Whit, nae Sunday Post!

How many families didn't read The Sunday Post in the 1960s?

For many years we didn't buy a copy of The Sunday Post, but read my grandfather's copy on our weekly family visits.

As children in the early 1960s it was mainly the Fun Section that we read.

This was the double spread on either side of the page. The Broons were the main feature on one side, and Oor Wullie on the other. If Gaga (grandfather) was reading the newspaper sometimes he would just remove the Fun Section for us

The Broons and Oor Wullie

The Broons were good, but wee Wee Wullie probably just shaded it.

There were also other features which I enjoyed - some jokes, puzzles and for many years, Nero and Zero, two Roman guards who were supposed to look after Caesar; there was also Nosey Parker.

This Sunday ritual with Family Favourites and Jean Metcalfe and Cliff Michelmore on the radio in the background was always a very relaxing and a key part of these Sundays mornings at our grandparents home at Durham Road, Portobello before the Sunday roast dinner was served up .

As we grew older in the late 1960s we began to alternate our Sunday visits and so like millions of others, we at 6/2 Oxgangs Avenue started to buy our own copy of The Post. 

Gradually, I progressed  from just reading the Fun Section to the sports pages and then regular columns such as The Hon Man. His adventures could be quite interesting, particularly if the editor had perhaps sent him away to live on a pound a day or to tour around the Highlands camping and of course report back weekly, in a humorous vein.

d'Artagnan and Stopwatch Racing at Stockbridge, Edinburgh, January 2004

d'Artagnan reading Oor Wullie Stockbridge,
Edinburgh, January 2004 

d'Artagnan and Stopwatch Racing were brought up on the annuals. 

Reading the sauce bottle at the dinner table, leads on to Oor Wullie; The Four Marys; Alf Tupper; Peter Pan; Robin Hood; and then Holden Cauldfield; Atticus Finch; Pip; and Anna Karenina et al.

Given the dramatic reduction in newspaper buying The Sunday Post's circulation is still relatively high, however back in the 1960s I believe it had the highest reader penetration per head of the population of any newspaper in the world.

Victor?

Victor?

The comics of the 1960s were sensationally good, both in the quality of the stories and the artwork too.

The Victor was an important comic for my brother Iain Hoffmann and me but I don't think any other boys in The Stair read it.

It was a regular purchase for us. The comic ran from 1961 to 1992, probably the longest run of the comics from that era. Indeed I know that Iain was still getting his copy when he worked at Ferranti's.

A sad demise; if it were still on the go today, we'd buy it!

There were key characters who featured regularly - Braddock VC ,a surly, but deadly Second World War pilot. Initially I didn't get in to him at all, but in later years I began to appreciate him; but both Morgyn the Mighty and The Tough of the Track had an important influence on me.

Clearly I was buying the comic regularly when Iain was seven years old and I was nine, because a Morgyn the Mighty story of the world's strongest men being relocated to a remote island to fight it out to the death remained with me making a deep impression. Today I've a complete run of that story
.

DC Thomson the publisher ran a good series (175 issues) called Classics From The Comics from March 1996 until October 2010 which reprinted many of the stories from its files.

Because I was keen for Will and Tom to experience some of the pleasures that we at The Stair had enjoyed I took out a subscription for the boys. Name-dropping - if you look carefully at Issue 149 you can see above that the Hoffmanns took an active part.

Tom Hoffmann, July 2010

Tom Hoffmann, April 2009

Tom was the biggest fan in the house and read every copy from cover to cover, several times over.

Indeed, when I asked him for the copy featuring the Hoffmanns he went straight to it - it would have taken me hours to find.

If he were ever to appear on Junior Mastermind, his specialist subject would have to be Oor Wullie, The Broons and Classics From The Comics - a bit like Oor Wullie on his bucket, he'd spend hours on the lavatory reading them.

There were some compensations from the boys reading such cartoon strips. Back in 2007 Alison and I attended the Dingwall Academy Prize-Giving and were pleasantly surprised to see that Will had won the School Essay Prize (£50) which was reprinted in the programme. In true cartoon fashion he treated five of his mates to a 'slap up feed' in Inverness.

Alf Tupper's athletic adventures were my favourite strip in the comic.

Alf was a working class man living under a railway bridge. He lived on fish n chips and took on the toffs at big athletics meetings. I loved the stories and the art work was super - the imagery of the athletics meetings greatly appealed. In a later blog I'll write in more detail on Alf Tupper and Wilson the Wonder Athlete (The Hornet) and their great influence on me.

Victor?

No, loser.

It was a very sad day when The Victor and other such comics hit the dust.

I've occasionally thought about approaching the company to buy the rights to the comic with a view to reprinting them weekly - I thought there might be a market for both today's dads and grand-dads of my generation and their sons and indeed grandsons.

Whit, nae Sunday Post!

How many families didn't read The Sunday Post in the 1960s?

For many years we didn't buy a copy of The Sunday Post, but read my grandfather's copy on our weekly family visits.

As children in the early 1960s it was mainly the Fun Section that we read.

This was the double spread on either side of the page. The Broons were the main feature on one side, and Oor Wullie on the other. If Gaga (grandfather) was reading the newspaper sometimes he would just remove the Fun Section for us

The Broons and Oor Wullie

The Broons were good, but wee Wee Wullie probably just shaded it.

There were also other features which I enjoyed - some jokes, puzzles and for many years, Nero and Zero, two Roman guards who were supposed to look after Caesar; there was also Nosey Parker.

This Sunday ritual with Family Favourites and Jean Metcalfe and Cliff Michelmore on the radio in the background was always a very relaxing and a key part of these Sundays mornings at our grandparents home at Durham Road, Portobello before the Sunday roast dinner was served up .

As we grew older in the late 1960s we began to alternate our Sunday visits and so like millions of others, we started to buy our own copy of The Post at 6/2 Oxgangs Avenue.

Gradually, I progressed  from just reading the Fun Section to the sports pages and then regular columns such as The Hon Man. His adventures could be quite interesting, particularly if the editor had perhaps sent him away to live on a pound a day or to tour around the Highlands camping and of course report back weekly, in a humorous vein.

d'Artagnan and Stopwatch Racing at Stockbridge, Edinburgh, January 2004

d'Artagnan reading Oor Wullie Stockbridge,
Edinburgh, January 2004 

d'Artagnan and Stopwatch Racing were brought up on the annuals. 

Reading the sauce bottle at the dinner table, leads on to Oor Wullie; The Four Marys; Alf Tupper; Peter Pan; Robin Hood; and then Holden Cauldfield; Atticus Finch; Pip; and Anna Karenina et al.

Given the dramatic reduction in newspaper buying The Sunday Post's circulation is still relatively high, however back in the 1960s I believe it had the highest reader penetration per head of the population of any newspaper in the world.