Through the Button Hole

An interesting (for me, at least) issue of Buttons from 1982

Spring has sprung and optimism is high, so it’s time for me to grab the past by the scruff of its neck and gently, yet assertively, spank a nugget of interest out of it. And, by chance, this glimmer of ephemeral, vintage joy will be coming from the very week I was born.

I wrote, a little while back, about how I’d stumbled across some issues of Buttons in a vintage shop, so I decided it was time to take a further look at one of these. In particular, I wanted to quickly focus on the introductory page known as Button Hole from w/c 11th September 1982.

Whilst I was busy in the arduous process of being born and acclimatising to the transition from womb to world, many readers of Buttons were, as the editor informs us, preparing to return to playschool or even start ‘big’ school.

Those preparing for the seismic transition to ‘big’ school may have had the joy of summer still lingering in the air, but we can all remember the existential dread of entering formal education. Luckily, for any concerned parents, Buttons was on hand to offer some advice in the form of two books: At School and I Want To Go To School Too! which offered simple advice on how to navigate this new world. A delightful gesture.

For me, the real jewel in Buttons crown is always the readers’ letters. Despite being clearly written by the parents, and then edited by the Buttons team, these tiny snapshots of preschooler joy will resonate with anyone who was ever a child - that’s most of us.

Here we find the usual suspects: the customary Postman Pat birthday cake photo, a drawing of King Rollo (which looks suspiciously like Ernie from Sesame Street) and, finally, a photo of young Matthew with the Pearly King and Queen of the Isle of Dogs. The lucky letter writers were even rewarded with a £2 book token - a sum which, in those innocent days, must have felt like winning the literary lottery.

And then, there’s the puzzle. A word puzzle so laughably simple, so insultingly easy, that even the most distracted child, one still grappling with basic phonics, could solve it with a glance. If any child, of reading age, was unable to fathom what Paddington was supposed to be wearing, then I truly despair for the species. However, Given that many of those reading Buttons in 1982 are now in positions of seniority, perhaps a failure to solve this puzzle shouldn’t be so surprising…

Nonetheless, a joyous moment of reflection for a simpler time - although not for my parents, who had a screaming baby to deal with 24/7, so apologies for that.

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