The Foreboding

As soon as he woke he felt it - foreboding. And he was right to feel it. There was mess everywhere. Cupboards he had kept shut for years were opened and the contents tipped out. Things he had tried to forget about, memories, bad ones, were littered everywhere. There was nowhere safe to look, all his thoughts were now dominated by the appalling gut wrenching scene.

He knew instantly who had done it. There was only one person who could cause this sort of damage, only one person who knew where everything was kept. Only one person who had the key to these dark places. Oh yes, this was an inside job alright.

As he faced the trauma he realised he couldn’t carry on living like this. No matter how he tried to hide his fears, worries and previous actions they would keep being brought to life in front of him. He had to find another way, a better way. Perhaps the moment of New Year might provide that opportunity. Perhaps he could, he could, he could …….. he could change his mind.

The Cupboard under the Stairs

They’d nagged him, cajoled him and at times berated him but even he knew the time had finally come to clear out his ‘cupboard’ under the stairs. The door groaned every time he walked by, but he had still been putting off this fateful day for years.

You see it was so easy at the end of his working day to come in, kick off his boots and then shove what was left in his sack under the stairs. But with a new day of work about to dawn and the realisation there was no space left it was time to face the unfaceable.

In fairness it wasn’t untidy, just tightly packed. He had a system, he had shelving and he had an order. The only thing was it was now totally full. He was trying to remember the last time he had sorted through it. It would be easy to find out as he had each year marked up on the shelves.

‘I’m going to tidy the cupboard,’ he shouted to no one in particular but heard mutters of ‘finally’ from another room. Reaching for the light he stepped in. It was going to be easier, he reasoned, if he started at the far end with the oldest date. When he got there he was amazed to find it had been 1970 that he had last cleared out. This was going to be some task but it had to be done and he need to be firm. He couldn't dawdle and reminisce over each individual item.

Reaching down he lifted the first parcel from 1971 and checked the label. Even though it was around 50 years ago he could still remember what was in the package, an Etch a Sketch, one of the most popular toys that year alongside Space Hoppers. He looked up at the shelf marked 1980 and despite the colourful wrapping he knew what was there. That would be a Rubik’s Cube, then a Mr Frosty and a Tin Can Alley Target Shooting Games. 1987 had produced Sylvanian Families, Popples and Jem Dolls. 1994 saw Cabbage Patch Dolls, Silly Putty and Power Rangers.

The main thing was not to get distracted. He just needed to get it clear before tonight’s trip. Simple. Easy. Just keep focused.

‘Oooh look, he heard himself saying ‘it’s the Atari 2600 from 1977.’

‘How’s it going Santa?’ he heard from outside the door.

‘Nearly done,’ he shouted back as he settled down with a sheet of paper to list the most popular toys he had put under trees by year. ‘Nearly done.’

These few toys left were those that weren’t delivered, the toys that children had asked for on their lists but changed their minds during their Christmas Eve dreams. So here they were. How many do you remember? How many did you ask for?

