Today is People’s Day at the Royal Brisbane Show or “Exhibition” – fondly known by locals as the Ekka.
I’m only been twice in the last 30 odd years – chickened out completely when it came to taking our own kids. Cluck cluck cluck cluck! Instead, we took them to the local Redlands Show – much more manageable (though it doesn’t exist anymore) …
Going to the Ekka was an annual tradition in my formative years, it used to fall during the August school holidays. So much to look forward to – rides, dagwood dogs, fairy floss, the coloured chickens, fireworks and the SHOW BAGS.
Yes my friends it was all about the show bags back then, and it was a definite status symbol to have as many as possible slung over your arms (even if it was heavy). Ekka show bags used to be made of paper, and I’m pretty sure I remember them being priced at 20c – can you believe it?! In the days following our visit to the Ekka we would gorge ourselves silly on all the junk food, but show bags also came with some interesting toys and novelty items …
Clackers – a very popular toy in show bags (with kids anyways, not so much with parents and teachers, they were noisy things!).
Yo yos – Usually featuring one brand of soft drink or another …
Squirmles – I never thought I’d say a fuzzy worm was adorable, but these surely were! With an invisible string so you could pull them along, your squirmle was almost like a pet. But not really.
Plastic puzzles – Before the Rubik’s cube came along, the challenge was to get all the numbers in order. Needless to say I sucked at both these, and Rubik’s cubes …
Toy soldier on a parachute – genuinely good for one flight only before ripping, getting tangled, or lost forever …
Warm Fuzzies – more cute fuzzy things, their feet were sticky so perfect for sticking on your desk or pencil case.
Comic Books – I remember devouring Casper, Archie, and Betty and Veronica comics which I found in show bags from the Ekka. Don’t think I’ve ever seen them anywhere else though!
What sort of things do you remember finding in your show bags when you were a kid?!
Oh! I remember ALL of these things!! Funny to think how excited we got about the plastic parachute men & those sliding puzzles… And all of it! Loved the click-clacks & the coke yoyos too
Click-clacks, that’s what they were called. I couldn’t remember the name and thought it was clackers but now you’ve brought it all flooding back. Wish I had some now to play with and drive my family nuts LOL!
I’m a child of the 80’s and I remember those squirmles fondly. It was really the only time you saw them! I once got an Inspector Gadget showbag, would have to be late 80’s, and it had sunglasses with windscreen wipers in it! Score!!
Oh now I’m feeling left out, I never got a pair of those glasses!!! LOL