A Fab Declaration

It is the '60s. I saw it now: a line of girls, waiting by the ice cream van to get their latest fill of Zoom, Orbit and most importantly, Fab. This word 'Fab' definitely rings a bell for me - Lady Penelope and her manservant Parker starred in those adverts I saw on the telly, and now I feel left out, all because I had grown up from those days. I stare at a photo of me as a young girl, with Lady Penelope and Parker by my side. I bet they have grown older by now, but to me, they're still young, and I'm still young too, just like those times...

It all started in babyhood, when Lady Penelope would nurture me with a simple routine that's perfect for bedtime. And still is. Lady Penelope would fill a small bathtub with warm water, fill it with bubbly bath foam and place me into the tub, scrubbing me carefully with a fresh, clean washcloth. A little rubber duck will be placed in the bath for me to play with, and when I splashed about, Lady Penelope giggled. Sometimes, she tickled me. She still did it when she dried me - oh, how nice it feels to have Penelope tickle my tummy again. I can still hear her coo "Coochie coochie coo!" as she tickled me. She would then settle me into bed and kiss me goodnight, then get in beside me to protect me, as she whispered "Goodnight, sleepyhead. I love you." and switched off the light, and soon we would fall into a peaceful, deep slumber.

The warm, contented feeling of being loved continued into childhood, where Lady Penelope would play the piano for me whilst I sat in my favourite chair, listening contently. In my hand was a warm mug of cocoa, filled with cream and marshmallows - always a treat in the mansion I grew up in. I would close my eyes and imagine myself on stage, dancing like a graceful ballerina, while swans flew all around me, and Lady Penelope played the piano in the background. On rainy nights, I imagined the thundering of raindrops against the window to be the cheers and applause of an audience watching, as Lady Penelope and I took a bow. Even Parker was in the audience, throwing roses and calling out: "Well done, milady!"

Suddenly, I would feel tired and my fantasies would wear off. Lady Penelope would take me in her arms and carry me all the way to bed, gently tucking me under the covers and giving me a kiss goodnight, all while settling in beside me and switching off the light for a peaceful night’s sleep. However, this was in childhood. Here I am now, asleep in a bed in a house of my own, with dreams of my own, waiting for the time when Lady Penelope would come back to me, and we would continue living a wonderfully happy life together.

You fantasised about living with Lady Penelope in the '60s, right?

Fill Titan's Cup - A Comic Transcript

PANEL 1:

In Titan's throne room, Titan is feeling cranky and grumpy. X20 is in fear at what he sees.

TITAN

X20!!!

X20

What is it, mighty Titan?

PANEL 2:

TITAN

I would like some seaweed coffee, please, I'm feeling tired.

PANEL 3:

Titan drinks his seaweed coffee out of a blue mug. X20 wipes his brow in relief.

X20

It takes a lot to please someone like Titan.

Somewhere In Supermarionationland...

I finally saw Filmed In Supermarionation and I decided to make a story with a Save The Cat beat sheet formula starring me, Lady Penelope and Parker called Somewhere in Supermarionationland. It's a bit like Fritz The Cat but not too X-rated enough, and follows Lady Penelope, Parker and me on a quest to recover a lost gemstone which is been lost throughout the world of Supermarionation such as Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90 and The Secret Service.

It's also set in a  metropolitan city environment, where Lady Penelope, Parker and I uncover the time machine and send Supermarionation characters to the modern day world, and Brains makes Appearances too, although his appearances are quite minor.

However there are some bits of the story which aren't quite suitable for kids such as cramming a load of people into a bathtub, gunfire, kissing and of course time travel. I'm not suggesting that it's going to be full of adult issues. I meant that I saw a clip from Filmed In Supermarionation where Lady Penelope and Parker ended up in the black and white world of Four Feather Falls before we move on to talk about the show. It's also inspired by Fritz The Cat in many cases and features a song performed by Tex Tucker during the Four Feather Falls part.

 As far as I know, Filmed in Supermarionation was released on Netflix to coincide with its weird documentaries genre and its hosts Lady Penelope and Parker were two of them. Oh my god! Oh god, what the hell is wrong with Parker?! It’s just a kids’ show! Someone help! Where's Lady Penelope? Someone, anyone, for the love of god! Oh High Soy Sauce! They're gonna have to kill him for no reason at all!

