Craig Crane

So, in the mid eighties I slaved every weekend at Ponti’s in Croydons whitgift center so that I could feed the then vice of record buying. As a consequence of this record buying, I also found that of course I needed blank tapes, but because even as long ago as that I was building a very healthy interest in hifi, both full size and portable, I no longer wanted to be using the horrible Boots Ferro c 60 tapes that I was given.

No…. with a great new Teac Tape deck, I wanted only the best, and back then, the best tape was considered to be TDK SA-X or Thats Metal (MX?). But the tape I craved for was the Teac Studio range.

This was at a time where I was buying Sound on Sound magazine because I was thinking of going into the recording industry as a technician. The entire Reel To Reel thing did it for me. In fact it still does. And the teac studio blank tapes were just awesome.

Anyway, they rocked. The normal position ones were a little hit and miss, but I really like the chrome and metal versions. And of course, they looked great in the machines. VERY PROFFESSIONAL.

Jump ahead a few years and to the local amenity tip. I must now be about 32, and that suit case I am throwing into the tip is chock full of blank tapes.
Tapes I recorded of air. Tapes and mix tapes I made at the weekends when Dad had a great Akai Separates system before it got traded in for a Pioneer midi shit box… and of course…. 10 teac Studio reel to reel tapes.

Over they go, as I need the space back home.

Now jump ahead a few years more. The very same Teac Studio 52 and CRC tapes are going for 80 bucks a pop!

If only I knew!!!!!

Of all the old Star Wars figure cards I have left, there are many that actually have holes in them where the figures name once existed. Thats because as a child, I was sucked into the Palitoy Bounty Hunter scheme where you sent them in the names as a proof of purchase and 28 days later (sometimes a heck of a lot longer) you would receive a new figure.

I think I ended up with Boba Fett, Dengar, Zucckas, The Emporer, the Rancor Keeper as well as the Survival kit and Jedi Training back pack.

It was so awesome back then.

Hopefully as I tidy up and organize all my old stuff over the next few weeks I can get some more on line.

Well, I have had better ones!

Anyway….. back to work on Wednesday…. so before then I plan to scan. I have just received three huge boxes of old family pics of us all growing up….

Wasnt this just the best dam bike you could have as a kid???

I wish I had my tripod with me…..

I changed the Festoons that illuminate the VU meters in my old vintage hi fi that I use in my office from the generic clear ones to some great blue ones from the States

Just found this in an old folder. It was a doodle I did because the tour (Jeff Waynes The War Of The Worlds) needed some new machines for the show intro…..

So I came up with the Martian Taxi (AKA The flea)