Lady Penelope in her Creighton Ward mansion
I expect loads will be written about Gerry Anderson this week and deservedly so; therefore I won't say much here. But, as I was a child in the sixties, I just want to mention that (like many others) I have fond memories of watching 'Captain Scarlet' and 'Thunderbirds' in particular. They appealed on so many levels - perhaps the main one, for me, was the inclusion of some wonderful female characters. I loved Lady Penelope (although Parker scared me a little - redeemed only by the fact that he did look a bit like my Granddad) and those feisty Angel Interceptor pilots. Spin-off merchandise may have been a little less sophisticated back then but I absolutely adored the card 'Cut Out and Dress' dolls I owned for Lady Penelope and Rhapsody Angel. Lady P came with a picture of her wardrobe with doors that opened out, and some very classy paper trouser suits to dress her in. Rhapsody Angel (and my sister's Harmony Angel) were accompanied by big fold-out scenery backgrounds - imaginary worlds I frequently got lost in, even though they were only one dimensional. Rhapsody was gorgeous, wasn't she?! But then, all the Angels were. I read a while back that their facial features (all apart from Symphony's apparently*) were based on real people - e.g. Destiny was inspired by Ursula Andress, Rhapsody was taken from Jean Shrimpton and Melody was modelled on Eartha Kitt (that one surprised me a little!)Gerry Anderson 14.04.1929 - 26.12.2012
* but she looks a bit like Britt Ekland, don't you think?
