Jinty 9 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)

The Chamois Trail (artist Bill Mainwaring) – Gypsy Rose story

Alley Cat – Rob Lee

Toni on Trial (artist Terry Aspin)

Sports Pages – featuring Martina Navratilova

Winning Ways 5 (writer Benita Brown)

White Water (artist Jim Baikie)

When Statues Walk… (artist Phil Gascoine)

Spring Greenery – feature 

This week’s Gypsy Rose story (recycled from Strange Stories), brings readers some Bill Mainwaring artwork. The tale takes us to the Swiss Alps, where a trail of chamois carved on the mountains takes a mysterious hand in saving lives, and we’re left wondering if the spirit of the man who carved them take a hand also.

In “When Statues Walk…”, Laura discovers how to get into the cavern where these walking Viking statues are holding the captive princess, and plans for rescuing her are coming together.  

In “The Perfect Princess”, Princess Victoria’s latest trick almost gets rid of Sally, but she survives to fight another day. Victoria gets locked up in a tower for her conduct, and things backfire on her when she tries a cannon escape (obviously, her dumb father didn’t thoroughly check out the tower for all possible means of escape). Meanwhile, Sally’s imposture is in danger of discovery when her foster parents send a message that they are coming to visit. She has thought of something, and so far, it is working. But the next episode will tell.

The dragon hijinks continue in “Gaye’s Gloomy Ghost”, with Sir Roger playing St George to slay a dragon, which is actually people dressed up. Though he got things wrong, it has the benefit of taming another dragon – a dragon teacher – when he accidentally takes off her skirt with his lance, and everyone is laughing at the sight of her bloomers! 

Pam of Pond Hill contributes to the increased sports presence in Jinty with her current story, where Marty Michaels’ interfering sister Trina becomes her self-appointed sports coach. Talk about bossy! Trina ought to be in the Army. Worse, Mum and Dad are actually encouraging Miss Bossyboots and her bright ideas for training Marty. Then comes another complication: Marty disobeys teacher’s orders and takes a secret spring on the new school trampoline, but soon pays the price for her infraction when she hits her back on the trampoline. Ouch! That bang looks serious.

In the other sports stories:

Toni now realises she has an enemy sabotaging her at the sports club, but with so many people against her because of her mother’s disgrace, the suspects are many. She reaches breaking point and runs away – but it looks like she’s run straight into danger. 

Sneaky Cynthia’s accident (unwittingly caused by “The Spirit of the Lake”) is definitely making things difficult for Karen. Cynthia is unconscious, and Karen’s dreading what she will say about the accident when she wakes up. But the story has given us another beautiful cover.

Bridie finally gets a canoe, which was going second-hand, but only on deposit. She has to raise the rest of the money, but how? 

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 19 January 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 Trine Tinturé)

In the Soup! – Cookery feature

Toni on Trial (artist Terry Aspin)

The Battling Burtons – sports feature

Winning Ways 2 (writer Benita Brown) 

White Water (artist Jim Baikie)

Jinty Calendar of Verse – part 2 of a pull-out feature

When Statues Walk… (artist Phil Gascoine, idea Terence Magee, writer Gerry Finley-Day?)

This week’s episode of “When Statues Walk” takes the cover spot, and it is one of Jinty’s best covers. One look, and you can’t take your eyes off it. In the episode, all this haunting by creepy Viking statues is giving Laura nightmares, and the nightmare includes a wolf with a demon tail. But the excavations reveal the body of the wolf in question. Was there more to it than just a dream?

Brother Herbert, the ghost monk from way back in part one of “Gaye’s Gloomy Ghost” who gave Sir Roger the power to materialise for more effective haunting, is not pleased to find Sir Roger over-familiarising himself with the living instead. He sends in a ghost bulldog to deal with the matter, but one plate of food from Gaye and he’s their best friend.

In “Pam of Pond Hill”, Terry threatens disco trouble, but Pam strikes at the very heart of the problem – Terry’s brother Stan. His prejudices against teachers, due to bad school experiences, have prompted Terry to become the school troublemaker. Giving Stan a piece of her mind completely turns the corner, and she really surprises Stan in how his prejudices against teachers get challenged. In fact, they get so much challenged that he himself prevents the dreaded disco disaster from happening.

