My little town, Hailsham, has a swimming pool, bowling alley, and voluntary-run vintage cinema. Honestly, compared to my old residence in Portslade, the town has exceptional facilities.
I recently visited the cinema to watch ‘A Man Called Otto’ starring Tom Hanks. Slightly depressing (which I wasn’t expecting) but well played by Tom, as always. I mean, the list of Tom’s films is insane, so I’ll only mention the ones I’ve seen and remember, Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Cast Away, Elvis, The Da Vinci Code, The Terminal, The Green Mile, Apollo 13, Philadelphia, Sleepless in Seattle, A League of Their Own and the most impactful to me given the context and/or my age at the time of watching was Turner and Hooch (1990), and Big (1988).
Now, Big is a good one. The plot revolves around a twelve-year-old, Josh Baskin, who is told he is too short for a carnival ride called the Super Loops while attempting to impress a girl. Dejected, he inserts a coin into an antique fortune-teller machine called Zoltar and wishes to be “big”. It dispenses a card stating, “Your wish is granted”, as Josh discovers the machine has been unplugged the entire time.
The following day, Josh finds that he has grown into an adult (played by Tom), and it is revealed that the Zoltar machine can actually make wishes come true. He tries to locate the machine but finds that the carnival has moved on. Lots of stuff happens in the middle, including the iconic scene of jumping around on the “walking piano”, but Josh learns that the Zoltar machine is now at Sea Point Park. At the park, Josh finds the machine, unplugs it, and makes a wish to become a kid again. Which is granted - phew!
So guess what? I'm not able to get a Zoltar to you, but you can download and print your own bespoke dog breeding fortune teller below.
Or send a 'self addressed envelope' to PO Box 257, Hailsham, BN27 9FL and we'll send you a free copy.