Brain Cleanse [51]
I'm not going to mention it. Let's think about something else.
Dear remaining friends,
How are you all? I hope that you’ve had a… what can I say? …tolerable week.
Look, I’m not going to mention it. If you’re waiting for me to, you’ll be disappointed.
Thank you for the fab reaction to the last edition. I think I’m going to give up working out what this newsletter is about for a bit and just get on with writing it.
This week, it’s very different. I have, by any definition, fallen down a rabbit hole. An Argos-shaped rabbit hole!
For those of you who haven’t spent time in the UK, Argos was a catalogue shop. A shop that had a catalogue that you could take home with you and browse and then order what you wanted and they’d get it out of the warehouse at the back… no, it made no sense then, either.
But the annual tradition of grabbing a pen and circling the things that you wanted for Christmas in the Argos catalogue was a huge one. And look what I’ve stumbled across…!
So, as is traditional, in this one subject issue, we will
be delving into the 1981 Argos Catalogue
…and you’ll thank me for it!
Have a great one, people!
James x
Pens at the ready, 1981 style!
Being surrounded by Christmas miseries who want to hold off starting Christmas for as long as possible, rather than starting it in September like one should, can be difficult. However, as far as I am concerned, there can be no rational argument that the beginning of the festive period should be delayed any longer than the day after Halloween.
So, for all of you who have been waiting, here it is - what you have all been waiting for - the 1981 Argos Catalogue!
Obviously, I can only give you highlights here because it was about 400 pages long, but pens at the ready for your selection of goodies for your list to Santa!
Obviously, we are going to start with some jewellery from Elisabeth Duke!
…and, naturally, these classics…
I can’t remember a year where the massive diamond and sapphire cluster wasn’t the must have present for the woman in your life in the Elizabeth Duke section!
Fear not, though! For the gentleman in your life, they had the latest in executive watches…
…or maybe you got him a watch last year and the battery hasn’t run out yet - so how about a stylish smoking set?
For the homely types, there is a fantastic selection of hostess trollies or shelves for your phone…
But who could resist a stylish bedspread?
Or maybe you are the kind of funky chicken that wants to get down to the latest hot beats? The selection of Walkmans meant that you could literally walk around carrying a whole album’s worth of songs in your pocket - it’s hard to imagine that is even possible but 1982’s technology was second to NONE!
Now for the good stuff! Tech heads and gamers - it’s your moment!
Now, I want to make it clear at this stage that, as a kid, I was spoilt and got literally everything that I wanted - and some things I didn’t even know that I wanted until my parents explained to me that I actually wanted them!
However, as with all good childhoods, there is one thing that escaped me - but it was oh-so-close!
The Grandstand Astrowars game - I wanted it so bad! I asked for it all the time! And when I finally got it… it was broken and went back! Never to be seen again!
I’m fine about it now, though. I’m 51 and I literally rarely think about it. And I certainly wouldn’t do a newsletter just to bring it up…
Anyway… where were we?
I’ve still got Stay Alive - an absolutely brilliant game!
What a page of joy this is!
The Magic Snake was hugely underrated.
1982 also saw some absolutely top quality Barbie options…
...and for our younger readers…
Merry Christmas to one and all!
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These emails are powered by coffee! If you feel so inclined, thank you! They are hugely appreciated! My buymeacoffee link is at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jamesmb and I’ll post a photo of each one you get me as a thank you!
A massive Thank You to Suzana and Michelle for the coffees last week - photos of your coffees will appear in future editions!
I hope you’ll all forgive me for this very different edition but I am sure you’ll all agree that there’s one subject that we could all just do with not thinking about and I promised that I’d not mention it. So I won’t.
Don’t worry. Normal service will be resumed soon.
But the last word for this newsletter has to go to the fantastic comedian and, back in the day, my occasional Twitter banter friend, Janey Godley, who died earlier this week.
Frank, get the door…
Take care everyone,
James x
It's never too late... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/296797367804
The content I didn't know I needed. I'm confused by the prices though; they don't seem unreasonable in today's market. Is this some economic smoke and mirrors? Have we been paying the same amount for our plasticky tat all along?