In “Spirit of the Lake” Karen takes to midnight skating to keep things up with her mystery coach. “The Perfect Princess” (not) is now trying to get rid of Sally by tying her up and taking her place at a ball to make trouble for her. In “Toni on Trial”, Toni thinks she’s got the hurdling layout sussed for the trials, but she doesn’t know jealous Julie set up the hurdles at the wrong distance, to make her screw up at the trials. In “White Water”, Bridie disobeys orders not to do canoeing practice unsupervised and gets expelled from the club. Undeterred, she’s going to get her own canoe. 

Jinty 12 January 1980

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

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

Your Free “Decorette” Transfer – gift 

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

The Perfect Princess (artist Trine Tinturé)

Toni on Trial (artist Terry Aspin)

Tracy Austin – feature

Winning Ways (writer Benita Brown) – first appearance

White Water (artist Jim Baikie)

Jinty Calendar of Verse – part 1 of a pull-out feature

When Statues Walk… (artist Phil Gascoine, idea Terence Magee, writer Gerry Finley-Day?)

Grate Idea! – cookery feature

It’s New Year, and Jinty celebrates with part one of a pullout calendar, in verse, which also takes the cover spot this week. Starting “Winning Ways”, a feature on sports tips, was also fitting to start at New Year, and part one is this issue. “Winning Ways” was written by Benita Brown, who is thought to have written “Spirit of the Lake”, Jinty’s only ice-skating story. No new stories can begin for New Year in this issue, as the current ones still have a way to go, and “The Perfect Princess” is only on its second episode. 

Jinty sure has been getting bigger on sports over the December–January period. She now has sports pages, “Winning Ways”, and three sports serials: “Spirit of the Lake” (ice-skating), “Toni on Trial” (athletics), and “White Water” (canoeing). 

There are disco problems in “Gaye’s Gloomy Ghost”, in the form of a ghost jester. When Sir Roger unwittingly upstages him at the disco, he’s riled and is going to lodge an official complaint. 

Sally Smith steals a girl’s identity to get into the contest for “The Perfect Princess” to replace Victoria, the princess who’s been deemed unfit to inherit the throne because she’s a real terror. Knowing girl’s comics, Sally can only get away with that deception for so long, and she’s had one narrow escape already. Meantime, Sally has an even bigger problem – Victoria is trying to get rid of her and the other candidates, and she’s got rid of one already. But Victoria may find Sally is not so easy to get rid of.

Another terror, Terry, threatens trouble in Pam of Pond Hill. Pam is helping her form teacher, Miss Peeble, to find her feet. She’s lacking in confidence and assertion, has a lot of unruly kids in her class and other pupils walk over her, and now she’s in charge of the school disco. But Terry is bringing in even more larrikins with him to the disco and says it’ll be a riot. Disco dread for Pam, and will it be disco disaster for Miss Peeble?

And speaking of terrors, terror really ups the scale in this week’s episode of “When Statues Walk…”. A statue walks all right – right into Laura’s flat for the pendant in her possession! Thanks to Laura’s dog, it doesn’t succeed. And now there’s a very tearful call for help coming from the pendant. 

Jinty 24 October 1981

Cover artist: Mario Capaldi

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

The Eternal Flame (artist Richard Neillands, writer Alison Christie) – Gypsy Rose story

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

Full Circle (artist Mario Capaldi) – text story

Wednesday’s Child is Full of Woe… (artist “B. Jackson”)

Tansy of Jubilee Street (artist Peter Wilkes)

Man’s Best Friend: Curious Dogs (feature)

Winning Ways – Badminton (writer Benita Brown)

The Warning Windbells (artist Christine Ellingham) – Gypsy Rose story

Badgered Belinda (artist Phil Gascoine)

The Bow Street Runner (artist Phil Townsend, writer Alison Christie)

This is the fifth-to-last issue of Jinty. The repeats to fill the dying comic are really telling now – we get not one but two reprints of old Gypsy Rose stories. The repeat of the 7-part “Monday’s Child” and so forth strip continues with “Wednesday’s Child”, who’s full of woe. In this case it’s a girl who is always grumbling, but she eventually realises how selfish and petty it is, and the final panel shows her becoming more positive. 

