Mechanical Memories Magazine

How I started my Collection
By Graham Millard
Way back during the late fifties my dad bought an old car, so every Sunday it 'was
law' that we went out in it. Summer time was usually to the coast. Now, living in
Bedford it was a hell of a trek in those days and we had to be on the road by 6am.
Hunstanton was the nearest but sometimes we'd venture to Clacton or Great Yarmouth
but that was 120 miles away, although they did have a better selection of arcades there!
On one occasion we were about to head for home and my dad said he and I were
going for a walk. I thought that was bloody strange, but off we went onto the beach
and we walked towards the sea. As the tide was out and it was out for miles, he
wouldn't tell me why we were heading towards some foreign shore until eventually
we reached the sea and he pointed down towards the water, "Look at that" he said.
"Look at what?" I said, "there' s nothing there except the sea! "
"Yeah! Exactly" he said.
He then told me that "Every week you go to the seaside and this week I was
certain that you would actually see the sea! " That was the point I sort of made up my
mind that some way or another I would one day have a machine of my own and I
wouldn't have to go to the seaside to play it. I plagued my dad to buy me a Wonders
that appeared in the local second-hand shop but to no avail. There were two and I
thought that by not being greedy I might get one of them. (I didn ' t really want the
other machine, as you never win on them). The fair arrived and, of course, the
machines disappeared. They were sold to a showman for ten shillings each. The other
was a Bryans Payramid!
I started buying the 'World's Fair', and years passed, got married, gave up the
'World's Fair' and although I never gave up the idea, other things always needed
buying so nothing happened. Then, one .day whilst passing a newsagent about thirty
years later I saw a copy of the 'World' Fair' which I bought and it contained an
advert for an auction at Knebworth, which is only down the road. So I had to go, and
although I never made a purchase I did a lot of 'earwigging', took all the prices and
vowed to go to the next one.
The next auction saw me coming away with two Segas and a Mills and hoping
and praying that they worked, luckily for me, they did! Whilst I was loading them into
my mate's van, a bloke stuffed a copy of the 'Deal Directory' into my hand saying,
"you look like the type that would be interested in joining this." My first meeting with
Steve Hunt, and me thinking that you've got no chance of me joining mate because
why would I want any more machines? How wrong can you be sometimes ???
So, that's the background of how I started my collection. I still have the three
bandits and about another 20 machines as well. I'm ashamed to say that the one that I
really enjoy playing is my Payramid, even though it cost me a bit more than 50 pence!!
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