Jinty 2 February 1980

Pam of Pond Hill (artist Bob Harvey, writer Jay Over)

Gaye’s Gloomy Ghost (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)

Spirit of the Lake (artist Phil Townsend, writer Benita Brown?)

The Perfect Princess (artist Trini Tinturé)

House of Ghosts (artist Robert MacGillivray) – Gypsy Rose story

Toni on Trial (artist Terry Aspin)

Sports Pages – featuring Karen Witt

Winning Ways 4 (writer Benita Brown)

White Water (artist Jim Baikie)

When Statues Walk… (artist Phil Gascoine)

Alley Cat (artist Rob Lee)

In this issue, Alley Cat and Gypsy Rose return for 1980. This week’s Gypsy Rose story (recycled from Strange Stories) brings readers some Robert MacGillivray artwork, which has not been seen in Jinty since “Desert Island Daisy”.

It looks like Laura’s task is to liberate a captive Viking princess in “When Statues Walk…” from these walking Viking clay statues. Another one of them gets broken, and Laura is worried a teacher will discover the secret if she puts the pieces together. 

In “The Perfect Princess”, bratty Princess Victoria gets rid of another rival, Isabella. Sally, the remaining rival, is pleased about that, as Isabella was the favourite. But she doesn’t realise Victoria plans to get rid of her next by making it look like she pulled that trick on Isabella.

Dragon hijinks abound in “Gaye’s Gloomy Ghost”. First it’s a dragon teacher, and now Roger’s playing St George with some visitors dressed as a Chinese dragon.

The latest Pam of Pond Hill story adds to the increasing presence of sport in Jinty. Marty Michaels has a big problem: her sister Trina, who goes overboard with crazes, and thinks she either knows it all or can gain it from books. Trina’s latest craze is to become an athlete. Although she eventually realises it’s not for her, it’s the immediate springboard to her next craze: interfering with Marty’s athletics by becoming her self-appointed trainer. Marty thinks this sounds ominous, and she can only be right. We doubt books alone would make anyone a good sports trainer.

In the other sports stories:

Sneaky Cynthia is doing a stakeout to find out what this accelerated learning is that’s turning Karen into a brilliant ice-skater. Of course she can’t see “The Spirit of the Lake”, who’s giving Karen coaching – and as a result, she gets a shock that causes her to have an accident. This could make things awkward for Karen. 

More sabotage for “Toni on Trial” from jealous Julie. This week, she loosens the spikes in Toni’s shoes, and when Toni falls on top of her as a result, she accuses Toni of doing so on purpose. And with so many people thinking badly of Toni because of her mother’s disgrace, it’s all too easy for the accusation to gain traction.

And finally, Bridie has to resort to some “equal rights for women” arguing to get into a canoe club for Boy Scouts. They make their own canoes, which could give her the canoe she needs, but then she discovers there’s a snag – their canoes are for troop use only.

Jinty 22 December 1979

• Pam of Pond Hill (writer Jay Over, artist Bob Harvey)
• Gaye’s Gloomy Ghost – first episode (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)
• Christmas Sweets and Nuts – feature
• Spirit of the Lake – first episode (artist Phil Townsend, writer Benita Brown?)
• Alley Cat
• Tale of the Panto Cat
• Toni on Trial (artist Terry Aspin)
• Sports Pages – Tessa Sanderson
• White Water (artist Jim Baikie)
• When Statues Walk… – first episode (artist Phil Gascoine)
• Rinty ‘n’ Jinty
• Black Sheep of the Bartons – final episode (artist Guy Peeters, writer Alison Christie)

My copy of this issue is so badly doodled from a previous owner that I had to go to Catawiki for a scan of the cover to put up. Thank you, Catawiki!

This issue starts Jinty’s Christmas fun, yet the three new stories that start in this issue all have ghost themes. The most significant of them is perhaps “Gaye’s Gloomy Ghost”. Sir Roger and his fellow ghosts are outraged at how tourism and commercialism at Stoney Hall are destroying their respectability as ghosts. The other two resident ghosts walk out to haunt a nice quiet graveyard, but the Shop-Steward of Amalgamated Association of Resident Ghosts and Haunters (A.A.R.G.H!) gives Sir Roger the power to materialise sometimes so he can really put a scare into those pesky tourists. Sir Roger is all eager to start with Gaye, the caretaker’s daughter who is the worst of them all – but the blurb for next week hints that it’s not going to be as easy as that.

