The Forgotten World John and Mick fall foul of some extreme potholing

TERM 2 The birth of the 1980s - Blake’s 7, Blondie and battles in space

Great Space Battles Three mighty empires take their first steps into outer space

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

The Fugitive A man runs - but who is he? And what is he running from?

The Micronauts:

Supersilver!

Tuesday March 11th, 1980

< War of the Worlds

ENGLISH 2 >

The last piece in my first English book. There’s no date at the top of the page, so at first, I assumed it was written later in the week after the previous story. But having looked at my next English book and realised I started writing that on Wednesday June 12th, it looks like I must have written this the very same day. Part 4 of The Story of Nelson is from the same day too - clearly a very industrious Tuesday and a sign of increasing productivity all round. The Micronauts were characters in a comic strip I read at the time, but primarily they were toys, and damn good toys too. With their detachable, interchangeable parts, they definitely gave Star Wars figures a run for their money. Ostensibly an American toy line manufactured by Mego (and distrubuted by Airfix in the UK), they were essentially a repackaged version of the Microman series created by Takara in Japan. Unlike some of the Micronauts comic strips I wrote in my Topic books, this story bears no relation to the comics. I think it’s inspired by an actual playing session, probably in my bedroom or the top of the stairs at home. It certainly reads like one. It’s possible I didn’t just do this on my own. Andrew Wall liked Micronauts too - I’m pretty sure he had a Biotron and a Microtron, and might even have had an Astrostation - so we could have built this story together. But I doubt it. This has all the hallmarks of a Waen-talking-to-himself special. I can visualise myself on the landing outside Mum and Dad’s room making the Micronauts do acrobatic leaps from steps to walls and floors and back again, doing all the different voices myself. There was no such thing as the Great Micromid, so it was probably a box, or maybe I just imagined it floating somewhere on the bannister. The Hyperion and Photon Sled did exist though, as detachable bits of the Battle Cruiser my parents got me for Christmas, and I can’t imagine anyone being happy if I’d thrown them down the stairs. Doesn’t mean I didn’t do it though. The cast of characters listed at the top of the page sound very much like my own collection of Micronauts figures. Pharoid was the first one I bought (when I say ‘I bought’ I obviously mean someone else bought it for me - probably my Gran). Mine was blue, with a blue sarcophagus which you can see here. The other names (Lt Hyperion, etc) are all my own pet names for the various Time Traveller figures I might have had, which came in different colours. Supersilver must have been my name for the shiniest one. I also had a Giant Acroyear - another Christmas present, which doesn’t feature here - and, at some point in the future, acquired the magnificently exciting Hornetroid. Like most of my childhood toys, I’ve absolutely no idea what happened to them, but best guess is I left them behind when we left my teenage home in Pontefract after my parents’ divorce. It’s not an interesting read. It’s a fair attempt to capture a sense of non-stop action (with non-stop exclamation marks!) but the cumulative effect is pretty flat. I don’t care about any of the characters at all, which makes it all the more remarkable that I did actually return to the story in my second English book (though only for a brief paragraph). The comic strips I drew slightly later in the year (mainly in Topics 3 and 4) are much better. And that’s the end of English 1. The upside down writing at the bottom of the final page (written on January 17th with the book set up back to front) is probably the earliest example of me writing in cursive, but I wouldn’t adopt it as a general habit until my fourth year of junior school, age 10. But I’d left Fairburn by then. It hadn’t occurred to me before today, but I wonder if that’s part of what makes these books so attractive to me? The things I wrote after leaving Fairburn are nowhere near as accessible. Joined-up writing - something we barely ever do any more - might well be the reason. THE MICRONAUTS WILL RETURN in: THE RETURN OF SUPERSILVER

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

ENGLISH 2 A general increase in manic stupidity and excessive violence