Childhood pleasures

Having written a number of short stories involving a slightly misguided inventor I feel compelled to ask: Where do all these mad ideas come from?

            It can’t be that they emerge out of nowhere - just like that - popping in from some extra dimension or something, can it?

            I need to know because they keep bothering me. Once they sneak into the brain they grab hold and refuse to let go, and I am spending far too much time on this.

            I may have had a clue to the mystery quite recently. There I was thinking about some invention or other, and then... all of a sudden I remembered.

            When I was little, probably back in the days when TV was black and white, one of my favourite programmes was a cartoon about a great inventor, Professor Balthazar. I had completely forgotten about that funny little man in his bowler hat, but suddenly he was back.

            Did an internet search to satisfy my curiosity.

            Indeed, three series of adventures were made, starting in the late 1960s, in that powerhouse of animation; Croatia. Broadcasted in a number of countries, including Sweden, to general acclaim.

            At this point I, quite naturally (uhh?), ended up on YouTube where a few of the Professor’s adventures can be found (hint!). Watched them with our then 7-year old and discovered that the stories were still great. The animation is certainly not CGI, but much better off for it. Suddenly the household had a craving for more.

            More inventions.

            More madness.

            Fortunately for us, an Italian company had taken upon themselves to digitally remaster all the old Balthazar episodes. So... we ordered the box set (not cheap, but the best things in life are not always free) and now all our Professorial needs have been satisfied.

            More than satisfied, perhaps, as we can’t help humming the theme tune over and over…

            The Professor’s inventions tend to be on the remarkable side of spectacular. A problem arises, he pushes a lever on his inventing machine, an umbrella opens and shuts a few times and out of a spout drips a few drops of red liquid. These precious red drops have the most amazing ability to create pretty much anything you want, from flying shoes to doorways to other realities where people can live out their fantasies.

            Excellent!

            If, at some point in the future, my daughter decides to start writing stories about an inventive Professor involving more or less reasonable ideas... perhaps she will trace the idea back to this Croatian brilliance of Professor Balthazar. It would be tricky to make such a legacy worthy, but it would certainly be worth trying.