A 1960s Birthday Teddy From Bentalls In Kingston

I spent my 6th birthday staying in London with family friends. It all seemed so busy with London buses and busy pavements, it felt almost as if we were in a different country.  On my birthday we went into Bentalls Department Store in Kingston to buy my present. The choice seemed overwhelming. I thought I had never been in such a big, impressive shop. 



Bentalls was established in 1867 by Frank Bentall who purchased a drapery shop in Kingston upon Thames. Between 1935 and 1976 it was the UK's largest department store outside central London. The grandeur of Bentalls was captured on the cover of this Ladybird book in the "People At Work Series".

Ladybird People At Work In A Big Store

To complete a perfect, exciting day out I chose this Burbank Talkative Teddy. He said phrases like "My Name's Talkative Teddy" and "I Like Honey". Sadly his voice box no longer works but he still sits on a chair in my bedroom, 50 years on and he is one of my favourite possessions.

Burbank Talkative Teddy

Bentalls Department Store has been demolished now but the facade of the original store has been retained as part of the Bentall Centre shopping development which was opened in 1992. I suppose it is a sign of the times but at least there are still memories of those exciting days.

Collecting Vintage Jigsaw Puzzles

I loved playing with jigsaws as a child. School holidays weren't complete without a half completed jigsaw puzzle at the end of the dining room table getting in everyone's way for days at a time. In this fast moving world with so many new toys added constantly, I'm not sure if today's children could be bothered with such a pastime. We however were happy to spend hours searching for each elusive piece of the puzzle.

What happened to all those jigsaw puzzles that were once stacked up in my toy cupboard? I'm not sure, but I know I can't resist the sight of an old Victory box with an evocative image on the front when I am searching the car boot sales. Here are two that I have found that are so typical of the type I loved.

Vintage Victory Jigsaw Kittens

The Treasure Ship Vintage Victory Jigsaw Puzzle

When I found this jigsaw puzzle of The Treasure Ship it reminded me so much of a TV programme we all loved at the time. Who grew up in the 1960s and didn't love the old black and white programme of Robinson Crusoe? Those long hot summer holidays, when the sun always shone (I can't really remember it ever raining in those school holidays!) and we would watch Robinsoe Crusoe before going out for the day to play with friends. Is this possibly one of the most nostalgic tunes for children of the 1960s? It seems to have the power of making you feel both happy and terribly sad at the same time. 

One Child's Treasured Toys

As it was a bank holiday yesterday we set off to a big car boot sale to try and search out some old toys. The sale was full of dealers who obviously do house clearances as there were boxes and boxes of old items laid out that looked as if they were just the contents of people's cupboards. It's so sad, peoples lives just thrown out and all their precious items lying on a field with a sign saying 50p each next to them. 

Among the souvenirs from Spanish holidays to old walking sticks I found a tatty little box. Inside were a few little toys. They were just the kind of things I would have kept in a little box as a child. I wonder how they ended up there and it just proves my idea that people keep things in strange little tins and boxes. This is what I found.

Precious Childhood Toys

Two Wooden Push Up Toys

Mother Badger And Cub China Bell

Wade Kitten With Ball Of Wool

The Cutest Little Toy Squirrel

I'm not quite sure what I'll do with them but for £2 for all of them I couldn't leave them. They just had to be added to my vintage toy collection. I hope who ever had so carefully looked after them would be pleased.

I love finding toys that have been neglected and forgotten and fixing or cleaning them up. Another item I found yesterday was this Pelham Puppet of a Scotsman for a few pounds. It is terribly knotted but I'll have a go at sorting it out.

Pelham Puppet The Scotsman

I don't really know much about Pelham Puppets. I did have one as a child but I'm not quite sure what happened to him. When I looked this puppet up he is actually called "The Drunken Scotsman" and should be holding a bottle of drink. How times and children's toys have changed!

Children's Parties In The 1960s

I look back very fondly to parties I went to of my school friends in the 1960s. Today it seems to have become big business organising a children's party, with themes, events and a fortune spent. I wonder if today's children would enjoy the parties I used to go to? I think they probably would it's just they have come to expect more. We would play games, Pin The Tail On The Donkey, Musical Chairs, Pass The Parcel and Blind Man's Buff. It was just fun being with your friends out of school and seeing their houses really. It all seemed so different and exciting. I bought these old slides at a car boot and they really make me remember the feel of those party days.

1960s Children's Party Guests

Then there was the fun of the party tea.

1960s Children's Tea Party

And blowing out the candles.

Blowing Out The Candles At A 1960s Children's Party

I remember one party I went to where my friend's Mum had a 1960s Dansette record player which she played singles popular at the time on and we all danced, including her Mum. One we wanted over and over again as we danced and sang along was the theme from The Monkees TV programme which was very popular at the time. It was one of my favourite parties as instead of a party bag we were given a little Polish wooden doll as we left. I can't hear The Monkees theme tune without remembering that day and smiling.

