James May's Toy Stories

[B777LR]

I noticed that James May is doing a new series of programs (alongside Top Gear), called James May's Toy Stories.

http://www.jamesmaystoystories.com/James_May/Welcome.html

James May is on a mission to celebrate Britain's best loved toys, and celebrate them on a massive scale. As well as creating a Plasticine garden James will be building Lego houses, huge scale Airfix and many more.

Hmmm, huge scale Airfix?

[Nick]

He tried to build Britains longest model railway as part of this show using Scouts and enthusiast help along the 10 miles of ex-track from Barnstaple to Bideford. Failed due to vandalism and theft.

The Airfix bit is mentioned on the Unofficial Airfix website where the TV crew were looking for someone he could interview.

The featured toys over the six episodes will include Airfix, Meccano, Sclaextric, Hornby Railways, Lego and Plasticine. Wonder if Nick Park is doing the last one?

Sounds like a good show to watch!

[AeroplaneDriver]

May is the Top Gear host I enjoy watching the least, but I think he is the one I would most like to sit down and have a beer with.  Sounds like a great programme!  Thanks for the heads up!

[Weaver]

Didn;t he already do something like this? I seem to remember him making an Airfix Bismark and then sinking it, and getting a class of modern kids to try making a Meccano crane from the instructions, with depressingly bad results.

[Mossie]

I watched one a couple of weeks ago where he covered girls toys, James May's My Sisters Top Toys.  Blew up one of those 'Family Tree House' toys, he hated the one his sister had as a kid.  Also tried & failed to produce anything with Spirograph.

Train sets
Go Kart versus Pram
Action Man
Fuzzy Felt
Family Treehouse
Scalextric

[NARSES2]

Didn;t he already do something like this? I seem to remember him making an Airfix Bismark and then sinking it, and getting a class of modern kids to try making a Meccano crane from the instructions, with depressingly bad results.

That was a Christmas one-off a year or so back. Repeated since, then as Mossie said he did "Girl's Toys" and now this series. Seems like the "one-off" struck a chord 

Was anyone succesful with Spirograph by the way ? 

[Mossie]

Not really, it was always really fiddly & too easy to slip & completely ruin it.  I think most kids had a few attempts, realised it was crap, then it stayed in the loft after that.  There are quite a lot of creative kids toys where the designs on the box & in the instructions are clearly done by adults with a lot of time on their hands.  You'd have to be a child prodigy to come up with anything close!

That's why I liked Fuzzy Felt that's on one of the videos.  Granted, it was for younger kids, but you just stuck the various shapes on to get an instant picture that fitted your imagination.  When you were finished you shook it off & started again.  We always had a few sets in the caravan for rainy days on holiday.  I always remember being able to find a model shop in seaside resorts, Dads & lads hitting them in force when it rained.  Mum wasn't over keen because the paint & glue was pretty overpowering in a small space!  Made several badly painted & gummed up kits on hols!

[kitnut617]

Was anyone succesful with Spirograph by the way ? 

I still have mine     I found it when we were packing all our crap for the house move a couple of years ago, don't even remember bringing it over here with me.  Mind you I also found a box of all my old kids books, Noddy, Thomas the Tank Engine and all that fun stuff too, all originals BTW.

[NARSES2]

Mind you I also found a box of all my old kids books, Noddy, Thomas the Tank Engine and all that fun stuff too, all originals BTW.

That can be fun - when I was ill and off work for a few weeks a couple of years ago I couldn't face anything "heavy" and found a lot of my old "Just William" books. Great reads - that and old Rupert the Bear anuals 

The BBC are making a series of "Just William" stories set in the early 50's as the books are. Interesting to see how they deal with all the behaviour that would now be classed as anti-social that we all got up to then 

[nev]

Its not the behaviour thats the problem Chris - after all I doubt you and your mates knifed anyone because they weren't giving you "respect", its how they'll deal with the punishment when they get caught!  If playing with a catapult is anti-social, caning would get you locked up, put on a danger-to-children list etc etc

[NARSES2]

Thats exactly right Nev - I carried a catapult when I was 7 or 8, but it was only used for firing at old tin cans and we ivariably missed. If we misbehaved at school we got a wallop and if I told my dad I got walloped again. All fair as I'd done wrong or spoke out of turn, and that's what I was getting at. How on earth will the BBC intergrate a 50's story line, and 50's children's behaviour with 2009's attitudes. I just can't se how they'll do it and that will spoil the whole thing. Most if not all kids stories back then had a moral (of sorts) do wrong and you get punished. Even being sent to your room then was a punishment - now they want to go there.

I'm just getting old and looking back on the good old days. I consider myself part of the luckiest generation. Good education, good NHS, secure jobs, good final pension and no war to fight like my father and granfathers.

[nev]

If we misbehaved at school we got a wallop and if I told my dad I got walloped again

One of my mates (indeed, now my boss!) once got a whack off his dad at the dinner table.  "what was that for??" "For whatever you've done wrong this week and you've not been caught"   He also complained once that a teacher had hit him and got another whack because "if a teacher hit you, you must have done something really bad"

[NARSES2]

If we misbehaved at school we got a wallop and if I told my dad I got walloped again

One of my mates (indeed, now my boss!) once got a whack off his dad at the dinner table.  "what was that for??" "For whatever you've done wrong this week and you've not been caught"   He also complained once that a teacher had hit him and got another whack because "if a teacher hit you, you must have done something really bad"

Ah "dumb insolence" got that a few times 

A note for our younger readers ; Don't assume life in the 50'60's was all about caning and smacking, it wasn't. You only got punished if you broke the rules and you were made very aware of the rules and the punishments for transgression. At school if offered the choice between detention (standing with your nose against a wall for 30mins - which I think the Brit Army is now in trouble for !) or a single wallop from a slipper, most lads took the slipper. Also if caught fighting in the playground - read handbags at 5 yards - then it was in the gym at 4:00pm with the gloves on. Most boys after having time to think about it apologised to each other and that was it, but sometimes you'd get a good scrap with half the school watching 

[B777LR]

If we misbehaved at school we got a wallop and if I told my dad I got walloped again

One of my mates (indeed, now my boss!) once got a whack off his dad at the dinner table.  "what was that for??" "For whatever you've done wrong this week and you've not been caught"   He also complained once that a teacher had hit him and got another whack because "if a teacher hit you, you must have done something really bad"

Ah "dumb insolence" got that a few times 

A note for our younger readers ; Don't assume life in the 50'60's was all about caning and smacking, it wasn't. You only got punished if you broke the rules and you were made very aware of the rules and the punishments for transgression. At school if offered the choice between detention (standing with your nose against a wall for 30mins - which I think the Brit Army is now in trouble for !) or a single wallop from a slipper, most lads took the slipper. Also if caught fighting in the playground - read handbags at 5 yards - then it was in the gym at 4:00pm with the gloves on. Most boys after having time to think about it apologised to each other and that was it, but sometimes you'd get a good scrap with half the school watching 

Tis but nothing compared to today! If i get caught surfing unpolitical websites in social studies classes, the teacher will tell me to turn off my computer. If i get caught SMSing in class, i get the right to bring a cake for the next friday...