Comics UK

This one's a bit of a long shot but I've a query from someone trying to track down a short story her sister wrote:

"My sister wrote a small story about a blackbird sunbathing in the garden and won some money for writing it around 1973 in Mandy comic. How would I find this copy
Hope you can help"

I've asked for more details, unfortunately she doesn't know much more, I don't know how long the story was it may have just been in letters page. Her sister's name was Nicola Evans from Wigan, she thinks the story could have appeared some time between 1970-1973, and there was a picture of a blackbird sunbathing in a deckchair.

I've had a luck through the Mandys I own from that time and no luck. I also checked the Judys and Buntys I have in that time. I don't have near a full collection though. Anyone else able to help?

Anyone found the sunbathing blackbird?

Tammyfan wrote:Anyone found the sunbathing blackbird?

I spent several hours yesterday seeking a non-existent blackbird in a non-existent garden in my collection of MANDY (1970-1973). I even checked 1974!! In that period I have very few issues missing, certainly not enough to hide a serial. I will check 1969 later this morning with a waning enthusiasm. I should really be on my way down town to pick up today's issue of The Guardian, but it's lashing down.

The nearest I could get to Nicola Evans was a letter from Janet and Wendy Evans of Chalfont St Peter in issue 133 (August 2 1969). My interest in this matter has now expired. It is no longer raining so I'm off out for today's issue of The Guardian.

Phoenix wrote:The nearest I could get to Nicola Evans was a letter from Janet and Wendy Evans of Chalfont St Peter in issue 133 (August 2 1969). My interest in this matter has now expired. It is no longer raining so I'm off out for today's issue of The Guardian.

Thank you for trying. We all have on this one, but it looks like something we’ve come to a dead end on.

Tammyfan wrote:Thank you for trying. We all have on this one, but it looks like something we’ve come to a dead end on.

There are at least four further possibilities, Briony. First, Nicola may have sent the letter to a different story paper, secondly it could have been one published by a company other than D.C. Thomsons, third, it may have been sent in but not published, and finally, it may never have been sent in at all. Memory is not always as reliable as we would like it to be.

Or the publication date is confused and the story appeared at an earlier or later date.

Tammyfan wrote:Or the publication date is confused and the story appeared at an earlier or later date.

But I did look through every issue, to all intents and purposes, of MANDY from 1969 to 1974 without success. It is annoying because I know the content of every story paper for girls from D.C. Thomsons, and additionally I have copious notes on them, as well as owning the vast majority of them. With the help of my younger son, Russell, we were able to print off issue 65 of SPELLBOUND tonight, the only issue of the comic that I didn't own, but which was very kindly emailed to me by Lorraine Nolan (a.k.a peace355). I'm amazed by how much Russ knows about cars and other things that matter in his life, when his school subject reports were all along the line of "Russell could do well at this subject if only he would pay attention/stop talking to his neighbours/ cease playing the class clown" etcetera. He came round this evening to pick me up so we could go out together to the Copperhouse for a couple of jars, but when I asked him if he knew how to find and print off the whole of SPELLBOUND 65, he sat down at my desk, promptly found Lorraine's email, and printed it off for me. Then off we went to the Copperhouse in a very nice ROVER from his workplace that he is thinking of buying for Rachel, and as we were backing out of my drive, I told him the ale was on me tonight. We only had a pint and a half and a good chat, but he hasn't yet bought in an S-type Jaguar to replace my X-type, which he will buy back from me on a swap basis. I think Lois breaks up next week for Christmas, so with the petrol money I save I'm buying her all the Harry Potter books on line for her present. They should arrive in the next few days. I've no firm idea yet what to get for Alex. Something to stop him cheating at SORRY would be appropriate!