Happy Horror-day! Memorial Day Killer (1998)

Memorial Day is when the United States remembers and honors those who died serving in the United States Armed Forces, and although it is not (directly) observed in the UK I thought I would add it to the challenge line-up, even though it has very little to do with the occasion.  So, Memorial Day Killer (also known as Memorial Day) is an offering from 1998 directed by Christopher Alender and written by Marcos Gabriel. A tale of wrongdoing and revenge that happens to take place on Memorial Day concerning a group of friends who decide to return to MEMORIAL Lake Campground for the first time since Rachel (Played by Therese Fretwell) 's adopted brother Danny accidentally drowned there three years before... sure enough, wouldn’t you know it? The killings start. I try not to be negative about these films as I doubt I could do any better, this movie came out at a time when I had become somewhat disillusioned with ‘modern’ horror but I was ready to go back and have my opinion changed, it wasn’t.  Perhaps had this been a big budget movie previously ignored the first time round it might have been regarded by some as the ‘Missing Link’ between the Scream/ I Know What You Did Last Summer genre of movies of the late 90’s and the Saw franchise of the early 2000’s but frankly the deaths of the whining girlfriends and over acting boyfriends at the hands of a papier-mâché mask wearing killer was just a blessed relief.

© Arfon Jones 2019. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Roundabout, BBC Radio Wales, 1986: A Three Generations interview

Omnibot once again proving his worth, not only helping me around the studio and listing things on eBay to raise funds but also helping me to upload some vintage cassettes onto my YouTube channel! First up a clip from an episode of ‘Roundabout’ that aired on BBC Radio Wales in 1986 staring Anita Morgan (who was the very first to speak on the station back in 1978) who had visited my hometown of Nefyn, North Wales to chat with some of the locals about village life, this clip features my mother Emrysia Jones, grandmother Marie Julia Roberts (1938-2018) and my great-grandmother Mary Hughes(1907-1993) the clip is particularly poignant for us as a family as it allows us to hear my Grandmother and Great Mother again, we hope it will also be of interest to you. Have a listen. Or just read the transcript.

Anita Morgan: “I’ve Just had a charming conversation with a small boy about 3 (my bother), who speaks no English, I speak no Welsh but he very kindly and patiently got me to understand that his great grandmother Mary Hughes, his grandma Marie Robert and mother Emrysia Jones were waiting for me inside this house, on a smallholding on the outskirts of Nefyn. Great grandmother Mary, I know your family goes back around 400 years in Nefyn but what was the main family trade?”

Mary Hughes: “My father and family were Master Masons... stones.”  

Anita Morgan: “What sort of stone would they work on around here?"

Mary Hughes: “Well there is only one kind of stone in the world isn’t there? One in Nefyn, the Gwylwyr quarry and one in India and that’s real granite!”

Marie Roberts: “And giving lots of work for the local people, that was then before they closed at the beginning of the last war when the Gwylwyr quarry closed, as I understand... I was just a baby then myself!"

Anita Morgan: “Mary’s daughter, Marie. I’ve said that this is a third generation interview, grandmother, mother and daughter and you’ve got a lovely name...”

Emrysia Jones: “Yes, Emrysia.”

Anita Morgan: “Is that Welsh?”

Emrysia Jones: “It is Welsh, it’s my father’s name, he’s called Emrys with an “I A” added on... Emrysia.”

Anita Morgan: “You have an interest in the tourism industry in this place surely?"

Emrysia Jones: “Yes, we do let out our houses in the summer...”

Anita Morgan: “Houses?!”

Emrysia Jones: “Yes, like we said it’s a family affair you know”

Anita Morgan: “And how many houses do you have?”

Emrysia Jones: “four”

Anita Morgan: “Do you find it lively enough as a younger woman with a child?"

Emrysia Jones: “Personally it doesn’t bother me; I’m married- I married young. But  for other younger people, no I don’t think there is enough life here for them, they do tend to stand on the streets, Really they only have the pubs. But again it depends on the people and the kind of life you like, its fine for me.”  

Anita Morgan: “It’s fine for the three of you? The three of you enjoy Nefyn?”

Marie Roberts: “Yes definitely”

Anita Morgan: “Have you ever lived away from Nefyn Mary?”

Mary Hughes: “No, but I traveled quite allot..." (Laughs)

Anita Morgan: “Where have you been?”

Mary Hughes: “Through bombs! And shells!” (Laughs)

Anita Morgan: “During the war time?”

Mary Hughes: “yes!”

Anita Morgan: “What sort of vehicle were you in?”

Mary Hughes: “Lorries”

Anita Morgan: “As a passenger?”

Mary Hughes: “No dear, driving it.”

