July 1979: Smurf of the Month

This is "Smurf of the Month", July 1979 - one of a series of collectable figurines, available at National petrol stations.

The Smurfs' origins actually date back to the late 1950s, but over here in England most of us had never heard of them until they released a pop record called The Smurf Song, which entered our pop charts on 10/6/1978.

"Where are you all coming from?"

"From Smurfland where we belong."

Of course there was the invitable spoof version: "Where are you all coming from?"

"We're from Brixton on the run!"

The Smurf craze continued into the 1980s.

Buzby and the Arrival of British Telecom

Buzby - the talking cartoon bird, voiced by Bernard Cribbins, was launched c. 1977 and was around well into the 1980s. Buzby's catchphrase was: "Make someone happy with a phone call." A cynical play on this, very prevalent in the late 1970s and early 1980s, was: "Make someone happy - wring Buzby's neck!"

Keeping in touch with developments at the All England Club - via "the blower"! In 1980, Post Office Telecommunications became British Telecom and would become a totally separate public corporation on 1 October 1981.

British Telecom has arrived, as seen in this newspaper advertisement from July 1980.