What I Did on My Holiday -- Part Two

My holidays were so long ago now, that my memory is beginning to fog. Did I have them in June or July? It doesn't really matter now. I simply wish to make an entry here before these memories fade further.

My Grand-daughter, Miss Lollie, then aged 4 years (she is now five), was watching me working at my desk and noticed a pin board above my computer desk where I keep reminder messages to myself (like airline booking times for next November, an OPG scan referral from last December that I have yet to make, and two old raffle tickets that I didn't check to see that I didn't win). She promptly informed me that she thought the pin board was boring. I asked her what should we do about it, before thinking no more of it. She told me that she didn't know either, and so the matter ended. Or so I thought. I returned to my computer a couple of days later, only to discover these unannounced little gems added to the pin board...

All images Copyright Charlotte Ruby Eames

So, my pin board is no longer boring. And here is the person responsible (left). I point out the resemblance to the illustration on the top left, just in case you run into someone in the street with hair exactly like that because it could be Lollie.

One thing Lollie enjoys doing is heading into the city with Da (that's me). She is from the country, so the city is an exciting adventure. And it really is. Mum and Nannie never know what we get up to until the stories are regaled on arrival home. I always thought what goes on in a trip to the city should remain at the city, but it seems not: we must tell in full detail all the activities that take place.

On this particular occasion, Da (that's me, remember?) made some planning, also known as an itinerary. It was school holidays and so there were some activities on at the Brisbane Powerhouse for under 8s. It was a rainy day, but we were not deterred and head off anyway. But we didn't want to join in watching the hour long singing and dancing shows that were on, we were taken by the More Important Activity available to us...colouring-in! By the time interest in this activity had waned (and because it was a most enjoyable activity, it was not until over an hour later) we decided to catch the River Cat into the city and leave our car at the Powerhouse. 

The rain was only light, so we were fortunate we didn't get really wet. Not that we minded getting really wet. Every puddle was its own individual adventure and the goal was to see how big a splash we could make. (And Da didn't have a problem with this, as Gum Boots had been worn,) The idea was to jump with both feet landing in the middle of the puddle, and you have to be outside the puddle to begin with. It's the Rules. Mind you, I could have made this a most Instructive Blog entry by telling Adults with Children in Tow how many puddles there were between the Powerhouse and the Ferry Terminal, but I lost count (and perhaps a little interest) after 34 puddles and we had  both started to get a little sodden.

During the River Cat Ride - recommended for all ACT (Adults with Children in Tow, please pay attention!) - I was asked a Question. Was there a Toyworld Store in the city? I knew where this was leading, but I have always believed in being up-front and honest, rather than breaking the future trust of any young person. So somehow we wavered from the Planned Itinerary and ended up in the City Toyworld Store. From there, the skills of a negotiator were required to limit excessive impulsive spending, and this was done by firmly indicating that we only had seven dollars to spend.

Two hours later, I had left Lollie in the Toyworld Store. I ended up walking down the Queen Street Mall with Dora the Explorer in search of sustenance. Luckily for us we discovered a "Nugget Shop" in town. I thought Dora was all against multinational food restaurants, but obviously not. I was quite relieved to enjoy a soft serve myself after wearing myself out walking up and down all those Toyworld isles (and back again). (And forth again. And so forth.)

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Copyright Bad Teeth Comics: Used with permission.

After eating at McNuggets, Dora again became a mask and I somehow ended up sitting next to Lollie again. We agreed to go with the planned programme for a change, which meant HOO-RAY! we ended up at a bookstore. After looking through some picture books (there are so many good ones these days), I tried to spend some time at the Graphic Novels section. While there, I came across a book called BAD TEETH COMICS. 

Bad Teeth Comics was the name of a comic strip that used to appear on an erratic (although usually fortnightly) basis in the now-defunct (since 2012) Brisbane weekly street press music newspaper, Rave Magazine. It appeared along with a personal favourite, Mel Stringer's Girlie Pains and another strip by Ben Constantine. This book, BAD TEETH COMICS, is a 200 page volume collecting some of those Glenn Manders' RAVE work and a whole lot more: unpublished comic pages, illustrations, and photographs. There is even a page worked into the back cover that includes four colour stickers!

The book, is divided into sections. Bad Teeth #8 2010 - 2012 leads the front of the book and while interesting, didn't do much for me until the comic section called 'Mental Lentil' began. Artwork contained in the second section of the book (Selected Artwork 2005 - 2009) was of a higher quality than the first. However, I was wondering which artwork was from 2005 and which from a later era. It would have been helpful to have know the artist had improved his style over the period. (In fact, nowhere in the book is there any indication of which art was done in what year. This doesn't matter really, but for people like me who seek records of these things it can be a big deal.)  The third section I assume takes selected personal highlights from magazines Glen has self-published over the years, but the pages were few. The personal high point of the book was Selected Comic Strips 2005-2012, and these are likely to be selected reprints of the Rave Magazine comic strips. Some of them were funny, some were clever (Late Night Comics Don't Always Work Out), and there were enough pages - about 65 when I counted - to keep me most satisfied.   If you want to see samples of the comics, click here, as Glenn has some on his own web site.    

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BAD TEETH COMICS, the comic volume, retails for $25 and is available from a different website if you click here. I understand the book was published in August 2012, is 200 pages in length and square bound in size. The book does not have a copyright or a contact page, but I respect an artists' right to own their material, so I have emailed Glenn to seek permission to use the cover artwork to accompany this Blog Entry. IF you don't see an illustration here, you know he has said 'No'!

I bought a copy as a souvenir of not only the wonderful work of Glenn Manders, but also of my wonderful Trip into Town with Lollie last Holiday. I baulked at claiming the Dora the Explorer Mask.