Anita Morgan: “You were driving the lorry?!"

Mary Hughes: “Oh yes... you sound surprised?”

Anita Morgan: “I am surprised! ...Where would you be travelling then? ...Where would you drive?”

Mary Hughes: “Liverpool. Manchester. Birmingham... (*In welsh to my grandmother “translate for me”)

Marie Roberts: “You would get a phone call saying that there was a ship able to come in and that it needed emptying. These ships with the planes flying over Liverpool, it was important that they got as much off the ships as possible so they... there were also local men as well working on the Lorries as haulage contractors in the district"

Anita Morgan: “So the area was quite busy with haulage?”

Marie Roberts: “Yes, that’s right... Quite a lot of haulage but because of the quarries closing down then that was decline of the haulage, the decline of everything... “

Anita Morgan: “What about otherwise, apart from that the decline of Nefyn as a place to live in... Has it declined? Can you still get everything you want here in the way of shops, entertainment and so on” 

Marie Roberts: “Nefyn itself, if something has prospered really, during the last fifteen years I would say. Because now we have a very fashionable shop in the village, a very nice fashionable shoe shop in the village, you needn’t go really, anywhere but if you’d like to go for a day out to Llandudno then yes, fair enough you’ve got ‘Marks & Sparks’ but if you really didn’t want to travel out of the village then you wouldn’t have to if you patronise local people.” 

Anita Morgan: “No more trips to Liverpool driving the lorry for you Mary?”

Mary Hughes: “Why not?”

Anita Morgan: “Why not? She says!”

Marie Roberts: “Why not? She says at 79!”

Anita Morgan: “79! ...Great Caesar!”

Mary Hughes: “I’d been driving since I was ten, eleven years old! Motorbikes...”

Anita Morgan: “Motorbikes?!”

Mary Hughes: “...Lorries, all sorts of things...”

Marie Roberts: “She was a 1929 Rally winner... tell them about that”

Anita Morgan: “Rally winner?”

Marie Roberts: “ Yes, motorbike in the race... Black rocks in Porthmadog. We have a picture of her here, with her motorbike that she won the first prize with."   

Anita Morgan: “Against all the men?”

Mary Hughes: “Oh yes”

Anita Morgan: “Who’s’ going to choose the music, of the three ladies?”

 Marie Roberts: “Anything by Sir Geraint Evans anything classical would go with the village we live in.”

Anita Morgan: “They like good music in Nefyn do they?”

*Closes with The Duke of Plaza-Toro by Gilbert & Sullivan.

© Arfon Jones 2019. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Beth's Tarot

Have I mentioned that Mrs Jones reads Tarot? Reading the cards as a divination tool to see the past present and future, reading them intuitively, which means she doesn’t use a spirit guide, instead reading through feelings and intuition, calling on her inner voice to guide her to the meaning of the cards for each person. Beth has been reading the cards for some time now, offering open (general) readings and specific question readings helping many establish a clear picture of what is happening in all aspects of their lives and helping to find the answers and it’s been very well received. So well in fact that we needed a sign for people to find us- This very hand painted sign in fact!    Helping people to find the right location to find the answers they seek. Find out more or book a reading via her Facebook page.

© Arfon Jones 2019. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

News from Tromaville!

I believe I may have mentioned meeting Troma Entertainment head honcho Lloyd Kaufman at the Starburst Film Festival... Well, Uncle Lloydie e-mailed this picture to me last week. This is the Editing Room at  Troma Entertainment, and hanging up on the wall beside the framed Toxic Avenger poster is one of my glow in the dark paintings! (which can also be seen on Lloyd’s Instagram page) As an artist it is always gratifying to know that your work is hanging on someone’s wall, but hanging on the wall of Troma Entertainment?! #delighted!

© Arfon Jones 2019. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

RIP Lord Toby Jug (1965 - 2019)

Shocked and saddened, to hear of the passing of Brian Borthwick AKA Lord Toby Jug founder and leader of the Eccentric Party of GreatBritain and friend who died on Thursday. Having been a long-standing member of the Monster Raving Loony Party he went out on his own and formed The Eccentric Party of Great Britain in 2015, encompassing the spirit of Screaming Lord Sutch, who had been a friend and inspiration to Toby for years (he also backed him at numerous gigs) he stood against top politicians in general elections across the country over the years. I made contact with him that first year, I honestly can’t remember who reached out to whom but we became friends and I joined the party, of which he elected me Viceroy of Wales and Minister for Monsters (he also tried to get me to stand for local election) and although we never met in person we spoke on the phone and on Facebook numerous times either about the party,projects or his idol Screaming Lord Sutch, such a lovely, friendly man and now he’s in that big polling station in the sky-  Rest peacefully your Lordship, Pip-Pip.

