
Other Events
Legotastic!
There is not one, not two, not five, but at least six events involving Hestair Kiddycraft's most famous product (unless the stacking/Russian barrels were your favorite!), over the Easter break. . . and they're the ones that I KNOW ABOUT.
I bet there are more - where you are - as two of these are local-to-Basingrad things organised by those bandwagon firms exploiting the hegemony of the Danes in the [stolen] construction-brick business for some of the cash-crumbs!
Basingstoke - Milestones Museum - Bricktropolis and the Attack of the Mighty Monsters
Leisure Park, Churchill Way West, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG22 6PG (venue)
Web. - www.milestonesmuseum.org.uk
Tel. - 01256 639550 (venue)
Hampshire Cultural Trust, Chilcomb House, Chilcomb Lane, Winchester, Hampshire, SO23 8RB (offices)
eMail - enquiries@hampshireculturaltrust.org.uk
Tel. - 01962 678140 (offices)
Open - Tuesday-Friday 10:00- 16:45hrs, Saturday-Sunday 11:00-16:45hrs, Mondays closed

Basingstoke - Festival Place Shopping Precincts - Lego in Space
Starts 13th - Details next week


London (Forrest Hill) - The Horniman Public Museum and Public Park Trust - Brick Wonders
100 London Road, Forest Hill, London, SE23 3PQ
Web. - www.horniman.ac.uk
Tel. - 020 8699 1872
Until 27th October 2019
Temporary Exhibition Space
Forrest Hill tube station and overground


Washinton (Tyne & Weir) - Giant Lego Brick Animal Trail
WWT, Washington Wetland Centre, Washington, Tyne & Weir
Web. - wwt.org.uk
From Saturday 6th April 2019

Winchester - Marwell Zoo - Brickosaurs!
Marwell Wildlife Park, Thompsons Lane, Winchester, Hampshire SO21 1JH.
Web. - www.marwell.org.uk
eMail -  marwell@marwell.org.uk
Tel. - 01962 777407
Friday 5th April - Sunday 1st September 2019


Windsor - Legoland - New Ride; The Haunted Monster Party
Opens 13th April - Details next week
Re-enactment
Saturday 6th-Sunday 7th April 2019
Bury St. Edmonds - National Trust - 95th Rifles; Battle of Waterloo
Ickworth, Bury St. Edmonds
Children's drill workshops
Field-surgery demo's
Battles!
If you are an event promoter/show curator/auctioneer and you want your toy, model, collectable or popular-/youth-culture type sale/exhibition/event listed here -  FOR FREE  - or linked to; please eMail me -
maverickatlarge[at]hotmail[dot]com
- stating the date/s of the event, address of event, contact details, opening/viewing times, admission pricing and any other relevant facts/details or features - parking, travel notes, disability access, availability of refreshments, event subject matter &etc.
And please mention any flyer-art or poster-/leaflet-scans but send by separate eMail, in case they go to the 'junk' folder, from where they can be recovered and marked safe, but only if I know they're there!
Competition - Just for Fun!
Tom Clague sent this image of a retail item for sale in Australia . . .

The competition is simple, what is it? Answer next week! I can tell you it's not a pencil sharpener, nor a topper (pencil or bottle), I can also tell you that you probably can't afford it, even though it looks to be an innocuous, probably resin, touristy, keepsakey, diver figurine, which - apparently - it isn't!
If you know - because you're in that trade - eMail me for later credit but don't spoil it for any guessers! For the guessers - there may be a further clue on Monday . . .
H is for How They Come In
This is a few bits which have come in over the last two weeks, along with an interesting infant's farm set and a mini-board game which will get their own posts, the two Almirall Hussars/Chasseurs (I don't know how you tell them apart!) are missing swords, but they were cheap!
And finally . . .
No toys in the media this week, but Tom also saw this and sent it along with the diver -
Apparently someone in the Brwreakshit Command & Control Centre (hahahahaha! There's no command and they're not in control!) think people (in THE ANTIPODES) needing some hi-tech financial services might seek them on the OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD!

Evan as Ford threatens to move all its factories out of the UK . . . presumably this is the work of the useless, serial-resigner Davis, or is it that cockwomble Fox? Forgetting that when we joined the EU in '73 (after the French had prevented us from doing so for a decade or two), we left the Kiwi's and the Aussies hanging!
If Brwreakshit was a book, you wouldn't bother to finish the second half and would give it a shit review on Amazon - This is far-fetched, with an unbelievable plot, unrealistic dialogue and the leading characters are all cardboard cut-outs from B-Movie's central casting!

5 comments:

tomholio said...

Great stuff Hugh, although small correction - Tom is in Orstralia. Admittedly i wouldn't mind moving to NZ, but it hasn't happened yet! I know,antipodeans, they all look the same...

Chris Smith said...

My sensible head says it is an air stone for an aquarium but they are not that expensive. So my my guess is it is a stand to hang some luxury brand diving watch on. So paying for the name?

Cheers Chris

Hugh Walter said...

Ohhh . . . good guess Chris . . . I don't know because Tom (FROM AUSTRALIA) hasn't told me yet!

Tom . . . sorry!

H

Spectrum Steve said...

Hey Hugh,

My better half took a look at the Frozen (not literally!)figure in the right hand side, bottom half is indeed a Phidal as you suspected but her collection is temporarily out of access so can't make sure yet sure. Don't know what the Diver is but it is a nice piece.

Hugh Walter said...

Cheers Steve - I wouln'd have a clue to the guess if you hadn't ID'd that first one two years ago!