Orna-mental

Not toys at all - but all the more appealing for that. 

Delicate little creatures of glass or wood, brought to life in my imagination. 

They've survived in pretty good condition, all things considered. 

Photo Album

Significant not because of the retro status of photo albums these days, but because of its design - that particular 70s or 80s style of illustration-for-girls that strikes such a familiar chord for me... 

Ummm... Yes, well...

I studied Japanese in high school and although I didn't take part in a school trip to Japan, I gave a friend some money and asked her to bring me back some souvenirs. 

This was one of the things she brought back. It's a fairly innocuous, cutesy-bordering-on-twee, little thing, whose main purpose is to hang around and look cute. 

And hang around it did. 

I had no idea what the Japanese words on the removable wooden card say, although I think "Genki" in the thought bubble means 'healthy'. 

I never noticed it at the time, but if you remove the wooden card, you get ... 

This:

Yes. 

Yes, I know. 

Healthy is one word for it.

The Doll that was Bigger than Me

This is a doll that is taller than a 3-year-old. 

She used to have her own special dress, but it's gotten a little worse for wear over the years. 

As a kid, I couldn't wait until I grew taller than her. I'm pretty sure I gloated the day it finally happened. The doll didn't seem too fussed about it though. 

Classic 80s English Comics

From the 1980s and the absolute golden age of these comics. 

The Beano, featuring Dennis the Menace and Gnasher (or, as I used to pronounce it, Guh-nasher), the Bash Street Kids, Minnie the Minx, Billy Whizz and all the other classic regulars. 

Then we had The Dandy, with Desperate Dan and Korky the Cat. 

Good old Beezer, with Ginger, The Numbskulls and others:

And of course Buster, with X-Ray Specs, Ivor Lott and Tony Broke, and others

Not forgetting Whizzer and Chips, The Topper and others:

Three decades old and as beloved as ever!

In a Previous Life, it was a Hair Bauble

This little plastic flower used to be a hair bauble - a girly, decorative ornament in plastic attached to the elastic band that ties the hair back. 

I had many of these in all sorts of designs over the years - and I've just realised that I managed to lose many over the years too. 

But I saved this one after the elastic broke because I liked it so much. I thought of it as being the colour of pineapple in the sun - albeit translucent. And shaped like a flower too - so pretty!

It now sits as a bracelet on one of my doll's arms. 

Pencil Case

The most beautiful (and elaborate) pencil case I'd ever seen. 

I was used to the single, clip-open style. To have one with such a pretty drawing (I didn't learn about the manga style of drawing unil the 90s), with its cute little extra pocket was awesome. 

To have an extra whole case to open on the obverse side was just special:

What the photos don't show is the little pièce de résistance - a little timer with pink sand. It got detached by a curious member of the next generation. 

Not in bad nick for something from the mid-80s!