1970: Nerfball, Sindy, Apollo Moon Rocket, Risk Board Game and Talking Viewmaster.
1971: Space Hopper, Mastermind Board Game, Weebles, Clackers and Etch a Sketch.
1972: Skateboard, Uno, Plasticraft Modelling Kits, Easy Bake Oven and Talky Chrissy Doll.
1973: Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle, Shrinky Drinks, Walkie Talkie Sets, Baby Alive, Lone Ranger and Tonto Figures.
1974: Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic 8 Ball, Spirograph and Twister.
1975: Pet Rock, Pong, Othello, Portable Cassette Player Recorder and Monopoly.
1976: Micronauts, Cher Doll, Magna Doodle, Pogo Stick and Kites.
1977: Atari 2600, Star Wars Figures, Stretch Armstrong, The Batmobile and Portable 8-Track Player.
1978: Hungry Hippos, Speak & Spell, Simon Says, Connect Four and Matchbox Powertrack.
1979: Strawberry Shortcake, Millenium Falcon, Sony Walkman, Meccano Construction Set and Lego Space.
1980: Rubik’s Cube, Mattell Handheld Electronic Game, LEGO Train Set, Mr Frosty and Tin Can Alley Target Shooting Game.
1981: Star Wars AT-AT, He-Man Castle Grayskull, Lite Brite, Donkey Kong and Baby Precious.
1982: Stompers Truck, G.I. Joe Figures, BMX Bike, Glo Worm and Commodore 64.
1983: Care Bears, Cabbage Patch Kids Doll, G.I. Joe APC, My Little Pony and Rainbow Brite.
1984: Optimus Prime, Pound Puppies, A-Team Van, R2-D2 Toy Box and Tonka GoBots.
1985: Teddy Ruxpin, Pillow People, Trivial Pursuit, Care Bear Desk and Wuzzles.
1986: Lazer Tag, Lego Airport, My Buddy and Kid Sister, My Pet Monster and Power Wheels Jeep.
1987: Sylvanian Families, Koosh Ball, Popples, Pogo Ball and Jem Dolls.
1988: Ghost Busters Proton Pack, NES Action Set, Ghostbusters Fright Features, Airless Hockey and Playskool Kitchen.
1989: Batmobile, The Real Ghostbusters Table-top Pinball, Polly Pocket, Disney Sno-Cone Castle and Talking Alf.
1990: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Action Figures, Mouse Trap, Sega Mega Drive, Polly Pocket and Mr Frosty Ice Crunchie Machine.
1991: Sega Game Gear, Nintendo Game Boy, Super Soaker 50, Playmobil Victorian Dollhouse and Quints Dolls.
1992: WWF Action Figures, Thunderbirds’ Tracy Island, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, The Littlest Pet Shop and Slap Braclets.
1993: Talkboy, Barbie Doll, Action Man, Play-Doh and Dream Phone.
1994: Power Rangers Action Figures, Biker Mice from Mars Action Figures, Cabbage Patch Kids, Silly Putty and Dear Diary.
1995: PlayStation, POGs, Beanie Baby, Sky Dancers and Baby All Gone.
1996: Tickle Me Elmo, Buzz Lightyear, Doodle Bear, Gooey Louie and Space Jam Action Figures.
1997: Nintendo 64, Tamagotchi, Teletubbies, Digimon and Spice Girls Girl Power Dolls.
1998: Furby, Bop It, Nintendo Game Boy Colour, ProYo and Laser Challenge.
1999: Pokemon Red & Pokemon Blue, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Game, Scalextric AFX Vertigo Set, Nintendo Game Boy Camera and Tyco Rebound.
2000: Tekska Robotic Dog, Micro Scooter, Amazing Ally, Pokemon Pokedex and Nokia 3310.
2001: Bob the Builder, Lego Bionicle, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, iPod Classic and Sony Playstation 2.
2002: Bratz Dolls, Rapunzel Barbie, Xbox, Yu-Gi-Oh and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Figures.
2003: Beyblades, Cranium Board Game, Nokia N-Gage, Lord of the Rings Figures and Badge It.
2004: Robosapien, iPod Mini, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Halo 2 and Motorola Razr.
2005: Xbox 360, Tamagotchi Connexion, Nintendo DS, iPod Nano and Star Wars Electronic Light Sabers.
2006: Nintendo Wii, My Furreal Friends Pony, Tickle Me Elmo, Fly Wheels XPV and Wii Sports.
2007: PlayStation 3, Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock, iPod Touch, Doctor Who Dalek Voice Changer Mask and WWE Playset.
2008: High School Musical Dance Mat, Iron Man DVD, Transformers Movie Deluxe Figures, Rubik’s Revolution and iPhone 3G.
2009: Go Go Pet Hamster, Monopoly City 3D, GX Racers, Battle Strikers and Ben 10 Action Cruiser.
2010: Toy Story 3 DVD, iPad, Jet Pack Buzz Lightyear, FurReal Go Go Walking Pup Hasbro and Nerf N Strike.
2011: Nintendo 3DS, Moshling Treehouse, Fijit Friends, Lego Ninjago Fire Temple and Doggie Doo.
2012: Skylanders Giants, Wii U, Furby, Twister Dance and Lego Lord of the Rings.
2013: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Lego City Coastguard, Hoverboard and Grand Theft Auto V.
2014: Frozen Snow Glow Elsa, iPhone 6, The Sims 4, Minecraft Figures and Bop It! Beats.
2015: Bladebuilder Jedi Master Lightsaber, Star Wars BB-8 Toy Droid, LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Millennium Falcon, IDO3D Craft Design Studio and Thunderbirds Interactive Tracey Island.
2016: Pie Face, Hatchimals, Paw Patrol, NES Classic and Hot Wheels Ultimate Garage.
2017: Fingerlings, LOL Surprise Dolls, Fidget Spinner, Nintendo Switch and SNES Classic.
2018: Red Dead Redemption 2, LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Great Hall, Monopoly Fortnite Edition, iPhone XR and PlayStation Classic.

When Jack Found the Penguins

He had loved them all his life. As a child he had dreamt about them but now he was about to realise that dream. It was dark and he needed to move slowly and quietly just in case he caused any disturbance. Although he could hear a wind it wasn’t enough to cover his movements.

It was late, later than he hoped but he couldn’t help that now. He was close, he could feel it. He knew they were near. He had looked in what he believed would be the obvious places be but to no avail. It left just one more place, one more chance. He did all he could to steady himself then reached forward tentatively. One noise now, one sound could waken and scare them.

He opened the cupboard door silently and there they were. A complete pack of six Penguins. He lifted them down and clutched them to himself as he backed out of the room. 

There was no sound from upstairs, he was safe. Settling into the sofa he knew, this was his time.