In “Pam of Pond Hill”, Tessie Bradshaw has run off to the canal in search of the girl she drove off with her bullying. Tessie has an accident there and is hospitalised. The story is really realistic about bullying when it reveals the reasons why Tessie bullies: jealousy, sensivity about her weight, too much responsibility at home, absent mother and overtime father. Dad decides to remarry in the hope it will help, but Tessie isn’t reacting well to it. And she’s also worried her classmates won’t forgive her for bullying although it put her life in danger. 

Tansy tries being a newshound, but when she tries to report news on Jubilee Street she comes up empty and decides nothing ever happens there. She completely fails to notice the things that get reported in the local newspaper later on. 

Sir Roger has a dream that Gaye will be hit by a car. As ghost dreams always come true, he is going to all sorts of lengths to protect her, which is causing all sorts of hijinks. In the end, Gaye does get hit by a car – but it’s only a pedal car.

The text story discusses how fashions go in cycles. But things go a bit far when a fashion designer from the future takes a trip to the present for ideas on how to reinvent 20th century fashions for her own time. Sadly, the time period she came from is one that never came to pass: the Queen Diana period. Perhaps it did in an alternate timeline.

The last remaining Jinty serials “The Bow Street Runner” and “Badgered Belinda” continue. In the former, tricks from nasty Louise mess Beth up on cross-country. At least Beth realises it was Louise who was reponsible and will be on the lookout for her in future. In the latter, Squire Blackmore brings some old hunting prints to the school and nobody seems upset by them except Belinda – especially at the one showing badger digging. The squire’s also having the school setting up vermin traps, which is another concern for Belinda in minding the badgers. What’s more, looking after those badgers is causing Belinda to lose sleep and it’s taking its toll. 

Jinty 17 October 1981

Cover artist: Mario Capaldi

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

Haunted Ballerina (artist Christine Ellingham) – Gypsy Rose story

Donkey Work (artist Mario Capaldi) – text story

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

Tansy of Jubilee Street (artist Peter Wilkes)

Tuesday’s Child is Full of Grace… (artist Jim Baikie)

Alley Cat (artist Rob Lee)

Winning Ways – Badminton (writer Benita Brown)

Badgered Belinda (artist Phil Gascoine)

Man’s Best Friend: Herding Dogs (feature)

The Bow Street Runner (artist Phil Townsend, writer Alison Christie)

Find Out About Where You Live – feature 

We continue the October theme by filling in a few remaining gaps in the Jinty October issues. This is the sixth-to-last issue of Jinty and she’s in her countdown to the merger.

Pam of Pond Hill has returned by popular demand and will continue in the merger. Her latest story features the debut of Tessie Bradshaw, “Ten Ton Tessie”, a girl who would go on to appear regularly and be known for her heftiness and love of food. In Tessie’s first story, where she is a new pupil at Pond Hill, she doesn’t get off to a good start because she is bullying. Her bullying goes too far and drives off her victim, Sue, in tears. Tess runs away in search of Sue (who showed up later) – and she is headed to the canal, a most dangerous area.

Tansy holds a rag week to raise funds for her youth club. But things go wrong, and Simon & Co deal to Tansy with something else from rag weeks. Tansy is left, shall we say, feeling a bit wet afterwards. Cindy Briggs of the text story “Donkey Work” is more successful in raising funds with her contribution to the autumn fayre – donkey rides in the school playground – despite things going mad-cap (just like her).

This week’s episode of “Gaye’s Gloomy Ghost” sets up the story arc to end the strip in the final issue of Jinty. Sir Roger deliberately failed his exam for the House of Ghosts because he thought Gaye would miss him too much. Gaye, who doesn’t know, is wracking her brains on why Sir Roger failed at floating in the exam when he does it very brilliantly. In fact, it’s how he gets away from her a few times in this episode.

