BAYKO - The Reawakening

I thought you may find the story of my reconversion to the one true religion - BAYKO of course - quite interesting, so here goes.

At the tender age of 25, I was staying at my parents' home in Blackburn, in Northwest England.

I'd suffered a vicious attack of laryngitis -2 weeks into the illness I still had no voice.

I was, however, starting to feel a little better…

…and to get bored!

In desperation I turned to Radio Blackburn [now Radio Lancashire] which was part of the early wave of the local BBC radio stations.

There was a 'Swap-Shop' programme on at the time - on a whim, and with absolutely no plan as to what I might say, I, never-the-less, decided that I would phone in.

Surprisingly, I got through to the programme straight away.

I told the DJ the first thing that came into my mind - that I was interested in BAYKO.

I told him I had nothing to swap except perhaps a couple of £1 notes - did anybody out there have any BAYKO that they didn't want?

Imagine the scenario : -

A 25-year-old lad…

…who could only whisper…

…asking for an obsolete children's toy…

…for himself!!!

The DJ saw his chance…

…and took the 'you-know-what' out of me for five minutes [though he didn't have it all his own way!]…

…put on a record, then took some more, as it were, for another five minutes.

The result of all this free airtime?…

…I got, rather surprisingly, no less than six responses!!!

The sixth was different…

…two massive, teenage Neanderthals [judging by their communication skills] showed me into the large dining-kitchen which ran across the back of a substantial Blackburn semi.

They were engrossed in 4 lanes of Scalextric covering the dining table and kitchen work surfaces and perching precariously on several chair-backs in between.

I'm not sure how enthusiastic mummy and daddy Neanderthal would have been to witness this innovative use of their Sunday-best furniture!

One of my new-found Neanderthal friends grunted and nodded towards a corner…

…there sat 2 cardboard BAYKO Retail Cabinets [left]…

…both of which were full!!!

Apparently, Neanderthal senior had previously owned a toyshop…

…still, their loss was my gain!

£10 secured the deal - oh happy days…

…still, what had started out as just a bit of a laugh or a boredom cure…

…had ended up kick-starting my BAYKO collection with a vengeance!

Since that strange day, my BAYKO collection has never looked back…

…which is more than can be said for my often fragile bank balance!

It's surprising how often there's an awful lot of month left at the end of the money!

Strangely, I found out twenty years later, that a lad I was at college with, in Durham, had acted as the studio engineer for the occasion…

…I feel an “it's a small world” cliche coming on.