The Start Of A Journey (The High Hills)

When I think of the start of a journey, I always think of The High Hills from Brambly Hedge. I know some bits of the story are stuck in my head, but this is the only time the mice don't get together. It's all because of Wilfred's adventure with Mr Apple in The High Hills, you know, my favorite part of the story was where Mr Apple and Wilfred were sitting near the cave telling the story about how Mr Apple got his limp and was chased by weasel and was bitten in the leg and Mr Apple nearly died. It would be better if they showed flashing illustrations of Mr Apple confronting the Weasel and then blood coming out of his leg while he screams in pain. I think it would be too brutal for a charming series like Brambly Hedge. I mean, have you ever heard of Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees? It had blood and murder, and one of the pigs even gets murdered and put in a butcher's shop. I mean, the first volume had great illustrations, too, such as the murderer bear floating on a river of blood in a canoe with Japanese clouds behind him and the murder bear having a bath. At first glance you may think it's a charming Sylvanian Families thing, but it isn't. I was shocked and disgusted with what I saw! There was outrageous blood and gore everywhere. So I’m telling you, do not read it with your kids! It may cause serious consequences.

A Fab Declaration Teaser

In the beginning, Gerry Anderson created Thunderbirds - a series of action and daring rescues - and then the ‘60s came along.

 From the very start ‘60s girls weren't madly in love with the Beatles.

 More preoccupied with Lady Penelope than British invasion bands.

 Thunderbirds aired throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, miraculously surviving into the ‘90s where things only got better.

 Caring.

 Love.

 Kindness.

 Nurturing.

 Happiness.

Now in 2024 there was only one thing for me to do: help people recall Lady Penelope’s stint advertising fab ice lollies for good. The plan was simple: I turned it into a children's book with a beginning, middle and end and as for the biggest stories well that was the problem: biggest stories aren't my thing anymore, so I'm glad I use this voice typing tool. It helps me do whatever I want.

 A Fab Declaration.

 Coming to this very blog soon.

Summit

It was a foggy cold morning in November, and I was very excited. I was going on a mountain hiking trip with Lady Penelope and Parker! Unfortunately Parker wasn't coming because he had ‘better things to do’. Fab-1 pulled up outside a wonderful mountain range. The air smelled sweet and the sky was clear. Lady Penelope and I got out of the car with our bags full of essentials we’ll need for the mountain hike. “Wish us luck, Parker!” I called out “Good luck, me lovely ladies!” called out Parker, “And be sure to tell me all about it when you get back via the bus.” Lady Penelope knelt down towards me. “Do you think we'll encounter any danger when we're walking on the mountain range?” I asked. “Not exactly,” said Lady Penelope, “What I think our hike requires is this saying: we can conquer anything together.” “Riiiight.” I said.

So waving goodbye to Parker, we set off up the mountain path through the forest. On and on we went and at a few times I got scared by an eagle shrieking loudly as it returned to its nest and falling rocks tumbling down the mountain path, at one point Lady Penelope had to push me out of the way and then when an even bigger bolder fell down from the mountain path, Lady Penelope pushed me out of the way but I was sent hanging onto the edge of a cliff for dear life! “Lady Penelope, HELP!” I shrieked. “Don't worry darling, I'll help you up!” called Penelope as she held my hand tight. Lady Penelope pulled and pulled until I was finally back up onto the cliff at last.

However, all was not well when Lady Penelope had seen that I had twisted my ankle from  nearly falling over the rock ledge and I was weeping so bad. “Oh there there, darling, there there.” soothed Lady Penelope in a soft voice. “Don't worry. Your ankle will soon be better. Here, why don't you go on a ride on my shoulders?” “Yes please,” I smiled, wiping my tears.

So Lady Penelope plopped me onto her shoulders and carried me across the mountain path all the way to a huge cave on the edge of a cliff. Lady Penelope gathered some firewood from the back of the cave and made a fire by rubbing two sticks together. I sat there and watched as Lady Penelope made a lovely fire that glowed when the darkness fell upon the mountains. Lady Penelope put a warm blanket over me so I could be safe and comfortable. A little kettle was filled with water from the waterfall near the mountain and Lady Penelope laid out a feast of bread and cheese and sausage rolls and a lovely piece of chocolate cake. “I haven't had a meal like this in quite a while, Penelope.” I said as I gobbled down my second sausage roll. “Of course you do, darling, it's because you've had a twisted ankle and everything is hard for you, but you're with me now. Everything seems possible when you're with me.” “Everything seems possible when you're with me too,” I said.

Lady Penelope and I told each other stories about how animals got their name and how the Jackal got his paint colors and how Anansi the Spider ruined every single African tale there is until we felt tired and went to the back of the cave to sleep the sound of the stream rumbling in in the distance signified the end of our journey.

 But was it the end? Well…almost….

Above The Serene Isles - Part 1

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