Using Old Tins For Storage

I had forgotten all about an item from my childhood until I spotted one in a 50p box at a car boot sale this summer. How could I have forgotten that as a young child if I fell and cut myself, which I was doing all the time as I was such a tomboy, my Mum would put a plaster on me from a little tin. What a brilliant idea, I moan all the time about the cardboard box of plasters in the kitchen drawer that seems to fall to bits after one day of use! Who thought changing from this cute little tin would be a good idea?

1960s Elastoplast Tin

 

Since I bought the tin I have been keeping our sticking plasters in it and I wish I could just buy a little paper packet of plasters to keep restocking it.Think of all the cardboard it would save! It has started me thinking of how tins are used for storage over the years. 

I love Quality Street tins and always buy them for storage when I see one. Often when I buy one, the items that have been stored in it are still there. I have one from the 1950s still with dried lavender in it and one from the 1970s that was full of buttons. This one is from the 1960s and I remember the design so well. 

1960s Quality Street Tin

Inside it was a set of old dominoes. Well used and loved. A lovely little piece of the tin's history. 

Old Dominoes Stored In Quality Street Tin

Who hasn't stored items in these old sweet tins. I do all the time. We have our Christmas Tree lights in a Quality Street Tin which we had one Christmas in the 1990s. All of them seem to have their own little piece of history attached to them. Plain plastic boxes could never be half so nice.

Dreaming Of White Horses

I think this is what I spent many years in the 1960s doing. I was pony mad and read every book I could about little girls owning ponies or pony care books for children. I knew every piece of equipment I would need ready for when the time finally came. If I wasn't reading about ponies I was galloping around the house or garden singing the theme from White Horses pretending I was actually riding one. I bought this Music For Pleasure Surprise Surprise childrens 7" single at the local newsagents with my pocket money and practically wore it out playing it over and over again.

White Horses And The Unicorn Music For Pleasure Surprise Surprise Childrens 7" Single

  These children's 7" singles were quite popular at the time and many songs in the charts had cover versions (some pretty dreadful to be honest) which sold in local shops at pocket money prices. They had a colour in picture on the back which I had not coloured in, rather surprisingly, as I loved colouring. Maybe I was just too busy galloping about!

Colouring In Picture On Music For Pleasure Childrens 7" Single

  Sadly the closest I got to owning a pony or horse was my Troll horse who I called Danny Boy. I wonder what happened to him? I played the White Horses record today before I wrote this and all the memories came flooding back. I have been singing it all evening. I still haven't given up all hope of my pony, I just don't gallop about anymore when I think of it!

1960s Storage Ideas

When I am out searching for my 1960s and 1970s items I always look out for some retro storage ideas to keep my collections in. I love the look of them around the house and it just seems to make sense to add items to my collection  this way. Two items I have found recently have given me lots of storage with a 60s and 70s look and at a price that can't be beaten really.

One is this 1960s or 70s LP record storage case I bought at a car boot sale for £1. It still has the original key and I keep lots of my 1970s LPs in it next to my lovely record player my family bought me  a few years ago. You can't beat the sound of a 70s vinyl record! I'm always on the look out for more but at about £25 each on ebay I think I'll keep scouring the car boot sales.

A 1960s 1970s LP Record Storage Case

The other great storage find was an Air India 1960s vanity case I noticed under a table at a jumble sale and also cost me £1.

It is in lovely condition and has the original Air India logo of The Maharajah which was the mascot from 1946 until 2015.

The Air India Maharajah The Logo From 1946 To 2015

The inside is still lined with some beautiful 1950s or 60s Christmas wrapping paper. So neatly done I wonder if many people today would take so much trouble and look after an item for so long. 

The Inside Of The 1960s Air India Vanity Case

   

I keep it on top of my wardrobe with my little retro toys inside and I love the look of it. New storage would be ten times the price and not nearly so much fun! If you need extra storage and who doesn't really, it is worth searching through car boot sales and jumble sales as with a bit of patience and perseverance lots of interesting storage can be found.

The Collector Gene

 The problem is I have the collector gene. I can look back through our family and see a distinct pattern down the generations. I have boxes of little items I have stored away and I forget what's in many of them. I even have a collection of boxes to keep them in. Only the other day I found a box full of little bits from my childhood. Something that caught my eye was a collection of badges I had. Every badge was a memory and I can remember wearing them.

1960s And 1970s Badges

One of my favourites from when I was very small was the Tingha And Tucker Club. I must have been four or five but I loved the old black and white TV programme with Auntie Jean. There was even a secret sign for members. Well I suppose it wasn't that secret as they did it at the beginning of the programme every week.

The Tingha And Tucker Club Badge

The Tingha And Tucker Club

The other badge that brought back lovely memories was my I-Spy badge, and just to prove I never throw anything out I found my whole I-Spy pack. Incredibly I am still a member, it says on my card "Life Membership"! I remember so clearly I used to set off at ten years old with my sister and the two boys who lived next door, on our bikes. We would set our bike mileometers before we left and to cover eight miles in a day was normal. We took our I-Spy packs with us and spent the days trying to build up our points by finding items in the books. The writing in them is all messy from trying to fill them in leaning on each others backs. Oh happy days. We were never bored. I feel so sorry for today's children, they may have high tech gadgets and computers but they don't have those days of freedom with your I-Spy pack in your saddle bag!