RICHARD FREEMAN: Crypto Snacks

1977 was a long time ago. I was seven and attending Camp Hill secondary school. Jim Callaghan was Prime Minister, the Sex Pistols released Never Mind the Bollocks, the Queen visited Papua New Guinea, Star Wars was released in the UK whilst on TV Anglia broadcast Alternative 3 and Tom Baker as Dr Who battled giant man eating rats, a homicidal cyborg ventriloquist’s dummy with the brain of a pig, and opium addicts in The Talons of Weng Chiang.

In the playground kids were collecting and swapping packets of a new kind of crisp marketed by Smiths. Monster Munch came in three flavours but that didn’t matter. What was important was the monsters on the back. Each packet had a lively - if not too accurate - drawing of a monster and a short paragraph about it. I can recall the yeti, the Loch Ness monster, a western dragon and a unicorn. There were many more but the passage of time has eradicated them from my memory. I can readily recall collecting and keeping them. I wish I still had them today. Monster Munch was taken over by Walkers in 1995 but by then the monsters had long since vanished from the backs of the packets. Recently I approached Walkers with the idea of a Monster Munch sponsored cryptozoological expedition but they didn’t even grace me with an answer.

All this nostalgia got me thinking as to what other cryptozoological sweets or snacks there have been.

Also in 1977 Weetabix released a collection of Dr Who cards free with the cereal. They featured all the classic monsters such as Davros, Daleks, Sea Devils, Cybermen, Zygons and Wirren. I collected them all. But these were fictional rather than cryptozoological. Back in early 1970s Nestles (back then pronounced 'Nestles,' as in a nestling bird and not 'Neslay' as people are wont to do to day. We called Nougat 'Nug-ett' not the irritating and camp pronunciation of 'Noooogar' as well!) produced a Dr Who chocolate bar featuring the great Jon Pertwee. An episodic adventure was printed on the back of the wrappers. In it the Master grows a dinosaur from an egg and threatens Britain till foiled by the Doctor.

Then there is a vast gap until Cadbury brought out their Yowie range in 2001. These were hollow chocolate hominids with a toy Australian animal inside. On the face of it, it was a great idea and I myself collected the toys. But then Cadbury tried to sue our very own Tim The Yowie Man for use of the term yowie. 'Yowie' being an Aboriginal term, this was beyond the pale and Tim soundly thrashed them in a high profile court case that the media dubbed a David and Goliath battle. I never bought another Yowie after that.

As far as I know they have been the only crypto snacks, unless you know better. I wonder if anyone out there has any of the old Monster Munch packets?

OUT AND ABOUT

http://cfzextra.blogspot.com/2009/09/lair-of-tiger-salamander.html


Over on the Illinois Project blog Derek Grebner recounts another minor cryptozoological triumph. He has done jolly well, and I am very proud of him. Well done, Derek.

But even as we speak other CFZ operatives are doing their own inimitable thing. Lizzy Clancy has her female newshound hat on and is interviewing the people at the heart of the Three Owls scandal, and the boys are on the way to Singapore. Meanwhile, Max, Corinna and I are off to Co. Kerry to see the quondam Wizard of the Western World, and visit Muckross Lake in search of lake monsters and a spectral pig-headed man.

Why don't you get a proper job, my mother used to ask me.

Pah!

OLL LEWIS: Yesterday’s News Today

http://cryptozoologynews.blogspot.com/

“Oh Mr Lewis, with these 3D photographs of echinoderm fossils you are really spoiling us.”

And now, the news:

'Giant' blue tit dwarfs buildings in freak webcam photo

'Maggots make art like Jackson Pollock'

Journalist mauled by lion: wildlife experts offer their feedback

Tiger leaps out of enclosure, kills Vietnam zookeeper

Forget lounge lizards, meet the lounge dragon

Carrier pigeon 'faster' than internet broadband

£350,000 for the world's most expensive dog

Pink grasshopper found in Devon

Healthy Deer Can Spread Prion Disease Through Faeces

Real-life Garfield is the cat who got the pasta

That’s quite ‘Odie’ and certainly not ‘Nermal’.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAX

In the past eighteen months a teenage bug enthusiast we met at the Yeovil Bugfest in February last year has become increasingly important both to the CFZ, and to Corinna and myself.

He is a talented young man with a great future in front of him as a zoologist. He is also a dear fellow of whom we are all increasingly fond:

HAPPY 19TH BIRTHDAY, MAX

HUNT EMERSON REMEMBERS THE WEIRD WEEKEND

This is possibly the nicest thing anyone has ever done for us. Thank you, Hunt.
(I have had a copy for a while, but didn't want to post it until it had appeared in FT)

JAN EDWARDS: We have a wood

We have been in contact with Jan for ages, and it is with great pleasure that we welcome her aboard, not only as a guest blogger, but as a Co. Durham representative for the CFZ. With Davy Curtis already at the helm in the county, the two of them will make a dream team par excellence....

What would you do if you were suddenly responsible for a few acres of woodland? A week ago we didn’t have a wood. Today we have just over three and a half acres of prime mixed woodland, barely half a mile from home. I never would have dreamed that it was possible... but Farplace Animal Rescue now own a wood.

Currently, there is a tree preservation order on it (but we don’t want to damage the trees anyway) and the most we would ever want to build there is a bird-hide. There has recently been some controversy about the place. The previous owner wanted to build a small number of log cabins as holiday homes, without damaging the woodland, other than the felling of a few already dead trees. Locals objected (unfairly, we feel) but as a direct result of him losing planning permission, we were given the chance to buy it.

There are roe deer, badgers, occasional foxes... lots of birds including owls and hawks... woodpeckers... lizards... adders...

It's a wonderland, with hidden surprises such as lords & ladies and a fairy ring of toadstools.

We will be using it as a wildlife rehab and release area, as well as conservation of the wildlife, trees, plants... And I personally will be using it as a chilling out area when life gets tough. The dogs like it too – pictured is Casper, the 2-year-old brain-damaged Rottie, admiring his new playground.

POLITICS: Meet the new boss

As tou know, we have been keeping a weather eye on the government's proposals to axe various disability benefits and RichardFreeman, in particular, has become very involved with the campaign. He recently wrote to David Cameron on the subject, and received this reply:

Dear Mr Freeman,

I am writing on behalf of David Cameron to thank you for your recent e-mail. I was sorry to hear about your recent illnesses. [Here we should point out that Richard is in robust health, and has never claimed to have been ill]

David receives many hundreds of e-mails each week and, sadly, he is unable to reply personally to everyone. However, I would like to assure you that all correspondence is carefully read and noted, and David is most grateful to you for taking the time and trouble to get in touch with him.

As you may know, the Social Care Green Paper, is currently subject to consultation, and no firm decisions have yet been made. The following link contains the consultation on the Department of Health website -

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_102338

We were disappointed at the proposals in the recently published Green Paper. We don't need to start another debate. We need a decision, and we need serious, costed proposals to be the basis of that decision.

While Conservative policy for the next election is not yet finalised, please rest assured that we are paying very close attention to this issue. We are clear that there must be a partnership between central government, local government and individuals to provide a coherent social care framework that can meet the needs of an ageing population.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to write.

Yours sincerely,

David Beal

Office of the Leader of the Opposition

Is it just us or does that email reply from Mr Beal say absolutely nothing at all? We can see no semantic content whatsoever. It is just another piece of 21st Century administrative doubletalk and means nothing. And we are supposed to be pleased that Cameron will be our next Prime Minister?

"Meet the new boss. The same as the old boss"

Does anyone wonder why I am an anarchist?