Jinty is now using reprints to help fill the pages of her last six issues. So Alley Cat returns, and we are having a repeat of the 7-part strip on the old rhyme, “Monday’s Child is fair of face” etc. This week it’s Tuesday’s Child and how she teaches her selfish siblings to have more grace. The Gypsy Rose story is another repeat, “Haunted Ballerina”, about the ghost of a jealous ballerina who is out to stop others from doing the dancing she can’t do after an accident. You could also say the story’s a caution about picking up second-hand items – you never know what might come with them from previous owners, especially ones who’ve passed on. 

“The Bow Street Runner” and “Badgered Belinda” are the only serials left. In the former, Beth Speede sets out to become a champion runner so she can beat a prophecy that she has interpreted as her father’s life being put in danger. But she has a jealous rival, Louise Dunn, out to make trouble for her. In the latter, Belinda Gibson tolerates constant bullying while she secretly helps a badger sett. She gets worried when the local squire says he’s hunting vermin – could this include the badgers?

Jinty 19 September 1981

Cover artist: Mario Capaldi

Dracula’s Daughter (artist Mario Capaldi) – final episode

Holiday Hideaway (artist Phil Gascoine)

‘Girl Called Scarecrow’ (artist Veronica Weir) – Gypsy Rose story

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

Tansy of Jubilee Street (artist Peter Wilkes)

Man’s Best Friend – Toy Dogs

Stacy’s Posy (artist Mario Capaldi) – text story

The Sweet and Sour Rivals (artist Carlos Cruz)

Worlds Apart (artist Guy Peeters)

Winning Ways – Volleyball (writer Benita Brown)

Alley Cat (artist Rob Lee)

“Dracula’s Daughter” ends this week. The final episode has a four-page spread instead of the usual three, which further suggests this story was brought to a quick conclusion to help clear the decks for the merger. The extra page helps to develop the ending further and give things more room to breathe.

The ending: Everyone at Castlegate is relieved when Mr Graves decides to leave. He is returning to his old grammar school, this time as headmaster, after finding out its discipline has slipped so badly that its pupils are running amok, vandalising property, and getting into trouble with the police. Bully teacher Mrs Snape is leaving too, which is another great relief for Castlegate. She is transferring to another school, as she did not like her pupils’ company any more than they did hers – only to find one of them is going to follow her to her new school. Sonya, the popular teacher driven out by Mr Graves’ over-zealous drive to run the school on his strict grammar school lines, returns as headmistress, so the school’s even happier.

However, the ending doesn’t have everything being resolved with Mr Graves and Mrs Snape simply leaving Castlegate. It both surprises and impresses us by having Mr Graves develop and emerge less bigoted about schools should be run. He’s still a disciplinarian and wearing that dreadful, old-fashioned teacher’s gown that earned him the nickname “Dracula”. But he’s gone from believing his way is the only way to run a school to accepting that there is no one way of running a school. He’s also modified his view that fun does not belong in a school and should be kept in the home. Now he’s allowing some fun things at school and showing his pupils he has a funny side. His farewell gift to Castlegate reflects this: a complete collection of Dracula films to remember him by! The boys at the grammar school might get a surprise when they see the change in him. Perhaps even the teachers too.

Sadly, no improvement in the character of the horrible Mrs Snape, so there is a worry about the pupils at her new school. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all. At least she leaves Castlegate with a comeuppance of sorts.

The fifth dream world in “Worlds Apart” is now dying with its creator, Clare. Hers is the only imaginary death in the story that is not shown, so we don’t see how her dream world ultimately backfired on her, caused her death, and taught her the ultimate lesson about how horrible her dream world is. We are informed that the sixth and final dream world (followed by the conclusion to the story) will be a “horror film world”. Its creator is Jilly, a girl who seems to be in a perpetual state of fear. 

“Holiday Hideaway” is also approaching its conclusion. Hattie manages to save the family pretence (hiding in the house, pretending to be on holiday) from unravelling again. However, we are informed they are going to get “the shock of their lives” when they “‘come home’” next week. We suspect this has something to do with being caught out. 

