easter card

Happy Easter

I didn’t know this existed until some time in 2008, when my Dad was preparing to emigrate to New Zealand. He came across it in an old box and, knowing I was interested in finding old stuff from Fairburn for my website, lent it to me for a little while so I could scan it in, along with a bunch of old photos he’d found. And then, for some reason, I didn’t look at the scan I’d made, so I didn’t notice how washed out it was. The back and the inside are fine - it’s just the front that suffers, losing a bit of detail and looking a bit ugly as a result. But I’m sure you’ll cope. I don’t know when it’s from. Either 1980 or 81 - it can’t be any earlier or later - so I’m either 8 or 9. The general lunacy and confidence of it all - plus the fact that it says ‘Shep Productions’ on the back - makes me think it was later rather than earlier. But the fact that it’s in pencil and the general scrappiness steer me more towards 80 than 81. I just think if it was 81, I’d make a slightly better job of it. Perhaps some future scholar might be able to spot some telltale sign I can’t see, but am I seriously suggesting anyone actually cares what year I made this? I must be even more deluded than I think I am. Maybe it didn’t scan so well because there are holes in the front page. I don’t understand the physics of these things but it looks like I’ve gone for some kind of advent calendar type theme here, with squares cut into the card so you can see through to the inside. Maybe that means light has more room to bounce around when you’re scanning it so it’s been over-illuminated and that’s blanched it. Which is a shame because you can’t really tell they’re holes until you open it. There are four, revealing (anticlockwise from the bottom left) an Easter egg, a chick, a bunny rabbit and the words ‘To the Shepherd family’ (meaning my Mum and Dad, but also, I suppose, me, which is a bit weird). This would have been clearer if I’d bothered to scan the front page properly (i.e. without the back page poking through behind it). I think maybe the back page is supposed to work in the same way, sort of. So you see a fully- wrapped Easter egg on the back (I’m assuming that’s what it is), then you open the card to see an unwrapped egg, which is brown. Except it’s got a blonde man’s face inside (presumably that’s a self-portrait, though it doesn’t look anything like me). And why you’d open the card from the back is anyone’s guess. It’ll be hard to spot at first but there’s an even cleverer bit of mechanical trickery inside the card - between the egg and the chick underneath the verse, there’s a face with its mouth open and the word ‘Burp’ written on a piece of paper coming out of its mouth. If you look carefully, you’ll see the paper’s threaded through the card. I think you’re supposed to pull the paper from the back of the card so the word ‘Burp’ appears to slide out of the guy’s mouth. Yeah. Amazing. It looks like there are more bits missing inside: a few brown sellotape marks where maybe there used to be extra flaps and whatnot. I imagine there was another door over the blonde face, maybe with a fully brown oval on it, so you opened the wrapped egg on the back of the card, then opened the unwrapped egg inside to find the face smiling at you. Then there must have been something attached to the card above it, which I’d wager has something to do with that random floating chick head above the verse. But I guess we’ll never know. All that remains is for me to wish you and all your family a very Happy Easter, wherever you are in the world. Try not to eat too many eggs, or too many chickens for that matter. Especially not baby ones. And don’t forget…

April 1980/1981

Happy Easter Body Bugs Comic No 4 Waen Shepherd Foiled Wembley (V2) Christmas 1981 The Insane Cat

To be continued!

When Easter comes - yes, Easter Day May all the happiness come your way

EASTER EGGS

The Long Good Friday “Not just any Good Friday…”

Creme Eggs You can’t resist these Cadbury treats

BBC News BBC 2 News and continuity, Saturday April 18, 1981

Easter Monday BBC 1 Schedule for Monday April 20, 1981

Easter Patti Smith’s 1978 album in full

Last Temptation Jesus gets tempted by a sweet little angel

OTHER HOLIDAYS

Bonfire Night Waen’s first time at the annual village fireworks display

Christmas 1979 Can Waen last the night without opening his presents?

Ceremonies What actually are birthdays? Will we genuinely find out?

MORE RUBBISH

Ward’s 7 John Ward and his band of rebels fight the evil Federation

Optical Illusion Time Amazing visual tricks that will boggle your mind!

Captain Carnivore Gary Shepherd is hunted down by a deadly flying meteor

Super Jesus A special pin-up of your favourite Nazarene webslinger

Waen Shepherd 2 Waen’s heroic antics in the far-flung future of 2007 AD!

Back to Etc.

I didn’t know this existed until some time in 2008, when my Dad was preparing to emigrate to New Zealand. He came across it in an old box and, knowing I was interested in finding old stuff from Fairburn for my website, lent it to me for a little while so I could scan it in, along with a bunch of old photos he’d found. And then, for some reason, I didn’t look at the scan I’d made, so I didn’t notice how washed out it was. The back and the inside are fine - it’s just the front that suffers, losing a bit of detail and looking a bit ugly as a result. But I’m sure you’ll cope. I don’t know when it’s from. Either 1980 or 81 - it can’t be any earlier or later - so I’m either 8 or 9. The general lunacy and confidence of it all - plus the fact that it says ‘Shep Productions’ on the back - makes me think it was later rather than earlier. But the fact that it’s in pencil and the general scrappiness steer me more towards 80 than 81. I just think if it was 81, I’d make a slightly better job of it. Perhaps some future scholar might be able to spot some telltale sign I can’t see, but am I seriously suggesting anyone actually cares what year I made this? I must be even more deluded than I think I am. Maybe it didn’t scan so well because there are holes in the front page. I don’t understand the physics of these things but it looks like I’ve gone for some kind of advent calendar type theme here, with squares cut into the card so you can see through to the inside. Maybe that means light has more room to bounce around when you’re scanning it so it’s been over-illuminated and that’s blanched it. Which is a shame because you can’t really tell they’re holes until you open it. There are four, revealing (anticlockwise from the bottom left) an Easter egg, a chick, a bunny rabbit and the words ‘To the Shepherd family’ (meaning my Mum and Dad, but also, I suppose, me, which is a bit weird). This would have been clearer if I’d bothered to scan the front page properly (i.e. without the back page poking through behind it). I think maybe the back page is supposed to work in the same way, sort of. So you see a fully-wrapped Easter egg on the back (I’m assuming that’s what it is), then you open the card to see an unwrapped egg, which is brown. Except it’s got a blonde man’s face inside (presumably that’s a self-portrait, though it doesn’t look anything like me). And why you’d open the card from the back is anyone’s guess. It’ll be hard to spot at first but there’s an even cleverer bit of mechanical trickery inside the card - between the egg and the chick underneath the verse, there’s a face with its mouth open and the word ‘Burp’ written on a piece of paper coming out of its mouth. If you look carefully, you’ll see the paper’s threaded through the card. I think you’re supposed to pull the paper from the back of the card so the word ‘Burp’ appears to slide out of the guy’s mouth. Yeah. Amazing. It looks like there are more bits missing inside: a few brown sellotape marks where maybe there used to be extra flaps and whatnot. I imagine there was another door over the blonde face, maybe with a fully brown oval on it, so you opened the wrapped egg on the back of the card, then opened the unwrapped egg inside to find the face smiling at you. Then there must have been something attached to the card above it, which I’d wager has something to do with that random floating chick head above the verse. But I guess we’ll never know. All that remains is for me to wish you and all your family a very Happy Easter, wherever you are in the world. Try not to eat too many eggs, or too many chickens for that matter. Especially not baby ones. And don’t forget…