“When Statues Walk…” is the ghost story that really sets out to be scary. North Street has a reputation for being haunted, and weird things start happening when workings start there. Then the screaming really starts when Laura takes home some broken pottery from the site and reassembles the pieces. But it’s not her that’s screaming – it’s the Viking head that the pieces have made!

And the third ghost story is “Spirit of the Lake”, a supernatural companion story where the ghost offers coaching in skating as well as comfort to Karen Carstairs, who is not made to feel welcome in the home of her relatives.

It’s the last episode of “Black Sheep of the Bartons”. Bev was resorting to the desperate measure of quitting judo to gain her father’s trust. But now fate has enabled her to prove herself to him without giving up her beloved judo, and she’s a heroine too! And the ghost theme continues with a complete Christmas ghost story that will fill Bev’s old slot, and then a new story starts for New Year.

In part two of “Pam of Pond Hill”, Miss Peeble is having trouble finding her feet as a teacher. Fred and Terry take advantage to give her a bad time while Pam tries to help her, but it’s got her branded as teacher’s pet.

In “Tale of the Panto Cat”, Verna gets so spiteful at wrecking the Cinderella panto that she causes sabotage and injuries. And it looks like she’s achieved her aim – all the stars of the show are now out of action because of her. They really need a fairy godmother now if the show is to go on.

Everyone is picking on Toni at the athletics club because of her mother being branded a thief. Two girls are even playing spiteful tricks on her, and it looks like they’re set to continue for the duration of the story. And Bridie’s mum won’t even let her pursue canoeing, because she thinks all water sports are dangerous after the accident that killed her husband.

Jinty 5 April 1980

• Spirit of the Lake (artist Phil Townsend, writer Benita Brown?)
• Gaye’s Gloomy Ghost (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)
• Bridge of Heart’s Desire – Gypsy Rose story (artist Trini Tinturé?)
• Wildflower Wonderland (feature) – last part
• The Venetian Looking Glass – (artist Phil Gascoine)
• Alley Cat
• Toni on Trial (artist Terry Aspin)
• Sports Pages – Lorna Vincent; Winning Ways 11 (writer Benita Brown)
• Rinty ‘n’ Jinty
• White Water – (artist Jim Baikie)
• Easter Bonnet Crossword
• Tearaway Trisha – (artist Andrew Wilson)

This is the issue before Penny merged with Jinty. The announcement (above) says that next week we say hello to Seulah the Seal, Tansy of Jubilee Street and Snoopa. So what ends in this issue that gives way to them?

Nothing much, really. Pam takes a break in this issue. But then her previous story finished last issue and they clearly wanted her to start with a whole new story for the merger – a wise decision. It is the last part of Wildflower Wonderland. And it sounds like it is the end of “Toni on Trial” soon, because Toni has at last found someone who could help clear her mother, and the blurb for next week tells us there will be another clue. Just as well, because the town is really rubbing Toni’s nose into her mother’s disgrace this time, with a cruel headline: “Brave Girl Saves Cup Her Mother Stole!” Poor Toni is in tears!

But all the other stories are still going strong and clearly have a way to go. “White Water” has been going as long as Toni, but there is no hint of it ending yet. Maybe there will be in the next episode or two. Trisha finally has an idea to raise the money for Fran’s operation, but Fran is not impressed with all the publicity and turning on Trisha big time. And Lucy is still haunted by the evil mirror and shoes that make her do things and go places she does not want.

The Gypsy Rose story, “Bridge of Heart’s Desire”, fills in the Pam slot this week. It is reprinted from June and will later be reprinted in Tammy. The story prompted a letter from one reader who said she turned this story into a play when her drama class was assigned a task of putting on their own play and nobody had any idea what to do. She went through her old Jintys and decided this story was just right for it. The teacher thought the end result was “very good”.