© Arfon Jones 2019. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Happy Horror-day! The Wicker Man (1973)

We seem to have strayed from our psycho killer themed ‘holiday’ movies again, this time in favour of a horror mystery, and a classic at that! What can I say about it that hasn’t already been said by movie historians and far more learned folk than I? This would probably the 20^th time I’ve seen Sergeant Neil Howie’s fateful trip to Summerisle. You will note that although I try and keep these posts spoiler free I said ‘fateful’ there, well I’m not so worried this time round, aside from being fairly confident that you will have already seen the film I will also add that this movie shares the same distinction with Planet of the Apes in that climax/final scene of the film features on spoofs and the covers of their Video/DVD releases! But if you haven’t seen it, please put that right! So, shall we meet back here on the 27^th of May? Memorial Day? Yes I know it’s when the United States remembers those that served their country and I am in the UK... But...

© Arfon Jones 2019. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Omnibot’s Robot Root-Out: Rap Rat The Video Board Game

“...Deep under Arfon’s studio lies an extensive collection of random artefacts thirty years in the making. His robotic assistant Omnibot has been assigned the mammoth task of excavating the collection. What will Omnibot uncover today...!”

Omnibot found another curio for our eBay shop, this time it’s from 1992... Back in the early 90’s an Australian company, Couple 'A Cowboys (originally a television production company established in 1983 by Phillip Tanner and Brett Clements) was making waves in the board games market (a market that had previously struggled to compete with the highly lucrative video gaming market) with their new interactive VHS board game Nightmare (known as Atmosfear here in the UK). The board game incorporated the home VHS player, a host on screen would ‘interact’ with the players cracking jokes and throwing insults!  When it was released in Australia in 1991 it was an instant hit, selling one hundred thousand units in its first year alone (five times more than Trivial Pursuit). Backed by a heavy television and cinema marketing campaign and promotional Dance Parties the game broke all records for board games and by the mid 1990’s it was the most successful advanced board game in history and with the international acclaim it gained it became Australia’s biggest entertainment export since Crocodile Dundee! (I covered this game in more detail in a previous post, find the link here) Although the follow up games were doing equally well, Couple 'A Cowboys tried out another line, aimed at a younger audience...  

Rap Rat on screen despite the VHS not actually being in the VCR....  

For many years we visited the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show as a family and for many of those years I frequented the acres of stalls they had there. I would spend hours weaving through various marquees and promotional stalls, each one with representatives pushing their products and I was always happy to take whatever free sample, promotional sticker, hat or Logobug they had. One time I was approached by a woman who asked if I wanted to play, “a game?” thinking nothing of it (simpler times!) I asked “What sort of game?” “It’s called Rap Rat!” she said, “it’s a new game and we are looking for 4 players to play it” she pointed to the stall she represented and I moved closer to it. It was a very unassuming marquee with a table and a game set up for 4 players in the middle but on both sides of the tent were TV sets playing footage of a puppet rat with a Max Headroom like stutter, already familiar with the Atmosfear game and the whole VHS game format I was intrigued, I took an interest in the video and game’s packaging as they tried to round up another 3 players to play this game for two to six kids who “just want to have FUN!” we were promised a “RAT-tastic” time and plenty of “RAT ‘n’ Roll” with its illustrated game board, coloured dice, 6 “cheese” playing pieces and 4 cheese jigsaw pieces oh and the all important 60-minute VHS cassette (written, directed  and produced by Couple 'A Cowboys) containing 3 X 15 minute games (which increase in difficulty) staring the one, and only Rap Rat...  A latex 'Rappin’ Rodent Puppet (that for many years I thought was voiced by Enn Reitel but in fact voice credit is given to Paul 'pj' Johnstone and Doug Willimas) “with a lot to say!”. The object of the game is essentially a race against time, collect all 8 pieces of a puzzle and fit them together in the frame before Rap Rat eats all the cheese on the TV screen. I played the game and I recall it being fun, but I left feeling a little underwhelmed and I remember walking away with a voucher that granted me money off the purchase of the game thinking how much better it had been if I had actually ‘met’ Rap Rat himself or even got a free sticker or something... 

"Got an ‘A’ in attitude and lots of Rattitude!"

I don’t think the game did as well as Atmosfear as very little information exists about it online (apart from Creepypasta videos about rap Rat himself) it is certainly a very, unashamedly “Totally Radical” 90’s product, but if you remember it the first time round or just want to check it out for the first time, check out our eBay store and get this very one- money raised from our eBay auctions help fund all my creative endeavors, any questions get in touch Omnibot is only too happy to oblige!

© Arfon Jones 2019. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.