Day 8: Toys present and past (requested by aardvarkinmud)

Running a bit late, sorry. I can totally live without another day like this one - just got back from A&E. Rob has been in pain all night and it feels like his hip - had to call an ambulance first thing because he couldn't even get up and was lying on the floor in agony. The ambulance men were lovely, the nurses were lovely, but the doctor totally failed to listen.

aardvarkinmud What toys do you see nowadays do you wish you could have played with as a kid? And reverse, what toys from your childhood do you wish were still around?

My favourite toys these days are ones I sometimes buy anyway - I love all the themed Legos like Marvel and Star Wars. My sister and I never had real Lego when we were children because all our building blocks were inherited and they were these tiny white things. Great for building intricate buildings, but there weren't the selection of special types for making other things.

I'm a big Marvel fan so I really enjoy the Marvel Lego - I have a couple of sets. One I was given for Christmas 2012 and the first thing I did was create Loki's Escape the photo story ;). It's silly, but was so much fun.

All the kits for making things are wonderful as well. We had Shaker Maker and little kits for making a purse and things like that, but there are so many more now. I bought myself a band loom the other day just because it looked like so much fun (and it was on sale) :).

As for the other half of the question, I think most of the toys I really loved as a child are still around. I remember doing a Pooh Bear Shaker Maker when I was young and adoring it and you can still get them. They're a little more sophisticated these days, but they still look fun. There is one toy I remember very fondly, he was called Huggy Bear and I was given him for my 7th birthday. He was a toy bear and he would hug your arm. I really loved him.

When I was in hospital for an operation on my feet the nurses did up Huggy's leg in a bandage so it was a bit like mine. I'll never forget that. He was such a simple toy, but he was brilliant. No electronics, no batteries, just fur and love.