This week’s Gypsy Rose story is a new one, not a repeat or a recycled Strange Story. Julia is bullied and called “scarecrow” because of her straw-like appearance and thin build, and being a bit timid. However, her scarecrow build helps one of her bully classmates (thin enough to slip out when they’re trapped in a barn and get help) when she has an accident. After that, everyone wants to be friends with Julia. However, Julia can’t tell them that she got help from a real scarecrow, which pointed her in the right path to take for help.  

In the other stories, the text story has Stacy dress up in period costume for a town festival. It brings back a ghost from that era, who presents her with a posy. Tansy believes she’s brilliant at general knowledge, but when she enters a quiz competition her history knowledge proves deficient and she gets landed with extra history homework. Coincidentally, Gaye does the same thing with Sir Roger, and even forces the poor ghost to wear a dunce’s hat. Suzie Choo brings Chinese themes to the school open day. Alley Cat wants to go fishing but doesn’t want to get caught in the rain. Instead of a raincoat he uses his bin for protection. The results are a bit mixed but work out in the end.

Jinty 12 September 1981

Cover artist: Mario Capaldi

Dracula’s Daughter (artist Mario Capaldi)

Holiday Hideaway (artist Phil Gascoine)

Where the Heart Is (artist Mario Capaldi) – text story

Rosemary for Remembrance (artist Russ Nicholson?) – Gypsy Rose story

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

Man’s Best Friend – Terriers – feature 

Tansy of Jubilee Street (artist Peter Wilkes)

Worlds Apart (artist Guy Peeters)

Winning Ways (writer Benita Brown)

The Sweet and Sour Rivals (artist Carlos Cruz)

Angela’s Angels (artist Leo Davy) – final episode

Alley Cat (artist Rob Lee)

We continue our September theme with a couple of September Jinty issues from 1981.

In hindsight, one senses this issue marks the first signs of Jinty’s wind-down towards the merger. The reason for this is that this week’s penultimate episode of “Dracula’s Daughter” feels like the story’s being brought to a quick conclusion. Only with the previous episode did things take a surprise turn with ultra-disciplinarian Mr Graves deciding to bend his rigid views that fun belongs in the home and not at school, and allow a comedy show in gratitude to the girls. By contrast, Mrs Snape (no relation to Severus Snape but definitely the same breed of teacher) turned against Mr Graves’ daughter Lydia because she mucked up her hopes for deputy principal. Now she’s bullying Lydia big time. Both things had potential to be developed further with more episodes. Perhaps the writer had plans to do so, but the Editor told him/her to finish the story fast, we’ve got to start clearing the decks for the merger. As it is, we’ve barely got into this turn of events, and then things come to a fast head when the girls find a phone booth vandalised. Nasty Mrs Snape blames them for it and drags them to the police station.

In the letter column, one reader asked for “Pam of Pond Hill” and “Gaye’s Gloomy Ghost” to be retired, believing they’d worn thin, and suggested more SF stories. In response, Editor asked readers to share their views and whether they wanted Pam to return (she had ended some issues earlier, with readers invited to ask for her back). The answer must have been a resounding yes, as Pam did return before the merger and then carried on with the merger itself. The Editor had no comment about Gloomy Ghost (its end came in the last issue of Jinty), which incidentally has a metal-detecting theme this week. 

“Angela’s Angels” concludes. The Angels are celebrating because they’ve passed their exams. Of course they know there’s a long way to go yet before they’re qualified nurses, “but it’s so rewarding!”. 

“Holiday Hideaway” shows no sign of a fast conclusion. Or, for that matter, any conclusion to the charade the family goes through in the name of pride: hide in the house because Dad doesn’t want people to know they can’t afford their holiday. And poor Hattie is lumbered with the job of keeping the secret safe from close shaves. This week it’s helping the family avoid being caught while a girl guide does their windows and lawn.

