Golden Sunsets - 50 Years Of Memories - Part 6 - 1972

A shorter trip down memory lane this time, but it's still something that I have lots of fond memories of.

1972:

The trivia:

• Biologist Ivan Sanderson identified twelve areas around the world which he named "Vile Vortices" and were the sites of unexplained disappearances and mysterious phenomena. The best known of these is of course the Bermuda Triangle.
• Due to the inclusion of a leap day and two leap seconds, 1972 is the longest year in history.
• The first ever Paddington Bear toys based on the famous character from the Michael Bond books were created by Shirley Clarkson, mother of "Top Gear" presenter Jeremy Clarkson.

The item:

Cascade

Released by British toy legends Matchbox, this was less of a game and more of an experience. I could try and describe what it looks like but it's far easier to just show you a picture:

It took just a few minutes to spread out the yellow plastic sheet, slot the red pieces together, plug in the tower section (with accompanying spinning 'flag') and finally place the three drums on their designated spots - oh and don't forget the huge battery to power the thing. Everything had to be exactly right or the "magic" wouldn't work.

As you flicked the switch, the yellow screw started to turn with a slightly grinding noise. Slowly you fed in the provided ten steel ball bearings to the bottom of the tower and watched them rise to the top where they would one by one drop off the steep ledge. If you had placed the drums correctly, the ball bearings would then bounce once on each drum and then clatter into the receptacle at the end. Some would be captured in the scoring slots and others would escape and flow down the slide and by force of gravity, run along the thin strip and back to the tower for another journey. By use of a second switch, you could also control the flow of the balls - either letting them go from the tower one by one or releasing all ten for a full "cascade".

Eventually all the balls would be caught, at which point you could release them for another round. There were various basic games described in the accompanying leaflet but alternatively you could remove the scoring plate and the balls would continually run up the tower, bounce off the drums and then go round and round and round again. As the blurb says "It's baffling, it's fascinating, it's soothing... it's Cascade".

I don't ever remember really playing the "games", just letting the balls bounce endlessly and hypnotically until my brother and I got bored or (more likely) the batteries ran out. Eventually after a couple of years either something plastic broke or the battery was left in too long and ruined the compartment and that was then end of that.

As you can see from the pictures I've managed to find, there were a couple of different versions (possibly UK and US) - one with red and yellow plastic and a yellow sheet and one with blue and red plastic and a blue sheet. Nowadays complete and fully working versions are very rare and enthusiasts have had to cannibalise parts from multiple purchases to experience the joy of the bouncing balls. One day I hope to get my own set and relive that childhood excitement. One day...

Honourable mentions: 

• The Amazing Mr. Blunden - Lionel Jeffries directorial follow-up to the classic "The Railway Children" is a period tale of time travel, ghosts and righting wrongs with some unforgettable performance from Laurence Naismith as the titular mysterious old man with a twinkle in his eye and Diana Dors as the odious housekeeper Mrs Wickens. Unfairly overlooked and rarely seen on television nowadays it's a truly wonderful film oozing with atmosphere. I was utterly captivated the first time I saw it.

• The Poseidon Adventure - The daddy of all 1970s disaster movies as far as I am concerned. Incredible sets, non-stop action and an all-star cast  make this a real treat that I never grow tired of. Plus of course another fabulous Roddy McDowall performance. The 2006 remake is only worthwhile for Richard Dreyfuss. 

• Silent Running - This ecological post-apocalyptic scicnce-fiction movie made a huge impression on me, not just because of its themes but also because of the three robots that Bruce Dern's character worked with - Huey, Dewy and Louie. I'd take them over R2-D2 anytime. Oh and "Valley Forge" such a good name for a spacecraft. I may have to come back to this film in more depth another time.

• Watership Down - How can I adequately describe the brilliance of the Richard Adams novel? The first book ever to make me really cry, every time I think about it I want to start re-reading and dive back into that world. The animated film was just as powerful but General Woundwort was even scarier in my imagination.