Retro Comment: Beam Me Down Spotty...

CAPTAIN ZODIAC REPORTING FOR DUTY

Am I a geek or a nerd? Both, I suppose. I'd preface both with retro as I find simple pleasures in the memory of childhood joys that as I grow older are as part of my whole as they were back then when new and vibrant. It is a strange thing that today I find myself seeking out those simple pleasures be they visual, aural or literal.

I grew up in a typical mining town in the north east of England. As you'd expect, it was a dull, grey and dour place. In those days, kids found entertainment in make believe where a length of wood was either a rifle to shoot indians or a swashbuckling sword to fight off those pirates - space pirates, of course. Most were Errol Flynn, me, I was Steve Zodiac. He was the man. Being a cowboy was so boring. Who wants to fight indians when you can zap those mud men from Mars? I had imagination to burn.

So that was where my nerdish geekdom probably began. Now, forty years or so later, it's been an interesting journey. These days I'm rediscovering all the things that I once had but lost for whatever reason. Comics swapped, toys broken or television/movies vaguely remembered. So much lost that I groan when I think about what I had. eBay is the devil whispering in my ear. I had that. And that. Oh, I remember this. How much?! I still wake up in a cold sweat over giving away all those Dracula Lives, TV21's, 2000A.D, Cor!, Starburst, Starlog, Fantastic Films and Avengers comics and magazines.

As of now, I'm on a mission to reclaim my past. Hunting here and there for those special memories. Already there is a growing stack of Whizzer and Chips, Joe 90, Beezer and UFO annuals sat in the corner. Yesterday, I came across an old Planet of the Apes annual in a back street charity shop. Not from the movies but the short lived TV series. I was like a kid at Christmas. I think I skipped all the way home.

General Urko Found!!!

This blog is about me. The things I remember and the stuff I loved. I hope those of you who visit Across Time and Space will come with me on my adventure...

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