“Worlds Apart” is on its fifth dream world come alive and there is one dream world to go. So there is no ending for this story just yet, but it’s definitely getting there. Brainy Clare seems to have forgotten her humanity in her dream world of intellectualism. She only sees her classmates, who are subhuman “dullards” in this world, as lab rats in her research laboratory. Dullard rights demonstrators have rescued the girls and turned them loose into the wild, but it’s full of dangers and predators. Added to that, Clare is catching up with the girls. But then Clare suddenly finds her heart again when her superiors want to capture the “dullards’” perils all on television and she protests that it’s cruel.

“Tansy of Jubilee Street” carries on as usual. In this week’s story, Tansy becomes a marshal for a cycling rally. But things backfire when she unwittingly starts a rally craze in Jubilee Street.

This week’s Gypsy Rose tale is another recycled Strange Story. Nobody in the family but Susan appreciates Gran’s enthusiasm for herbs. Rosemary is Susan’s favourite. Susan takes some herb cuttings for the family’s new flat, but they don’t seem to flourish as well as they did at Gran’s. Gran appears and gives Susan some advice on reviving them – and then Susan hears Gran just died. Spooky! Not surprisingly, the herbs flourish after that, especially the rosemary.

In “The Sweet and Sour Rivals”, a bullying motorcycle gang causes trouble at the Chinese restaurant. They keep barging in and forcing the establishment to give them free meals. Instead of the police, Suzie Choo brings in a giant panda to drive them off, courtesy of the zoo and her Chinese friend there.

The premise of the text story, “Where the Heart is”, would be used again in Tammy’s “Telling the Bees” in Tammy, 12 November 1983. A Puritan girl finds a wounded Cavalier soldier and hides him while nursing his wounds, and romance begins to bloom.

Alley Cat’s on the back cover, in blue print. Melvyn goofs and brings Alley Cat light bulbs instead of flower bulbs. But when Spotty Muchloot makes trouble, Alley Cat puts the bulbs to good use against him. Meanwhile, Snoopa visits a hall of mirrors – and finds the one showing his normal reflection the most horrible.

Jinty 26 September 1981

Cover artist: Mario Capaldi

• Freda’s Fortune – first episode (artist Trini Tinturé)
• All over a farthing… – text story (artist Mario Capaldi)
• Child’s Play – Gypsy Rose story (artist Phil Townsend)
• Gaye’s Gloomy Ghost (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)
• Holiday Hideaway (artist Phil Gascoine)
• Tansy of Jubilee Street (artist Ken Houghton)
• Winning Ways – sports tips
• The Sweet and Sour Rivals – last episode (artist Carlos Cruz)
• Worlds Apart (artist Guy Peeters)
• Snoopa (artist Joe Collins)

This is one of the last few issues of Jinty before the merger with Tammy. As a result it is full of penultimate episodes (Holiday Hideaway, Worlds Apart), a final episode (The Sweet and Sour Rivals) and complete or nearly complete stories (the Gypsy Rose story, and the first half of the two-parter Freda’s Fortune).

Freda wins a pony in a raffle – a stroke of luck for her, as she has longed for one since she was a toddler, but also some bad luck because not only does she have to find somewhere to keep it and food to feed it, she also earns the envy of snobbish Susan who will stop at little to throw a spoke in her wheel.

The text story “All over a farthing” has a struggling girl give away a lucky farthing to the school charity appeal, only to find that it brings luck back to her and her unemployed father in an unexpected way.

The Gypsy Rose story, “Child’s Play”, is a new one this week, drawn by Phil Townsend (though the subsequent week’s issue will have a reprint of a story by Trini Tinturé from 1977). I reprint it below.

“Holiday Hideaway” is coming to an end – the family in hiding prepare to ‘return from holiday’ which will mean they have to continue to lie to their friends by pretending they have been away on a cruise ship holiday all along. But the episode ends by a reveal that they can’t possibly have been on the ship – the liner never left England in the first place! How will Hattie Jones and her family keep their heads up now?

This is the last episode of “The Sweet and Sour Rivals”: at the school fair Mandy and her friend Suzie Choo face off against Abigail Beaton whose family run the town’s snootiest restaurant. As often happens with schoolgirl rivalries, the envious antagonist overreaches herself and the good girl(s) have to save the day, including the antagonist herself. This time the jealous rival entices a horde of hungry dogs to all the food stalls, risking her own parents’ food stall as well as the Choo’s one; and Suzie saves the day by building a wall of plates to keep the dogs away. Yes, it’s a Great Wall of China (groan).

In “Worlds Apart” the six schoolgirls are transported from brainy Clare’s world into scaredy-cat Jilly’s world – one inhabited by horror monsters. Read all about it in the summary of that story, linked to above.

Page 1, “Child’s Play” – Gypsy Rose story

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Jinty and Penny 7 March 1981

• Pam of Pond Hill (artist Bob Harvey, writer Jay Over)
• The Ghost Dancer (artist Phil Townsend)
• Farah’s Three Wishes (artist Hugo D’Adderio) – Gypsy Rose story
• Just the Job – feature with Leo Sayers and Rod Stewart – first episode
• Gaye’s Gloomy Ghost (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)
• Tansy of Jubilee Street (artist Peter Wilkes)
• Land of No Tears (artist Guy Peeters, writer Pat Mills)
• No Medals for Marie (artist Phil Gascoine, writer Alison Christie)
• Winning Ways 47 (writer Benita Brown)
• Life’s a Ball for Nadine (artist Mario Capaldi)
• Alley Cat (artist Rob Lee)

This week’s sports cover has Mario Capaldi drawing gymnastics, a sport we seldom see him depicting in girls’ comics. “Just the Job” replaces “Behind the Screen” this week, and its job is to inform us what’s behind the world of pop music. Alley Cat takes the spot as the humour cartoon this time. Snoopa must have been on holiday.

The Gypsy Rose story is another recycled Strange Story, and it’s a morality tale in “be careful what you wish for”. A genie grants Persian girl Farah three wishes – but warns her to think carefully before making a wish because he can only grant exactly what she asks for. This means granting her wishes literally, as Farah finds out when she blows her first two wishes because she jumped the gun and did not heed the genie’s warning. Will she think carefully about the third wish and make it the right one? Or will she end up wasting three perfectly good wishes – and maybe have an even deeper regret than that?

Ferne’s plan to help Jolie get over her dancing block is to dress up in her mother’s Firebird costume and pass herself off as “The Ghost Dancer”, which the girls all think is haunting the school. The plan does help Jolie’s dancing – but then blabbermouth Jolie tells everyone, so now the ghost rumour is worse than ever.

In “Land of No Tears”, the Gamma girls beat the odds and make it through the preliminary rounds in the Golden Girl award. Unfortunately there’s now a lot of heat on them, especially as the authorities are astonished to find no record of Cassy in their computer (well, there wouldn’t be as she’s an unwitting time traveller from the 20^th century!). The dreaded Hive Inspector is being called in, and Perfecta is on the trail of the Gamma girls’ secret trainer.

Miss Simon – after a taste of what asthmatic Paul goes through – agrees to Marie’s request to let her have Simon Hall a year earlier because Paul is deteriorating so badly. Even so, it’s still nine months off. Will Paul last the distance?

Pam’s still stuck on the school magazine and Miss Peeble tries to help, but not very successfully. Miss Larks is definitely not under arrest, but she is on leave, and it’s linked to what Pam thinks is a blackmailer. She spots someone in Miss Larks’ apartment who could be the miscreant and gets the gang organised to catch him.

Sir Roger answers a “ghost for hire” ad. Sounds reminiscent of the old “Rent-a-ghost” strip from Buster. Tansy tries all sorts of nutty tactics to avoid “Dismal Dee” – but she’s the one who ends up dismal, because it cost her the chance of a concert ticket to see her current favourite pop group.

As well as having to fend off the cheating Syreeta and Selena, who are out to cheat her out of a disco contest (Syreeta) and netball match (Selena), Nadine now has to choose between the two events. For the first time she shows team spirit and chooses netball over disco. Stuffy Betty has had a change of heart too, and she wants to help Nadine against the two cheats.